Take Your Time

As a mom to a child in the public school system as well as being smack in the middle of my school counseling internship, I have been on the receiving end of lots of communication regarding implementing online instruction;  lots of concern from these incredible teachers and administrators on how to support learning, how to provide materials that are positive, etc. I'm reminded again that I am incredibly lucky to have these people as a part of my son's education as well as my own.

As everyone is trying to stay a step ahead of getting school in place (including myself-- more guilty of this than most, I'm sure).....I was reminded by my experienced and intuitive supervisor that we all need to take some time.  Families need to take some time to acclimate.  To accept our new (if temporary) reality.  To "self-identify" what this means to us personally, what our reactions to this crisis say about who we are.  To serve our most basic needs first.

All of these needs must be met  before "school" is implemented in a way where meaningful "classroom" activity can be continued from where we left off and built upon.  It goes back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:  We have to make sure these basic needs are taken care of before we can get to the top.

Thank you to my supervisor, Dave, (again) for your wisdom and your insight.  And thank you to all of the wonderful families making sure the needs of themselves and their children are met.  If and when you feel overwhelmed, take a step back, give yourself some space to think about your own needs, and above all-- NO PRESSURE!  Our kids, in the words of John Holt ("Unschooling" pioneer) are "learning all the time".  He maintains that "learning is as natural as breathing".  In other words:  you gots this.