Leadership

My Graduation Speech During a Pandemic

/ Dave Eberwein / 4 Comments

I have previously written about the importance of struggling if we want to strengthen our brains (The Struggle is Real) — that moment in your thinking when it feels like your wheels are spinning and you’re not sure of the correct way out of the mud-pit.

It is a critical moment in brain development where we actually see incredible neural growth and connectivity as the brain works to solve the problem. It’s actually an important time to celebrate.

Well … there was a lot of celebrating that happened while I was preparing this year’s graduation speech. My struggle was real! And it lasted for quite a while, too, I might add.

As I do most years, I begin to think about my speech when the calendar turns over in January. I formulate some ideas and write them down in my notebook. It comes together slowly usually about a week or two before the big event on stage.

This year was completely different. I was having a horrible time deciding on a theme as it had already been an up-and-down year in Saanich … and then came …

… the pandemic.

What does a Superintendent’s speech look like during that tumultuous time?

Pages: 1 2

Leadership During a Storm

/ Dave Eberwein / 2 Comments

As I sit here writing this post it’s been 6 weeks (42 days) since the announcement came from the provincial government that all in-class instruction in our schools was being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If I’m being completely honest … it feels like its been closer to 6 months. The information onslaught, video-conference calls and numerous educational changes have been relentless. Changes that include:

  • from how we were doing school to an UNFAMILIAR way of teaching, learning and assessing;
  • feeling UNSETTLED about not knowing what comes next;
  • increased levels of ANXIETY among many in our community.
Pages: 1 2

We’re Going to be OK

/ Dave Eberwein / 1 Comment

I have never experienced anything remotely similar to this pandemic in my lifetime. When I look back in time I can find The Spanish Flu epidemic from 1918-1920. It was devasting in Canada and around the world. In our country an estimated 55,000 people died — most of them between the ages of 20-40. Interestingly, coming out of WW1 Canada lost a little more than 60,000 soldiers (1914-1918).

But, there isn’t anything more recent that resembles the world-wide pandemic we are currently living within.

Military hospital at Naden (Esquimalt, BC), c. 1919. Courtesy City of Victoria Archives

Why was the Spanish Flu so devastating? Several reasons have been mentioned (such as a lack of suitable drugs and communication), but the most significant cause was a lack of adequate quarantine measures. We also didn’t have very good coordination between the various health authorities across the country.

Pages: 1 2