Article Creating Intentional Interactions
Dr. Allison Slade
After two years of separation, I brought my daughters (age 10 and 12) to see their grandparents in Florida over winter vacation. My mother-in-law commented on the day we were leaving, “We had a great time, but they haven’t even given me a hug!” This comment caused me to reflect on the changes we’ve all endured throughout the last two years of the pandemic, and how our cultural interactions—big and small—have changed, possibly forever, both at home and in schools. In schools, a culture will be strong or weak depending not on singular actions, but on the way people interact with one another every single day. These interactions
Unfortunately, our focus on surviving, rather than thriving during this unthinkable time of challenge has created schools (and sometimes homes and extended families) that lack the joy, stability and perseverance that define achieving school communities. layer on top of one another every hour, every day, every week and every year co-workers of all types—teachers, paraprofessionals, lunchroom staff, secretaries and 48
