RE@L extends Thanksgiving well-wishes this year to all those who have served so many. Among them are: healthcare workers, teachers, students, parents….all who help those in need. There are many more!
There is much to be thankful for this holiday, even in the midst of COVID-19. Healthcare personnel work day and night to serve and save those suffering from this yet untamed virus. Teachers and students alike struggle with new online courses and virtual class meetings on Zoom. Parents, many of whom are also working at home, try to assist their children in their studies, too.
Here’s a timely holiday excerpt from the popular online publication Toast™. Their online article features the “Top Things for Our Thanks” this 2020 Thanksgiving holiday. It’s a holiday day like no other in over 100 years.
But, in all that, there still are some important things for which we can be thankful this national holiday. Here are few for which many of us are grateful, one of which is helping each other. Here’s what Toast had to say:
“Our top things to be thankful for during a pandemic thanksgiving….”
“The pandemic, the upcoming American election, and the overall state of the world can leave one feeling just a tad bit down. However, there’s always something to be thankful for, and this year our Toast Team selected…top picks that you can focus on being grateful for this Thanksgiving.
1. Teachers
Here’s a teaching moment — teachers during any time of the year are always something to be thankful for. But this year, it’s especially true. Whether in-class or through online learning, they’re doing amazing work keeping students motivated, safe and on task, while most parents still need to stay home and work remotely.
2. Frontline Workers
Our frontline workers can’t be thanked enough. The countless paramedics, nurses, doctors, personal support workers, and more have put so much on the line to help us and protect our health during these “uncertain times.”
Not only that, but our ….baristas and grocery clerks who kept working throughout the pandemic, and our waiters and our retail workers at the malls who have also given us a sense of normality and comfort when we needed it most.
3. Each other
Obvious and cheesy, we know, but hey — we made it through this year together. Through FaceTime, Zoom, via text, or even in person (safely and from a distance), having others around kept us sane.
With restrictions changing what seems like every day, it’s nice to know that you have a constant support group of friends and family only a message or call away.”
Thanks to the Toast Team for sharing these sources of gratitude.
Teachers, as do many HealthCare professionals, work long, difficult days. Parents, too, should be applauded for double duties of doing their own jobs, if they still have one, and also as mentors, doing their best to help their kids do schoolwork many have forgotten.
In the last hundred years, no one has been subjected to the demands of a pandemic education. It’s still upon us all. Those who still work, both in health care and education, do what they can to serve those in need. To whom are we thankful this Thanksgiving?
Our profound thanks is due to the 18 million health care providers in our country. They work night and day, trying to save the lives of the many thousands of Covid-19 victims.
We are also grateful to the 5 million K12 educators who strive each weekday to advance the learning goals of their many students.
Let’s not forget the many students, themselves, all 51 million of them. They face a real educational challenge, too. Our grand-daughter, Erika, 
told us that her online ZOOM lessons do help, all things considered. But she really misses the face-to -face, up-close, visits with her teachers and friends.
No more choir singing together, either. Covid-19 says “No!” to being too close together for now. And mentor, Mr. Karbo, can’t reach out to help a student in need, either.
K12 Teachers in this country bring us a cadre of 5 million teachers to students in need everywhere. They are pioneering new ways to learn that are largely untried before, forging new ways to teach and for students to learn. More help is needed for both!
Supporting both teachers and students are the many millions of parents. Some have jobs to support their family. Many do not. Still, they do what they can to support their children’s learning, whether it’s onsite or online.
Ways must be found to serve students who differ. New ways are needed to teach and to learn. Yes, even grandparents can help! That’s our grandson, Sam, some years ago, showing us on FaceTime what he was studying on his own when he was home-schooled. Sam learned how to learn. We grandparents learned too, just watching him!
Let’s find a way to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, too! Let’s be thankful for the many who serve us and our children daily and in so many ways! We thank you all for your: endurance, creativity, persistence, dedication, caring for those in need.
What will be the legacy of this pandemic in K12 learning? Perhaps we will find some of these new ways are better ways for some students to learn. Perhaps other students will need more personal attention and more resources. Students today and tomorrow will need to have new skills. They may need to assume greater responsibility for their own learning. They will learn to plan better, to do more, to work harder, to list their goals, to show their skills, but still reach out for help when needed. And, they will pass on to others what they have learned, too.
Because of this turbulent and challenging present pandemic, some of our new methods may become our future way to learn. Others may not. We must share what works with those who follow us. And so it goes. We are all at work for a hopeful and better future, one that better serves us all.
Here’s a Thanksgiving Toast that keeps on giving:
“Serving one another is truly a gift, one for which we all must be thankful!”