Picture by Edwin Hooper
What do you do when your pulpit of hope has been beaten to a pulp? That's the gut wrenching question every human being on this planet has to answer about the state of education as we embark on another school year. Teachers are overwhelmed, overworked, and over the fact that they are drowning in a pandemic with no life jacket in sight. Some School leaders are struggling with how they're going to govern understaffed schools filled with low quality educators and keep the people in their buildings safe from a deadly COVID-19 virus. That's a lot! No one has solid solutions.
What can one do to help resuscitate hope in such dire times? We all can agree that the pandemic magnified the ongoing systemic inequities and underinvestment in schools populated by black and brown children. We all, within our locus of control, are capable of being change agents. Since the system is doing its best to separate church and state, the Bible believing community has to be more vigilant to be highly involved in their children's lives in and out of school. From a simple word of encouragement to students and the vast amount of brave individuals working with them to giving yourselves grace when it feels like your lives are falling apart. Whatever you do , please hang on to the fact that hope may be hard-pressed on every side, yet it cannot be crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
Author Robens Chery is doing his part to help students and educators process this monumental moment in history. He recently released student and teacher trauma informed COVID-19 journals that are filled with thought provoking questions. The open ended journals are filled with inquiries that focus on family life, school, and social injustice.
Moreover, he's currently accepting submissions from any student or educator who wish to share their stories for an opportunity to be published in his upcoming book release series. We are living in historic times, we have to respond with a village mentality if we plan on maximizing our pages in the history books.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Berwick Augustin is a published author and educator. He offers self-paced online courses that teach the basic elements of writing and the structure of opinion, informative, and argumentative essays. He is also a spoken word poet and consultant at Evoke180 publishing.