March 24, 2020: Day 9 - Will the Kids Be All Right?

I'm an expert in the field of worrying.  I worry like it's my second job (it doesn't pay well, let me tell ya!).  There's no shortage of things I can find to worry about on a daily basis.  I'm sure I'm among great company in my worrying these days.  Worry, worry, it's everywhere.  

But, tonight, I'm losing sleep over our precious young people. I'm worried about my students, ya'll.

I know my students.  I am often humbled. and honored, by what they choose to share with me - even when it's more than I'd like to know!  I'm proud to know them, their histories, their stories.  And, I know them - who they are, where they come from, and what they're about. 

I know that some of my students are enjoying this time away from school because they can enjoy this time away from school.  Some of my students have cohesive family units to support them through this time.   They have plenty of food to nourish their growing bodies while they are home all day.  They have computers to access educational materials and supplemental learning opportunities.  They may even have families that are spending additional downtime with them through board games, puzzles, cooking, and watching tv.  These students can better manage their feelings of fright and anxiousness about the world because the people around them have the capacity to help them regulate their emotions.  I know that many of them live in a safe place and have warm beds to sleep in at night. For these students, this time is utopian.  It's great.  Years down the road, they may look back on this time sheltered in place with delight.  They may look back on this experience as a time in their lives where they had plenty of rest and leisurely days relatively free of stress.  They were happy.

For these kids, school or no school, they will be all right.  I know these kids will be all right.

But, I also know that some of my students are not enjoying this time away from school.  For some students, school, not home, is their safe place.  It is the place they rely on to provide structure, and thus, a sense of control over their lives.  School is where these students access meals, and technology that helps them learn how to be responsible digital citizens. School is where they are surrounded by caring, compassionate adults that help them navigate their academics, emotions, and behavior.  For some, home is a chaotic place with very little structure or stability.  For some of my students, having a home is nothing more than a dream.  For these students, this time is miserable.  Years from now, these students may look back on this time and find it shaded by hours spent alone, bored, insecure about where there next meal is coming from and with no one to talk to.  They might remember this time as being especially stressful for their families, as jobs were lost, bills went unpaid, and the sacrifices they had to make to sustain themselves. They might remember the arguments, the yelling, the fighting that surrounded them as emotions went unchecked and tensions boiled over.

For these kids, I can't help but wonder: will they be all right?  There's no way I can know right now. 

What I do know from my students' stories, though, is that our young ones are incredibly resilient.  Some of them have the wherewithal to apply necessary knowledge and skills to overcome their hardships.  Others of them rely on their social skills to adapt the challenging circumstances.  Some of them have a naturally optimistic, or cultivated, temperament that allows them the ability to find control within their own personal spheres and that allows them to persevere.  All of them will have their coping skills put to the test during this time - for better or worse.  

The hopeful part of me has to believe that the kids will be all right.  The pragmatic part of me knows that we will all see residual effects of this global trauma on our young people for years to come. 

I know that worrying isn't going to change anything about the experiences my students are having.  I know that problems aren't solved with my worrying.  And, I've yet to prevent any bad thing from happening just because I was worried.  But, I also know it's unrealistic for me to not worry.   I worry.  It's part of what I do.  I am compelled to worry.  I worry because I care.