HayU Blog
Will the Kids Be Alright?
February 2nd, 2022
We don’t need more doom and gloom right now, especially about the academic future of today’s children.
So please stop reminding us about the chasm of learning losses and how far behind they’ve fallen. They’ll all catch up, and we’ll help them on their way–just not as much as they’ll help us find our own footing again.
The kids will definitely be alright. Just not yet.
It’s in the space of the Not Yet where we need to spend more time. To help the children the most, it's time to talk more about what’s happened to us all on the inside. And what’s still happening.
Even with all the coping strategies adults have at their disposal, we’re all still in the heavy emotional surf together, finding our way back to shore. You can still remember what it was like to learn how to swim. That’s what it’s like to be a kid or young adult in the pandemic.
No matter the age of your children or young adults today, it’s safe to assume they’re emotionally younger than we might care to think. Younger than they might have been otherwise.
Amber is petrified tree resin. It’s great stuff for fossilization. Our kids didn’t get trapped in amber like prehistoric insects, but the pandemic has had a startling effect on slowing social-emotional growth. As if someone pressed pause on the music of their lives.
But of course the music plays on. And it’s more beautiful than ever.
So what’s our best move?
Unconditional love, empathy and hope. Buckets of it.
The kids will be alright again. And it’s the kids in all their glorious resilience who shall lead the way forward for us all. We just need to get out of their way and follow.
Yours in education,
