Educators, Parents, and Students: We RISE UP!

            From the start, let me be clear.  When I talk about “educators,” I am referring to everyone who works in our school system.  Teachers and classroom aides may be the ones educating students in the classroom, but bus drivers, cafeteria staff, counselors, librarians, custodians, office staff, sign-language interpreters, maintenance staff, administrators, nurses, speech-and-language pathologists, diagnosticians, substitute teachers, and everyone else in our schools plays a critical role in educating our students. 

            Few, if any, saw this current situation coming.  Though many of us were watching the COVID-19 story unfold in other countries, I doubt most of us had any idea we would be following directives to stay home, searching for sources for masks and gloves, educating all students virtually, and watching a true partnership between teachers and parents develop before our eyes.

            Years ago, I read the book On Death and Dying by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.  It was fascinating as she outlined the steps one goes through when diagnosed with a terminal illness.  I have gone through these stages myself when I have lost someone I love.

            As I watched my friends—some who are teachers, some who are parents of school-aged children, and some who are both—deal with the sudden reality of school closing indefinitely, I soon realized many of them, too, were going through these stages:  denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  I think I can say the same for many/most of our children.

            What I love is that acceptance did not take as long as it could have. Parents, some deemed “essential” who still must go to work, some who are working from home, and some who have been laid off indefinitely, were suddenly thrust into the role of homeschool teacher, or, some might say, administrator/counselor/teacher/support staff.  Teachers, all at varying levels of digital fluency, had to step into the role of virtual teacher almost overnight, as our cafeteria staff adjusted to Meals on Wheels, our administrators had to figure out how to oversee this distance learning while motivating staff, parents, and teachers, and many other members of  Team Education took on new, unchartered roles, too.

            But, as Andra Day sings in Rise Up,

And I’ll rise up

I'll rise like the day

I’ll rise up

I'll rise unafraid

I'll rise up

And I’ll do it a thousand times again

And I’ll rise up

High like the waves

I’ll rise up

In spite of the ache

I'll rise up

And I’ll do it a thousand times again

For you…

All we need, all we need is hope

And for that we have each other

And for that we have each other

            Instead of saying, “Together, we can,” I say, “Together, WE ARE!”

Over the last couple of weeks, I have seen countless posts about great resources that have been made available for our students/teachers/parents for as long as #RiseUp continues.  Here are several I just had to share.  (They are linked):

500 Free Online Courses From Ivy League Schools That Will Make You Smarter (and Less Stir Crazy)  Got time to kill? Check out these classes from the likes of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

Apps for Students With Special Needs—As School Buildings Shutter

Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions due to School Closings (Updated) : Amazing Educational Resources  (Check out their FB page, too!)

Google now lets you explore U.S. National Parks via 360-degree virtual tours

IMAS (International Museum of Art & Science) is hosting at-home workshops

Learning Resources from Sylvan - Inspiring Learning Far Beyond the Classroom AND Sylvan Nation

NASA Makes Their Entire Media Library Publicly Accessible and Copyright Free

Science Bob

Share My Lesson, by Educators for Educators

These Education Companies Are Offering Free Subscriptions to Parents During School Closures (including Audible, Rosetta Stone, Khan Academy, Scholastic, Mystery Science, and more!)

TIME For Kids Digital Library Free for the Rest of the School Year

Welcome to Art For Kids Hub! - Here you’ll find all kinds of art lessons for kids, including how to draw for kids, even painting and origami for kids.

I would be remiss if I did not also share some links to mental-health resources, as well.  This has been difficult for children and adults alike. You’re not alone.

Coping with Stress and Anxiety at Home Webinar, McAllen ISD

Mental Health and COVID-19 and Dr. Christine Moutier Discusses Managing Your Mental Health on CNN Town Hall, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Ten Percent Happier LIVE, Live guided meditation + a virtual break from social distancing.

Free. Every weekday at 2 p.m. (and videotaped for viewing at any time)

Finally, I would like to share this video sent to me this afternoon by Alex Trevino, director of McHi Mariachi, six-time state champions, from McAllen High School, where I ended my teaching career.  Videos like this speak to me of resilience, of finding a way, of strength, of courage, of community, and of love.

Parents, Educators, and Students:  If YOU have resources you have discovered and/or if you have videos to share of #RISINGUP, please post the links in the comments under this blog post!  I do not say, “Together, we can.”  I say, “TOGETHER, WE ARE!”

 Chris Ardis retired in May of 2013 following a 29-year teaching career. She now helps companies with business communications and social media. Chris can be reached at cardis1022@aol.com. (Photo by Linda Blackwell, McAllen)

When Our Children Need Us Most

             I am taking a one-week hiatus from the ongoing discussion on retirees’ healthcare to talk about another matter of critical importance.  The idea came to me when I visited my ‘teaching alma mater,” McAllen High School, Monday. 

            As I walked to my car, I saw my friend, Michelle Cortez Gully.  I first met Michelle when her son, Ian, was a student at McHi.  Michelle and her husband, Jason, could often be found around the campus, helping wherever they were needed.  Now their daughter, Jae, goes to McHi, and it seems like whenever I stop by, Michelle is there, working on one project or another to help the school.

            Michelle and I stood outside talking for quite some time.  We talked about Project Celebration, the graduation-night party held as a way to keep graduates engaged in drug-and-alcohol-free celebrations, Jae and her fellow McHi cheerleaders, PTA, and other activities around the school where the help of parents is so desperately needed.

            I told Michelle about a speech I had read some years back that I saved because it was profound and, sadly, true.  I told her I would look for it and send it to her.  As soon as I got home, I started searching through my journals where I save quotations, speeches, and other written words that strike me, and I found it.  It is an excerpt from a speech by Dr. James P. Comer, the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine's Child Study Center.  Here it is:

            When our youngsters were in the elementary school, we lived in a community

            that greatly valued education.  When we went to an open house, we had to go

            very early or we couldn’t find a parking place.  It was just packed.

            When we went to an open house in middle school, we didn’t have to go early

            because there were plenty of spaces. When we went to the high school open house,

            there was an empty parking lot.

            At their point of greatest need in our complex society, we abandon our children.

I still get the chills every time I read it.  I think of how shocking it is for me when I look back on the last few years of my teaching career.  Remember that the campus had over 2000 students and yet there were but a handful of parents involved in the school’s PTA, a sharp and disturbing contrast from what you tend to see in the same type of organization at the elementary schools.  And McHi is by no means unique in this.  Unfortunately, the same can be said about schools across our area, our state, and our nation.  How can that be?   Dr. Comer is on point when he says, “At their point of greatest need in our complex society, we abandon our children.”

            I find it strange that so few parents of seniors work at Project Celebration.  Many expect the school administrators and teachers to plan it, prepare for it, and run it.  I respectfully disagree with this mentality.  It seems to me that the parents should do all of those things and that school personnel should chip in to help because they want to celebrate graduation night with the students they have taught and nurtured throughout their time in high school.

            Parents, I have to ask--How many of you are active, engaged members of your children’s academic or athletic booster clubs?  How many of you volunteer at your children’s schools, from elementary through high school?  How many of you help raise funds for your children’s schools, especially today when the Texas Legislature continues to cut much-needed funding?

            I loudly applaud parents like Michelle Cortez Gully and all of those who give tirelessly to their children’s schools, who wouldn’t dream of “abandoning” them “at their point of greatest need.” 

            The night of open house, your child’s choir concert, his/her track meet, the school’s beautification event, Project Celebration….is YOUR car in the parking lot because YOU’RE there to help? 

Chris Ardis retired in May of 2013 following a 29-year teaching career. She now helps companies with business communications and social media and works as a sales coordinator for Tony Roma's and Macaroni Grill. Chris can be reached at cardis1022@aol.com. (Photo by Sarina Manahan)