Editor's note: The following guest piece was written by Robert Poore, a physical education teacher at Colonial School District's Southern Elementary School and Colonial School District’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.
The past two years has been a whirlwind for our education system, but I could not be prouder of our staff, students, families, and communities for rising to the challenge. We have come together and shown amazing flexibility, resilience, and innovation. None of us were prepared to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we all created a unified front, relying on one another to make the most of a difficult situation, and working to be the best for our students.
When I reflect on our progress and growth, what has stood out the most to me was how we adapted to support the social and emotional needs of our students, caring for the whole child. We have provided meal deliveries for a mobile and stable food source. We have made learning materials available and delivered them to communities. We have met with students and families on their terms and at times convenient to them, to meet counseling needs. We have found creative ways to help students feel connected while still being so distant from one another. We have extended grace to students and staff who are in circumstances that require extra support. We have rallied around each other to make schools engaging and successful.
Despite our best efforts the past two years have been challenging to all of us in one way or another. We have had to face the real challenges of having to reinvent ourselves, family struggles, being teachers to our own children as well as our students, the loss of loved ones, income loss, fear, anxiety and so much more. Our students have had to deal with these very same challenges, but often without the same set of coping skills and strategies that we possess. As difficult as the past two years have been for some of us, we need to recognize that it was likely much worse for many of our students. Our students have had to deal with these very same challenges, but often without the same support network, coping skills, and strategies that we possess. We as an educational community have a duty and responsibility to support each other and our students as we all look forward to “moving past” this pandemic.
Moving forward we need to shift our focus and truly put staff and student wellness at the forefront of education. Last summer our elected officials in Delaware, recognizing this issue, provided students much needed access to mental health professionals in schools, and there is more support coming. This is an important step in supporting our students. Each and every educator needs to be aware of, and willing to, support our students as we emerge from these difficult times. We need to ensure that we are creating warm and welcoming learning environments, where the whole student is nurtured and supported. In addition to that we need to broaden the focus of our curriculum to compass emotional regulation, coping skills, stress management and other key life skills that will ensure all of our students are equipped and ready to learn, and are prepared to be well adjusted, productive adults. Every teacher must push past their specific content area to provide learning opportunities for these critical skills to all students.
These are skills that every one of us has had to put to good use over the past two years and we need to consciously teach them to our students. If our new focus is the development of the whole child then every educator needs to ask themselves, what can I do to better develop my students? What opportunities am I providing to give my students a voice and opportunities to develop key life habits? Now more than ever, we need to support our students in this way, helping to equip them with these powerful tools. It has been a collaborative group effort to get to where we are, moving forward we need to continue that support and approach.
It has been incredible to be a part of the education system as it has adapted to meet the current challenges in this unprecedented time. We have all worked tirelessly to reimagine ourselves and what teaching and learning looks like. We have grown, but we have the opportunity to do so much more for our students, each other, and our communities.
