Return to School: Thoughts from a Parent, Teacher and Community Member & 1st Day of School Jumpsuit

 I am sitting here in the early hours what is officially the first day of school for staff and students.  As part of an admin team we've been in schools already looking over the documents, immersed in conversations, planning, re-evaluating our school processes and thinking about our staff and  communities.  This year the traditional  "back to school" looks and feels different.  There is still an excitement in seeing my colleagues, meeting my students, and thinking about all the possibilities.  But there is no denying that it's also laced with worry, angst, trepidation.  People have been asking me how I feel about the return to school.  I've chosen mostly not get into the details on social media because it's hard to be clear and difficult to not be mis-understood, but I'll try to take a stab at it.  

• Grateful  and excited that I am going back.  Honestly, although I think online was a great alternative and I gained a lot of new skills, I love being with my humans.  Big and small, tough and easy, children are just my jam.  If I've discovered anything in the past year it's that I still get so much joy from teaching in the classroom.  

• Keeping judgement at bay and checking myself.  Parents need to make the best decision possible for their own families.  We are all working from a place of some knowledge, limited information, anxiety and fear.  We don't know how it's going to work out and that's scary.  I trust that parents are experts on their own families and they will choose an option that is best for them for the right now.  Thankfully we here have the option to go in person, have a teacher online, or in some cases home school.  The decision  we make right now is not forever and we can all change our minds if need be.

• My kids need school and their friends.  Education is more than academics.  It's connection.  It's social education.  It's citizen education.  It's learning that you have blind spots and biases.  It's looking at the same thing from multiple angles.  My children need this.  Right now our province has relatively low numbers, around five a day for the past few weeks, with outbreaks here and there that have been dealt with in a fairly organized manner.  After weighing the risks vs. alternatives we've decided at this point the risk is worth taking.  Just for the record we do in fact have immune-compromised family that we had to consider in this decision.  My husband and I both work and online schooling just doesn't seem like the right choice for us or the children right now.  This doesn't have to be our choice forever.  It's our choice for now and we feel very confident with the plan schools are putting together.  We will watch and reevaluate as needed.

• Funding.  I can't say that the government doesn't have lots of holes in their plan.  I also don't want to get into a debate about it to be honest.  It's exhaustive and somewhat unproductive.  I'll say this.  I wasn't surprised by the lack of planning and actual input into the education plan.  Our government doesn't put education first and as far as I am concerned that's old news.  We, the public, can fix this with  the way we vote.  We don't necessarily even have to jump ship and change our vote, but we can demand that education, class sizes, supports and optimized learning for our children be part of their platforms with clear deliverables and not wishy-washy language.  We have a right as tax payers to say this is important and this is what we want to see our money invested in.  Honestly, if you don't want them to spend more of our money on education, I am not sure you have a right to complain about the current state of things.  That sounds really harsh but we can't change how classrooms and children are supported without addressing class size and complex classroom needs. 

• Promise.  With 1000% certainty, I know that we at school will do our  absolute best to keep your children safe.  To love them.  To provide them social and educational opportunities in a new way.   To lower their anxiety and yours.  Just because our doors aren't as open physically,  we are still here to support you.  Write us an email.  Send us a note.  Call us.  We still want to hear from you and we still want to work with you for your children.  We will succeed and struggle with them. 

And so on my first day off work, I am excited to see my staff.  I am excited to hear their summer stories.  I am ready to hear their anxieties.  I am ready to be part of the solution.  I am ready to take lean into our current reality. I am ready to gain new skills.  I am going to try to lean into the unknown so that new learning opportunities can come into my view.  

Tell me how you are feeling.  Our feelings might be different.  That's okay.  Tell me your story so I can listen and learn and reflect.  There is no right answer, just the right answer for you and your family.  

On another note, since it is my Friday fashion post, this jumpsuit was a Winners purchase in July and I immediately knew I would be wearing it on the first day of school.  If it's hot, then the sleeveless look is perfect,  and if it's chilly, I have my trusted denim jacket  to throw over.  Some things even COVID can't change, and that's the excitement of picking out the first day of school outfit!  Make sure to follow me on IG to see all my outfits from the first week of school.