As we get ready to close the doors on the 2020-2021 school year, the big questions and musings are starting to rumble beneath the surface.

"I can't wait until we can ______________ again."

"Remember when we use to _________________? I cannot wait until we can do that again."

Now is an extraordinary time to assess these ponderings and begin to examine what "needs" to come back in our post-COVID era and what is best for students as we continue to move through these times of "what's next?"

This week I got to work with middle school students, and I asked the question, "What have been some positives of the past year?" Their answers were riveting, powerful, profound, and revealing! 

Some of their responses:

• "I was able to get closer to my family. This was something that I cherished and didn't realize how much I valued this time."
• "I was able to take more care of myself. I needed this year to recenter myself."
• "I realized how much my friendships mean to me!"
• "I realized how much I took for granted. I started intentionally focusing on gratitude and building my life around being grateful."
• "I am not the same person I was before the pandemic. I have grown and transformed into a better version of myself."
• "I found myself. I have been able to make myself a better person by focusing more on hobbies, passions, and rest."
• "I was actually able to stop and think about my future. I realized how badly I wanted to play basketball in high school. So I took time to practice my basketball skills to prepare for what I want in my future. The pandemic allowed me to do this."
• "My mental health has dramatically improved. My mindset has changed, and I can prioritize and navigate what is important and what isn't important."
• "The pros just keep on coming from what the pandemic afforded me, and others. It allowed us to pause, learn and grow."
  

Nobody (especially me) is trying to convince you that this pandemic has not created havoc, mayhem, pain, and turbulence. It has created a laundry list of issues and systemic challenges. However, what if we flip the question for a moment... what have been the positives? When we consider those positives, it begs the question of what 'should' return in our post-COVID world? When we begin to assess some of the positives that have occurred, we can start to ask ourselves, "How can we create opportunities for these positives to exist moving forward?" 

When our 11, 12, and 13-year-olds communicate so brilliantly what they have gained from this past year, it makes it clear that we must explain what we do and what we want to do in the future so that we don't move backward (U-turn). There are some things from B.C. (before COVID) that we can leave in the past. This allows for a collective effort to push towards the on-ramp that leads us into the future. 

Check in with your students, families, communities, and staff and evaluate what the good stuff has been! The path may not be clear, but we know that we cannot afford to allow for U-turns.