If hilarious memes popping up all over social media by quarantined parents attempting to homeschool their children during the COVID-19 school shutdown are an indication, laughter indeed is good medicine.

“Been homeschooling a 6-year-old and 8-year-old for one hour and 11 minutes. Teachers deserve to make a billion dollars a year. Or a week.”

“At the end of the first day of my attempts at homeschooling, my conclusion: Teachers are superheroes. The end.” 

“Observations after 2.5 hours of homeschooling: 1. Teachers need to be paid more than professional athletes and all of Hollywood combined. 2. Homeschooling will NOT be in our future plan. 3. It’s not too early for a drink.”

Many of us can relate to the lighthearted quips. It helps to ease stress when we see others in the same situation and can laugh together at ourselves.

Underlying the humor is a sincere and welcome heightened appreciation for educators. Homeschooling can be a challenge in the calmest of times, and when parents and children are cooped up, missing their usual social and recreational outlets and daily structure, and in a home environment with entertaining distractions, it can be an impossible feat.

Some might think homeschooling would be an easier pivot for a teacher who’s also a parent. In reality, it adds complexity and competition for the teacher-parent’s time and attention.

Teachers often seem to have super powers, but they really are mortals—albeit heroic mortals--with their own stresses and challenges. 

Imagine yourself, a teacher of special needs students, scurrying to get ready for the first week of remote instruction, which happens to fall on the same week your baby is due to be born. But you are determined that students will see your smiling face on camera and get the reassurance they need. 

Put yourself in the shoes of a principal whose workday has stretched to 24/7 and you now carry two cell phones so you can respond to an enormous volume of emails and calls from parents, students, and teachers while managing the care of your elderly parent. And you extend yourself to comfort and encourage all who depend on your leadership.

Education leaders and behavioral specialists advise us to keep ourselves and our children calm, project positivity, be patient, and try not to stress about strict adherence to curriculum during this pandemic.

That advice was at the heart of our discussion when the Education Foundation of Sarasota County team quickly convened to identify the ways we could swiftly adapt our delivery methods and continue our important work for students, teachers and schools.

While the district prepared its remote instruction plan, we developed and launched virtual support services and resources including college-career advising and mentoring. Continuing these services is especially valuable for high school juniors and seniors whose worlds have been turned upside down just as they entered a new, exciting phase leading to their futures.

We gave special thought to utilizing social media and digital platforms to provide a valuable social-emotional resource and information hub for teachers, students and their families.

The social-emotional learning lessons offered on our website at EdFoundationSRQ.org/social-emotional-learning-lessons are an important component of our resources.  Topics include managing stress before it manages you, managing relationships in tight quarters, managing emotions, bouncing back from challenges, and self-management.

Lessons are presented in professionally produced videos and downloadable handouts, are useful for all ages, and can be accessed by anyone at no charge. The five lessons had a total of 2,380 pageviews four weeks after launching.

The outcome we all want when the crisis is past is for everyone to emerge whole—physically, mentally, emotionally. We will be glad to leave behind the word “coronavirus” but we hope to carry forward new respect, appreciation, and gratitude for everyone who contributes to our children’s education.

That includes professional classroom teachers, principals, instructional aides, support staff, and all of the newly minted homeschool teachers--also known as Mom, Dad, Pop, Nana—who crack jokes at their own expense while doggedly persevering to help their loved ones keep learning.

Jennifer Vigne is president of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.