Right now our kids may not be in school, but they are continuing their learning in nontraditional ways, including life skills. They are learning how to learn online, entertain themselves for hours using creativity, and learning patience with each other and their new world. Part of the irony of the COVID-19 pandemic is that while we are physically separated, our kids are learning that we are actually all part of one world with similar experiences. My husband and I wanted to expand this “one world” learning for our children by giving to charity.
We are very fortunate that through all of this change, our salaries are not likely to change. We appreciate what the stimulus package is trying to do, and we also realize that there are many people much less fortunate than us. To drive this lesson home to our children, we made them a proposal.
Each child was given a budget portioned from the part of our stimulus check that comes from having dependent children to give to charity.
They were assigned to research a charity they would like to send their portion to. They will have to present that charity to us with reasons why they chose that one. If the kids do “A” work, their “report card” will come in the form of a check written from us to their chosen charity.
As a family, we have watched several of the benefit concerts that have streamed on TV. Each concert has highlighted a variety of charities that are working in some capacity to ease the burden of this pandemic. Given this charitable opportunity, our kids are now watching these shows through a different lens. They are asking different and deeper questions about the work behind the scenes. They have been more self-reflective about our situation. They have shown empathy in ways we have not seen before.
As a teacher, it has been difficult to accept that students around the world aren’t getting the type of education we have been trained to deliver. However, in this world crisis, perhaps it is just as important to remember that life lessons can be just as important and can impact our youth in immeasurable ways. At least, that is what I am hoping for my kids in this learning opportunity.
