Keys to successfully navigate the pandemic's "wicked problems": self-care and deposits to your emotional bank account

<p><strong>Dr. Kevin Corcoran</strong>, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oakland University, <strong>provides a personal assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the PK-20 experience</strong>. Pivoting to forms of remote teaching and learning has significantly altered the university experience for students, staff and faculty. </p><p><strong>As a trained psychologist</strong>, he identifies the effects on students’ social and emotional well being. For some incoming students, who had an abbreviated senior year of high school, the <strong>structured schedule</strong> and <strong>social interaction</strong> of a traditional classroom are essential.<strong> </strong>Lacking private time and space to express<strong> emotional needs </strong>is also problematic for some students. Some faculty have grappled with recreating the educational experience in a remote setting and sought options to create<strong> supportive relationships </strong>with their students. </p><p>Dr. Corcoran recalled the recent conversation with school superintendents in which he referenced the research on<strong> the importance of human connection</strong> as a significant challenge in this pandemic. Analogous to our financial bank account is our<strong> emotional bank account, </strong>wherein positive experiences create <strong>deposits</strong>. In their daily work educators may attract a barrage of <strong>negativity</strong> and be treated less like a human being and more like a “punching bag”, <strong>reducing</strong> their emotional bank account. Dr. Corcoran commented poignantly on how this loss of human identity resonates with each of us. </p><p><strong>PK-20 leaders face the daunting tasks of navigating the complex issues of racial equity; political polarization around the presidential election; economic fallout from the pandemic; differing opinions within their community favoring in-person or remote learning; and learning loss for students. Dr. Corcoran classifies these independent stressors, multiplicative and inseparable