We Are Resilient

• Amanda Lauritsen
• Posted 9/21/20
• 0 comments

Dear friends, 

Thinking about this school year is daunting, overwhelming, anxiety-inducing, and also wholly uncertain. I don’t like uncertainty. I don’t like change. I sometimes just sit around and do nothing when I feel overwhelmed (ok, I’ve done that a lot!) 

But during a meeting with my fellow elementary music teachers a few weeks ago, this thought stuck out clearly in my mind– 

This school year is going to be very hard- which only means that I will grow exponentially! 

And I wrote it at the top of my journal during our meeting. 

I also wrote this to power through the doubt –

I am adaptable. I am resilient. I can do this. We’re in this together with our students, and we will all get closer through going through this. You don’t realize what you got ‘til it’s gone. 

I know that I have realized even more these past few months just how much my job as a teacher means to me, how much I love those kiddos I teach, and how grateful I am to get to work with a fantastic group of people.

And – I realized that our students love us too. Our students were awakened from their usual routine just as much as we were, and I just have a hunch that seeing their teachers again, online or in-person, masks, face shields, or scrubs and all, will mean more to them than we know. 

You don’t realize what you got ‘til it’s gone. Students who used to be apathetic about school are now saying- I miss school so much! I miss my friends so much! And I miss my teachers so much. 

And likewise – if we can’t sing in person for a whole year… singing just got to be a hot commodity! When we can finally sing with our students again, we are going to cry happy tears of joy right along with our students. 

I cannot wait for that day. 

And until then, we are going to seek out new ways to bring that sweet joy of music to our students. 

Whether it be an inquiry-based project you’ve been dying to try, a new improvisation activity on “found” instruments, creative movement to music celebrating many different cultures, or starting a mindfulness habit, now is the time. 

Let this opportunity bring out the best in you. The part of you that doesn’t take no for an answer. The part that demands solutions from within. 

We. Are. Resilient.
Persistent. 

And we will do whatever it takes to bring joyful music to our students. 

And in that persistence, we will be in community with our students like we have never experienced before. All through going through this together. 

Because of this challenge, we are going to be the very best music teachers that there ever were. We rise in the face challenges – that’s who we are. We work together. 

We love ourselves, each other, and the precious children we inspire. 

We got better together in the face of adversity this past spring, and I know we will continue to get better throughout this next school year. Music will be different, but that just means we are going to find new and exciting ways to reach our kids and share the joy of music. 

And for that- I am immensely grateful already. 

I have grown so much with you in our global music community so far, and I can’t wait to continue growing!  

With a grateful heart,
Amanda