Throughout our country, the coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on the way we live our lives. The stay-at-home orders have led to the closing of numerous businesses and schools. Now that these orders have had to be extended, the governor has announced that all public schools will stay closed through the end of the current school year. This leaves a lot of unanswered questions about prom and graduation for thousands of students throughout our state.
At the same time, our teachers are faced with new challenges. We still do not have answers to the questions of when can life return to normal, when can teachers go back to their classrooms or prepare for not only summer, but the next school year? Unfortunately, I believe we still have a long way to go with this pandemic. Our teachers work incredibly long hours. What they do extends beyond their time in the classroom, formally instructing your children. They are working long before 8:00 in the morning and long after 3:00 in the afternoon. In my opinion, they are doing all they can in this new era of teaching from home, but it is still not the same.
To our graduating seniors, those born in the shadows of the attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001, to the “first day of the rest of your lives” now, I cannot imagine how frustrating or confusing this sudden turn of events is for them. And, what can I say about our wonderful teachers that has not already been said? We appreciate what they do more than we may be able to express. Hopefully, life can return to some semblance of normal very soon and we can start to build toward that day when teachers are standing outside the entrance to school to welcome new arrivals and familiar faces, and we can look to the future, strong and better than we were before. With God’s grace, we will get there.
As always, please feel free to call, email or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.