Adversity

"We don't develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity."

-Barbara De Angelis

One of the most difficult things about being a parent is navigating situations in which our children are facing adversity. How do we know when to let them face it alone as a learning experience and when to help them navigate the adversity? How can we tell when it is adversity that is a natural part of their learning experience and when it is a situation that is not something they should be going through and that we need to intervene to protect them? This is something I struggle with constantly with my own children. I'm never quite sure that I've made the right decision, but I'm usually pretty positively able to identify when I made the wrong decision. I talk about this with other parents, good parents, and I know it is one of the more difficult aspects of parenting, but the one thing I take solace in is that even when I mess up, my kids know that they are loved. They know I have their back. They know that I will be there for them when they need protected, and that I will be there to dust them off when they fail. Those of you who are parents know exactly what I'm talking about. It is hard on them, and it is hard on us.

Now, I want you to think about those kids you have in class that are facing a tremendous amount of adversity in their lives. Not all of them have parents that share the concerns I outlined above. Some of them have parents that are the source of their adversity. Some have parents who are simply apathetic to the adversity. Some have parents who may recognize the adversity, but simply do not have the tools to help their child overcome it. We know this as educators. We see these kids in our classrooms and our hallways. They are dealing with more at 11-14 years old than some of us have dealt with as adults. Often, these kids are facing these challenges largely alone. You can see the effect of their loneliness on their faces and in the ways they interact with their peers. It is heartbreaking.

So what do we do in our roles as educators? We need to make sure that we are seeing these students and what they are going through. This is something that I feel we do a great job of at SMS, but I also constantly ask myself how we can do more. I loved that ACEs and Trauma Informed Practices were brought up as Faculty Meeting topics after the Working Lunch. It reinforces my belief that our next big area for growth as a team is in the area of social-emotional awareness and effectiveness. I'm working on finding some resources to share with you and hopefully find someone willing to come speak with us at 7:20 in the morning on a Tuesday. 

This is challenge that we must rise to meet, and in our efforts to do so, we will face adversity. We will be there for each other in this challenge, and we will be there for our students. This is what it means to live as #OneTribe!