I’ve accepted it. I hope that you have accepted it too. This year will be different. As a result, we will need to do things differently.
This is what I’ll try to do differently this year:
- Accept Uncertainty. This year has brought a ton of uncertainty, and that will continue through the remainder of the year. I’m going to try to accept uncertainty, control the things that I can control, and not worry about those things that are out of my control. I’m hoping that approaching uncertainty with a sense of wonder will help me to achieve more peace of mind.
- Give More Grace.This year will be difficult for all stakeholders. We are all planning for multiple scenarios, trying to make it work to the best of our abilities. Administrators are doing their best to keep up the work enthusiasm with little guidance and few answers. Teachers are trying to make the best of the limited time they will have with students. Parents will try to juggle multiple responsibilities, and still do what’s right for their children. Students will try to adapt to a new school reality. We will ALL deserve more grace as we try to figure this out. I’m going to give more grace, and I hope that everyone will extend that grace to me.
- See Possibilities. It is easy to see all of the complications, difficulties, and hurdles that we will need to overcome when we return to school. It’s actually harder to see the possibilities. Some kids will thrive in a hybrid setting when they haven’t in the past. Smaller class sizes will allow for teachers to provide more support and attention to students. Maybe we can focus on empathy, understanding, and caring for one another. This extraordinary environment will provide possibilities, a newfound potential to be remarkable. I’m going to try to see them clearly.
- Disconnect. If Spring was any indication, we will all need to spend plenty of time on our devices this year. It’s the safest way to distance ourselves from others. When working from home at the end of last school year, it was hard to separate work from home. It was difficult to disconnect. I felt like I was attached to my phone to make sure that everyone was getting what they needed. My family wasn’t getting what they needed. I’m going to try to do a better job of it. Shutting off email on my phone, going into airplane mode, and not checking after a certain hour. Taking a social media break. Enjoying a device-free day. Reading a good old-fashioned book. I’m going to find multiple ways to disconnect. In doing so, I’ll hope to connect more in the right ways.
What will you do differently this year? I’d love to hear the different approaches that you will take for the coming school year. Share your thoughts at #4OCF.
Rich