FOR UNWAVERING GRIT AND DETERMINATION...500 HOUSE POINTS TO THE ATYP STUDENTS!

It is nearly the end of the school year. Whew – what a ride!

We know that when you signed up for ATYP you thought you were signing up for challenging courses, extra homework, and maybe the chance to make new friends. You weren’t signing up for, well, whatever this turned out to be.

There are all sorts of lessons in life that you simply did not know you were going to have to learn. Parents (or at least, me as parent) spend a lot of time talking to their kids about being organized, keeping up with work so you are in control of your schedule, thinking about what might happen so you can be prepared. And then things like COVID-19 happen and it becomes very clear, very quickly, that we all only have so much control over the world and sometimes we just have to roll with whatever comes our way.

We did a LOT of rolling this year.

All of us here at ATYP, staff and teachers, want all of you, our students and their families, to understand just how truly grateful we are to you for sticking with us this these last few months. We know it hasn’t been easy. A lot of your friends went into quarantine with almost nothing to do for the first few weeks, and we kept asking you to turn in your homework and show up to online class every week. And you did.

We asked you to keep your brains engaged and to stay committed, and you did.

We asked you to think creatively and to be there for your classmates when they needed you, and you did that, too.

In other words, you all have been amazing!

It has been so much fun for us to watch – and post! – your pictures and videos, to celebrate your achievements, and to marvel at your capacity to learn and grow. We hope, no matter what you do from here on out, you will continue to develop those abilities, because continuing to learn and grow throughout your lifetime is what it is really all about. In the middle of stay-at-home, learning what you were capable of as students and as human beings are the lessons that will be most important to you.

We know you have another week left – YOU CAN DO IT! WE KNOW YOU CAN! – but we just wanted you to know, before classes are over and you all run off for the summer and forget us for a while, that we are so proud of you.

Yes, I sort of feel like Professor Dumbledore, standing at the head of the dining hall at Hogwarts handing out house points…all the cheers for you, friends, on this remarkable achievement!

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

APPRECIATING OUR ATYP TEACHERS IN TOUGH TIMES

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week; you should not take the fact that Dr. Kelly and I failed to talk about it much to mean that we don’t appreciate our teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Nothing makes ATYP successful more than the hard work and dedication of its instructors. That was true before quarantine, and it is even more true today.

Teaching is more than just a skill set. There is an art to exemplary teaching, and being a gifted instructor for gifted students is a whole other thing. It takes a full grasp of content (because no one is less understanding of a teacher who doesn’t have the answers than a gifted kid),but it also takes understanding, patience, a sense of humor, and humility. You have to check your ego at the door. You have to be willing to grow and learn every day.

The last two months have shown us just how gifted ATYP teachers truly are.

With almost no notice, they adjusted their teaching styles and curriculum to begin holding virtual classrooms. And although teaching for ATYP can be a fairly solitary existence, our staff were particularly impressive in the amount of collaboration they brought to this effort. Perhaps more than ever before in the program’s history, teachers relied on teamwork to guide them in the decision-making process. Pulling together made moving forward possible, and we could not be more grateful for everything they did to make it happen.

Just as importantly, even though ATYP is primarily known as a rigorous academic program, from the beginning, these same teachers took stock of their students and understood the social and emotional issues at play during these tough times. As one, they grasped the need to put kid’s mental health at the center of what they were trying to accomplish. We still need students to learn content, but more than anything teachers know that wellness is the key. They always have the best interests of their students at heart; to us this makes the difference between a good teacher and an amazing teacher.

Parents and students know that ATYP teachers expect a lot, and they have to. We can’t get through the curriculum we do – at the pace and depth that we do – without having high expectations. Our teachers know what students are capable of and understand the standards we are setting. But they also love you, their students, and so much of what they have done in these last weeks demonstrates just how much they care. We knew that before – but now we REALLY know it. And appreciate it beyond words.

If your instructor has made quarantine more tolerable, shown kindness and grace, pushed you to meet goals, lent a helping hand, or just been there to listen, please show them some love back. Let them know that in 2020 we are not just having Teacher Appreciation Week, we are having Teacher Appreciation Year.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

P.S. If you would like to show appreciation to your instructor in a meaningful way, please consider donating to ATYP in their name! They feel the love, and ATYP receives much needed financial support, which helps support those same teachers. You can donate now by clicking here.

BEING OKAY WITH 75%...OR LESS

Do you know all those sports movies where the coach gives this rousing speech and asks his players to give 110% every day? The implication is that in order to be successful we have to give it our all EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

It’s motivational. It’s inspiring. It’s…baloney.

Movies and books are make-believe, as is the idea that everyone has to run flat out, giving everything we have 24/7, 365 days a year in order to reach our goals and get where we want to be. But that’s not human. That’s not real.

Gifted kids especially seem to feel this way. Many of you are driven internally, you have big dreams and the capability to achieve them, and that compels you forward, which is great. Many are externally driven by families and a society who see your abilities and demand a lot. Wherever your drive comes from, expectations still need to be based in reality. And the reality is that everyone has off days. Kids. Grown-ups. Parents. Teachers. They just do. You have a headache, you didn’t get enough sleep last night, your best friend said something snarky to you in biology class. It happens to everyone.

This is true at the very best of times. Dr. Schultz and I expend a lot of effort talking to parents about being honest with their kids about days they couldn’t give 100%. When they make mistakes. When they failed at things. No one’s expectation should ever be that they are firing on all cylinders all of the time.

And now? Now we are all just muddling through, giving it what we can, when we can. Ms. Carr heard from a speaker “we should all be operating at 75% right now to allow reserves for emergencies.” And that sounds about right. We are all going to struggle right now. This week in our office we missed an important deadline, are grappling with the budget, and are completely scrambling to accomplish tasks that should have been finished last week.

You know what else is not helping grown-ups or kids? The people with the social media posts claiming they cleaned out the garage, knitted a scarf, and wrote 50 pages of their new novel today. That’s great for them, but we know that most everyone is binging Netflix and eating brownies and living in their pajamas, and that’s okay. Don’t compare yourself to others; it’s just fine if you are saving your energy for what’s important, which is getting through each and every day.

Yes, we still want you to try and do your homework. Yes, we still want you to do what you can to get along with your brothers and sisters. Yes, it’s nice if you can help your families out once in a while when they need you to contribute. But we also want you to show yourself grace. Acknowledge that some days are just 75, or 60 or 50% kind of days. Ask for help if you need to. Be kind to yourself.

If you have found a way to let go of expectations, an affirmation to lift your spirits, or want to confess a way you are wasting your time (I am reading tons of completely non-literary fluffy books right now), please let us know in the comments below.

Remember, even though what we’re living through right now feels like a dystopian novel, it’s the idea of giving 110% every day that’s fiction. Reality is what we’ve got, and we’re going to have to be okay with it.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

WHY THE QUARANTINE IS SO HARD ON TEENS

A shout out to Ms. Carr, who shared with me this great article from wired.com, "The Reality of Covid-19 Is Hitting Teens Especially Hard," by Christopher Null.

I loved many things about this piece. First, it confirms what we already know: this pandemic is hard on our middle and high school students. The author is particularly focused on high school seniors, but being distanced from your friends and your routine, and feeling bored is difficult for most teens and preteens. Seniors are missing out on all of the rituals and not getting closure, but everyone is feeling the strain.

Second, I greatly appreciate that he offers practical advice for parents trying to help their kids work through the stress and upheaval. Specifically:

1. Listen when they talk to you about the stress, anxiety, and frustration they are feeling, and ask them what you can do to help. "It’s important to validate their feelings during this time, even if they are disappointed and sad. Ask your child how you can support them through this time. It is important to not try and solve their problems when they are upset. Just show compassion, validate, and be present.”
2. Maintain calm around your kids, and be a role model for how you would like them to react. If you need to have a freak out, do it privately. Parents are certainly experiencing their own anxieties about work, finances, the possibility of becoming ill, and being stuck at home, but remember - your kids watch what you say and do. 
3. Keep structure in the days and weeks where you can. I've talked about this in the blog before: structure is important for kids, and for now parents and teachers are going to have to do what they can to provide it. His suggestions: "family meals, workouts, and reasonable 'virtual learning time.'"
4. Celebrate the milestones where you can. If prom and graduation are canceled, if you can't have that great last-day-of-class party, come up with another way to honor the occasion. Zoom parties, restaurant take-out, and drive-by parades are just a few ways to creatively highlight those big days. 

I hope you will read this article and think about what the pandemic means for the children in your home - mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically. It's tough. Some of them will be okay, but some kids will have a rough time. They are all going to need our help. 

You can read the entire piece at: 

https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-is-hitting-teens-especially-hard/?fbclid=IwAR3L2lH6TKArIyM4VhSNkkxe2JNc0Rp7xEyteXvMSUT3PlC5_EW4o_WmGA8

Until next time,

Ms. Nan