Let's Get Real

 

I've always tried to look at each situation I am currently in and focus on the positives rather than give all my attention to the negatives. While some people may say that is the approach of optimistic people, however, if you know me you wouldn't classify me as an optimist. While I share some of the qualities that are associated with optimistic people, I self-describe as a realist because I do pay attention to the negatives as well and how they may impact the current circumstance that I am in. I do not believe that life is all about sunshine and rainbows and I am certainly not happy all the time. You only need to ask my bride and children about this and they will give you the straight up, honest truth. In my role as a leader, however, I have to walk a fine line between between being optimistic and realistic. The truth is, the COVID-19 pandemic has really tested this balancing act and I don't feel like I am doing a good job. I'm trying like hell to remain positive in spite of some pretty bleak circumstances, but at the same time, the longer this pandemic rages on, the harder it is to look at the positive side of things without drifting into the negativity.

Let's get real. Teaching and learning in a pandemic flat out sucks. There is no way around it other than to be completely honest and forthright. As educators, we are exhausted trying to teach our kids while at the same time keeping a close eye on their social and emotional well being. While we do this, we neglect our own needs for the sake of serving our students and parents and we are getting burned out. On top of that, we receive mixed messages. When the pandemic started, we were showered with praise and deemed heroes as we wrapped up the end of the 2019-2020 school because we were able to pivot to virtual learning on a moment's notice and provide some semblance of a normal education without the tools and resources required to do the job to the best of our ability. Then, when we returned to school this year, we were met with criticism for not doing enough to educate our kids, even though we had no idea what the school year would look like because we were waiting for government officials to make a decision on how learning would take place in our respective parts of the country. We went from heroes to villains because we were advocating for our kids and our own personal health as front line workers. When we raised our voices, we were sometimes told to shut up and do our jobs. After all, we get summers off, so how hard can the job be? I was prepared to answer that question in the event that it was directed to me and my answer would look a lot like Taylor Mali's performance of his slam poetry What Teachers Make. It is about as real as I can get.

So while we are getting real, let me share with you that it is okay to be angry and frustrated. It is okay to not try to find the silver lining in everything. We need to show our vulnerability and model to our students that everything isn't sunshine and rainbows. Life is going to give us lemons sometime and maybe the best course of action isn't to make lemonade, but rather, just throw them against a wall because we are tired and the juice isn't worth the squeeze. We can do this in a professional manner without inciting violence or getting angry. After all, there are more emotions at our disposal than just anger. We just need to make a conscious decision to access those emotions and sit with the discomfort of having them instead of hiding from them and glossing them over as if they don't matter.

Let's get real. We are all having a collective experience that none of us has had before and it sucks. We need to lean on one another and circle the wagons because we aren't going to find a whole lot of support outside of our profession because other professions are dealing with the same thing and trying to figure out how to navigate their own waters. What we can do is at least row in the same direction and support one another as we traverse the rapids we are facing. We can help control the emotional wake we create by being kind and empathetic to each person's personal journey and lending a hand or ear to those who need it. We will get through this together not by trying to find silver linings, but instead, by embracing the suck.

Let's get real together.

#OwnYourEpic #FORGE