CoronaVirus you are NO match for Generation Z
4 things to help maintain calm during FEARful times:
Say it out loud, please:
"I am the parent, not the child."
or
"I am the politician, not the voter!"
or
"I am the coach, not the player!"
"I am the ___."
(REPEAT my mantra until it SINKS IN-totally works for me...well...most of the time!)
PARASITIC (a.k.a. FEARful) people are at it again. If it is not one scare tactic, it is another. When are we going to learn and stop falling into the trap? These smokescreens do real damage to children.
Before, it was a lack of a government...
Before that, it was trade wars with China or 5G as the newest cold war...
And before, before that it was Cambridge Analytics and TRUMP....
Sometimes it is even the cafeteria scandals around healthy food at schools...
If you stop and think, it's basically whatever the parasitic person decides to USE this day/week/month/year in order to distract us from realizing that he/she is really FEARful and that makes him/her unhappy and even bored (or worse, some extreme cases can make a person crazy). SPOILER...Drama is often a sign that a person is not doing his/her job (be it a politician, a frustrated employee, an opt-out parent who social medias like a community manager, or someone who feels lonely when the weather gets cold).
This is nothing more than a HIERARCHICAL trick done by "has beens" (my son, "OK Boomer!" whatever that means). It's the sign of a HIGHLY insecure person.
WHY Address this FEARstory? Worried and FEARful parents put kids on edge.
IT is our job to maintain calm for our kid and have a little faith in humanity! Right now, we need to TRUST in the AWESOME health care system and our highly-trained doctors, nurses and teams.
Here are some T.I.P.S. (Teaching Important Parenting Skills) to helps parent through these unknown times. Remember, education is power and there is nothing better than parents who have tools to use against toxic distractors. Get real facts straight before you talk.
I have addressed these T.I.P.S. in the form of a letter, written to our "fake-friend", CoVid-19. Since some people are too afraid of FEAR, to admit that they are afraid, it becomes a paralysis. Others use this new FEAR to avoid setting personal or professional goals. Regardless, COVID-19, I am a school leader and protect kids for a living. I will confront you myself on behalf of our community!
Dear CoronaVirus (and ALL other tools of FEARful People),
Times of transition are alarming for everyone but you will NOT stop us from moving forward. WE are a community of people who want the best for our CHILDREN. We know that everything is new for kids so they feel FEAR and uncertainty all of the time. Talk about developing EMPATHY. This shows us what it is like to live a day in the life of a child. We RESPECT kids. Our focus remains on making sure that tomorrow's leaders THRIVE!
#1.) WE WON'T LOSE FOCUS ON OUR LEGACY (kids).
Schools are the pillar of EVERY community!
The Community of Madrid has closed all schools for the next 15 days which we are NOT in agreement with. Children need school!
So starting Wednesday, March 11, 2020, English for Fun has virtual classrooms at 9:00am sharp! We have plenty of planned activities to keep children focused on learning and having FUN!
Here is the Schedule:
9:00-10:00 Morning meetings, checkin with our favorite faces (our teachers), story telling, music and movement and other surprises. (See link and instructions in school Tadpoles daily reports)
10:00-11:00 Our team is available for a Q&A to help us work through community FEARS. We cannot guarantee an answer but we can guarantee a smile and the knowledge that parents are NOT going through these times alone
We have created videos, material and resources that will be posted via Tadpoles, Youtube, Social Media, Podcasts, this Blog so sign up and stay tuned to all of our channels. We will keep our community busy with a support system and FUN!
Unless otherwise instructed by LAW, we will be WORKING in our Nature Parks at each Campus-
We welcome hopeful VOLUNTEER WORKERS to come for fresh air, regardless of age/shape/color/size/passport. We cannot let kids inside of the building but the coffee pot has an outdoor extension cord for parents to fill up and help.
Society is currently filled with PARASITES who love to spread toxic information in order to create hysteria. WHY? It keeps parasites from fixing their own miserable lives! I have learned that every time we get stronger, PARASITES get angry. So out of desperation, FEARful viruses TRY to grab our attention. And just like that, we forget about THE kids! NOT TODAY!
It is normal to be afraid when something we have never experienced before is happening (raising a human, learning a knew skill, starting a new job, getting a promotion, financial stress while parenting, and the scare of an unknown virus). CORONAVIRUS you're exactly that...something NEW and that brings out the FEARful in us all. We will be stronger when you finally leave, NO FEAR.
BUT how we handle ourselves as ADULTS is a choice and this is where proper parenting is key!
I may seem calm, but taking care of people's babies is a HUGE responsibility and it's the most FEARful thing a responsible adult can do! I have to remember to care for the people who care for kids (teachers) because they help the world to get rid of VIRUSES. Our TEAM is still connecting and working without FEAR but as a community we must care for everyone, especially teachers who have no family nearby!
#2) FACTS VS FICTION
Coronavirus you're today's conversation piece. In the age of instant-gratification and Fake News, it is easy to want to hear unconfirmed information from others over a morning coffee. It's important that I RESPECT my community and I get my talking points from reliable places.
I GET FACTS HERE:
The World Health Organization gives real facts, a dashboard with great and ACCURATE visuals about the virus, myth-busters and positive information:
Newsflash...It is cold, virus and allergy season and the symptoms can appear similar. I won't be FEARful and assume that everyone who coughs is contaminating my environment:
FICTION:
PARASITES SPREAD FAKE NEWS...EVERYWHERE right now. Bad information creates unnecessary hysteria so avoid being "that person"! Incorrect information can be found in so many places that I REFUSE to give any of the garbage publicity. I'm going to say, I do NOT get information from:
Also, I have Interpersonal Skills so I AVOID forwarding messages I read and putting them in the Whatsapp chats because I know that parents are already freaked out and assuming the worst about COVID-19. Parasites love to fill a receptive public with FALSE FACTS! So every time I get the urge to pass along a Whatsapp to a group of parents at the school, I remind myself not to be a PARASITE connector.
#3.) PREVENTION
Good news: Coronavirus is NOT transmitted through pregnancy, and kids seem to be the most resilient.
* Proper hygiene-Proper Hand Washing with videos to practice hand washing, and sanitization of toys, and daily cleaning.
*Our policy states that alcohol based hand-sanitizers are not allowed on children below the age of 2. This is a U.S. school regulation. Here is a DYI hand sanitizer tutorial.
*If you have read the parent handbook (ahem), you already know all of our policies about health and safety. Apply them at home! IF you would like more information, click here and we will send you a copy of the manual in English or Spanish.
* GET FRESH AIR and VENTILATE HOUSES AND CLASSROOMS. Fresh air is good for your health and can help prevent the spread of CoronaVirus? Trapping children indoors can actually make them more vulnerable to the virus?
Nature learning builds immunity and it is helpful right now to breathe FRESH air!
* If you DO NOT want children outside, it is against English for Fun and U.S. BEST PRACTICES in E.C.E. Our school has a very clear policy about outdoor learning precisely for the health and wellness of everyone in our community. While it may look different (highlighting FEARs), staying indoors is not what we believe, based on current research, is necessary for proper social-emotional learning and wellness.
#4.) OVERCOME FEAR Together
To help maintain calm during times of transition, 10% Happier will keep our own emotions ok in order to parent wisely during FEARful times
* As part of community living (which is what we are doing as a school), be a courteous community member and do not bring sick children around others. It makes parents uneasy on a regular basis, but especially right now! Contact your health care provider immediately and get tested.
* WE ask that anyone who has traveled/is traveling to the heavily infected areas (uhhh, Spain and pretty much everywhere) to notify the proper authorities and get tested as precaution. RESPECT the quarantine periods that countries are using (14-21 days from the time of visit). Trust the Ministry of Health and the Community of Madrid alerts (schools are cancelled).
* We need safety, health and hygiene procedures in our homes as well as in our schools. Over-exaggerate the healthy living and model how you wash your own hands, drink lots of water, use clean tissues and dispose of them properly and inspire the proper behavior for children. Like any virus, it is seasonal so lets hope for that AWESOME Spanish weather and taking care of ourselves and each other throughout this FEAR-provoking year.
*According to the WHO, a fever will appear within 2-10 days of exposure to the virus so that should be your first warning sign.
TRUST is hard right now in these questionable times but I follow the philosophy that if I choose to be trustworthy, I will receive the same RESPECT from others. I'm not going to change my life philosophy! There are still great people doing great things. Let's not forget that we are LUCKY in SPAIN. There is an amazing health care system! Lets choose to believe that, just like ridding the country of terrorist organizations, bad food and bad weather, Spain is more than capable of keeping the outbreak from going further. HAVE FAITH IN OUR PEOPLE! It's exhausting to criticize everyone all of the time! #choosehope
FINALLY...education means that we are the example for our community. In a multi-racial, multi-cultural, global world, and in an American company operating in Spain, we believe that there is NO justification for the hierarchy of human value. WE ARE THE LEADERS AND THE TREND SETTERS IN EDUCATION and we have to rise to this status. We cannot be the ones spreading untrue and hurtful rumors! Having a Chinese or Italian or Spanish or American passport does not give anyone the right to be discriminated against in our community. IF we represent that 20th century way of thinking to our children...we are opening our children up to being discriminated against one day by FEARful people! Remember that discrimination is exactly how homogeneous behavior creates CASTE system values that can take centuries to overcome!
Good bye Corona Virus, PARASITES (and whatever other future-virus or bug that WILL come our way). We are raising socially-emotionally happy children from the beginning of life. Children who are resilient, who are KIND and who care about others. Children with SELF-EFFICACY! We are parents with HOPE for a better future. You are NO match for our lives! There are no cesspools here so find another community to bother.
Best,
Jill Stribling
Owner & Founder
English for Fun