Distance Learning is a Disaster. AND I love Teachers. Can't I Feel BOTH?
OK. We are in week 3 of distance learning and let me start by saying, we were ALL IN to make this year the best one yet, despite the chaos in our world and in the school systems. Truth be told, I bought All The Things to make distance learning everything my inner homeschool spirit animal would hope and dream for. No, I’ve never been a homeschool mom, nor was I ever homeschooled as a child. But in my years of being a mom, there have been definite moments of, “Hmm.. what would it be like to sleep-in every morning, do school around the kitchen table in our jammies, and take the kids to the beach to surf for PE?” (It does sound dreamy, right??) The unfortunate reality though, was I knew I would crush the “sleep in” part, and then it would go downhill. Fast. I’d convince myself that going to Target every day was our “math lesson.” Who doesn’t need to know what 20% off of $19.99 is? But if I thought about it longer, even that idea.. taking 4 kids to Target… sounded miserable. Hmm… Does it still count as a “math lesson” if I were to shop in peace all alone and just show them the receipt when I get home?
This. This is why I have always sent my kids to the professionals. It is my absolute JOY to get up early every morning and drop my little learners off into the care of those educational experts. Bless them all.
So fast forward to 3 weeks ago… with my admiration for educators, coupled with my secret homeschool fantasies... When school locked us out, I considered it my moment to shine. I set up each of my 4 kids with headphones and a laptop and a rolling cart of supplies. I bought them their traditional “first day of school outfits.” We took the annual pictures. We excitedly logged onto The Zoom. And the children sat. And listened. And did all the work. And we beamed with pride at our flexibility and resiliancy. And then just 4 days into the school year, out of nowhere, my 7 year old rolled out of bed sobbing. “I can’t do it! It’s too long. I can’t sit in front of a computer another day.” And then a few days later, my 9 year old had a meltdown. Her teacher called and said, “I’m looking at Morgan on the screen taking her test, and it appears she is crying!” After being online since 8:15am, it was now 2:15pm and she still had 45 more minutes of testing ahead of her. She was DONE. And so was I. My Jr High and High Schooler were also having their own set of issues… (I’m sure Canvas is great.. we just haven’t gotten to that stage in our relationship yet.) But what we ALL had in common was headaches, sore backs, burning eyes, exhaustion, confusion, feeling overwhelmed…
I laid in bed that night, scrolling social media, and saw an old friend from high school had posted on her page, “Stop talking sh*t about teachers!” And my heart broke for her. She is a single mom, juggling her kids and her students… and it struck me so hard. Hey world! Just because distance learning is horrible doesn’t mean teachers are horrible. Now, we all read that and go, “Well, of course!” But the reality is, our country is REALLY GOOD right now, at pitting us against one another. So if you like one thing, you are expected to hate another thing. It’s breeding divisiveness and I. Am. Done.
You know who else is struggling at school? Who also has those headaches, sore backs, burning eyes, exhaustion, confusion and is feeling overwhelmed just like me and the kids? The TEACHERS! This is hard. For EVERYONE. No one is “winning” here. But for some reason, there are proverbial “teams” for All The Things. And it’s exhausting.
You want to talk about our education and Distance Learning? Fine. I love our teachers and I want them to teach my kids. AND I think homeschooling is also a great option. I’m thankful for the choice we made for our kids. AND I think the different choices my friends made for their kids is incredibly wise. I think our teachers are doing a great job right now. AND I think Distance Learning is an absolute disaster. Even just typing those words, I know some of your blood pressure just went up. For some reason, we as a country have made it seem like you have to pick one side. Of everything. You are either for something or you are against it. Period. But that is just not so! When did we lose our ability to hold more than one thought, idea, emotion at the same time? Just because you are FOR something, does not mean you are AGAINST everything else. Whether it is teachers, schools, presidential candidates, police, the value and worth of black lives, social distancing, vaccines, wearing masks… We MUST stop pitting ourselves against one another. We must find a way to hear other voices, hear opposing opinions, watch people make different choices than us, AND STILL co-exist in a loving, gracious way… acknowledging there is VALUE to every person and what they bring to the table. None of us has it figured out. The table is long and wide and every person has a seat. And the conversation can be rich… IF we stop saving the seats around us for only our ‘best friends’ and like-minded thinkers. How many of us remember hearing, “Oh sorry, this seat is saved.” at the Jr High lunch table? Or “Um, can you scoot down so my friends can sit here?” It’s like we’re back in middle school, only feeling comfortable with the kids who think, dress, and act like us. We are bigger than that now. Better than that. Our country needs us to be. Our kids need us to be.
So when you see the social media posts saying how hard Distance Learning is on someone’s kids, have compassion. (DO NOT REPLY HOW HARD IT IS ON TEACHERS TOO) When you see a teacher post about how hard they are working and exhausted they are, have compassion. (DO NOT REPLY HOW HARD THIS IS ON THE KIDS TOO.) There are no camps. We are in this together. It’s not either/or. Just listen. Hold space. Encourage. Love. Everyone is doing the best they can. The Hard has hit us all.
So be kind to your teachers. Be patient. Give grace. Communicate. Don’t just complain. Express gratitude.
Be kind to your kids. Lower your expectations. Be patient. Be compassionate. Give extra hugs.
Be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace. Engage in self care. And soul care.
We are all in this together.
Well…. At least we are when the wifi actually works. I digress… ;)