Dear Spectrum Families and Friends,
Please give yourself lots of credit for getting through this last month. Four weeks at home with children, without the summer distractions and going out, is a huge challenge. Nevertheless, we will get through this. We will come out closer and stronger and more appreciative, as will our children.
Melissa Prete, a core member of our Spectrum community wearing many hats, sent me this Facebook posting. It is an inside-out look that resonated with me, and I hope it does so with you. Unfortunately, I do not know who wrote it so I cannot credit the author:
“Many schools have been cancelled the rest of the school year, students will miss nearly 3 months of classroom education. Many people are concerned about students falling behind because of this. Yes, they may fall behind when it comes to classroom education…
But what if…
What if instead of falling “behind”, this group of kids are ADVANCED because of this? Hear me out.
What if they have more empathy, they enjoy family connection, they can be more creative and entertain themselves, they love to read, they love to express themselves in writing.
What if they enjoy the simple things, like their own backyard and sitting near a window in the quiet.
What if they notice the birds and the dates the different flowers emerge, and the calming renewal of a gentle rain shower?
What if this generation are the ones to learn to cook, organize their space, do their laundry, and keep a well run home?
What if they learn to stretch a dollar and to live with less?
What if they learn to plan shopping trips and meals at home.
What if they learn the value of eating together as a family and finding the good to share in the small delights of the everyday?
What if they are the ones to place great value on our teachers and educational professionals, librarians, public servants and the previously invisible essential support workers like truck drivers, grocers, cashiers, custodians, logistics, and health care workers and their supporting staff, just to name a few of the millions taking care of us right now while we are sheltered in place?
What if among these children, a great leader emerges who had the benefit of a slower pace and a simpler life to truly learn what really matters in this life?
What if they are AHEAD?”
Be well.
Dr. Mary Beth Cunat
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