Mending Education offers readers a detailed examination of the ways the COVID-19 pandemic affected changes in the US education system. Why was this an important book for you to write? 

We felt it was important to challenge the negative rhetoric surrounding the state of education during and after the Pandemic.

Surely, the Pandemic is not the only crisis that will confront education and best to focus on the positives we learned that we can carry forward. What we learned from the Pandemic can inform how we respond to future crises of a wide-ranging sort.

Can you share with us a little about the research that went into putting your book together? 

While our book is deeply grounded in mental wellness and trauma theory, we wanted to ensure that our book was enhanced through and informed by the lived experiences of K—12 educators.  To that end, we used several approaches to capture educator voice including: (a) a qualitative survey of educators who worked during the Pandemic; (b)  the results of monthly Virtual Teachers Lounge sessions (www.vtl4today.com; and (c) the authors’ own experiences teaching and conducting workshops during and after the Pandemic.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from Mending Education?

Just one?  Here’s one of several: crises create opportunities.  Indeed, crises can activate creativity.  The message: don’t let a crisis go to waste; learn from it, explore its implications and use its teachings  to plan and prepare for the next crisis.  

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