"No amount of planning will prevent students from being anxious.
Therefore, encouraging tolerance of fear and anxiety,
rather than avoidance, will be essential." - Anxiety Canada
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We have had a first few days at school with learners no longer required to wear masks.
For many adults, this is excellent news - we are pandemic weary of masks and restrictions and have a great desire to 'get back to normal!' For others, we are cautiously optimistic the worst of the pandemic may be behind us - even as we encounter new infections and isolations reminding us COVID has not left the planet at all. For the children - especially our youngest learners who have never known school without masks, distancing, frequent hand sanitizing and constrained use of school resources and spaces - suddenly changing things quite drastically and visibly may cause unexpected anxieties and concerns.
Last week, we encountered some children who are anxious about the changes, while other students seem ambivalent one way or the other. Our goal, as educators, is to support every child with their experiences through the pandemic/endemic/disappearance (hopefully!) phases of COVID-19. To do this successfully, we need to share our plans for supporting children with our families, knowing we are all partners in this COVID journey together.
Eric Harvie School has been fortunate to have experienced few actual cases and infections over the past two years. This has been achieved through the tremendous support of our families with vaccinations, vigilant mask-wearing, enhanced handwashing/sanitizing, distancing, heightened cleaning, appropriate ventilation and cohorting and constraining students. As we remove these supports in the coming weeks, we do expect the questions from children will increase as they begin to notice the differences - fewer masks, greater flexibility with grouping/regrouping, reduced focus on cohorting, more resources brought into the classrooms and other learning areas, etc. And, while children will thrive overall in these new situations, there will be concerns that come up as well - perhaps fears, always questions.
They will hear different perspectives from other children about whether they should/should not be wearing masks, should/should not be keeping their distances, should/should not frequently sanitize/handwash or touch items that have not been separated or cleaned between uses by different children. These differences may cause confusion for some children, worries or anxieties for others and even deep-seated fears for a few.
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"As educators, it is important to listen to students’ concerns and, even if the emotions are extreme, express understanding and empathy. Letting families know you understand and appreciate their perspective will help open up a dialogue for problem solving." - Anxiety Canada
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In keeping with our work around Peace Education, we continually work with our students to accept each others' ideas, thoughts, feelings as real and valid at all times. There are no right or wrong sides to anything that happens in school - we are all on a learning journey together and learning to value differences of opinion openly and honestly and respecting differences is a significant lesson in building peaceful communities together.
We will also always answer learner questions as openly and honestly as we possibly can, within the developmental range of each child. We will, for example, support any student who is concerned to understand that at some point, our school might be closed due to additional illnesses or a short period of time - not will be but might be and we would work with them to help them understand the differences between might and will.
We will acknowledge with them that someone - or several someones- they know will become ill with COVID-19 - or they might as well. May become ill rather than will become ill, and we will encourage them to recognize COVID illnesses are managed differently now than they were two years ago - we have medications, vaccinations, better knowledge about the illness so medical professionals can support us to recovery. We will also continue to help learners understand responsibility for illness rests with everyone, not just one of us. The government sets policies to keep the public safe, the school board sets rules for schools based on the government policies and the school keeps the children safe by following the rules. And each of us can help keep ourselves safe with handwashing/sanitizing, distancing or wearing masks as needed. We work together to stay safe and we are not solely responsible if someone becomes ill.
When questions or concerns surface about COVID 'coming back' or perhaps having to resume masking or some other precaution, we will encourage learners to remember they were able to cope before when things changed and they will cope capably again.
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"Educators can let students know these situations can be upsetting to think about, but that we can try to take things one day at a time and enjoy the current day rather than worry about what the future holds – especially when that future can be somewhat uncertain.
These are challenging discussions that aren’t easy for anyone, but helping students develop an ability to be ‘comfortable being uncomfortable’ may help them cope with future anxieties." - Anxiety Canada
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There may be some children who experience elevated anxiousness to the point of fear - they may even be afraid to come to school because it is such an unfamiliar way for them to experience school. Should that happen, we will work with families to gradually build tolerance of uncertainty and use strategies to help them face their fears. As learners work through their fears, their anxieties and their questions, they are building resiliency and coping strategies that will serve them well should there be another wave of COVID-19 infections in our forseeable future - or any other future significant societal event.
Teachers and school staff are also working to manage quick transitions to the removal of precautions and will always do our best to model calm, honest, caring and encouraging behaviours for our students to see and emulate in their own relationships with each other as we enter this next 'living with' endemic phase of COVID-19. Whether this is too quick or too slow, necessary or a whim, based in science or in fatigue really isn't the issue. We are here, the precautions are lifting and we are learning to both cope and model coping with our learners and our families. As always, we are on this journey together.
As a school, we are committed to staying in clear contact with families at all times. We will let you know whatever changes are coming for your children and for yourselves through our Monday Connect, our school website, family Messenger emails and this blog.
And, hopefully, we will be able to welcome you into our beautiful school where your children are focused on learning through active engagement every day! That is one of the most enticing aspects of the removal of precautions - bringing all our learning spaces alive with children for sure, but also welcoming their parents inside the school to share in the excitement as learners represent their learning!
Finally, I had the great pleasure of listening to Alan Doyle last Friday as part of the Teachers' Convention presentations. One comment in particular has stayed with me all weekend as I contemplate a return to school with diminishing precautions, knowing we are entering uncharted territory yet again.
"When you can't do what you do, do what you can do." (Alan Doyle)
Quite honestly, this has been what schools have done for the past two years. Moving forward into the next months of uncertainty, it is how we will continue to ensure schools are centres of learning, of excitement, of energy and enthusiasm for all our learners.
Lorraine Kinsman, Principal
Eric Harvie School
Anxiety Canada's website: https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/7-tips-for-educators-returning-to-school-during-covid-19/
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