Loneliness in Children During COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Today was extremely hard for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to surround myself with children all year long who have a love of all things STEM and after today, all things childhood. Sadly, these days are deprived of those experiences that I have grown so fondly to love.
When I look back at my own childhood, I realize that the best part of my day was a routine composed of getting up in the morning, finding and watching my favorite cartoon, riding the school bus, and finally — loving every moment of being in the classroom with friends and my teacher. There was not a better time for me being the introverted child that I was who loved nothing more than “doing my best”.

Today however, was extremely hard for me. After taking a hiatus teaching online for several years, I took on the brave task of hosting online classes not for my students, but for students that are in programs where I mainly “teach them STEM in a fun, hands on way”. I have so many students that I work with that were affected by school closures that I could not fathom sitting here idle and “doing nothing”. I’m a teacher for heavens sake, and in a way thinking of not seeing the children enjoy our programs (and taunting each other) was inconceivable. So I logged on, uploaded my presentations, and learned more in the last three hours than I have in the last few decades of working.

Technology is challenging — and sometimes it takes a second to learn how to navigate systems that you have not mastered. But it is technology that has allowed us to accomplish things we could never have done before. It is technology that gives us the freedom to work from home and if prompted, work while you are standing in line. It is technology that has given us the freedom to move, think, and act as quickly as you can innovate and type, and create and conceive. In the end, it is technology that will connect us during this “socially isolators time” where people matter the most.

After spending time logging in and looking for the six presentations that I put together, I upload my first presentation for Pre-1st. “Oh no!” As I screamed and saw that my first presentation was written over and not saved. It reminded me of the times when I would sit home afterschool and listen to the radio and record my favorite songs and accidentally record my other favorite songs. It’s never ending for me, always “learning through failure”.

It’s 1:00pm and after I see my non-make up face clear the video screen, I see the faces of the angels that I have been thinking about for almost a week. Instantly, my heart melted as I saw the sweet faces of little ones who I normally would see on any given weekday. “Hi, “Tim” — oh my gosh “Greg! Hey Gabe!” — these were a few of the young pupils that I normally see hustling in line to pick up whatever it was for us to do. These were the kids that could never be asked twice to do something that had a “LEGO” brick attached to it and now — I see their tiny faces smiling back at me when I saw how incredibly cool their wardrobe choice was (yes — I still love Star Wars I hate to say). And if they ever knew how incredibly grateful I was to see something other than statistics and apocalpytpic news that has permeated through my brain, they would hold that against me — forever .

In the words of my mother-in-law, childhood is sacred. The first few years of a child’s life is about giving them the experiences that they can draw from and build upon. Children grow up and have a voice with their own unique story to share with the world and in that story, they will find meaning and purpose and an impact that is all their own. In this particular part of their shared story, I am sad to say that there is a sudden despair that has graced the hearts and minds of these young ones. In place of days where they aimlessly gaze at the sky with their peers wrangling on who is allowed to go “first” or who can be invited to the next playdate, they sit with their parents with a certain uncertainty that this is one of the question that for a few times in their life, their parent has to give them an answer of, “Well, I don’t know”.

It is now more than ever that children need us to be the adults and give them the strength to make light of the situation and provide them hope and normalcy. Unquestionably, like many of the teacher “comrade in arms” that have befallen from the school shutdowns, I understand that your child’s teacher may want to passively assign your child classwork and forward links to them that are “due” when they are “due” so that they can focus on their children. Yes, that’s not a bad thing — but I heard and saw these children say, “I miss going to school”, “I miss all my friends” and “I don’t know where my teacher is”. This routine, this permanence that they have worked so hard not to want but crave now more than ever will help them later on in life but until they hear their teacher’s voice, see their teacher’s face, or engage in the childhood banter that they can only claim as their own — they are left to their own devices about who, what, and why things are the way they are because insecurity breeds loneliness.

I know that the parents that were able to log on today are parents who really love their kids and conversely, love to support them. There is nothing more telling of , “I love you” than a mom or dad who sits with their kid and helps them get through something tricky. Teachers (especially me) care more about your child than you could even know because we keep it inside until you finally realize that when your child is hurt, a part of us is hurt too.

I’m sorry that like all of you, I don’t have the answers that you may be looking for. I do have one request — please take the time to have your child talk to their friends and teachers if you have the chance. If all I can do for the next few weeks is to help kids help each other, then this entire chapter of my life can be written off as a success.

Christine J. Javier, a Consultant in the Education and Auxiliary Services Industry in Atlanta, GA, has over sixteen years working with families and schools in helping children prepare for the 21st Century. Her current projects include Teaching Coding Strategies in All Content Areas (NSTA) and working towards developing quality STEM programs in the public and private sectors in Georgia. If you have questions about online education, tutoring, or helping manage your new commitments, please feel free to contact Christine at christine@learningridge.com or text: 404-964-8533 www.christinejavier.com