Editorial:
Dear Parents and Carers,
For some of our students this week will mark the 8th week of not being able to come to school as we have previously known. It also takes us to the third full week of remote learning. As I listen to and read about the experiences of educators from around the world the message has been that this period of time is a ‘crunch’ time - or as some said ‘a time when the wheels begin to fall off!’
Anecdotally, some of our parents have said things like: ‘the kids are over it’ or ‘they just want to see their friends’. Some have actually said that ‘the kids can’t wait to be back at school, the honeymoon period is over!’ While the phasing period will help the children adjust back into school life, it is important that you, as parents, also consider a period of re-setting.
This period of time is extremely tiring for parents, teachers and children alike. We are finding ourselves in a situation where we are making multiple decisions, that we wouldn’t usually have to make, on a daily basis. The decisions may be tiny like - Is it safe to pop out to get some milk? Do I really need to go to the grocery store or can I manage until we run out of a few more things? Is it going to matter if I wear tracksuit pants to my work zoom meeting - I’ll look alright on top! This multiple decision making is becoming taxing. It can also lead us to make rushed or poorer decisions. Why? Because it’s increasing our cognitive load and our decision making skills can start to deteriorate when this happens.
So what can we do about it? The first thing is for us to recognise what is happening. This pandemic has thrown us all into unfamiliar territory. It has revealed to us emotions within decision making that we have not experienced before and this is really complex stuff!
We need to give ourselves a bit of a break at times; to give ourselves permission that everything does not have to be done at once. When we reset, we need to identify what’s working, think about what we need to stop doing and what we need to pick up - particularly as the children continue the journey back to full school attendance. We need to be able to separate our decisions, look at what needs our full attention and what we can let go. All the while we can faithfully reflect on verses such as this:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the
world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
-JOHN 14:27
