Returning to normal - ?
Hello all!
This is a very short post as I wrap up vacation. I spent a few days wandering by myself along California’s central coast in what I jokingly refer to as a “vision quest” but I do cherish a little time far from home to let my thoughts wander wherever they may lead me and get perspective.
The thought I most often return to is that we all seem to be wandering in an uncanny valley where we are simultaneously deeply relieved that things have “returned to normal” but are perhaps more unsettled than ever that it really doesn’t feel so normal. Everyone I talk to for more than a few minutes ends up here one way or another. Things I’ve heard: Where did all the services workers go/doesn’t anyone want to work anymore? Why does everything seem so expensive but I’m getting less? What was the point of all those shutdowns in the end? And when people find out I’m in education: my kid lost a year of learning! Online school was a joke. Why is my teenage daughter still so anxious?
My point being, the uncanny valley is an anxiety producing, unstable place the live. There’s a persistent desire for clearer answers, a lack of faith in authority providing these.
But - there is also a friendliness and a desire to connect that I find quite moving. And also so much hope. That is a beautiful thing. The more we as educators have the ability to connect with that hope, the better the chance we have to lead communities to the other side of the uncanny valley.
So rather than “yay, finally a normal school year” why not “yay, an authentic chance to acknowledge this unique and challenging moment in time and become the better for it.”
It’s weird out here but the amount of hope makes my heart sing through the weirdness.
Happy Friday -
Julie