Speaker 1: Hi. This is Malayan Vervier and this is Kim Azarelli.
Speaker 1: We are co authors of the book Fast Forward, How
Speaker 1: Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose. And you're listening to
Speaker 1: Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you
Speaker 1: by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Welcome to this special edition. During these difficult times, we're
Speaker 1: talking to experts who can help us gain perspective on
Speaker 1: the impact of the coronavirus, as well as your tips,
Speaker 1: resources and some much needed inspiration. Today, I'm joined by
Speaker 1: Mary Brandt. Mary is a kindergarten teacher at Rising Star
Speaker 1: Elementary School in the Seattle Public Schools, one of the
Speaker 1: communities to be hit the hardest and earliest. Welcome to
Speaker 1: the show. Thank you, I'm happy to be here. Thanks
Speaker 1: for having me. So, Mary, tell us a little bit
Speaker 1: about what you do. So, Um, I'm a kindergarten teacher
Speaker 1: right and Star and Seattle, as you mentioned, and I'm
Speaker 1: a general education teacher, so I'm responsible for a class
Speaker 1: of fifteen, five and six year olds And um, you know,
Speaker 1: we've been having such a shift in how we've had
Speaker 1: to teach and think about school over the last few weeks.
Speaker 1: But I'm just amazed by my students and families and
Speaker 1: our school community for really coming together. So it's been
Speaker 1: difficult but also inspiring. A lot of parents, um, of course,
Speaker 1: for good reason, are worried about academic interruption. Our educators
Speaker 1: also afraid that this might set back their students and
Speaker 1: any concerns about losing common core skills. Yeah, obviously this
Speaker 1: is such a challenging time for our students and our families,
Speaker 1: and it's it is really so important for kids to
Speaker 1: continue practicing and learning at home. So as an educator,
Speaker 1: I'm definitely concerned and though it's not ideal, but at
Speaker 1: the same time, I'm also confident that we've done a
Speaker 1: great job of collaborating with families and communities in order
Speaker 1: to make sure kids get the content they need to
Speaker 1: stay on truck. We're hearing parents are very uh maybe
Speaker 1: anxious and trying to keep up with very ambitious schedules
Speaker 1: that their children used to have, but you know, very
Speaker 1: hard to do. Um, what are the expectations for parents
Speaker 1: right now? And should parents be trying to fill the
Speaker 1: shoes of teachers. That's such a great question. I feel like,
Speaker 1: you know, parents have such already incredibly challenging jobs and
Speaker 1: replacing a school environment at home while you're also trying
Speaker 1: to juggle so many responsibilities and work is a huge
Speaker 1: task and a huge ask, um And I know, we
Speaker 1: know that there's so much comfort and security in children
Speaker 1: seeing their teachers and having routine of lessons that they're
Speaker 1: familiar with. So what we're really just asking families to
Speaker 1: focus on is what's the most important and what's within
Speaker 1: reason at this time for their families. And this is
Speaker 1: going to look different for every family, um And we
Speaker 1: certainly want to support an academic progress, but also first
Speaker 1: and foremost the social and emotional needs of students. So
Speaker 1: if parents are able to just support students with making
Speaker 1: a schedule and getting them reading and writing and conversing
Speaker 1: as much as possible, but we also understand that families
Speaker 1: won't be able to step into the shoes of teachers,
Speaker 1: and our responsibility as educators is still to engage and
Speaker 1: communicate with families to get them the resources they need
Speaker 1: to be able to keep their kids engaged in on track. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's incredibly stressful time. You know a lot
Speaker 1: of parents are full time working at the same time,
Speaker 1: is trying to manage this new environment for their children. Um,
Speaker 1: of course screen time. UM, it's becoming more prominent in
Speaker 1: some ways. Is it? Is it okay really for children
Speaker 1: to be um engaged in screen time? And how much
Speaker 1: time would you recommend for parents? Another great question and
Speaker 1: one I'm sure so many families are thin seen about
Speaker 1: right now. I think the most important thing is just
Speaker 1: giving yourself grace as parents and family ways, and knowing
Speaker 1: that every family and situation will be different and your
Speaker 1: routines will of course have changed dramatically. And I can't
Speaker 1: really put a specific number on how much screen time
Speaker 1: I would recommend or is okay, But I do know
Speaker 1: that keeping kids engaged even when screen time is happening
Speaker 1: is a great way to go about it. So if
Speaker 1: your child is watching a movie or a TV show,
Speaker 1: asking them to write or draw about their favorite part afterwards,
Speaker 1: or retell what they just saw in their own words,
Speaker 1: practicing those cognitive skills along with the screen time. And
Speaker 1: then I would also say building it into a schedule
Speaker 1: for families so children know when to expect that they
Speaker 1: will get screen time and what's coming after it, and
Speaker 1: how they can engage with that time as well. So
Speaker 1: I would say definitely for families to give themselves grace
Speaker 1: and um be flexible with the changing schedule, and also
Speaker 1: know that it's okay to balance screen time with other activities. Again,
Speaker 1: it's such a stressful time for parents and to come
Speaker 1: up with great ideas. I'm sure everyone's feeling they want
Speaker 1: to do great things for their kids, but I think
Speaker 1: parents are quite overwhelmed right now. Are there other activities
Speaker 1: that you have seen be effective in this moment? Absolutely.
Speaker 1: One of the things, especially with little kindergarteners, that's been
Speaker 1: so fun to see is we know kids can't sit
Speaker 1: and have a lesson just like they would in class
Speaker 1: at home, even if teachers are getting online content. The
Speaker 1: one thing that's been so fun to see is UM
Speaker 1: having students write letters to their teachers, to grandma or
Speaker 1: grandpa or aunt, nunks or uncle, someone in their family.
Speaker 1: So getting that practice of writing letters, drawing pictures and
Speaker 1: actually nailing it. UM seeing students have engineering challenges at home,
Speaker 1: building things out of recycling, or UM practicing counting how
Speaker 1: many pastas there are in the jar, UM taking little
Speaker 1: nature walks, getting a chance to get outside the way
Speaker 1: from other people and collect rocks or leaves and compare
Speaker 1: and support them. And for older students, you know, cooking UM,
Speaker 1: having a family interview, interviewing a parent and asking them
Speaker 1: about their family history, and writing a little report. Basically
Speaker 1: finding something students are excited about doing and going with that,
Speaker 1: because we know when students are excited and motivated, they're
Speaker 1: going to be successful learners, even if it's a little
Speaker 1: bit non traditional at those times. I love all of
Speaker 1: those ideas. They all sound great. We'll be back after
Speaker 1: this break. Obviously very very difficult time. Is there a
Speaker 1: way you're recommending parents speak to their children about what's
Speaker 1: going on. Yeah, that's something we've been thinking about a
Speaker 1: lot again, especially with the little five and six year old. UM.
Speaker 1: We're recommending that families really do just be honest with
Speaker 1: their kids and ask them how they're feeling, and also
Speaker 1: share some of their um own and needs, you know,
Speaker 1: acknowledging this is a difficult time. It's different. But that's
Speaker 1: I think where the seeing their teachers these come in
Speaker 1: and it's so important even I it's just a brief
Speaker 1: recorded morning meeting, more message to have that sense of
Speaker 1: regularity and familiarity even in such a stressful time. But
Speaker 1: I definitely think acknowledging for kids this is different and
Speaker 1: scary for us too. But creating a new normal within
Speaker 1: this of the schedule of the day at home, which
Speaker 1: might include more screen time and might include different different things,
Speaker 1: but knowing what to expect for children, I think it's
Speaker 1: going to be really important. So obviously this is a
Speaker 1: hard time, as you just mentioned for everybody. Uh, scary
Speaker 1: and and and difficult. Um, But what makes you optimistic
Speaker 1: in this moment? Yeah, I think that's a great question.
Speaker 1: And when I've been trying to think about every day
Speaker 1: as well, I think, UM, in the letters and photos
Speaker 1: and text messages I get from my family, is showing
Speaker 1: the pictures of their kids, UM watching my lessons or
Speaker 1: UM face timing with a relative or reading a book
Speaker 1: for fun on their own, I'm really inspired and remember
Speaker 1: how much our students can do and how capable they are,
Speaker 1: and how children at this difficult time are more than
Speaker 1: for a good example of our future and what we
Speaker 1: can look forward to. And seeing students be creative in
Speaker 1: how they're approaching their time at home as well has
Speaker 1: been really inspiring. And then also watching um Wool communities
Speaker 1: come together and working with my colleagues to get content
Speaker 1: out to students and UM the greater community as well.
Speaker 1: Coming together to be there for each other has been
Speaker 1: very positive and inspiring. Is there anything that our listeners
Speaker 1: can do to support you? Um? Yeah, I think if
Speaker 1: you have questions, absolutely reach out to your child's teachers,
Speaker 1: because I can speak as an educator right now, it's
Speaker 1: so wonderful to share from families with any questions or
Speaker 1: concerned because all we want right now is to make
Speaker 1: sure that we're we're there for you and able to
Speaker 1: UM be there and know that we're also unsure and
Speaker 1: going through this together. So we're all doing our very
Speaker 1: best to be there for our students. UM. But yeah,
Speaker 1: just most importantly giving yourself that grace and being flexible
Speaker 1: and knowing that UM, whatever schedule changes occur nowive, they're
Speaker 1: really resilient and talking with them will be so important
Speaker 1: during this ten Well, Mary, it's wonderful to talk with you.
Speaker 1: Seattle is very lucky to have you there, UM, and
Speaker 1: we really appreciate you joining us. Thanks so m pleasure.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose,
Speaker 1: brought to you by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio with support from founding partner p ANDNG.
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