So.Long.: Unfinished Good-byes with the Children of COVID-19

As a young Black teacher's aide in the Columbus City Schools, Donte Woods-Spikes explored the connections to his own childhood in the interactions with the students from a Black neighborhood near downtown. He often found that they taught him lessons that adults had missed in his own education. When the pandemic suddenly broke his connection to these wonderful children, he documented their stories as a tribute to their resillience moving through these unprecendented times. He gives insights into their challenging and sometimes heartbreaking world not often seen, even by their parents.

Woods-Spikes challenges readers to dig back into their own childhood experiences to see how they impact their interactions with children today. A must read for all educators, parents, and child advocates. So.Long. challenges readers to understand the impact of childhood experiences on all of us while helping us to find empathy for children who may be living through very different experiences than our own or who may help us to uncover our own stories from our childhood.