Covid-19 and Our Broken Circles
*Please note, this article was written in May 2020, at the start of the pandemic remote learning in Manitoba.
Source: Brendtro, L.K., Brokenleg, M., & Von Vockern, S., 2002, Reclaiming youth at risk: Our hope for the future, Rev.ed., Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
FIGURE: Universal growth needs according to the Circle of Courage, Starr Commonwealth, Starr.orgIn the weeks since the “Before Time” when our daily life changed dramatically, there’s been a great deal written and discussed about the impact Covid-19 has had on all of us.
We will be reflecting upon the collective impact for many years to come. Parents, students, and colleagues have commented, “I don’t know why I feel so tired” and “I’m having trouble sleeping”, and we all agree that we have no template for how to navigate this unprecedented time. It’s helpful, though, to think about the impact Covid-19 has had on our individual and collective ‘Circles of Courage’™ and the role not being at school has played on the Circles of our students.
The Circle of Courage™ was developed by Larry Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg, and Steve Van Bockern of the Reclaiming Youth Network. They described the four values that compose the Circle - Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity - as “central values for education and youth work” and applicable to “all the world’s children” (2019, p. 15). In Manitoba Education, this model has been embraced. Covid-19 is highlighting the principles of the Circle of Courage in specific ways we may not have considered beforehand. Yes, we know the impact it is having in our country and community, but let’s also examine the impact being away from school is having on our students’ entire Circle.
The impact Covid-19 class cancellations have had on our students’ sense of belonging may seem obvious: they aren’t at school.
But more than physically withdrawing from one another, our students (and all of us as educators and parents) have lost something more than that. They’ve lost the reassuring hand on the shoulder that tells our student they have the skills to finish that project, the shared laughs with friends in the cafeteria, and the rushing to play on the field together as a team. Belonging is about having somewhere to go each day and people to connect to when you’re there, but it’s also about all the little moments along the way. The smile from the teacher, the witty comment from your classmate, the secret glance with your first school crush. Thank goodness technology allows us to salvage some of this contact (and teachers, clinicians, and school staff are doing amazing work in maintaining connection through phone calls, video chats, emails, and even spirit weeks and online games!), but it will never quite replace being physically in close contact with others. That closeness is a comfort, and without it our need to connect to others (including others outside our home) is going to be fragile.
The role of school might also seem evident in meeting our need for mastery and success. Students who love academic work and love being at school are missing the routines, the activities, the projects, and the challenges of completing tasks in a classroom, presenting their projects, and getting feedback in real time. Students who don’t love academic work or who find school challenging are also having their need for mastery impacted, and educators are worried about all their students right now.
Online learning is challenging and if we’ve learned anything, it’s the value of great teaching from our Teachers and Educational Assistants.
As skilled as we are as parents, most of us are not trained as educators (and especially not in all areas of curriculum, in different languages, with all the technology and all while trying to work ourselves! Have you tried Pre-Calculus in French?) But I think meeting our need to feel successful at something – our fundamental need to tell ourselves we really are good at things even when we doubt ourselves – is much more subtle than work completion. If it were only about finishing tasks, we’d all feel better about online learning at home. But it’s also about the thumbs up from the teacher, the cheer from your EA and the high five from your fellow group members. It’s the “See? I knew you could do it!” when we sail over the next notch in high jump, and the grin from everyone when we’ve presented to the class. Students need that from someone other than their family members in order to really feel their sense of mastery is complete. In fact, we all need it from people who aren’t required by blood to love us! Our students are in uncharted territory with the rest of us, and they need to know they are managing just fine.
We must be careful not to underestimate the impact Covid-19 is having on our students’ sense of independence. Independence does not mean self-sufficiency; independence in the Circle of Courage refers to “personal power, choice, responsibility and inner control”, and all of those factors are much more limited when we are restricted to one environment (Van Bockern, 2018, p. 41). This may seem obvious for our high school students who are used to some freedom in their day, perhaps even driving to school themselves, hanging out during spare, and making lots of decisions for themselves (one teen laughingly said to me, “No one has commented on my lunch choices for years, and now my mom sees every day when and what I eat.”) Younger students are also feeling their independence altered. Of course, we are all powerless to go out and see our friends. But in addition, students can’t choose what to play on the playground, can’t get a new book from the library, can’t make a mistake and never have their parents find out about it (yes, there’s good learning and resilience-building in that.) Parents may be feeling frustrated by our children’s lack of responsibility right now, or we may be asking them to “be more independent”, but independence grows developmentally with the child. Educators are so skilled at fostering this in incremental ways, and often we learn ‘independent’ skills by being appropriately dependent on our peers, our classmates, our friends in daily interaction.
The fourth quadrant in the Circle of Courage is generosity, and it’s an important need for all of us. We need to feel like we have value and a purpose greater than ourselves in helping others. As parents find ways for their children to help around the house and receive praise for doing so, we need to keep in mind that schools do an exceptional job of fostering generosity within their buildings. Student groups that plan activities for the entire school, inviting a friend to play, sharing a snack in the cafeteria, or just brightening someone’s day and helping them move into the “green zone”, are all ways that students meet their needs for generosity on a daily basis at school, often without even thinking about it. While helping at home is important, as educators we must remember that our students need to continue to have opportunities to be generous towards us. Let them know they’ve brightened our day, that their jokes and laughter help us, and that they are teaching us how to do our jobs better with each question during this time.
We are seeing that school is so much more than academics.
As families, we are doing our best to support our children, but Covid-19 is showing us that “learning at home” is not at all the same as being at school. And that extends far beyond the “learning” part. Being at school is another environment outside our home where people care for us (Belonging), where they celebrate us (Mastery), where we can try things away from our parents (Independence), and where we can help people outside our family unit (Generosity). Significantly altering those quadrants has cracked our Circle. And when our circle is broken, “there are symptoms and reactions such as worry, fear, loneliness, depression or anxiety” (Soma, 2020, para 1). I would add that we will see withdrawal, irritability, and fatigue, and that all our behaviour right now is communicating our lack of balance within the Circle.
Teachers, Clinicians, Principals, EAs, and all other school staff are working hard to meet their students needs in the Circle of Courage.
It’s so important for us to maintain connection, build mastery, foster independence, and give opportunities for generosity wherever we can. Parents are doing their absolute best, but the truth is that we do our best growth and build our resilience by fostering these needs in multiple environments. Schools are so much more than places to learn about curriculum – they are places where we learn about being citizens who have the skills and our support to mend damaged circles.
Kimberly Mackey, B.A., B.S.W., R.S.W.
Certified Social Work Clinician
Certified Trauma Practitioner
May 28, 2020
Brendtro, L.K., Brokenleg, M., Van Bockern, S. (2019). Reclaiming youth at risk: Futures of promise. (3rd ed.) Bloomington IN: Solution Tree Press.
Government of Manitoba. (2022) Manitoba Education. Circle of Courage model. https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/cardev/gr9_found/courage_poster.pdf
Soma, C. (2020, April 1). The Circle of Courage and Covid-19. Retrieved from https://starr.org/the-circle-of-courage-and-covid-19/
Van Bockern, S. (2018). Schools that matter: Teaching the mind, reaching the heart. Winnipeg MB: UW Faculty of Education Publishing.
