Embracing the New

As educators, we work in new environments and with people who bring many variables to each new encounter. We encounter situations that challenge the way we like to work in the classroom. The learning community changes all the time. In the classroom, we experience unique scenarios each day. How we approach new situations is an essential part of our practice.

Our role as educators is to support the children and all learning community members. To help others, we need to look outside ourselves and into the lives of the people we serve. Each situation in the classroom invites us to adapt on the spot to support the people in our learning community.

Focusing on personal goals in any challenge points our decision compass in the wrong direction and moves away from the community. People often focus on themselves when situations are difficult. We retreat into a place of comfort to survive and embrace predictability to keep moving forward.

For each new challenge, there is another choice. If we take time to observe and focus on what is happening now, we can learn from it. When we are present, we can enter a state of concentration, think clearly, and see a clear positive path toward the future.

The present is the place of possibility. Focusing on the past or the future takes us away from the moment. Every situation in the classroom and in life contains positive potential. Specific classroom moments may be challenging, but there are opportunities to learn and grow inside each challenge.

The past year has been challenging for our field. Many programs have closed. Educators are out of work or working less than they would like. Some programs are open and try to answer one difficult question daily. How to offer a quality experience for the children while keeping everyone safe?

This time in history will pass. A few years from now, we will talk about 2020 and what a wild year it was in our field. I am hopeful that it will be with joy when you look back on this year. This year will be the moment when you make an essential decision to accept the challenge. A moment when you embraced the new and grasped the opportunities that did not seem to be there but were waiting for you to find them.