We’ve Got This and Together We Always Will!
I don’t have to tell you that right now, time is swirling together like a concoction of all the generations mixed together. A little of how our grandparents lived, a little how we have been living, and little Star Trek Next Generation.
Take a quick look back on the generations before, and we are faced with the lost art of spending time together. Compressed into small work areas new realizations are unavoidable. Remaining present with our families while working for our students. Clearly, this can go many ways. Stretching ourselves in areas of communication, technology, and supportive collaboration that we never knew possible.
In the past, family dinners were sacred. Time together was mandated, and we never questioned Sunday at the grandparents. Now we are required to do things like eat together and find fun things to pass the time together. The transition back to “The Way We Were” for some has been painful and others a welcomed new way of life.
Move forward to today and what can be said is we all have witnessed incredible bonding if not with our students and their families, then us with our own family. In some lucky cases bonding has healed relationships of all sorts. Personally, I find my relationships with student’s parents has taken the role of extended family. They rely on me to give them information and support them when they feel lost or overwhelmed. I remind them that they are exactly where they need to be, and that life is no longer running at the speed of light. I say to them as I am now saying to you, if you breathe deeply it heals every part of us.
Professionally, we attend meetings, consider time and family dynamics in our planning, learn on the go (nothing new). We implement with our fingers crossed preceded by sleepless nights. This is the life of an educator; we take in new information and spit it back out. Packaging our products neatly, hearing our inner fears speak criticisms and then the world’s mouth drops open in awe. We are not magical beings, we work hard. We loose sleep, we agonize about every little detail and then some. Yet we smooth over the cracks and present effortlessly to an eager crowd awaiting our presentation. Because we must!
Things are not simple and yet we keep pressing forward for everyone involved. Zoom training, Google Classroom training, Flipgrids, interactive websites for reading, math, science, social studies, art projects, typing and that is just the beginning. Attending ARDS, making sure our special needs and IEP’s are met all without stepping foot inside a brick and mortar building. We are at the precipice of a new norm. We are the explorers and scientists implementing education using the Scientific Method. Yes, there will be fails and some BIG, but we are fearless because we know that by doing this, we are creating learning in the process. A side effect of trial by fire learning is catapulting students to new heights. All with the added confidence building that anything you set your mind to, you can do!
Our rewards? The incredible little moments of smiles and laughter from success. These instants come from students and parents alike.
We left our schools for spring break some sooner, some later, and didn’t return for six + weeks, a vacation turned into a new way of life.
Not knowing our day to day ways would impact so many. How we speak to the students. How we implement learning and adapt on the go. Parents watch and learn from us. They need to see it to feel connected and validated. Critical are the tiny moments, the tone of your voice. The laughter you share. Your piece in the puzzle brings the big picture together.
Our optimism is critical to these families. They need to know we have their backs, and there is no one like your teacher to let you know you are a good mom, dad, grandparent, auntie, or uncle and your child is doing fine. We are the front lines to our family’s education and mental health resources. Bear in mind you may think you only educate but you cannot avoid the role of support. The growth and bonding that is happening will forever touch these families and their learning growth curves. Countless studies show this connection cannot be avoided and provide strength in that data line continuing to move up across the years.
If a child is hungry, we connect them to food. If a child is lonely, we meet with them to hear their story. If a child needs extra academic support, we tutor them. Now we add their families to the mix. This is a great opportunity to change how the world views education and educators. You are a lifeline, and that, my professional friends, is one of the greatest honors we have. We have transitioned from being disconnected and sometimes used as a drop off for exhausted and stressed parents to their BEST lifeline of HOPE.
In just over six weeks we have transformed academia and its role in the life of our country. I tell my Kindergartners: kiss your brain, pat your back, hug yourself. Now I say it to you, because teacher, administrators, cafeteria workers, and all school staff you ARE IMPORTANT. The future is bright because of YOU!
Students now get to say, they know how to do online research, type and write better. They can control themselves in a Zoom meeting to take turns so everyone gets to be heard (because they miss their friend’s voices).
Learning happens in so many ways. This benefits everyone not just our students. Hold on to the fact that “We’ve got this!” and “Together we always will!”.
Now, PAUSE and BREATHE. Be silent and look at the image of what you have created from all your diligence and focus. The collaborations and learning have melded together in this beautiful masterpiece.
What we once thought was too much to accomplish has now happened in record time. When we return, lets continue to celebrate the leaps made and the relationships found.
Take in the value of you. What do you need to be the best for yourself, your family and those you support outside your home? Do what you need to. Keep the flame of hope and learning alive. You are the creator of a new world. Your hard work and collaboration are priceless.
You are the foundation of hope and consistency. Be kind to yourself and honor what you have done.
Claudia Violetta Vrettos (Ms. V) is a Kindergarten Immersion Teacher at Arthur Kramer Elementary an International Baccalaureate World School in Dallas Independent School District. She has a decade of educator experience spanning Bilingual and Special Populations. Ms. V as she is known, previously had training in Critical Care and Crisis-Management. She is a mother and grandmother of all boys and a published third generation poet. Looking on life with gratitude is a choice for her; one she relishes in every day.
“Gratitude is a way of life, choose to say thank you every day throughout the day. Be in awe of the little things, they add up to BIG miracles.” ~Ms. V