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Perspective: The only way out of this is through it

sl1990
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Pixabay

Last week on my early morning dog walks, I noticed the constellation Orion. No matter where I am, I can always find this set of stars. It’s a settling feeling to be elsewhere and to notice something familiar -- like Orion. It’s something I can count on.

I appreciate that right now as so much in our world continues to be shaped by COVID-19. Although some things have “gone back to normal” and returned to their pre-COVID structures, so much hasn’t. That is confusing.

Currently, schools are back to regular schedules. All students attend all day long. Practices, competitions, and clubs are back in swing. Yet, scheduling may be one of the few pre-COVID structures occurring in schools.

Teachers continue to reinvent their curriculum and provide social emotional learning and support to students who haven’t had a regular school year since 2019. There is so much that isn’t yet back to normal.

This transitionary period is confusing. We have some things we can count on, but not others.

A colleague shared a great Robert Frost line the other day; the only way out of this is through it. He’s right; even if some things have returned, we are still in the midst of the pandemic. This confusing time must be addressed for what it is.

When we acknowledge the continued effects of this pandemic, we can work through them more easily. And hopefully soon, we will see more glimmers of our pre-pandemic lives.

I’m Elsa Glover and that’s my perspective.

Elsa Glover is a national board-certified teacher who has taught in Kaneland schools for the last 20 some years.