It’s been a rugged year. For some educators and schools, it’s been more rugged than for others.
That ruggedness may be partially attributable to wealth or lack thereof and it may partially be due to the personal toll of the pandemic on our own lives and families.
The impact may also have been an act of sheer geographical luck.
We’ve faced loss, we’ve faced shifting goalposts and we’ve faced logistical hurdles the heights of which we’ve never jumped … just to bring a compromised version of learning to the kids who most need to learn.
It’s little wonder that many educators I speak to say that 2021 has been “a bit of a nightmare”.
But, for just a moment, imagine you didn’t do it.
Imagine what would have happened to those kids that your school personally delivered a laptop or wireless dongle to … if you didn’t. Imagine the families who’d have been totally disconnected from personal continuity.
And imagine that kid whose very existence was sustained by seeing your face most days.
Imagine how frightened that kid might have been … if not for you.
I know we see problems to solve, challenges to meet and gaps to fill as educators. That’s kind of in our DNA. We tend to look forward to the next obstacle far more than we look back.
But there’s a stark, grim and distinctly human cost attached to not climbing those obstacles in your rear-view mirror right now. The cost of not is staggering.
Thank you for paying that price in 2021. I dread to think of how we’d pay in the future if you hadn’t.
Thank you.
Keep fighting that good fight,
PS. I’ll be taking a number of PL opportunities for Teachers and School Leaders around Australia in June/July of 2022. I reckon you should check them out at this link and register … consider it a Chrissie pressie to yourself!
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