Empathy for Students

So much has changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. The “new normal” everyone is talking about seems like constantly shifting sands in a sand storm. We can’t see too far ahead and the landscape and even our footing is shifting, causing us to be unstable and requiring us to deal with something new every day. I expressed to some staff that this is tiring. They responded with “Yes, and think about how our students feel.”

Our new approach to service in this pandemic is by not sending out instructions or links about how to do something new (because that’s just overwhelming and tiresome). Instead, we’re simply saying, “Need help? We got you.”

But that requires trust and patience. We’re always trying to get better at those two things.

As Dr. Bonnie Henry says: “Be calm. Be kind. Be safe.”