tutoring

One of the ways I benefit from tutoring is that it gives me a no-politics, no-pandemic, no-wildfire zone. I might need to say something to a kid about adjusting their mask, but my mind can't perseverate on the topic, because it has compelling work to do. The kids have their own anxieties, because they have work that they're supposed to be able to do, that they can't do, and they don't know why, and maybe I don't know why either, but it's my job to let them know, "I'm on your side; we'll figure it out together," to make them feel safe enough to be able to learn.

But if my boss and I are there at the same time with no kids, we always talk a little about politics, and a lot about babies. She has a six-week-old baby. I don't know how she manages her anxiety.