This is one of those dangerous posts to publish. I know people will take parts of it out of context and repurpose it for their own benefit. I am not new around here, I know that is what people do to superintendents and what people do in the age of outrage on the internet.
I have been getting a lot of phone calls and emails lately. I am not sure of another time in the last decade when there have been so many. I know I get a lot during job action, or when people think I have made a bad decision on calling or not calling a snow day, or when there are budget challenges. This is different. From mask wearing to vaccinations, COVID has brought people to the school district.
Of course, it is not only a local issue, there are lots of videos circulating on the internet of school board meetings, particularly in the United States, of name calling and sometimes violence over COVID protocols. Even Saturday Night Live noticed, and did a sketch (HERE) earlier this season on the growing phenomenon. While more subdued in Canada, my colleagues tell stories of protestors at their doors, fights between parents in the parking lot over vaccinations, and name-calling and threats towards school officials. And this is not a “don’t worry, it is just happening somewhere else” issue, our teachers and principals are seeing increased tensions and short-tempers regularly.
My first thought is we need to be better than this. Our kids are watching. I appreciate there is great anxiety and frustration. And I also know that school boards – staff and elected officials – are often more accessible than other government officials and thus an easy target. Many of us spend our careers in education helping students see nuance, and trying to engage with challenging topics or those with whom we disagree in thoughtful ways – unlike all these images we are seeing. I have yet to meet anyone in health or education who is not going above and beyond right now to do what they think is best for students.
I also think about a post I wrote on “the hat rule” a few years ago. We love topics that are easy to think about. Masks are either good or bad, same with vaccinations. When I listen to the health experts each week, I feel their frustration as they try to tell a far more detailed and nuanced story, but we do love to jump to things that are simple to think about. Keeping kids safe in schools and providing rich opportunities for learning in our times of COVID is complicated and “hat rule” conversations are easy but incomplete. What we love about these binary topics is that you are either with us or against us – it is like supporting your local sports team and uniting with everyone wearing the same coloured jerseys.
And finally, when this is over, I hope people stick around. Those who have spoken to me about masks, ventilation, hand sanitizer, or vaccination, don’t stop being engaged in schools. Regardless of whether you have been happy or unhappy with the health guidelines, please keep holding me and others accountable. Hold us accountable for ensuring that all students by grade 4 can read, that students of Indigenous backgrounds are succeeding at the same levels as all other students and that graduates have opportunities for post-secondary and other options after grade 12. And hold us accountable for ensuring students are learning the skills and attributes of engaged citizenship. This is our work and the success of all students in the community should be a concern for all of us.
I realize it may seem far more important to a parent that all students in their child’s class are wearing a mask or are vaccinated than it is that they can read or socialize with others. I get it. COVID is scary. The last 18 months have reminded us of the importance of school and the importance of collective action. I do hope we show some of the same engagement and passions for the collective well being of all students – as I know it does not feel as immediate and personal as COVID, but we should all want all of our learners to be successful.
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