Many schools closing for the rest of the school year, but trying to provide instruction online. Many times it is difficult as a parent to have our shit together, and motivating a kid in this scenario is a challenge. Will we begin again in the fall the same as before? Will we continue social distancing? Will we transition to some hybrid online/face-to-face system?
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The equity problem:
Public schools face the challenge of trying to get everyone to the same level. Call them benchmarks, final grades, ACT scores or grades on a spelling test, the point is clear that schools try to lift up every child to provide them an education. The challenge, obviously, is that getting everyone on board to log into a digital classroom has a wide variety of challenges. The lingo they use typically revolves around equity. While school districts help by providing free Chromebooks and wifi Hotspot, what other challenges are students facing at home?
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The 9/11 moment:
When the twin towers fell almost 2 decades ago, it created a lasting impression in countless minds. Surely continuing classes as usual on 9/12 would not quite be the same, especially the closer you had ties to those in New York. This pandemic is like 9/11 in the way that people will have this in their memory for quite some time. Maybe it was the day you heard that school was canceled, maybe it was when you knew someone who got infected. I guess I'm trying to say that it is traumatic. Kids are very impressionable and these times will hopefully be remembered as spending quality time at home and not domestic violence and abuse.
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A New Hope:
Parents, kids, teachers, everybody will have days that feel like nothing is getting done. That's okay. Don't feel like you need to invent a vaccine and 3-D print ventilators to be a good person. You'll have that day where you start to feel more motivated. Maybe you'll clean the fuck out of your house, read your kid 10 books, and do something awesome at your job, or get a new job, or learn a new skill. This pandemic has been one for the history books, and if anything, it is providing us a chance to reevaluate our plans. I hope we are able to educate our kids, and ourselves so that there will be something positive that comes from all of this. Many things happen in ways that seem awful, but have a silver lining. Try not to judge others too harshly and do your best to stay motivated for yourself and for the future generations.