Three Reasons Parents CAN Handle School this Fall

The question that seems to be on every parent’s mind is what school will look like in the fall. While there are no easy answers, there are three reasons parents can be confident that they (and their kids) will make it come August.

2020 has certainly turned into a year of impossible situations.

We may have survived quarantine and spring e-learning, and hopefully have figured out how to manage summer in the middle of widespread closures and restrictions, but the question of what to do with school in the fall is still paramount on the minds of many parents (and educators).

And there is no easy solution in sight.

While coronavirus infections are breaking records in over half our country, here in Illinois, we’ve stabilized enough for our governor to call for schools to reopen under phase four restrictions come August and September.

• But is it safe?
• How are kids going to wear masks all day?
• What if there is a resurgence as many experts are predicting?
• Is e-learning even a viable option?
• How will parents go back to work?

I’m sure you could add a few questions of your own, and the hard part is no one really knows the answers. We are in uncharted territory as a nation – really as the entire human race – trying to establish a course of action in a world with an impossible amount of changing factors.

I have faith that (at the very least) our Illinois and local government officials are doing their best. I think the schools are trying their hardest to create a plan, and then contingency plans for an impossible and unpredictable situation. I believe parents really want what’s best for their kids and for their communities.

But there is still a lot of gray area here, and parents all across the country are going to have to make some very challenging decisions in the weeks and months ahead. It is understandable to feel the weight of the overwhelm, but YOU – Mom or Dad – CAN do this. Here are three reasons why…

[1] YOU are the one who gets to call the shots for your family.

I KNOW there are a lot of smart people working really hard to come up with public health and public education solutions, but YOU are the only one who can decide if those solutions will work for YOUR family.

Translation: YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO WITH THE FLOW. Especially not now.

It is so important to remember that even in the middle of a pandemic that has pulled so many daily life choices out from under us, the choice to parent our children – the choice of how to educate our children – IS STILL OURS TO MAKE.

The rules for schooling are going to be very different this year, but your kids still need your leadership first, and most. Don’t let someone else lead where only YOU can.

[2] YOU have options, so go explore them.

Nothing about COVID19 has been easy, but admittedly there are some who have had it much harder than others. You may be dealing with COVID19 illness or death. You may have lost your job or your health insurance or your business. You may be struggling with a mental health condition that is exacerbated by the pandemic. And on top of all these very real, very difficult issues, you are now dealing with the uncertainty about school for your children in the fall.

It may feel like a return to e-learning or a return to in-person learning (depending on where you land with the reopening) is unacceptable for a whole host of reasons – many of which are completely out of your control. If your school district decides that a return to school looks like something less than what you are comfortable with, you CAN and SHOULD choose something different for your family.

I don’t know what “different” during coronavirus will look like for you, but sometimes the very best place to start is by asking questions, and then speaking up.

• What questions do you need answers to, and from whom?
• In what arenas do you need to speak up to advocate for your child, your job, your health, your family?
• How can you communicate those needs succinctly, effectively?
• What “out-of-the-box” options might be available to you through your job, your school district, in your own family or circle of influence?
• Would a traditional homeschooling approach be better suited to your families needs than a public school e-learning environment?
• Are there smaller schools that might facilitate in-person learning more effectively than a larger public school?

It may feel like the options are limited this school year, but there may be more creative out-of-the-box type options than you think. You’re just going to have to work hard to find them.

[3] YOU are capable of resilience.

If Coronavirus has taught us anything as a society, it’s that we are collectively more adaptable than we think.

• Who knew we could survive such a long shelter-in-place order?
• Who knew we could adapt to virtual school, work, church, AND ALL THE OTHER IN-PERSON THINGS?
• Who knew we could change the way we shop, the way we exercise, the way we clean?
• Who knew we were capable of such incredible resilience?

I would never have guessed our family was capable of pivoting our lives to the extent we have in the last five months, and yet here we are. Healthy, (mostly) sane, and whole.

Coronavirus has scared us, and challenged us, and caused a whole lot of anxiety and confusion. It’s made us sad, and angry, and frustrated on a lot of days. But it hasn’t broken us, and I don’t believe it will.

It is hard to remember in the middle of this pandemic, that this current reality will not be our reality for all of time. As all seasons do, this one too will pass.

But until it does, we can take things one day at a time. We can lead our families well. We can explore options, ask questions, and speak up. And we can remember that we are resilient, and teach our children to be the same.

I know it’s not Plan A. I know it’s going to be hard. But you CAN handle school this fall, and you can do it well.