Photo By Jenn DeHaan | After experiencing an unprecedented school year during a global pandemic in 2020-21,...... read more read more
Jenn DeHaan | Fort Knox News
FORT KNOX, Ky. – ‘Back to school’ – a phrase that evokes a plethora of emotions for every parent as the summer break comes to a close. While anxiety has always been a common feeling associated with sending our youngsters off to their next grade level each fall, it feels a bit more complex this year.
I have one child entering the third grade, and another going into sixth. In the past, the main source of anxiety for my two kiddos had been centered around concerns like, “I hope they make good friends,” “I hope they like their teachers,” or ”I hope they learn a lot.”
However, my uncertainty has shifted to new sources following what proved to be the most unconventional school year on record in 2020-21. After the pandemic essentially rewrote the curriculum, two words just keep floating around in my mind over and over: What next?
My 11-year-old son Jackson summed it up perfectly when I asked him how he felt about getting to start this school year in person following a virtual start in 2020.
“I’m kind of excited, but I’m nervous that it’s going to be the same as last year, and I really don’t want it to be,” Jackson said. “I feel like they might change it.”
It’s not easy to hear your child express fear of something you have no control over. While my children’s safety is always my top priority, there’s also that strong desire for them to have a sense of normalcy and routine again. My son said his feelings echoed my own.
“[I want] things to be more normal than last year,” Jackson said. When his off-post school district announced masks wouldn’t be required, he was skeptical. “We might not have to wear masks. There’s still a possibility we will, but it would be nice if we didn’t have to.”
I completely understood his skepticism. It seems feelings of uncertainty have become the main theme for most adults these last 18 months. It’s to be expected that those same emotions and worries have developed in our children as well.
Thankfully, our family received a call near the end of the last school year telling us our kids would be getting their first glimpse of that normalcy they’d missed out on so much the year before. They had been assigned spots in the Fort Knox Donna Kirby School Age Center weekly summer camp.
Being able to run around, play and engage with other children turned out to be a game changer.
We saw a total transformation in both kids’ mindsets once they began attending the SAC. They didn’t want to leave when we arrived each day to pick them up, and they threw their arms around their friends to hug them goodbye. For Jackson, who developed a love of playing chess with a few of the other children over the summer, it was that one-on-one time he’d been missing.
“I had fun actually being able to interact with people, more than school would let me do,” Jackson said. “It was better being able to talk to the other kids more.”
Now, having developed closer relationships with other kids again, Jackson and his 8-year-old sister Ella both seem much more hopeful going into the new school year. Their anticipation grew following their school open houses last week, especially when Ella walked into her new classroom and noticed something very different compared to last year.
“The desks are closer, and I’m happy,” Ella said, “because then I can talk to my [classmates] and help them with stuff.”
The change of going from a six-foot physical distance requirement to a three-foot one may sound small but is a meaningful adjustment for youngsters learning how to cultivate relationships. Ella expressed her enthusiasm about what being able to sit closer to her schoolmates might mean for her:
“I’m looking forward to making new friends.”
Jackson said he’s counting on the physical distance change to improve lunchtime as well, explaining how last year the tables had to be six feet apart with only two children allowed per table. He said with everything getting closer to being more like how he remembers school before the pandemic, there’s one aspect he’s most eager for.
“Having more chances to just talk with students,” said Jackson: “I’m looking forward to that because my ability to interact with kids last year was limited.”
It’s a relief to see my children more excited to get back to school than they were last year when, instead of meeting their fellow students in a classroom, they had to try to get to know them via Zoom on a computer screen. This year, they have much more to look forward to.
While there’s no predicting what safety mitigations could require alterations throughout the 2021-22 school year, perhaps the pandemic actually provided the one life lesson our little ones may need to navigate the future: resiliency.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2021 13:00 |
| Story ID: | 402765 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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