The Storm

Several years ago, on a summer afternoon, I was following a school of fish through a marsh just behind a barrier island on the coast. My father-in-law and I had caught several, and we were as excited as little kids. I'd be lying if I said I did not notice storm clouds a few miles off from us. I think I even said out loud, "We might get a little wet in a few minutes." I generally don't play around with coastal storms when I'm on the water, but I was probably blinded by the thought of catching just one more. I didn't know that the storm that I was seeing was a water spout that was moving onshore and turning into a tornado. By the time I recognized the danger, the storm was on top of us. The wind and sideways rain made it almost impossible to see the front of my boat as I tried to navigate away from the storm. I remembered having to coach myself into breathing slower and not panicking as I inhaled water coming at my face. It was over in a few minutes of chaos, but it was as scared as I'd ever been on the water. 

On Wednesday, that memory came back to me as I joined several students and staff members before school at the Meet You at the Pole prayer. The event takes a few moments to rally students, staff, and community members to pray for schools and the people in them. It's another one of the post-COVID things that I was happy to see come back. One of the prayers quoted the book of Mathew and the storm that the disciplines found themselves in. Maybe it was the impending hurricane that I knew was coming later in the week or maybe it was experience talking in my head, but I knew, in more ways than one, a storm was coming. 

October is generally one of the more stressful months for educators and students. It is usually jam-packed with events and the newness of school has worn off a bit. Grades and expectations become real things rather than something said at a staff meeting or written on a syllabus. Things like homecoming week and field trips to the state fair compete with the end of the marking period and due dates for STEM grand challenges. And just like me following a school of fish for fun, we can all get distracted until it is too late to see that a storm is upon us. We talk a lot about self-care for teachers these days, but rather than finding reactive measures to destress, I'd like to propose a proactive one as we embark on a traditionally stormy month ahead. Carve out a few moments each day to look at the horizon and prepare. Make it a habit to know what is coming up and talk to your students and fellow department members about how to manage what needs to be done. Be strategic and be vocal about it. Don't wait until the storm hits you.