Lesson Three: Authenticity<\/h2>\n
One of the most refreshing aspects of the pandemic was that it helped to strip us of some pretense. We were all equally vulnerable. When virtual, we saw some of our children’s homes, their pets popped in, and there was something endearing about getting closer to our real selves.\u00a0 We were all afraid together, all trying to be safe, all feeling loss and grief. This is the kind of humanity we don\u2019t want to lose.<\/p>\n
This first flush of pandemic authenticity was short-lived and it has already faded.\u00a0 Being real in school is tough.\u00a0 Even during the peak pandemic lockdown, there were very few structured opportunities for teachers and students to talk about the pandemic. We discussed COVID facts and protocols but left the authentic at home: hopes, fears and feelings. With the zillion questions we all had about COVID and the pandemic, I don\u2019t know a single school that engaged students or staff in an active exploration of the very thing that was consuming all our lives.<\/p>\n
Of course, this was partly due to the sensitive nature of COVID. Moreover, we didn\u2019t know how to talk about a pandemic. We\u2019d never lived through one before.\u00a0 Finally, we avoided it because we were in survival mode. But this difficulty in being real along the way left us with greater wounds to heal right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is really going on in school now?<\/h2>\n\nMiddle schools today are still oozing with anxiety that has been accumulating since the start of the pandemic. Today, young adolescents are in school without masks. Like many of us some wonder, is this going to be okay and safe? Can I really relax? Is this really almost over?<\/p>\n
Over the past fall, schools have reported significant behavior challenges they have never seen before. Students who once were engaged, have been observed checking out and refusing to do any work. One school in northern Vermont observed that work refusals have tripled in this school year. (VPR, Eric Heilman, March 9, 2022)<\/p>\n
Likewise, many teachers report that some students who never struggled with behavior issues, struggle to care. When students do behave badly, many who would have once been eager to set things straight, fail to apologize.\u00a0 Some taken for granted manners have gone by the wayside. Teachers have observed that many students have lost the social skills needed to work with others and to be kind in social interactions. We have schools filled with both children and adults who have experienced trauma. That is the real deal.<\/p>\n
We are all dancing as fast we can, using every possible resource to manage these challenges. The line at the door for comfort and help was too long before the pandemic; now it feels daunting. So exhaustion continues and anxiety is unabated. What can we do?<\/p>\n
We might start by allowing ourselves to recognize where we are. And, we can make the social and emotional well being of every member of our school including ourselves, our top priority. This doesn\u2019t mean we stop caring about academic learning, but we should worry less about students falling behind academically, and worry more about students falling behind emotionally and socially. Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nBuilding Community With Student-Driven Conversations<\/h2>\nFigure out ways to bring mindfulness, or relaxation or social and emotional checks into your classroom routines. Starting or ending a week with reflections can be a simple but powerful way to monitor the emotional pulse and open space for students to be real. This 60 second tool<\/a> is worth checking out. As are these posts on bringing mindfulness into the classroom<\/a> and 7 mindfulness activities for advisory<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWe might frame our Advisory (if we have that time in our day), as the place where authenticity is sacred. We don\u2019t need lots of fancy gimmicks, but we do need to find middle school appropriate ways to let students talk to us, and to one another about life<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n\nSchool leaders might find new ways to encourage authentic faculty conversations<\/a>.\u00a0 If we\u2019ve learned anything from the pandemic, it\u2019s that we need one another, and we all need safe spaces in which to be real. This resource from Edutopia helps you imagine Designing a Better School Staff Meeting.<\/a><\/p>\n
Middle schools today are still oozing with anxiety that has been accumulating since the start of the pandemic. Today, young adolescents are in school without masks. Like many of us some wonder, is this going to be okay and safe? Can I really relax? Is this really almost over?<\/p>\n
Over the past fall, schools have reported significant behavior challenges they have never seen before. Students who once were engaged, have been observed checking out and refusing to do any work. One school in northern Vermont observed that work refusals have tripled in this school year. (VPR, Eric Heilman, March 9, 2022)<\/p>\n
Likewise, many teachers report that some students who never struggled with behavior issues, struggle to care. When students do behave badly, many who would have once been eager to set things straight, fail to apologize.\u00a0 Some taken for granted manners have gone by the wayside. Teachers have observed that many students have lost the social skills needed to work with others and to be kind in social interactions. We have schools filled with both children and adults who have experienced trauma. That is the real deal.<\/p>\n
We are all dancing as fast we can, using every possible resource to manage these challenges. The line at the door for comfort and help was too long before the pandemic; now it feels daunting. So exhaustion continues and anxiety is unabated. What can we do?<\/p>\n
We might start by allowing ourselves to recognize where we are. And, we can make the social and emotional well being of every member of our school including ourselves, our top priority. This doesn\u2019t mean we stop caring about academic learning, but we should worry less about students falling behind academically, and worry more about students falling behind emotionally and socially. Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n
School leaders might find new ways to encourage authentic faculty conversations<\/a>.\u00a0 If we\u2019ve learned anything from the pandemic, it\u2019s that we need one another, and we all need safe spaces in which to be real. This resource from Edutopia helps you imagine Designing a Better School Staff Meeting.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nBuilding Community With Student-Driven Conversations<\/h2>\n