“The immediate future is going to be tragic for all of us unless we find a way of making the vast educational resources of this country serve the true purpose of education, truth and justice.”   Education.  Not a word that has necessarily always created so much controversy, yet no matter where you live right now in this country, you are likely experiencing varying degrees of anxiety relating to the re-opening of schools.  We are split on a multitude of educational, health and safety issues, most pressing, is whether or not our children heading back into school, while we continue to be swallowed whole by a virus, is the best idea.  So, what do we know?  We know that opposing political views are inherently fueling this important conversation inevitably creating deeper cracks in an already fragile foundation.  Yet, the split on this particular issue remains a bit of a quandary.   How could the safety of children and the adults charged with their education, also called “teachers” have become so controversial? “Education in the light of present-day knowledge and need calls for some spirited and creative innovations both in the substance and the purpose of current pedagogy.”  Anne Sullivan said that.  She might best be remembered as simply “Helen Keller’s teacher” or even ‘The Miracle Worker’.  Regardless of how she is remembered, as we all know, her one student was a young child of just seven years old when they were first acquainted, and we know that she was both deaf and blind.  What is possibly not as well known is that Anne Sullivan was partially blind for much of her early life as well.  It was her own partial blindness that was likely the singular reason why she was able to have such a significant impact on her pupil.  With her own blindness and early struggles, she had a depth of understanding that bridged the divide for Helen Keller.  While her dulled senses remained lifeless, with the help and guidance from Anne Sullivan, her teacher, she learned to awaken her other senses in order to learn to communicate. Teachers today are forced to work in mostly uncharted territory that, by the way, included challenging divisions within their classrooms before this virus took hold.  They are, however, at an unprecedented disadvantage because they have no real frame of reference, making these new circumstances vastly unrelatable.  Having never gone through a global pandemic, along with their students, they cannot speak from a place of authority on the issue of education conducted primarily through a screen, while their skill set is ultimately challenged.  History remembers the story of Helen Keller and her mentor and friend, Anne Sullivan, because their many educational breakthrough accomplishments were momentous, conserving the memory of their place in time.  How will we be remembered in history books?  As we watch in real time as a deadly health issue becomes a political football, how will our brief snapshot in time be memorialized for future generations? Today, history is certainly being made in schools.  As we, a contemporary society, embark on the current challenge of ‘should we or shouldn’t we’ be sending our children back to school in the next few days and weeks, I cannot help but wonder what Anne Sullivan would say about this abrupt educational disruption.    Maybe she would say something like, “Certain periods of history suddenly lift humanity to an observation point where a clear light falls upon a world previously dark.”  Maybe that could have been accurate in another period of time, but now probably not so much.  The current assortment of humankind cannot agree on the color of the sky without an accompanying heated exchange let alone have the collective capacity to mutually allow time for objective reflection and observation. As we grapple with the reality of knowing that our ‘normalcy’ is on a never-ending hiatus.  Feeble attempts to regain pre-virus days are met with fear as simple words like ‘spike’ and ‘sanitize’ and even ‘mask’ have taken on a whole new sense of urgency.  Maybe that’s what Anne Sullivan meant.  Or maybe it’s not what she meant at all.  She entered into the memorable pandemic of 1918 and successfully came out the other side, so maybe her perspective is worth considering. Perspective.  The truth is that we all have different needs which lend themselves to an overall unalignment of perspective.  We become angry when others do not share our views because we have become a country that takes very seriously the idea of ‘every man for himself’.  We want to receive what we ourselves are unwilling to give.  We want to be understood and yet we are incapable of understanding.    We speak unkind words frequently and mostly with no filters because we are conditioned to just say what we want with little consideration given to any residual fallout.  A fast-moving society that is generally self-indulgent will inevitably be challenged by the idea of slowing down which completely flies in the face Ms. Sullivan’s reference to an “observation point”.   Survival without the comforts of familiarity is disconcerting and puts us on guard.  This virus has become a proverbial wedged wrench in what can best be described as our freedom.  And those are the same freedoms that we have come to rely on and celebrate until, of course, they are infringed upon without our consent. Anne Sullivan said, “We have no firm hold on any knowledge or philosophy that can lift us out of our difficulties.”  And that is indisputable as we are forced to accept the unknown as our aimless guide.  And when we confuse what is right and being righteous, we lose sight of the challenges that we face.  In the case of a new global pandemic, it is probably safe to say without too much contention, that we are quite literally flying by the seats of our pants.  Truth, facts, statistics and science are all wildly unpopular ideas often met with obstinance and rebellion.  We learn early on that 1 + 1 …