I see you, Teacher.
I see you trying to work out how to be effective and not fail your students in the midst of this chaos.
I see you busting your ass trying to figure out how to convert engaging curriculum to an online environment where the inequities are just beyond comprehension.
I see you bracing yourself to pivot from hybrid to full distance learning to in-person learning then maybe back to hybrid at the drop of a hat.
I see you fret over distance learning lessons and curriculum that is being scrutinized by parents, other educators, the general public because everyone is watching over their kids’ shoulders as your videos buffer and your platforms glitch.
I see you trying to locate students who have dropped off the face of the earth while at the same time trying to challenge students who are way far ahead.
I see you going into a building full of people in the middle of a pandemic and working so hard to keep masks on kids, on your own face, keep hands clean, keep space between the kids--(how on earth do you teach personal space to a Kindergartener? Or high school kids who are in love?)
I see you doing all of this while trying to support your own kids/families with distance learning or hybrid learning, and while you take care of sick loved ones, watch loved ones die, or fight off covid yourself.
I see you doing all of it, every day over and over again.
You are the glue that is holding our children’s whole fragile chaotic education together during this mess and we could not survive this without you.
Please, give yourself some grace. And some love. Yes, this is hard. And frustrating and overwhelming. But I can see you and I see that you’ve got this.
And I thank you.
(cover photo credit: August de Richelieu from Pexels)