Dear Teachers,
Within the Foundation we talk a lot about what is happening around us. We can probably all agree that the Internet is currently full of chaotic movements which are seemingly responding to people’s needs, but in fact are often achieving little more than inflaming emotions and pushing us towards an infinite amount of choice of everything, on any topic. Even those who have not done yoga or gone to the opera in the past few years are now feeling obliged to listen to arias from the Metropolitan Opera while standing on their heads, and then smoothly transition from the asana to creative and educational activities with their child, while glancing at a recipe for Thai food, followed by reading for a bit.
But life does not actually work like that and it seems that everyone is pretending that the world works the same way it always had, we just go out less. Yet we still have to work, learn, eat something, clean, do the laundry, face our, often difficult, emotions which are only in danger of escalating in a small space. It is not for all of us, but rather just a few of us, that this is a time for slowing down and quiet reflection.
Teachers, as we all, are not used to working from home and having our home be the space in which many various activities take place, even those which, under normal conditions, would take place somewhere else. The space takes on new functions such as “a work-space”, “a play-space”, “a space for quiet conversation and rest”, because we have new needs. It is a good idea to give yourself some time to reflect on what our home is like, how we can arrange it, so it serves us best in the coming weeks. It might also be worth agreeing on some rules governing the households functioning, which take into account the needs of all the members of the household (e.g. some families have only one computer so it will most likely need to be shared). It is rare for all household members to be together for so long, with such intensity and without a clear idea of when the situation will end.
We drew some conclusions from our discussions in the School with Class Foundation. We also looked at our own needs, experiences and emotions in regard to the coronavirus, and decided that the overarching goal of everything we do right now, should be ensuring our wellbeing. Dear Teachers, before you go into a frenzy of discovering new tools, take a deep breath with us, and take care of yourselves and the space in which you function (often with your children), make sure your days are well organized and that you maintain communication with your students and your team- personal, human communication that is not related only to the curriculum. We will try to assist you by selecting, from the myriad available options, such information and tools as are truly significant.
We encourage you to read our weekly newsletter and to check our Facebook and website, from time to time. And most of all we urge you to stay calm and keep everything that is now going on in perspective. Should you need us, we can be reached at fundacja@szkolazklasa.org.pl.
Marta Puciłowska and the School with Class Foundation Team.