This Is Important: Not My Words

 https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1076943883/teachers-quitting-burnout

Thoughts on the Teacher Who Put Her Son in the Trunk of Her Car

      Friday, the news broke that a teacher was arrested for putting her son in the trunk of her car to take him to a Covid testing site.  She says that she did it to keep him from infecting her, according to the warrant.  He is a thirteen year-old male. His mom is facing child endangerment charges.

     Here's what I think. These are just my thoughts...

     School districts across the U.S. are obtaining grants that offer teachers incentives for being in attendance. This is because of the catastrophic shortage of teachers and Guest Teachers (substitutes), nationwide. Our district has such a plan. Our is based on being in attendance ninety percent of the days that school is in session.

     So, out of one side of their mouths, school districts are touting self-care, while out of the other side they are saying we need you to be at school.  It is a no-win situation for those of us working in the trenches.

     Back to the mom that was arrested.  I am sure she is under the same pressures.  While I don't condone putting any child in the trunk of a car, this teacher-mom was probably pushed to the point of not knowing what her options were.  How could she get her son tested without exposing herself or any of her other loved ones?  

     There are home testing kits out there, but the Federal Trade Commission warns us of their validity.  She was doing what she thought was right, getting her son tested. Did she need to put him in the trunk? Undoubtedly not! This makes me think of the adage, "Desperate times call for desperate measures."  I don't know her circumstances. In my heart, I believe she was trying to do the right thing: Get her son tested, while trying not to catch the virus herself, and lose time off from work, knowing how desperate the situation is with the public schools. I believe she was at a crossroads.

     Bottom line? It's a shame that the actions of some push well-meaning people to do things that they wouldn't ordinarily do.  Do I think this woman goes around with her kids in her trunk? Of course not!  Do I think that her actions were driven by the teacher shortage and job-security.? Absolutely! It will be interesting to see how this plays out...

Mindset

       I will be the first to admit that the past several months have been rough. Our house was on the market. I accepted a teaching position two and a half hours from home, and took up residence in our daughter and son-in-law's basement. (They hadn't even been married a year, yet.). Learning a new school system and curriculum as I taught (I was hired the day before school started!) Meeting new colleagues. Wrecking my car the day I moved in to our temporary living situation (Not my fault. Some jerk-face ran a stop sign.). To say the last six months have been stressful would be an understatement!!

     Through it all, prayers have been answered, on God's time.  The house in Hutch sold. We found a duplex that will work, temporarily, at least through the end of the school year, so I am no longer living in our daughter and son-in-law's basement. Insurance totaled my beloved Jeep Wrangler, but we were able to replace it with another vehicle. I am finding my way through all of the ins and outs of a new school system, district, building.

     As I've had time to reflect during Christmas Break, I have come to this conclusion: It's all about your mindset.  Sometimes God doesn't answer prayers in the way that you think He should, but that doesn't mean your prayers aren't answered.  I am blessed to work with some truly amazing and compassionate educators!  We team-plan our lessons for each week. I believe that we're all on the same page about the needs of our students and their families.

     I let all the stressors get in the way of what truly matters, professionally. That is, and will always be, the kids. They are why I do what I do each an every day.  I will admit that I got bogged down in the district's expectations, and while trying to meet their demands, I lost sight of the kids. But no more!  Even if it's not on the lesson plan, I will do what's best for my students and their families. If that means a short detour for the day, then so be it! If it weren't for these sweet, innocent children, none of would have a job! I let that get lost.

     There are a couple of sayings that floats through the education world: "Every child was put in your classroom for a reason."  and "Close the door and do what it best for your kids."  Moving forward, that's going to be what I do and back to how I teach. Bring on 2022!

#OneWord 2022: "Difference."

      Do you know "The Starfish Story?"

     This story is why I chose the word "difference" as my #OneWord2022.  The first time I heard this story was when a friend of mine used it in her speech to the school district after being recognized as our district's Elementary Teacher of the Year.  Just to know this lady leaves you feeling blessed! Instead of saving starfish, though, she used it as a simile to saving the children that we teach and challenged us to make a difference in the lives of our students.  Well, sweet friend, that challenge was accepted the moment I heard this story! 

     Twice, in my teaching career, I have heard an administrator say to me, "You can't save them all."  I have to admit, both times this really angered me.  The first time, I was too dumbfounded to even have a response. The second time, I was a more seasoned teacher, and I had been busting my butt for a particular student. Following a parent meeting, the principal looked at me and said, "Well, you can't save them all." I was livid! All the time and energy I was putting in to this child. All of the interventions and documentations. I could see the potential in this student! I looked at her and said, "Seriously?" "Yep." was her response. I stood up, looked her straight in the eye and said. "If making a difference every day, in the lives of my students, is not my goal, then I'm in the wrong damned profession!" and walked out of the conference room.  How can a building, or even district leader be so callous?

     This is my mantra:  "It made a difference to that one."  It ties in perfectly with my mission and goal in life of being a trauma-responsive teacher.  This is why I have chosen "Difference" as my #OneWord2022.

"Covid Kids"

      Let's talk about our children for a minute.  Let's talk about what they have been through the past eighteen-ish months.

     In March of 2020, the world was plunged into a global pandemic from out of nowhere.  Many schools shut down during Spring Break Week and didn't reopen for the remainder of the school year.  Our students were rapidly taken away from school, as well as their friends.  Younger children, I can tell you from personal experience, had a very difficult time adjusting to this sudden loss of socialization.  Our children were thrown into the middle of something that even the adults in their lives could not begin to explain or even understand.

     Teachers were sent scrambling to figure out how to keep teaching, even if the students were not in the classrooms.  The difficulties that came with this were endless, but teachers being teachers, persevered and kept on teaching, innovating on the fly.

     When school resumed in the fall of 2020, children now needed to wear masks if they were in the classroom, be in smaller groups, and take unprecedented safety measures just to be in school.  Dividers were put in place to separate students. Groupings were not allowed. Adult family members were not allowed in the buildings.  Everyone was on high alert.  Each time a child sneezed or coughed, teachers all wondered if they had Covid.

     And the masks!  This was also new for our students and their teachers.  Not only did masks make breathing more difficult, they also got pretty nasty if the children wearing them were younger.  Because we were all thrown into this "new normal," families struggled to keep masks clean, or, as in the case of paper masks, keep their children from breaking them.

     Another problem that masks presents is the inability for others to read facial expressions.  Our students aren't able to read the emotions of their teachers when this key piece of non-verbal language.  Children learn language from verbal, as well as non-verbal clues. By wearing masks, part of the learning of language skills is taken away from interactions with peers, as well as their teachers.

     So, take these same students, whose world has been turned upside down in the last year and a half, and use the same assessments and expectations of our students as we did pre-pandemic.  How is that even fair?  Educational pundits will tell you that students in our classrooms are vastly different now than they were before the pandemic hit, yet we're assessing them with the same tools and the same expectations as we did before the pandemic.  How is that fair to our students?

     Our expectations need to change! There needs to be more focus on the social-emotional well-being of our students.  The whole "Maslow Before Bloom" adage could not be more true of today's students.  Yet we continue to assess, and we continue to push, without much thought about the pressure this is putting on our "Covid kids."

     Here's what I think, and it may not be popular with some who take the time to read this. I think we should, first and foremost, provide for the social and emotional needs of our students.  It would be great if we didn't have to assess them at all, but I know that's not going away.  Those assessments should not be used for a grade. They should be used by the teachers as a measurement tool, only. Trust the teachers to know what their students need.  Trust the teachers to guide their students to academic growth.  Let the teachers provide for the social and emotional needs of their students first, no matter how long it takes.  As the great Rita Pierson once said:

     

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day is a day set aside to honor all of those, living or deceased, who have served in the Armed Forces, while Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor those who lost their lives protecting the very freedoms we are blessed to have as Americans.

I would like to honor my family members at this time.

My biological father, Roger O Clemens, who served in the Air Force. He lost his life in Vietnam. The impact of this tragedy had lead to making me the kind of teacher I am today.

My brother, Roger O. Clemens, Jr. (Chip). Chip served for four years in the United States Army. After leaving the service, he became a paramedic/fire fighter, climbing his way to the top, becoming a captain.

My adoptive father, John S. Kruse. He served in the US Navy as a Seabee. Seabees were a construction battalion responsible for building the infrastructure necessary during WWII. He served on the island of Guam.

My nephew, Kyle A. Kruse. He served in the Marine Corps during the Afghanistan War. He was later a government private contractor, also in Afghanistan.

My Uncle, Paul H. Kruse. He was a Navy pilot.

My nephew, Richard A. Kruse. Was a Navy pilot, graduating from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He was a flight instructor for the Navy, and later served in the South Dakota Air National Guard.

I am grateful to them for the sacrifices they made for my freedoms and for their service to our country.

Then What IS the Answer?

      Unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard all about how this year's students need more Social/Emotional Learning than ever before! Many will blame it on the pandemic.  Others will blame it on the home lives of the students, or a host a many other reasons.  As I was lamenting about this in a chat, a principal put the blame on the classroom teachers. He said that the kids are dysregulated because teachers are dysregulated and that the students feed off the teachers' energy. While this may be true, it's also very unfair, in my opinion.

     I have to admit, this response really pissed me off! Teachers are working harder than ever before. The responsibilities that have been heaped on them are staggering!  "You need to catch those kids up!"  "There is a learning gap!" You've all heard it. Listen! We've ALL been trying to adjust to life in the midst of a pandemic. I get it! But, to put the burden of "catching kids up" fully on the shoulders of the teachers is just plain WRONG! What if we just accept the fact that there is a learning loss. through no fault of anyone, and assess their growth rather than putting unrealistic expectations on them?  Or better yet, let's not assess at all and just build strong relationships with our students and let them guide the instruction?

     There is a teacher shortage. I know of several districts that are still trying to solve staffing issues.  Who suffers?  The kids! The needs of those kids that we teach every day are being slighted without enough staff to support their varying academic and social/emotional needs.

     And another thing: Our kids' ability to have meaningful connections is suffering. Why? I've shared about this before. Readily available technology.  This was a problem, pre-Covid. It's a bigger problem now.  Kids don't know how to have a real face-to-face conversation. Their manners are horrible. Their eating habits are even worse. And peaceful conflict resolution? Forget it! Many kids spend more time on a device than they do engaging with their own families.  Sad, but true.

     You're blaming dysregulated teachers for their dysregulated students? Seriously?  If that's the case, what's being done for those teachers to help them be less dysregulated? Smaller class sizes?  Nope.  Decreased assessing? Nope.  Decrease in the number of "hats" the teacher wears? No. Time to relax and reflect? No.

     I'm so tired of the assumption that teachers will do more than is expected of them. We always have. When you push too hard for too long something's going to give. There are so many excellent teachers that just can't handle the pressure anymore. We should have never let it get to this point. So, what IS the answer?