"Miss M., you know how everyone is waiting for corona to go away? I forgot what I'm waiting for. I can't really remember how life was before Corona..."
Two weeks ago my students and I (literally) collected 1000 leaves to calculate and experiment with. It was one of my favorite lessons I ever taught. Things have been going so well this school year. The kids have been getting along with each other perfectly and we were looking forward to our one-week-long school trip in December which was supposed to be filled with all the Christmas magic you could imagine. I put so much time and money into planning this trip. For some of my students, it would have been the first "vacation away from home" of their lives.
Today I had to cancel it. And I couldn't even tell my kids in person because I haven't seen them in one and a half weeks. The school has been closed again because of Corona. Some of the parents told me that their kids were devastated when they told them about the canceled trip. Even more so when they told them that the school would continue to be closed until at least mid-December which means that they're missing out on all the Christmasy activities we usually do during the advent season.
All the adults around me are constantly complaining about the pandemic. They're sick of wearing masks. They don't want to be vaccinated. They do want to be vaccinated and hate everyone who doesn't. They want to travel. They're angry at people who still travel and bring the virus into our country. They want to celebrate their decadal birthday with all their friends and family. They want to go back to normal.
I get it. I have those feelings too. I'm sick of this stupid pandemic as well. I could scream anytime someone says "corona". I've lost loved ones. I don't want to feel threatened anytime someone enters the elevator I'm in or panic when I can't find my mask while I'm wearing it under my chin.
But do you know who I believe are the real victims of this pandemic? Our children! My kids are in third grade now and they haven't had a normal school year in their whole life. They haven't been able to celebrate their birthdays with all their friends in three years. There are no sports clubs, no music or orchestra rehearsals, no festivals, events, or big parties, no concerts, no Christmas markets, they can't travel the world with their families and make memories that last a lifetime. Some haven't seen their grandparents in years and others haven't been able to visit their loved ones that live in other countries.
Their childhood is never coming back. These three years are never coming back. And I'm slowly losing hope that things will ever go back to normal. Some time ago one of my students said: "Miss M., you know how everyone is waiting for corona to go away? I forgot what I'm waiting for. I can't really remember how things were before Corona" and it hit me hard. Our children are giving up so much to protect us, adults, because Covid-19 isn't very dangerous for kids. They do understand how dangerous it is for older or sick people, though. And they follow all the rules without complaining while they're giving up and missing out on so many childhood experiences that should be a given.
Some people will say "It could be worse" and yes, it could always be worse! But that doesn't mean things are ok the way they are right now. I don't have a solution. We need the anti-corona measures. Too many people are dying again right now. Almost half of the people I know are currently positive. Some are in hospital. One is in an artificial coma. Half of my class is in quarantine because they were tested positive. It's bad. It's scary. It's scarier than it has ever been. At least in my country.
But my heart is breaking for the children. Canceling this school trip really hurt because I knew how much the kids were looking forward to it and it was a little piece of normalcy to hold on to, especially since all the Christmas events, including the Christmas markets, were canceled as well.
I know that some of my kids and their families are really struggling right now. I know that some of my kids aren't safe at home. For some students, schools aren't just an annoying necessity. For some students, schools are a safe haven. And this pandemic keeps taking that away from them.
Like I said, I don't have a solution. There's no real meaning behind this post, except for maybe hug your little ones a little extra close these days if you have one or two at home. I feel like children get overlooked a lot when it comes to the big "corona discussions". To me, they are the real heroes. I just hope that I'll have my little bunch of heroes safely back in my classroom soon.
