During her confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, Senator Cory Bookers declared his refusal to let the racist, sexist, and absurd questioning of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson by Republican senators dampen the joy of her nomination, her contributions, and the historic nature of her nomination.
Listening to this speech, I got emotional because of the power of his reflections and how he contextually Judge Jackson's work in the context of history, present, and the future. His speech touched me on a personal level because of how his words reflected my struggles.
Like any week, some things pull away from the joy of teaching, but this week they felt different. After a couple of weeks of masks-optional policy and lull in positive COVID-19 cases, we had several cases and close-contacts were told to wear masks for ten days. Having to wear a mask again felt discouraging and disorientating. Even though I wore a mask teaching at school for almost all of the time I've taught in-person during the pandemic, putting it back on felt so limiting. One of the things I've loved the most about not wearing a mask was showing my smile to my students, and this week that was taken away.
There were other things this week that pulled away at my joy. There were students whose insecurities were expressed in disruptive behavior in class. I had some meetings that felt more laborious and negative than productive. Communication issues led to me addressing an issue with a student in a way that was not effective. There was rain all week that like Noah's storm, that seemed to be non-stop. Then there was the lockdown drill. While the students I was with behaved appropriately and followed directions during the drill, every time I have to do one of these drills, it is a depressing reminder of how low a priority school safety is in this country. Schools do all this work to make schools safe, while little to no actions have been made as a society to address the culture of gun violence and desperately needed policies around gun control.
There was joy this week. I'm part of a wonderful hiring committee that makes me feel valued and included. My sixth graders have been excelling at our current recorder unit. My 4th and 5th graders are engaging well with the work in class and are enjoying the new songs we are starting. There are also great exciting projects to look forward to in the next couple of months.
Senator Booker is right. We have to refuse to give up our joy. It's not always easy, but it's something we can't forget. I have the pleasure and privilege of working with children. It's a joy that I can't forget and a joy worth fighting for.
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