The following letter, posted on the Cabrillo College website, was sent to Cabrillo staff and faculty. We share it with readers of the Voice, as it contains updated information concerning Cabrillo, and advice and encouragement that can benefit all of us.
Dear Colleagues:
The first share of federal CARES Act dollars are coming to the college this week. We will disburse the first wave of grants to students based on their financial need (zero estimated family contribution on their FAFSA).
Subsequent grants will use other need-based criteria and a quick application students fill out. More on that later…for now, I want faculty, staff, and managers to focus on self-care.
Today’s update is all about mindfulness. Since this shelter in place/work from home model may linger into the summer months, and life as we know it has been altered, it is important to keep the safety and well-being of yourself and your loved ones in mind. The same goes for each other and students. So here are some quick tips for making it through the end of the spring term.
COVID-19 and Shelter in Place is Trauma. We all need to recognize that this is a traumatic time. The news of the day and the personal toll is real. It is physical and mental. It explains why we are so tired at the end of the day…why we feel so on the edge of tears. People will process trauma in different ways, and it will linger for years.
It is okay to be less than perfect. It is okay to not be okay. All of us are struggling in different ways. We are doing this for the first time in our lives and some are having to do it in cramped quarters and less privacy than others. Some are carrying the burdens of caring for loved ones. In such a time, we need to excuse ourselves and others from the expectation of perfection. In these times, just getting okay work done feels like A+ work…and that’s okay.
Sometimes less is more. I’ve used this term a few times in meetings lately, and I know Tobin Keller has taken it on as a kind of mantra. It means that we can sometimes expect less from ourselves and actually get more out of the experience and the learning. This is a time-honored principle from athletics training as well. When I was a competitive swimmer, our peak workouts nearing the championship competitions always “tapered off” the demands of distance and focused more on the finer principles of starts, flip-turns, and breathing patterns. Less mileage also saved our reserves of energy for the big day. The same principles apply to these stressful times. Scheduling less work for students — relieving their stress — may actually result in better learning. They will certainly remember being part of the COVID Cohort, so we don’t need to pile on the same amount of work as if we are in normal times. Their bodies and spirits will appreciate the less is more attitude.
Mindful resilience and pedagogical yoga are our friends. A hat tip to Cabrillo professor Rachel Mitchell for coining the phrase pedagogical yoga. In two words it sums up our current state of affairs. We have to be flexible and responsive to the needs of our students, while also understanding the limitations of our body and our skill level. It is yoga’s mindfulness and attention to position and breathing that makes it so appealing. The same mindfulness about ourselves needs to be transferred to our way of thinking about students. They are a resilient bunch, but they need to pay attention to their self-care (as do you). Coach them to pay attention to themselves and their peers. Use yourself as an example. How are you taking care of yourself? What are you doing to step away from the zoom-room? How are you checking in on loved ones? Model that for your colleagues and students and they will become better at mindfulness as well.
Five minutes of reflection…What are some effective practices to shape this self-care? In the past I used a smiley face and a drawing of a 5 minute period to give students/team members an opportunity to say what was making them happy. Conversely, if I felt the team needed to “vent,” I would draw a frowning face and call for 5 minutes. Inevitably the rants would turn into laughter and open a window for a more constructive meeting. Storytelling and role playing are also effective practices. Asking students to pair up or go into small group breakout rooms to develop a picture or a song to explain a concept can be both enlightening and hilarious. Using five minutes of staff time or student class time in this way often feels like you are losing control over learning/work, but you are not. You are empowering learning/new approaches to work through play, role playing, and creative thinking.
All of this is a very long way of saying thank you and please be mindful of your state. Take five minutes to smile about what makes you happy. Be okay with just being okay. Take a day where less is more. Connect with loved ones or friends you have not talked to in a long time. You have the permission to do this.
Below is a link to a nice article that sums up what we are going through. Attached is a link to a graphic about trauma that was shared with me by one of my direct reports. And here’s a sample of my 5-minute happiness prompt.
Best wishes…and be well.
Matt Wetstein
President/Superintendent
Cabrillo College
