Our children learned something very important in 2020, Resilience!
Reject the argument of the "loss" of education to children during the Covid 19 pandemic. We learned so much more that cannot be tested.
Remember that many children living through WWII had no education for years as they hid from Nazis, were displaced by war, or worse. We now call them the "greatest" generation. I believe it was because the strife taught them resilience, something that was really lacking in our children. Our students have had access to the internet and amazing technology, while in WWII they did not.
EVEN if children did not attend school, many learned to bake, play music, vlog, tiktok, read more, some learned about epidemiology in that they had to protect themselves through masks, and Covid spread. Some learned civics first-hand in protests that crossed this country and issues of inequality. Can we test for that valuable experience? How about an exam for child-care skills some learned having to monitor their little brothers/sisters at home?? Of course not. Some too will be forever changed by, and perhaps more sympathetic to loss and grieving.
Those who DID participate in online school learned to use technology in a way we never imagined. HOW OFTEN did we as educators attend professional development devoted to helping our students become 21st-century learners??? Well, we all got a crash course! Students learned to do many things we assumed were impossible, and so did we!
In a Facebook poll, teachers report:
YES, many failed according to standards set for a non-pandemic population. Yes, many did not have the resources normally available... but we will all be changed by this global event, and we have learned valuable lessons. Many schools that had considered plans to offer 1-to-1 devises for learning were forced to dive in and "just do it." Even those who "fell through the cracks" likely learned valuable life lessons not taught in school. It's not all "Doom & Gloom." Teachers are not soldiers, but many legislators, BOEs, and news personalities have gone out of their way to ignore the risks teachers face in a return without vaccinations and ignore the possibility we have all learned more valuable lessons.
Yes we will have to play "catch up" as we return to "normal," perhaps for a few years to come, but I reject the narrative that our children are now a "lost" generation... perhaps they will be the "Resilient Generation."
Remember that many children living through WWII had no education for years as they hid from Nazis, were displaced by war, or worse. We now call them the "greatest" generation. I believe it was because the strife taught them resilience, something that was really lacking in our children. Our students have had access to the internet and amazing technology, while in WWII they did not.
EVEN if children did not attend school, many learned to bake, play music, vlog, tiktok, read more, some learned about epidemiology in that they had to protect themselves through masks, and Covid spread. Some learned civics first-hand in protests that crossed this country and issues of inequality. Can we test for that valuable experience? How about an exam for child-care skills some learned having to monitor their little brothers/sisters at home?? Of course not. Some too will be forever changed by, and perhaps more sympathetic to loss and grieving.
Those who DID participate in online school learned to use technology in a way we never imagined. HOW OFTEN did we as educators attend professional development devoted to helping our students become 21st-century learners??? Well, we all got a crash course! Students learned to do many things we assumed were impossible, and so did we!
In a Facebook poll, teachers report:
- More independence in their youngest students
- More patience in all age groups
- More self advocacy
- More proactive student communication with teacher
- Adaptability
- Resilience
- Appreciation of supplies
YES, many failed according to standards set for a non-pandemic population. Yes, many did not have the resources normally available... but we will all be changed by this global event, and we have learned valuable lessons. Many schools that had considered plans to offer 1-to-1 devises for learning were forced to dive in and "just do it." Even those who "fell through the cracks" likely learned valuable life lessons not taught in school. It's not all "Doom & Gloom." Teachers are not soldiers, but many legislators, BOEs, and news personalities have gone out of their way to ignore the risks teachers face in a return without vaccinations and ignore the possibility we have all learned more valuable lessons.
Yes we will have to play "catch up" as we return to "normal," perhaps for a few years to come, but I reject the narrative that our children are now a "lost" generation... perhaps they will be the "Resilient Generation."
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