how to reopen responsively

Walking through the doors again for the first time,2 months later, I was shocked at how I felt. I did not expect to feel as I did. I could physically feel myself holding my breath.

I watched the teachers return, eyes darting at the walls, at each other, faces hidden behind masks. Six feet apart we came together to discuss new cleaning protocols, playground schedules. “What happens if someone gets sick?” Overwhelming, right?

I knew right away that we had to go slowly. We had to start with rebuilding trust. Trusting our spaces, trusting the new protocols, trust with families. We are learning to be together again within this current reality.

Our focus can only be on the social-emotional well-being of the children and each other. Armed with our values, we step forward with compassion as our response. We must come from a place of understanding of how human beings process the world around them and offer time and space for all the humans in our care to do so.

Only then can we be open to what the children are bringing to us.

Wearing masks all day is not normal. Distancing from each other is not normal and we should not try to make it so. Conversations around how uncomfortable it was going to be helped validate the feelings we were having and created space for our current reality. We discussed ways to work together in a more constructivist way, respecting everyone’s individual journey.

We made sure to celebrate moments of joy and welcome in sadness. It’s difficult to see the beauty that is around us when so much darkness is descending. But we can’t see the light without the darkness, can we?

We have the opportunity to be the evidence of hope in even the darkest circumstances. What do we do when it feels like the whole world is burning down!? We breathe. We respond with compassion, with open arms and hands, ready to receive. We model the peace we know will return. We pivot, adjust and continue to step forward…gently, intentionally, with strength and fully awake to reality and our great responsibility to be the light in the darkness.

here is the presentation I gave on 'stepping out gently' Enjoy!