March 16th, 2021 will mark the one year anniversary of when schools across the state of Virginia closed in an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19. As educators we know that reflecting on our experiences is crucial for learning — it’s how we internalize the knowledge we’ve acquired. With that in mind, I want to encourage us to take the time to reflect on where we’ve been and all that we’ve gone through in the past year, both individually and collectively as a school community.
To get things started, I’ll share some of my thoughts.
#1: Redeemer faculty and staff are amazing!
The shift to Distance Learning was difficult for all schools, but it posed a unique challenge to Redeemer, because technology doesn’t normally play a large role in our program. Not surprisingly, our faculty and staff met the challenge head on, creating a plan that allowed students to start learning at home … with just one day off. While it wasn’t ideal — and we all very much prefer to be physically present with students in the classroom — our teachers excelled at providing students with quality instruction remotely. Their work helped to lessen the learning loss and prepare students for the 2020-21 academic year. The flexibility, adaptability, resilience, and resourcefulness exhibited by our faculty and staff was inspiring. It confirms what I’ve known all along: we are blessed to have incredibly talented and dedicated educators at Redeemer.
#2: Technology is helpful, but it can’t replace the classroom.
As I just mentioned, our teachers did an amazing job utilizing technology to connect with and instruct students remotely. But it wasn’t the same. Far from it. While I’m thankful for things like Zoom, Loom, and Google Classroom, the time that we spent with Distance Learning showed us the limitations of such an approach to education. Technology certainly has the capacity to enhance the classroom experience, but last spring confirmed that it can’t replace it.
#3: School is important for more than just learning.
We knew that schooling played an important part in the overall development of children, but the isolation that many of our children experienced during the strict lockdowns and Distance Learning emphasized the point. Children benefit immensely from interacting with their peers. Not only does it help them develop interpersonal skills, but it’s vital for their social, emotional, and mental health. We’re so thankful our students have been able to be together this year. Their excitement and joy has been palpable.
#4: Building community in COVID can be challenging.
Our COVID precautions have caused us to cancel our community gatherings and to shift most of our other programs online. Moreover, parents haven’t been allowed to visit classrooms as they normally would. This breaks my heart. There are beautiful, encouraging, and heart-warming things taking place in our classes on a daily basis — I wish parents were here to see them first hand. I wish that we could connect and grow together as a community as we share the ups and downs of life — both the big events and the little daily things. We need this type of community now more than ever, but that’s not possible right now, and it stinks. I am eager to see the day when we can gather together again on a regular basis!
#5: We are stronger together.
Last May I shared with the faculty and staff my hope that Redeemer wouldn’t merely survive the pandemic, but that it would thrive and, as a result, come through the pandemic stronger than ever. By God’s grace, it looks like that is happening. The Redeemer community has shown incredible strength, resilience, and solidarity throughout this past year. Whether it was the immense amount of time and effort that made reopening possible … or filling out daily health questionnaires ... or erring on the side of caution when feeling ill … or staff members taking on new roles and responsibilities at school … or the way that our community has given generously in the midst of great uncertainty. In these ways and many more, we have rallied together, supported one another, and have persevered through this hardship stronger as a community.
Finally (and most importantly): God is good.
The overarching theme in all of this is that God is good. He has blessed Redeemer abundantly in the past year and his sovereign orchestration of all things for the good of his people — even working in and through immense difficulty and pain — has been plainly evident. This year has been an important reminder to me that we serve a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, and all-good. For that I give him praise, honor, and glory. He alone is deserving of such praise.