We are still in the uncharted territory of a massive nationwide shutdown that has never been implemented before, at least not in my lifetime. Regardless of one’s political views or personal beliefs, this is devastating on many levels.

The loss of thousands of lives being the most tragic, as with any pandemic, places many in the heartache of unanticipated death of loved ones. There is never a more scary result than this. It is truly a sad time.

Other consequences as a result of this quarantine have left many unemployed, suicidal and hopeless. Those that are the most vulnerable to poverty, sickness and despair are suffering like no other group or individual. They are in survival mode right now.

Those who can still work from home, or as brave essential workers on the front lines still collect paychecks and can provide for themselves and their families. The stay-at-home directives are an inconvenience for some and for others a luxury of sorts. They are not as financially impacted as many filing for unemployment or those with no source of income at all.

It is unfathomable to think we can go on like this much longer. It’s not the way it’s suppose to be. We have to understand both the risks and the safety measures as an interwoven dilemma. We live our lives walking the delicate balance between both. It’s always been that way. Yet, in a world divided by ideology instead of reason, intellect and compassion, we seems to be at odds, or at least that’s what social media tells us.

One particular challenge area is how we are educating our children during this crisis. In Part 1 of this blog series, I elaborated on those challenges and our best efforts to meet them. Take a minute to read it if you haven’ t done so yet.

Since most schools will not resume for the duration of this school year, what does that mean for our children, for their teachers, for the system itself? Public school systems fare better since they are funded through various public sources. Private and religious schools are in a different reality. Home Schooling families carry on with adjustments.

In my last blog entry, I floated the idea of learning valuable schooling lessons from this pandemic response. Ones that could inform the future of education for students around the country. Crisis situations, while difficult and sometimes overwhelming, can also provide an opportunity for re-evaluating basic services, the status quo, the institutional constructs that once bound us to a one size fits all approach. Innovation often rises from the ashes of crisis situations.

Innovation is not necessarily welcomed by the faint at heart. Most early adopters of innovation do so at their own risk but they are often deep thinkers, doers instead of talkers, and most importantly, fearless explorers. Many teachers fit that category. Given the opportunity, individually and collectively, they rise to the occasion and innovate.

Teachers are innovating right now. They are navigating uncharted waters every day. They are discovering what to keep and what to let go, what’s important and what is irrelevant or unnecessary.  It’s not their normal school routine and they are working so hard to balance once considered “essential” activities with the inability to pull some of these off at a distance. They have discovered a new way of working with their students.

School will resume eventually. How will what we’ve learned about necessary and unnecessary carry over to next year? What can we let go? What can we do differently? Will we go back to the way things were before this pandemic? When teachers have flexibility during this time and young people are still learning, what can we can take away from this experience? What should we consider when looking forward?

The possibilities are endless. We can aim high. The view is exhilarating.

My Photo looking up from a boat on Sydney Harbor Bay Australia 2009 seems appropriate. Being in the right place at the right time.

For the record: These possibilities should not include students having to repeat the grade level, attend summer school, or in any other way be punished or stigmatized for a pandemic response imposed by adults. If anything, we should rethink grade levels and the harm that does to a growing young mind. That’s next in this series by the way. Stay tuned.