To the parent making impossible decisions as the start of school approaches...

To the parent making impossible decisions as the start of school approaches...

I feel you. This is impossible. As a parent, spring distance learning felt like the 7th ring of hell and I am here to tell you every educator in the country felt the same pain.

But we need to all acknowledge some truths.

That was not distance learning.
That was not caused by a lack of training.
That was not caused by a system that failed due to incompetencies.

What we all felt was a sudden, unexpected, unprecedented global trauma caused by a pandemic. The world was turned upside down overnight, without warning, without any way to prepare and that left us all (especially our kids) spinning in disbelief.

Even the best distance learning system would have failed under those conditions and here is why.

1 - Children cannot learn when they are in a state of trauma.
There is a strong, ever growing body of evidence indicating all of the reasons a child cannot access academic learning when they are in a heightened state of stress. When schools were abruptly shut down with no warning, our kids were processing their own grief over the loss of their normal and were processing their anxieties over global issues that are far to large for children to process all at once. We were all experiencing the same global trauma. As a teacher here is what I saw every single day during our daily zoom call.

• My kids looked sad. They spent a chunk of time expressing how much they missed each other, how much they missed me, how much they missed school. They desperately wanted their normal back and there was no way any adult in their life could deliver that.
• They were scared- they never got to say goodbye, I never got to explain to them that while yes, this virus causing school buildings to close is scary, it will be okay. I couldn't sit behind a screen and reassure them that we would get through this in the same effective way that I could in person. They were scared, they were mourning, and discussing literary elements was the last thing they cared to think about.​ 
• I am going to be blunt- as a teacher, I could not fix them over a screen. I spent 15 years building a trauma-informed skill set to ensure all of my students can access learning. This was the first time in my entire career that I faced a mountain I could not climb. Not virtually. Not through a screen. There was no way I could fix the fact that I never got to say good-bye to my class. There was no way I could assure them that this new and sudden shift in their lives was okay because it wasn't.
• Engaging kids in academic topics felt impossible when  they were all processing big emotions surrounding the shut down. Of course distance learning failed then.

2. - Children thrive on routine. The sudden shutdown in March ripped this away from them.
All kids thrive on routine. This was ripped away from them suddenly and unexpectedly. Again, we all woke up one morning to the news that school buildings were closed and our reality was now some new uncharted world that felt like chaos. My kids missed their routine. They spent August-March learning and perfecting a routine that worked for them and their style of learning inside of a classroom. They knew  exactly what to expect and when. They had made leaps and bounds of growth... and then BAM- covid threw a brick wall in front of them. They now had to learn a new routine somehow set by one adult who somehow had to coordinate 30 other family schedules during a global pandemic in which every. single. family was struggling to make things work at home, while working, with kids, who were expected to learn through a computer. I offered resources and suggestions to set schedules that resembled some sense of normal but there simply was not a way to meet every family's needs and to make a consistent and coherent plan that worked for every family.  Families were exhausted, they were scared, they were fighting through what we now call Corona-fatigue and the emotional chaos caused by the rug being ripped out from underneath us without warning. We were all thrown into an impossible situation. There was no was schooling was going to survive through it. So as educators, administrators across the country came up with the best on the fly solutions that they could to meet the various needs of families who were now collectively facing the crisis caused by the pandemic shut down.

• We were told that in order to accommodate every family, we should hold one meeting for 45 minutes to an hour.
• We were told NOT to introduce any new material. This was fine as state testing was around the corner and most students in most classes had already accomplished grade level expectations. We were shifting from new learning to application of learning to projects. This was a hard sudden shift to make in the absence of in person environment. And as such, it did come off as a lack of rigor to some parents.
• We were told to hold office hours or drop in hours to ensure we were available for students who needed more assistance.
• We were told to make things mostly asynchronous so that students could find a schedule that worked best for their families during these times.
• We spent hours beyond contract time trying to interact with students and families through systems that were not set up for this. We used Google Classroom because that is what our kids were used to, but Google Classroom did not yet have the capacity for online learning.
• ​ As a teacher, I knew that none of this was on par with the quality of instruction I was able to deliver in person. But I could not fix it. I could not fix the fact that not all of my families could spend an entire school day on school work. I could not fix the fact that technology often failed. I couldn't not fix the fact that I was unable to prep my class in person for what online learning would look like. I could not fix the fact that I never had time to send my kids home with materials so that we could get through this distance learning thing with some sense of normal, real books in hands, paper and pencil... anything that wasn't online.
• I had an hour one day to frantically gather all of my belongings and any learning materials I thought I might need for an undetermined amount of distance learning time. I had to go during a scheduled scattered block because it was not safe for me to be in the building at the same time as my colleagues.
• It was the end of the year and teachers were desperately trying to figure out how to still continue on with the fun, end of the year projects and celebrations. None of this played out well on zoom. These lessons demanded group work, interaction, and a sense of togetherness. These are lessons kids knew about and were excited about the entire year.
  

              How did anyone expect all of that to go WELL in spring.

Of course it failed. But parents, I assure you, this isn't spring learning any more.

I see parent's now fleeing their public school for online schools or homeschooling options with an expectation of coming back to in person learning when things get safe but here are some realities to consider before you do that. The assumption is that spring failed because of teachers. Not because of the collective trauma we all experienced. Before you do that I urge you to consider the following.

•  Online schools are scrambling to meet demand.
  •  In elementary, some online schools had one teacher for K-5 because that is all they needed before the pandemic. That met their need.
  • Online schools do not have the capacity to meet the demand they are seeing. They are scrambling to hire teachers- these teachers are NOT trained to teach online and will not have the proper training needed to be highly effective by the time school starts.
  • You will still need a heavy amount of support from your child in order to meet the demands of online schools. If that was what bothered you in spring, this option might not be best for you.
  • Most programs are asynchronous meaning not time interacting with teachers or peers. Your child will be expected to complete assignments independently online. A teacher will then check assignments.
  • There absolutely still will be problems caused by the social/emotional impacts of a pandemic.
• Homeschool is demanding for parents.
  • If this is an option you have been considering for a long time- now seems like a good time to try it. I applaud all homeschooling parents. As a parent/educator... I could not do this option lol... Its just not for me. But if its for you do it!
  • You will be in charge of lesson planning, materials, and curriculum. You will have to pay for all of the above with your own money and time.
  • If you are choosing this option because of what spring looked like, consider why spring was what it was. It was not the failure of our teachers. It was a side effect of trauma.
  • There absolutely still will be problems caused by the social/emotional impacts of a pandemic.
• Your neighborhood school has been preparing all summer for this.
  • Many districts are offering a variety of options. Online school, online from your neighborhood school, hybrid or in-person. If you choose any of their options, funding will stay with the school. If you want to one day go back to your public school, choose one of their options now.
  • Your school will provide materials, lesson plans, and curriculum to you for free.
  • Online learning through your school will NOT look like what it looked like in spring. We are all mentally and physically prepared for it this time. Kids now understand the routine. It will be more sychrounous (more time interacting with teacher and peers)
  • There absolutely still will be problems caused by the social/emotional impacts of a pandemic.
  • If come October you still hate everything about your districts plans, explore other options... just understand the reality of those options. And commit to whatever you choose for the rest of the year.

Understand the following if you want to someday go back to your neighborhood school. Staffing is being decided NOW based on enrollment. If you leave your public school now, know that teachers will be laid-off. While this is of course sad for teachers, I understand it is happening globally and is a reality every profession is facing. That is not my point. As a parent you need to understand that if you make a choice to leave public schools now, your school will lose funding and teachers so.... if you want to go back mid year, the funding does not reappear mid year nor will more teachers.  If you hate online school or homeschool after a month of trying and want to go back in September or October, just know that your school might no longer have the staffing to accommodate your child in the way they were able to before the pandemic. That is just not how school funding works.

Regardless of what you choose, know that you are making the best decision for your family. It is a hard, impossible decision to make. We are all doing our best and when this is all over... our kids will be okay.