Educators as Writers: A Seasonal Opportunity for Reflection and Renewal

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Readers and leaders,

My thoughts are with you all as we navigate these difficult waters. I hope you are finding time for yourself.

To help achieve separation between work and life, I recently hit some local trails at a state park. An autumn storm was coming but the rain held off long enough for me to enjoy the solitude of the woods. Having a trail laid out before me was satisfying; I didn’t have to create new pathways or worry if I was going in the wrong direction.

One "storm" I could not avoid was some school board members' push to reopen our elementary building more fully and potentially disregard the health guidelines from the county, state, and CDC. One board member characterized our remote learning plan as "a disaster".

At the time, I bit my tongue (and made sure my Zoom account was on mute). A few days later, after meeting with several faculty members, we still felt this sense of deflation and despair.

Later that week, I wrote a one page letter to express my disappointment in the l…