While we may not know when life will return to “normal” after the current pandemic, we can be sure of two things — this time will pass, and it will be remembered as historically significant.
Change is constant, and this will eventually be a distant memory, but what would we want our future selves to know about this time?
That is the question Blue Cluster Head Teacher Brendan Stackhouse posed to his advisory class for their “Letter from a Pandemic” assignment.
The assignment required students to write a letter to themselves that they will receive 6 months from now, when Mr. Stackhouse mails the letters.
He said the idea came to him last week when he was performing research on the Great Depression for two of his English classes that are reading texts set in the depression era.
“I think it’s really difficult to wrap your head around the magnitude of a situation unless you’re able to see things from the primary perspective of people who lived at that time,” Mr. Stackhouse said. “We are obviously in an incredibly difficult and almost incomprehensible time right now, and I thought that, when the dust settles, these letters might be helpful for the kids to remember, emotionally process, and ultimately feel gratitude for the things they have in their lives.”
The beginning of the lesson starts with the statement, “We are living in a time of uncertainty and fear, but it won’t last. In the grand scheme of your entire life, this is a very quick, yet impactful moment.”
The lesson then goes on to explain the assignment and gives a two-paragraph outline of the letter with questions students should address.
Mr. Stackhouse said this gave the students an opportunity to not only express how they’re feeling, but also helped reinforce organizational writing skills they are working on in other major subject areas.
“The students responded eagerly and were able to articulately express themselves through this assignment,” he said.
Here are some of the things students wrote to their future selves:
“One thing I have learned is that it is really important to keep yourself safe. Another thing is that you need to keep yourself active and healthy.”
“An experience I’ve had during quarantine is playing with my friends online even though I can’t physically play with them which is important because we should always stay social.”
“Even though I have been quarantined I have kept myself occupied by starting to learn Hebrew.”
“One thing I have learned from this pandemic is how real things can get very bad so fast and we should have taken actions sooner.”
“Even though I have been stuck inside, I have talked to my brother more.”
“Even though this experience has been difficult, I have grown as a person.”
“I’m trying to stay positive but it’s sometimes hard. This will end, maybe not soon but it will. It’s really important to stay positive at times like this. Even though this experience has been difficult, I have grown as a person because I am closer to my family and realize I am lucky to have what I have.”