I truly hope you were able to enjoy your winter break. When a break starts it seems like you have so much time and you're not sure what you'll do with all of it, but by the time you blink and binge one Netflix show the break is over. Now more than ever it is so important to give yourself some time to rest. Most of us are feeling overworked and utterly exhausted every day because we are doing what should be labeled as essential work during a pandemic. I repeat again, you are doing an AWESOME job. Last February we had no idea what was actually coming our way and it has been a rough road for us in education.
Each day the public perception of educators goes from being heroes to being blamed for kids not making progress and for the fact that schools aren't fully open. It's still a pandemic and we need to celebrated for how much we have done to try to keep some routine and normalcy in our students' day to day lives. To show solidarity and support for each other as Long Island Teachers, there will be a Red for Ed day in early March which will be a year from when we had our initial full COVID shutdown. You will hear more details soon. February break starts to lead us into the view of the rest of the school year and it never seems like it's moving quickly, but it always does.
February is also Black History Month, although I celebrate being Black 365/7. February does give us all a great opportunity to learn and share with others the contributions that BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color ) had and continue to have on American History. The Black History Month 2021 theme, "Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity" explores the African diaspora, and the spread of Black families across the United States. We can incorporate this message and share notable people in any curriculum during this month and at any point. The FFT CHR committee shared some information and tips about why it's so important to do so.
Lastly, always remember that the greatness of our society is that our diversity can make us stronger, we just need to recognize and respect the differences. We are all different threads that make up one fabric."
