As a teacher, by nature and profession, I love giving or teaching lessons, especially when my students are eager, excited and prepared to learn. Having taught both children and adults, it gives me great pleasure to see their faces lit up (you know, those eureka moments) when they finally understand concepts that they previously struggled with. Who am I kidding? Every teacher lives for this moment. It’s these moments that act as fuel and motivation and in turn drives us to continue teaching. I live for these moments.
However, when the role is reversed and the teacher becomes the student (learner)…Well, let’s just say my sincerest apologies to anyone who has ever had to teach a teacher. I believe that teachers make the most difficult students (teachers, you can chastise me later). Maybe, it’s the idea that we (teachers) know or should know everything. Or maybe it’s the constant urge to be in control of everything. I will never be able to fully explain why (maybe someone should do a study on this) but teachers are difficult students.
Well, what happens when the lessons are beyond our control? When life becomes the teacher and the environments are now the classroom? When we cannot dictate the lesson being taught or even the method being used to teach the lesson? As a teacher, I can honestly say, sitting and learning, without any input is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Right now, as I write this, one of life’s lesson is being taught to the world in the form of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and there are so many lessons to be learned. But are we ready and prepared to learn. I know, I am. I have learned and is still learning. Since one of the key tenets of teaching is “sharing what we have learned”; here are four lessons learned from COVID-19.
Lesson 1: We are not isolated beings but intertwined, connecting webs
Whatever we do or say will have a life changing, life altering effect on others. In fact, our actions can be likened to a stone thrown into a pond. Notice how the ripples that is a result of the stone disturbs and affects everything within that pond. Therefore, we are not only accountable or responsible for our immediate family or friends but everyone in our house, community, city, parish/state, country and the world. People will be affected, positively or negatively, from our actions. So do what is right. Follow the rules and laws of your country. Take care of yourself and take care of others. By doing all this, by being responsible, we not only become our brother’s keepers but we acknowledge the fact that we are all in this together.
Lesson 2: It’s okay not to have your –ish together.
We are in a world where people continuously strive for perfection. However, there is no constant state of perfection. That’s a myth. In fact, life only grants us little moments of perfection. Ergo, no one is consistently perfect; no life is consistently perfect (except for Jesus Christ, of course). Sometimes, perfection can only be achieved once. In lay man terms, the thing that you achieved perfection in today will be the very thing that you struggle with tomorrow. You don’t believe me? Ask someone who has ever attempted pulling off the perfect high bun in humid weather... only once. The world is shifting under us now and the only thing that seems to exist is chaos and messes of varying degree. So embrace the chaos as it comes and if life is so kind in granting a perfect moment; revel in it. Remember, it’s ok to be a mess and not have everything in a row. Just breathe and relax.
Lesson 3: There is no “going back to normal.”
If I collected a dollar for every time someone says “I can’t wait for things to go back to normal.” Or even make plans for the things they will do when things ‘return to normal’. I would be a millionaire. Wait, scratch that; I would be a billionaire. Everyone is peddling this ‘back to normal’ philosophy. However, I hate to break it to you but there is no returning to normal. Whatever, we knew as normalcy two or three months ago is either dead and buried or struggling to survive on life support. For example, people have lost jobs, businesses, countless lives and families broken apart. How do we go back to normal after all this tragedy, loss and brokenness? Truth is, everything that we will face on the backend of COVID-19 will be new. However, coming to grips with this new reality will be very difficult for many. It will be hard to move forward when all you have ever known is behind you. But in order to survive, we have to keep moving, one step at a time. Baby steps, just keep going.
Lesson 4: Everyone needs a listening ear
Fear, anxiety, anger, mistrust (to name a few) are valid emotions that people face on any given day. Right now, these emotions and others are compounded by COVID-19 and the many effects that come with the virus. Presently, everyone is uncertain of what the future holds and this makes our minds go crazy. Adding to this issue also is the fact that almost everyone is in a state of isolation with very little or in some cases no interaction with the outside world. Let’s just say this is when things concerning the mind get tricky very quickly. I have learned that it’s important to talk about how you are feeling, vent or spill your guts. Whatever route you decide, it’s important to let someone in and also be open to lend your ears too. We might not be always able to help financially or even physically but helping someone deal with their emotions is just as important. Sometimes the individual may not even need a response; just a listening ear. In doing so, you might even help to save that person’s life.
Conclusion
As lessons in Ms. Corona’s classroom continues, I will continue to show up for class, armed with my pencil and notebook (mentally, of course) and ready to learn. Whatever I learn now, will and must prepare me in the unlikely event that something like this or even worst ever happens again. Then again, what else is there to do? There is no skipping classes or playing hooky; I tried (lol).
Depending on how you choose to view our current situation, maybe we might see each other in class tomorrow. Until then, what have you been learning?
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