Transcript

Hello listeners. We are excited to BLaST the Airwaves with you today and provide educational solutions for all. My name is Rebecca Gibboney and I am the Curriculum and Online Learning Specialist here at BLaST Intermediate Unit 17. I am thrilled to welcome you to this episode of BLaST the Airwaves.

Sir Winston Churchil once said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” (p. 169). Friends, we are in a pandemic. We are in a crisis. What are you going to do about that? We can only control what we can control. We cannot just snap our fingers and bam, we are out of this pandemic (unfortunately). That, we cannot control. What we can control is our resilience, our persistence, and our actions.

While, yes, everything we have been going through since March is tragic, sometimes we have to find the silver lining. For some, that is easier said than done. I do understand that, but can we just try, just one time?

Can we just all agree that we have learned things about our families, our classrooms, ourselves, throughout this pandemic?

As educators, we have learned the importance of social-emotional learning. I mean it was important before, but the reality has set in. A teacher cannot get to the content if the student first isn’t receiving his or her basic needs. It just cannot happen. It’s what has been trending on social media and what Bryan Pearlman writes “Maslow before Blooms”.

We have built partnerships, but these partnerships are stronger. These partnerships are formed within the community, but even more so with a focus on the families. The partnerships with the families have become central to education.

And guess what…ineffective approaches are ineffective approaches, no matter the learning environment.

Silver linings. This crisis has taught us these three important lessons about education; and, still, how will you bounce back? Is your focus right now on returning to normalcy as fast as possible? Or, are you reframing your mindset and taking advantage of these lessons that need to be learned? Are you truly taking the time to learn from these efforts to make what you do and who you are as an educator better?

Let’s flashback to Hurricane Katrina. Another catastrophic moment. Students were out of school between three and seven weeks, with little to no school work. Yet, the job got done. The job got done. The gaps eventually decreased, but what really stood out was the need for educators. The need for visible, decisive, trustworthy, respected and engaged educators. Educators that students can look to and turn to for support.

Students needed that in the aftermath of Katrina and they need that now. They need help from you and from their peers. They need to find ways to cope and express themselves. They need to establish routine.

That’s just it folks. It’s not what’s next. It’s not where you teach. It’s not finding the easy way out. Nothing about these times is easy. Nothing about these times is normal.

What matters is how you react. What matters is how you show up. What matters is what you learn.

What matters is you. Students see you. They hear you. They look up to you.

How will you respond in this time of crisis.

We would like to thank you for blasting the airwaves with us today. If you like the show, please subscribe or leave a review. If you want to know more. Check out www.iu17.org for further resources and show notes. As always, we want to thank you for what you do every single day. Remember, keep shining. We’ll be back next episodes to provide you another educational solution for all as we continue to transform lives and communities through educational services.

Additional/Suggested resources mentioned in the episode:

The Distance Learning Playbook by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie

Dana Vermilya – dvermilya@iu17org

BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 – www.iu17.org 

Professional Learning Opportunities at BLaST IU 17 – https://www.iu17.org/professional-learning/ 

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