It's been a while since I've last been able to blog but finally had a few free minutes to sit down and type out some thoughts...feels good to unleash/unload/a few things that have been on my mind in the recent days, weeks, months.
We'll consider this the Thanksgiving addition of Carlson's Conclusions so that's where we'll start. Tis the season to pull back from our hectic (maybe an understatement right now) lives and count our blessings and realize how much we have to be thankful for. Boy, oh boy, I know that is tough right now for many people but if we can't realize how much we have to be thankful for we're in a whole heap of mess more than I thought we were. Times are tough...if we let them be. There is always a silver lining I think we all need to keep struggling to be slow to judge, react (or overreact), criticize, judge, etc. in times like this. But here it is...to wrap that part up...Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you are all able to spend good, quality time with loved ones (even if "one's" is much fewer than in past years...as the CDC is strongly is strongly suggesting you do, but what do they know, they're only scientific experts that study epidemics and probably know a thing or two about COVID).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaQUigXBKQY
I'll preface the rest of this with a "reader beware" that there may be a lot of "I" statements in here as the past few weeks have shed a lot more light to me on a few issues that I have some strong feelings about but they've come to a boiling point for me. So if you don't want to hear my thoughts on a few things, feel free to abort the rest of this blog. First and foremost, I've nicknamed the Covid 19 epidemic the "Need For Empathy Pandemic". It amazes me how many people have proven to me that they don't get it or don't have the ability to empathize with other humans about decisions being made or actions being taken due to the pandemic. They can't see past their own nose or are only focused on what they see is hurting them and don't dive into why things are occurring. It's mind boggling. I'm going to start with the need for us to be empathetic to health care workers (please read):
If that doesn't encourage you to put your darn mask on or to restrain from social gatherings, I'm not anything will. Shawna was at the ER a few weeks ago with KJ for a leg injury from playing on our tramp (how we haven't been more is head scratching to me:) !) and came home astounded and almost petrified from the scene she had just experienced (keep in mind, this was the Sunday after the Saturday a few weeks ago that it was 75 and sunny and Northwestern beat Nebraska...I'll touch on that in a bit...but COVID has exponentially gotten worse since then). She said Zeeland Hospital had people all over the place due to COVID and nurses were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, overwhelmed, many on the brink of tears. The nurse they had said she'd been working in health care for over 20 years and had seen nothing even in the ballpark like what was going on. Not only are they being asked to work extra shifts, but they are being asked to care for people with a highly infectious disease that is showing us all how tragic it can be. She said it's what she pictures a third world hospital looks like. In an effort to support these health care workers, my mom is collecting homemade thank you letters to bring to Holland Hospital in the next few days (a great project for families to do together and teach our kids some great lessons as well as keep them busy and creative...I'll touch more on that as well in a bit). If that is something you'd be interested in participating in and need to know where you can drop them off or how I can get them from you, let me know (jcarlson@zps.org or 616.405.4262). Great idea, mi madre (Sue Carlson: has a box outside of her front door for drop off - 75 E. 28th St., Holland, MI 49423). After reading that article, I think all health care workers should be exempt from any criminal activity or lawsuits against them for absolutely decking someone they see in a public place without a mask on!!
Next, I'm done saying I understand the frustration of some with schools being closed to in-person learning (please don't say schools are shutdown because that is the FURTHEST from the truth)...unless it is coming from people that truly need their kids to be in school because all childcare options are not possible and those that MUST be at work for the pure survival of their family. I'm not trying to be harsh but MAKE IT WORK!! This whole thing has truly opened my eyes to the great need for kids to be in school...
1) Because many families need their kids at school so the primary care takers can earn a paycheck whether that be parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles...whoever.
2) Kids NEED social opportunities. Absolutely. And if that is your primary reason that you feel your kids need to be in school and not at home with you and you don't like this...by all means, feel free to substitute teach. One of the major reasons we can't continue with in-person learning is that so many teachers are being quarantined due to COVID. The last 3 days we were in-person learning at school I had no prep hour because I was subbing for other teachers that were out and there aren't enough subs to fill full time days for teachers.
3) "My kids are going to fall behind!!" Stop...guess what? Read to them. Challenge them with journaling. Have them research things they like and do research projects/presentations. Play educational Kahoots with them (just make sure that if they make their own they spell check them...check out one of Peyton's questions he made - he meant to say "bears"...again, he and Myles have figured out how to make their own Kahoots, which has given us some great family entertainment at night!!).
Are they not learning as much content? Maybe not. But I do know that KJ (4 years old) can now fully participate in a zoom meeting, muting and unmuting by herself, sharing with her classmates appropriately, etc. If it weren't for virtual learning, that would have never happened. She can navigate SeeSaw (an on-line platform for teachers to put up assignments for kids to work on and turn in). Peyton already knows how to use Google Classroom better than I do (another on-line teaching platform). They are learning new things that may be more important in the grand scheme of their lives than knowing all 50 US capital cities.
4) Many kids need the school for health, specifically food and nutrition because they can't get it at home. Guess what, true on all accounts so now is a time that many of us that are blessed to have the time or resources to help donate food, put meals together for families, volunteer to pass out meals.
And speaking of having to sub during my plan hour...teachers (most) are working extremely hard to get to each and everyone of their students in any way that they can with what their allowed to be doing. No teacher wants to be teaching from home...c'mon. If we did, we wouldn't have chosen this career path. 99% of us are working many more hours than we've ever worked before (complaining, nope, just letting you know. Yep, we don't get to live our normal cushy 7:45-3/4pm days anymore (picking up on my sarcasm). So here's where the Empathy Epidemic comes into play again. Here is my typical day and I only share this not for the need for you to empathize with me but teachers in general...
5-6am Morning walk for piece of mind and physical exercise (sad, yes, now walking instead of running at the YOUNG age of 37)...but no other time to get that in.
6-7:15am Create on-line video lessons to post for my classes that day. This is done so that in the case a student's internet acts up during my on-line ZOOM class that day or mine goes down, there is a video of the lesson they can access whenever they need to. If we were in-person, I wouldn't have to do that. "But can't you then just push play on ZOOM and take that class off?" Nope, as we stay on with the kids in case they have questions or need help and that's only when I do push play. Mostly, we stay on and teach the lesson face-to-face (screen-to-screen).
7:15-7:45am Get my own kids up, fed, and prepared for when their ZOOM day begins "at" school.
7:45am-2:40pm Teach via ZOOM/monitor KJ, Peyton, and Myles with their on-line schooling which has NOT been too much work because their teachers have done an incredible job of communicating each days schedule with us and them. This includes 3 different lunch times...it's a CCC...Comical Chaotic Cirus (listening in on a pre-K ZOOM class session has been hilarious at times).
2:40-4pm Grade assignments, communicate with students/parents, start to get the next days lesson(s) ready.
4-5:30pm Have fun being dad my own kiddos at home.
5:30-10:30pm Dinner/family time/"The Office" (which, BTW, is being taken off of Neflix starting Jan. 1 so get your fix in before then...that would happen in 2020) or "Seinfeld"
So, there you go. Here is my reason for sharing: We have 3 elementary school aged kids so we've seen now what they are doing throughout the day. THIER TEACERS ARE SAINTS!! They have WAY more to do than I do as a high school teacher,so when I compare, I can't imagine the time and energy they're having to spend to make this work for their students and families. Shoot, KJ's teacher has driven to our house 2x to drop of school work and she does it for ALL of her students. Incredible. Talk about above and beyond. This is not a pitty party for me as I've learned a ton of great new ways to teach that will make me a better teacher but a plead for grace and empathy for the teachers working their tales off "behind the scenes" that they have not had to in the past...for our kids. If it doesn't seem like they're giving enough or are messing up here or there, take a step back, please. If you want to shadow them for a day to see what they are doing, please ask them. I'm sure they'd be MORE THAN happy to let you so you can walk a mile in their shoes. Don't get me started on how much these times are weighing on administrators...because their jobs are SO easy when students are learning remotely.
Here is our thank you to our kids teachers!!
Phew...sorry if this wasn't "up your alley" for reading my blog. Oh yeah, our Wildcats are 5-0, sitting 8th in the college football playoff standings (hopefully that wasn't the kiss of death...maybe their success is what's keeping me sane!!). Needless to say the past 5 Saturday's have been AWESOME!
And just think, I didn't even type about politics!! I'll keep my tongue bit on those issues...for now. You have my word (typing) that the next blog will be back to normal tone/themes...CHOOSE JOY!!
CHOOSING JOY from Valley Dr.
-Jeff/JC/Duffer/Coach C/anything else (appropriate please, siblings)
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