Acknowledging Grief and Reclaiming Joy

During the last year, teachers, students, and families experienced education in a whole new way.  As how we “do school” dramatically shifted, many of us faced waves of grief as our connection to community, loss of structure, and safe places were disrupted.

We know grief is naturally experienced in stages and degrees. No matter what stage of the grieving process you may be in, you can experience bright spots by creating space for joy. Here are some examples of creating joy in your classroom:

• Mix things up and try new learning structures

• Allow students to have a say in how time is spent for certain activities

• Lean into silly moments and mistakes

• Invite laughter and shared memories

• Spend time with students before/after class

You can also consider ways your teammates can celebrate students and each other.  For example, what would a week of joy look like?

We invite you to explore more on this topic by following this link to PBS Blog Post: Claiming Our Grief and Our Joy by Terry Kawai.