My Advice to High School Parents

Tonight, I sent out my weekly newsletter to families as usual. What is unusual though, is that we are having to discuss, plan, and adapt to a world where we are in social isolation and conducting learning exclusively online. All of this was unplanned as of a few weeks ago and there is a lot of uncertainty about what it will look like when we actually (and finally) get back to the business of being with and educating our "kids." Before I get into the meat of what I want to say, I just want to express my gratitude to parents. As an educator, I have never seen such community before. The entire educational field and even some of the businesses that support us, have pulled together to make sure that we are growing and loving your children. That community also extends to the number of emails and messages of gratitude and support that I am currently receiving from parents. We were in this together before and we will continue to be.

Now for my thoughts:

Like the parents of my high school students, I too am having to learn to do some things differently as my husband and I embark on educating our elementary-aged children from home. I was fortunate to hear a great message this morning from the comfort of my living room, and it touched on advice for parents of young children as we navigate this time. I was inspired and wanted to do the same for our high school parents that are at home now, wondering what they should be doing for their children.

1. Be honest. We are all going to do this imperfectly. It's ok to say, "I don't know, but let me find out." It is one of my favorite lines as an educator and that is because it conveys the truth but also a path forward. 
2. Keep them home. Teenagers are hard to wrangle on a good day. Social connections and friendships are vitally important at this stage of development. Those things are still important, but they need to be cultivated in ways that are safe for the time. While it can be tempting to go to a friend's house, that friend could go to another house, that goes to another house, and so on. The goal is to stop the spread and try to return to normal sooner. Your child is probably spending more time on social media right now (even mine are... I said we wouldn't do social media until a very long time from now and here we are...). Make sure that you talk about what they are seeing about COVID-19 and what is factual.
3. Remember the emotions. We all respond to stressful situations in different ways. Some of those ways are more appropriate that others and it can be real easy to write-off or dismiss a reaction or behavior. Sometimes, you need to call a time-out and they might need to call one too.
4. Morning meeting. The truth is, it doesn't have to be morning, but having a time where you get together as a family and talk about what each person's job is, what they need to accomplish that job, what they need to take care of themselves, and how you can help each other is so vitally important right now. For my family, we have a breakfast meeting (so novel... we were lucky to eat breakfast before we left the house before) where we talk about what needs to be done in the day and when different people might need quiet in the house for work. We aren't perfect at doing everything we set out to do, but at least we try together. 
5. We are still here. Educators have home lives, emergencies, and crazy schedules like you do, but every educator I know right now is trying to figure out how to help. Sometimes all we need to know is what you need. Communication is so key for you and for us. 

Have something I should add to this list? I'd love to read it. Please feel free to comment below!