https://padlet.com/eric_hudson/5ppokzzwwf2bvb81 Share a brief written reflection on what you've tried and learned about self-trust and self-care during this course. What will you continue to practice now that the course is over? en-us 2020-07-27 13:05:11 UTC 2020-11-19 07:26:23 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/eric_hudson/5ppokzzwwf2bvb81/wish/940130372 One of the biggest challenges of these times is the redefinition of what "work" is. With so many of our institutions being mandated to work in a Virtual environment, it has created a sharp exposure of some of our "customs" that we have inherited from the Industrial Age. Such things as "clocking in", and if you are not AT work, then you are not doing your job. Work has become what you DO, not where you ARE. Indeed, I have been reading several essays of businesses that have no intention of continuing to lease office space for certain divisions of their businesses even after the passing of Covid. So, what does this mean for our schools? Since we were mandated to go into full virtual back in March, It was decided to create a flexible instructional and work schedule for our school based on the evolving input of our students, staff, and parent community, so that the school could be flexible and adaptive in serving the community at this time. As we head into the 2nd Semester, there is a growing discussion at our school to start requiring all staff to return to the building according to their normal contract hours, as it would "look good" to the public, even though it is unlikely that anything other than large groups of students would return before Fall of 2021. For those that are hesitant, the pushback is simply: Why? We have a successful model of working form home. Why increase our risk during this time? Others see it as an opportunity to reconnect with the school and colleagues.

I see in both of these points of view the struggle of Self-trust and Self-care going on for each person. For the past 9 months, everyone has struggled to find their center, their point of stability, and how each person is responding tells a lot about how they have managed to cope. Some seek safety, and flexibility in the work day (including their physical location), others seek to reconnect and reaffirm their sense of community through proximity. I confess that I often go back and forth between these two points of view depending on the day of the week or the mood of my 2 year old. I have come to realize that beyond diet, exercise, entertainment, and physical security, self-determination has been the single most important element for sustaining my self-care and self-trust, and I am observing the same in all my colleagues and parents. 

As a school leader, what are the next steps in sustaining and nurturing the school community and ethos, in an uncertain world where a key element of positive and healthy self-trust and self-care can be described as having an element of self-determination in something as small as "From where must I physically work?" Does this question start to drive us down the path of: "What kind of a school do we want to be Post-Covid? Do we want to change, stay the same, evolve?" "What will be the most effective and of highest quality in terms of the Self-trust and Self-care of our stakeholders"?]]> 2020-11-19 07:08:21 UTC https://padlet.com/eric_hudson/5ppokzzwwf2bvb81/wish/940130372