“I knew it was time for me to leave education when I no longer cared about society’s automatic response: ‘What about the children?’ And if you know me, or engaged with me for all of 5 minutes, then you’d know I cared more about my students than some of their parents. They were the only joy I found, when the politics of the education industry became burdensome.”
‘I walked away from my job and my $64,000 salary.’: Teacher of 11 years explains ‘difficult’ decision to quit amid reopening crisis
‘I don’t know who else needs to hear this, but it’s okay if you signed your kid out of virtual class early today.’: Mom reminds us ‘it’s okay if you don’t got this’
“You’re not a bad mom. Some days this less than ideal situation is less than less than ideal. It’s okay if you don’t ‘got this.'”
‘Homeschool isn’t crayons displayed in cute pails, three-tiered cubbies, or $100 globes.’: Mom’s open letter to new homeschool parents is a sigh of relief
“Beware, newcomer. Pinterest is DESPERATELY going to try to convince you what your homeschool ought to look like.”
‘Is your Internet not working either?’ I spit my coffee out. Um, excuse me, what? My head was literally spinning.’: Mom shares hilarious first virtual day of school, ‘You are not in this alone’
“I hear both my husband’s and my phone start pinging like crazy and knocks on the door. I had to choose to either laugh or cry. It was the first day of virtual learning.”
‘Comments about immigration ripped my heart out. Then we made a decision. Now comments are personal.’: Transracial family creates kids activities to celebrate other cultures, ‘People matter’
“The Facebook comments were no longer about others. ‘Someone needs to do something.’ I had to empower our family. It wasn’t enough to just read books.”
‘I’m an elementary school teacher. I’m a week and a half from returning to work. The reality of school opening is hitting me hard.’: Teacher and mom shares realization, ‘I don’t want my 5-year-old carrying that burden’
“My daughter is starting kindergarten. She’ll be wearing a mask, staying 6 ft apart from others, and eating in her classroom. As we drew, I explained the new way school would be operating. This was now turning into something I never could have imagined.”
‘I didn’t get to say goodbye. We had 127 days together, but they just weren’t enough.’: Teacher encourages students, ‘I am still your teacher, always here to support you’
“I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know when our lives will get back to normal. I don’t know what our next school year will look like and when I will get to see you again. But what I do know is you are worth facing any challenge.”
‘Driving up to the school, I was overcome with emotions. It’s finally over. What now?’: Mom reminds us to ‘salute our children for their hard work. This hasn’t been easy on them either’
“Strangely enough, I felt a bit of grief this thing we had between the two of us was gone. I looked at my sweet, tender-hearted daughter and I felt so very proud of her. She had been through so much. She did it.”
‘I just dropped off homework next to an empty parking lot and quiet sidewalks. I finally let some tears fall over the loss of this.’: Former teacher says ‘when you hear teachers say they miss their students, they really really do’
“I set the girls’ folders next to folders with their friends’ names — friends they haven’t seen in weeks. I finally let some tears fall over the loss of this. For them. For their teachers. For this school I love so much.”
‘Week two of quarantine, I was acting like my 4-year-old to my adult spouse. ‘Please don’t let this be my karma.’: Mom of three ‘wild ones’ reminds others ‘YOU ARE NOT ALONE’
“I worried about his aggressive outbursts. Earlier that day, I was talking with a friend who was working through her anxiety about leaving her family every shift to work in the NICU. Her anxiety was real. Mine was selfish and unplaced. I was disappointed in myself that I wasn’t able to handle things better for Jack that day, or with my spouse.”
