Let’s Talk about Communi-Care
Educational professionals are exhausted. That's old news at this point. Pivoting to online learning, then back to in-person, then back to online was tiring enough. Doing it with children of their own added an extraordinary layer of depletion. Doing it while worrying about, and often getting, COVID-19 themselves, is another layer. And the politicalization of teaching, with some people accusing teachers of not caring for students because they either refused to work in person or refused to wear a mask, or insisted on everyone wearing a mask or working remotely has put teachers in a very difficult place emotionally and physically.
And all the while, teachers have been overwhelmingly showing up and caring for students, from the youngest ones to our college students. Many are now facing burnout and compassion fatigue (check out the podcast called Caring for the Caregiver for more on compassion fatigue!) that is causing a major shortage of educators in the field. It's truly becoming too much.
When I've thought about how to address this, I initially thought about self-care. We have to take better care of ourselves, right? And I do believe in self-care. But I also thought that adding the burden of solely taking care of ourselves in a time when we are already stretched to the limit feels counterintuitive. We don't live in isolation. And to expect anyone to care for themselves as if we live that way is not only unrealistic, but it won't get the job done either.
We live in community. We thrive in relationship. We need one another. So how about we shift the narrative from self-care to communi-care? We need to do better at taking care of one another. We need to be reaching out to our friends, colleagues and family members that are struggling. Now, I realize that most of us are also struggling in some way, so adding the responsibility of taking care of another human may feel daunting. But if we all pitch in when we can, we can care better for each other and in turn, for ourselves. Because when we give, we often receive. So taking the friend out for coffee may help you as well. Covering a class for a teacher that is out will likely come back to you when you need it as well. Mowing your neighbor's lawn when they can't find childcare and can't leave young kids inside to do it themselves may provide you with the physical activity you have been missing as well. Donating to someone's GofundMe page may make you feel good. Treating an overworked colleague to a manicure may give you the pampering that you have been putting off as well. So if you are in a space where you have something to give, do it.
I challenge all of us to think about ways that we can care for each other and also consider how it may provide care for ourselves at the same time.
By the way, this is a hint from me to you! I need to connect too, so if you are looking for some ways to feel cared for, reach out to me and ask for what you need! It may very well be helping us both!