Over the past few weeks, for a variety of reasons, I’ve struggled with putting pen to paper here on this blog. Life has come to a standstill, it seems, but in an odd juxtaposition, a standstill in which time is in short supply.
With two school-aged children, as well as a toddler at home, my life (just like many of yours) has been thrown a curveball. Instead of meetings with administrators, planning professional development sessions and speaking at conferences, I am homeschooling a kindergartener and third grader while also trying to entertain a three year old…and work…and cook meals…and keep a house clean…and the list goes on and on.
While all that is challenging, I feel grateful everyday that I am an educator, equipped to continue providing my children with high-quality instruction based on their needs. Most parents aren’t afforded that luxury. In fact, most parents cannot just put their work on hold to attend to their family’s needs. They rely on their paycheck to survive, and that paycheck may now be much smaller or altogether non-existent. They may have just gone from being worried about buying groceries last week to being downright panicked this week.
So many of our students were living in deplorable conditions or in frightening home environments just mere weeks ago. And now? Well, now their homes may just be unimaginable. Neglect. Abuse. Food insecurity. Domestic violence. All of these things are on the rise and only worsening around the world, as this pandemic stretches from weeks into months.
How do we cope with this as educators? What do we do to help care for our students from afar?
If you thought I was a proponent of trauma-informed practices prior to this pandemic, just wait until you see me once it’s over. I will be singing their praises from the rooftops! The good news, though, is that we don’t have to wait until it’s over. We can start right now.
I came across this article this evening that is so concisely written and full of specific ideas for incorporating trauma-informed practices into e-learning. I urge you to take a few minutes to read it and reflect on how you can implement some of the strategies mentioned into your own distance learning plan.
The cornerstone of trauma-informed education is relationship-building, and there are still plenty of ways to maintain and grow the relationships you have with students during this time. In fact, it’s even more critical to do so now. We have an uphill battle ahead of us in the weeks and months to come. But I know that if anyone is up to the challenge, it’s educators.
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