April 28, 2020

Education Week during The Great Pause

Education Week in Alberta is coming up – and it’s a very different celebration this year.

A year ago, no one could have imagined we’d be in the throes of a global pandemic today.

Public school board trustees have always been singularly focused on creating the best possible learning environments for K-12 students, to make sure they have the resources in the classroom to thrive. Yet suddenly on a Sunday afternoon in mid-March, students found out they had no classrooms to go to the next morning, and teachers had no students to welcome back to school.

Looking back over the past month since that sudden pause, I am immensely proud of all our public teachers, staff and school leaders who have risen to this unprecedented challenge. Within days, they transformed their lesson plans to a virtual environment, and they continue to work hard to make sure our students have the tools and information they need to learn and to succeed in the midst of our “new normal.”

We don’t know for sure when students will be able to go back to school. We hope it’s soon, but everyone’s safety is paramount, so we choose to wait.

Such a time of waiting, and the fact that it’s being lived out at a national and international level, leads naturally to reflection. Some are calling this time The Great Pause – a rare opportunity to stop and really think about what’s really important to us and the things for which we are most grateful. Some people have determined to slow down, to take up cooking, baking or long-forgotten hobbies – or just stay in touch more often with loved ones and friends.

I haven’t reactivated any long-forgotten hobbies, but I am intentionally taking more time for reflection, and thinking about the people and things for which I’m most grateful.

I am passionate about being a school board trustee, because I believe in public education and I believe in investing in our students – the Albertans of tomorrow. As a trustee, I’m especially grateful for our schools, and how the people in them are an anchor point in their local communities.

Public schools foster a sense of belonging and of acceptance and connection for all students, right from kindergarten through Grade 12 and beyond into adult life.

In 2003, Eric Schaps wrote that creating caring, inclusive and participatory communities for our students becomes increasingly important if we are to meet their basic psychological needs for emotional and physical safety; for close, supportive relationships and a sense of competence.

Meeting students’ basic needs creates connectedness, which leads to a sense of community. There is more research, Schaps writes, that indicates students in schools with a strong sense of community are more likely to be academically motivated, to act ethically and altruistically, to develop social and emotional competencies and to avoid a number of problem behaviours, including drug use and violence.

This is where public schools really shine. Buildings provide the essential structure, but the atmosphere of acceptance is due to the exceptional individuals who work and lead in our public schools.

All public schools welcome every student, regardless of background, aptitude or ability. Public schools work very hard to create caring, inclusive and participatory communities where every student has the opportunity to work to his or her full potential. They learn how to grow in community, become resilient and strong, and grow up to be responsible citizens.

Technology has made it possible for our students to carry on their learning during these uncertain times, and for that I am very thankful. But I do look forward to the day when we can welcome our students back to the classrooms of our province, and we can continue the work of building community and the inter-personal connections that shape our values and our lives.

Education Week in Alberta runs from April 27 to May 1, 2020.