I saw a very faint rainbow in the sky yesterday as I walked through the giant raindrops of a sunshower on my way to pick up my 7-year-old. We’ve had several showers recently, and warm afternoons; it may be that an early spring is near. It is approaching just as Omicron seems to have passed its peak in Slovakia.
Omicron brought new cases at higher numbers than we’ve seen at any point during the pandemic, though the number of hospitalizations thankfully never quite reached the same point as in late November when Slovakia had the highest number of deaths per capita in the world. The vaccination rate still hovers at 51%.
At school we saw messages at least once a day naming students who had tested positive and which classes would be sent home for a number of days (students in core groups all take the same classes together without mixing and that makes it easier to identify who should be quarantined). Those messages have decreased and I’m no longer substituting one or two classes each day. Despite a lack of ideal equipment, some classes were taught in a hybrid manner, including instances where the teacher was online with students physically in the classroom at school. Life has been differently chaotic this calendar year.
The chaos makes me appreciative of the days I am in school and not home with a sick kid, the days more than half my class is present, the days students approach me after class for a chat and a physical hug. I have told students repeatedly, “Your grades are important for a few years; your mental health and how you treat yourself are important for your entire life.”
It’s not very teacherly advice, perhaps, but I believe it is timely. While I have felt like a teacher throughout the three and a half years I’ve been in Slovakia, this year I feel more like a missionary. Some students visibly relax when they hear that it is okay to prioritize mental health over grades, especially the seniors who are preparing for the written portion of their school leaving exams in March (the oral portion is in May). Many of them are still hoping the exams will be cancelled, as they have been the two previous years. These seniors are at a disadvantage, having spent large portions of the previous two years learning online.
It is a year of grace, when flexible deadlines are a must and being a missionary looks like kind words and regular check-ins (for students and teachers both), sometimes hugs.
May the rainbow be a harbinger of better times.
Naomi Sveholm
Thank you for your continued financial and spiritual support. For more regular updates, please follow ELCA Central Europe Teachers on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ELCA-Central-Europe-Teachers-Program-105611045256456) and/or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/elcacet/). I hope you are healthy in all areas.
February Update from Slovakia
