Schools have been preparing for students all summer: developing protocols for handwashing and bathroom use, deploying hand sanitizer stations, hanging signs to remind students to stay socially distant, measuring and taping classrooms, cafeterias, and hallways. It’s *A LOT*. You are carrying an enormous burden, and I applaud your hard work, creativity, and fortitude. It is no easy thing to do all of this in the middle of a global pandemic while grieving and caring for yourself and your family.<\/p>\n

Frankly, we as a society are asking way too much of you: educate our kids AND ensure that no one gets sick!<\/h3>\n

I can imagine that you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed. I am feeling stressed and overwhelmed for you. When I was a new teacher, those emotions would lead to a knee jerk reaction: clamping down. I would become rigid in an attempt to take control, a punitive approach that frankly made me and my students feel awful and disconnected. I’ve been reflecting on that, thinking how easy it would be to fall back on a disciplinary process, demanding compliance from learners.<\/p>\n

The rules, procedures, and restrictions you have developed are acts of love designed to keep kids and adults safe and healthy.<\/h2>\n

How might we center love as we introduce and guide students in following them?<\/p>\n

Credit to Carla Shalaby and her fantastic book Troublemakers<\/em><\/a> which inspires this question and gives clues to an answer. In a webinar this spring<\/a> she offered that mask-wearing is an opportunity to teach young children that it is our responsibility to take care of each other, especially the most vulnerable among us.<\/p>\n

That leads me to wonder:<\/p>\n

How might we build community such that we focus on taking care of each other?<\/h3>\n

In what ways might our protocols and procedures be guides for conversations about community wellness? After all, when I wear my mask to take care of you and you wear your mask to take care of me, we build a web of reciprocity and community care. We are showing fundamental love for one another.<\/p>\n

Build a common understanding of the rules and the purpose of the rules<\/h3>\n

Don’t assume, for example, that learners understand why they are being asked to wear a mask. Dig into the science of it. (video)<\/a><\/p>\n

Understanding the effectiveness of masks helps us understand the importance of wearing them. Schools all over Vermont are normalizing mask-wearing in all sorts of ways.<\/p>\n