Students of Pandemic America



We emailed back and forth—a volley of typed angst and concern. 


She’s a grandma like me, but unlike me, she’s attempting to monitor her granddaughter as she tackles her online high school classes. Yes, COVID restrictions have been hard on everyone. But for America’s young students, nothing could really prepare them for what to expect. 


Her granddaughter is sinking beneath a weight that she wasn’t prepared to carry. Her lower grades this school year have defeated her will to try harder. One teacher told her that she should have been more prepared for the online school year. It’s not like they hadn’t already been doing it last spring. The teacher may have meant well, but to a teen, or at least this one, it was another heavy stone to add to the weight already on her back.


Her grandma tries to encourage in the way we grandmas do—sharing our own stories of hardships and then baking cookies, as if a little sugar will help.






Her youngest grandchild longs to play with his friends, but he seems to handle the separation better. Her granddaughter actually needs be with her friends, and snapchat isn’t cutting it.


I remember this sweet girl when she was playing with dolls just a few years ago. If there ever were a time to extend more grace to a her and those like her, it’s now. Her grandma told me how she has become increasingly more quiet. A year ago, this same girl bounced with exuberance as she decorated the school gym for the homecoming dance. 


It wasn't all that long ago that I'd had this sweet young girl help me take care of kids in the church nursery. I asked her grandma if it would be alright if I sent her a text. 







So I did:


You can now add “living through a pandemic" to your list of accomplishments. It’s so easy to see what I’m giving up, while not seeing what you are losing. This is tough, but please don’t lose hope. You are showing up each day and trying. I wish more people my age were doing that.


This is part of your incredible story. A global pandemic kicked you out of school for a while. This is historic and you’re part of it. You will tell future employers how this challenge hit you hard, but you made it through. Right now this is a huge imposition. But it won’t last. You’ll be back in school. For now, keep encouraging your friends—in the online ways you do. You’ll never forget these days. 


And in the future, when your kids gripe about school, you can tell them they have nothing to complain about. 




photos: Paul Siewert, Izzy Park, Kelly Sikkema, Unsplash


Popular posts from this blog

Counting the Cost

Image
Something big is missing in this photo. Let me explain. Here in my hometown, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe prepared a parcel of land for a new hotel. Plenty of planning and architectural designs were evaluated. A gemstone of a hotel would be built across from the waterfront—a beautiful, restful place welcoming travelers. A true four-star facility.   They cleared the aging brick structures that had been fading away between Front Street and Railroad Avenue. Then the pandemic hit, shortages of labor and supplies, add in the costly inflation that followed. Everything stopped.   But this is what I admire about the Elwha Tribe: they have counted the cost. They didn’t want to move forward and take on tremendous debt. They would rather move slowly and be financially ready, rather than begin building and then letting it sit unfinished.   Counting the cost is something I should have done earlier in life when I didn’t know what high interest rates would do to our farming cost...
Read more

Summertime Music

Image
During the summer months, in an outside seating area, a delightfully painted piano sits with a sign that says, “Play me”.   It was just before 8 pm as I walked past the piano. My bus would be arriving soon, and I still have another ten minutes to walk before reaching my bus stop. But no one is around. It’s a beautiful warm evening. I pulled out the piano bench and sat down. The sun was behind me, and the piano keys reflected its glow. I had no music in front of me, only the songs within me. Notes drifted into the air.  In those brief moments, the magic of music and summer came together. Isn’t that how it is? Summertime music has a way of lingering in our minds and lasting a lifetime. As I stood and grabbed my things, I heard distant clapping—I guess I wasn’t alone, after all.
Read more

Planting Good Seeds

Image
Harvest will always depend on what we plant and how well we care for our crop.    Looking over my seed packets, I notice they’re different than the ones I planted before. One package is called Word seeds. The directions say that each of my words is a seed, so it cautions me to think before I speak. Harsh words don’t produce sweet, nourishing fruit. These seeds will require thoughtful care in the garden. I see some Volunteer seeds. Those extra hours I tend to fritter away are going to be planted in a useful project.   It looks like time isn’t wasted in this garden plot. Next are some Love seeds—the directions are interesting: get up each day and love others. No specifics are given—just do something for someone every day. The seed package shows pictures of smiling faces. I smile back. As I’m ready to head to the garden with my seeds, a package falls to the ground. I open it. Inside are the tiniest seeds I’ve ever seen—but the directions s...
Read more