Hope: 8 Challenges and Actions to Rebuild Community

I don’t know anyone not feeling overwhelmed with our constant changes, uneasy about what is to come. I hope, I really hope that wherever we are headed, we can come together on the fundamental idea that we must rebuild our community—so that we can each find and recognize ourselves and our nation again.

I am thinking about the true meaning of community. I did a quick search on how many times I mention this word “community” in my book, and the total is 52. It’s because a solid community is necessary for our kids to have a solid education.

Strong communities mobilize resources and prioritize schooling, at every level. From (imagine concentric and overlapping circles) our households to classrooms, grade levels, parent-school partnerships, buildings, neighborhoods, corporations, school districts, after school programs, community support services, states, larger geographic and culturally distinct regions, nations, and, ultimately, our interdependent and connected world. It’s a good time for us to do a full audit of our communities and our roles within each. What do we give and what do we take?

8 Community Challenges and Rebuilding Actions:

1. Our education system is hurting. Unlike the 2008 recession, after which it took up to a decade for school funding levels to return, we now also have teachers leaving the profession in greater numbers and students not engaging. We are laying the foundation for a Gen Z ecosystem that within it will have far more disparate experiences.
2. With the decrease in local media outlets, we are losing our community transparency and accountability necessary to support our children. Since 2004, about 1,800 newspapers have closed in the United States of which 60 have been since the spread of COVID.
3. If we have any excess resources, share them with those that have less advantage. From funding schools, tutoring, and extracurriculars to childcare.
4. During this moment in history, how are you bringing discussions of our world at large into your households? It’s a way to prepare kids for their futures and to give them support and understanding while instilling perseverance and compassion.
5. How do you model civic engagement? Our kids oftentimes unwittingly mimic our own values and behaviors. Make sure you are proud of the child you are raising for our greater good.
6. Cultures take time to change and require incremental change at the individual level. Meaning, every shift counts. We didn’t get to where we are overnight and we won’t get to where we need to be overnight either.
7. One fallout from pandemic schooling will be how to assess what needs to be done in-person, virtually or in a hybrid model moving forward. A main consideration will be weighing how to build a caring and thriving community against being efficient with our time and money. Part of Capitalism 2.0.
8. We may be feeling depleted, but we cannot forget to consider the 2021-2022 school year. We are building systems and patterns for future practices now. Let’s be as aware as we can about what is working and what needs to be modified.

As always, communicate with your teachers and model compassion. We have an entire generation, Gen Z, depending on it. And we depend on them. We need to rebuild, and we can't do it without a community. I have hope. I hope you do too.