Episode 015: Amy Allison
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DESCRIPTION
As we head back to school this September, I wanted us to hear from an educator about what is going on right now and how we can intentionally prepare for our best possible re-integration.
When I thought about who I could reach out to, Amy immediately came to mind. She has been a dear friend since Grade 7 (!). She is a parent of 3 and she has been an educator for 21 years. She is a compassionate person and she is well-positioned to look at this situation from multiple perspectives. She is also an innovative and creative thinker who always puts students’ growth and a strong sense of community first. I was curious to hear her opinions and find out what insights she could offer us as we navigate a September like no other.
She shares her insights on what has been going on in the ‘classroom’ and how we can intentionally navigate as we move forward. She also offers great tools on helping kids to talk about their feelings and prepare for coming months. This a great episode for all of us in terms of exploring our most mindful collaboration, communication, stress management and mental health.
It wraps up with a beautiful conversation about the gifts of resilience and how this pandemic teaches us to navigate our joys and our pains and, in doing so, step deeper into our wholeness.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
(00:50) Amy’s Bio
(03:12) Where we are right now (mid-Summer 2020)
(04:15) How Amy’s own parenting has been shifting as a result of COVID-19
(06:40) When this is over, how are we going to undo the fear?
(07:10) The realities of online learning & the importance of community
(08:45) How Amy encouraged student participation through visual/online connection
(11:15) The importance of structure & working with individual family needs
(16:35) Looking ahead to September and how to prepare
(20:42) What Amy heard from parents and their concerns (beyond their kids’ progress)
(22:00) Children’s mental health & how to help them cope
(25:44) A tool to help kids open up about their feelings
(32:40) How can the kids prepare to go back to school in a healthy way
(38:27) How educators can prepare to re-enter the classroom in a mindful way
(42:19) The importance of shifting from ourselves to others
(46:36) Amy’s final words of inspiration about our wholeness, our joy and our pain
(48:03) The beautiful gift of resilience
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
No external links for this episode.
MORE ABOUT MY GUEST
Today we have with us an amazing educator and my dear friend, Amy Allison. Amy has been an elementary school teacher with the Greater Essex County Board of Education for 21 years. She now teaches grade 3 at D.M. Eagle Public School in Tecumseh, Ontario but has worked with students from Kindergarten to Grade 8. As a teacher, she most enjoys building community in the classroom and conferencing with students to really get to know what their ideas, strengths and weaknesses are. She passionately believes that student voice and choice can lead to success.
She has 3 children ages 11, 12 and 16 who are learning to be amazing global citizens. As a family they enjoy giving back to our community in a variety of ways – and consider community service as important as any extra-curricular activity that the kids can be a part of.