When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a teacher; my sister and I both did. We played school all the time. I loved it! In high school that dream changed as I realized my peers at the time were jerks. I didn’t want to teach jerks. So that goal was no longer a dream.

Due to social distancing policies set in place to curb the spread of the nasty “c” word COVID-19, many parents, family members, and friends are becoming teachers. Kudos if you already home school. That’s great. Most of us don’t because…we can’t. We can’t make the little buggers focus. We can’t do their new weird math problems. We can’t think like teachers to help them understand why something is done the way it is done. We don’t have that training. Teachers do.

Thank you, teachers for the hard work and patience you put into wrangling miniature humans and educating them.

I can’t help but be concerned that letting kids move on to the next grade because it’s not their fault social distancing closed their schools will be more detrimental than helpful. My son struggles with reading and comprehension. His writing needs practice. He needs to learn how to complete work in a timely manner. These are things being taught in school. These are things I’m not confident enough I can instill in my son. My son is smart, but he lacks motivation. That motivation is key to his success. He NEEDS school. Will this loss of a quarter of a year seal his fate to continue to be behind? Would it have mattered?

To the kids, parents, family members, and friends dealing with this predicament, you’re good enough. It’s okay to feel frustrated. It’s okay to worry. It’s okay to want to scream. Your kid(s) will make it through this and come out better for it. YOU will be better for it.

I refuse to let the “c” word sap the happiness and hope from the world. Let’s all be better for it.