Schooling: Lessons Learned and the Way Forward
Early in the pandemic, a pivot to online learning helped to salvage the school year, but there were challenges and the success was uneven. In-person schooling, though preferred by many, has been stressful as well owing to elevated safety measures and a still-raging virus. Now that vaccination has made good progress and the worst of the crisis seems to over, recovery can begin, especially for those who have suffered significant learning losses.
In September 2020, Khabar spoke to teachers, parents and counselors about their apprehensions and expectations. As they began to take stock and prepare for the new school year in 2021, we followed up with them to get a sense of the lessons learned and the way forward for everybody.
One important lesson from the past year is that virtual learning—fully or as part of a hybrid system—is here to stay. Though not all are sold on the idea that remote learning can be a real substitute for in-person learning, many admit that certain cohorts of students have benefitted from the virtual option. “Learning has definitely been a mixed bag this year. Those who thrived with virtual learning found that they had a little more control, flexibility and time to do their work. Then there were students who clearly struggled and as a result many of them came back in person when given the choice. Online does not work for students who are already struggling with the content to begin with,” says Sumana Moudgal, Magnet Counselor at Wheeler High School in Marietta. The pandemic and remote learning has also worked better for students who had to travel for an hour to get to Wheeler, which is a magnet school. Studying from the safety of their homes also benefits students who may have family members who are immunocompromised and are waiting to be vaccinated against the virus.
Virtual teaching and hybrid classes were trying for teachers as well, but school systems have been quick to furnish their staff and students with the tools they need to have a successful teaching and learning experience. “What has helped greatly is that our school has done quite a bit in terms of providing iPads, extra laptops, wireless overhead projectors, Apple pencils, etc. Laptops were given to all students who needed them. Even for those attending in-person classes, safety measures and protocols were followed strictly. They have adapted quite well—hand washing, wearing masks and wiping desks has become second nature to them!” says Ashu Manoj, a Grade 6 science teacher in Gwinnett County.
Most districts have deployed school buses with Wi-Fi that are parked at certain spots, where students can study and complete schoolwork. Manoj mentions that she got lucky with her current class of digital learners who have a good support system at home with supportive parents, but there are students who have also lost the motivation since March last year. There remains a worry among both parents and mental health experts that being virtual all day affects the mental health of students who spend not only school glued to their screens but also spend a lot of down time on their devices. There is a fear, especially for high schoolers who may withdraw, feel isolated or even be subjected to online bullying because of their reliance on devices.
“My high schooler says that he prefers virtual. I think it’s mainly because their school did a phenomenal job getting organized. He has a packed schedule and there’s extra work given to keep the learning on track. So, my concern was his health—he was complaining of back and neck pain and I was constantly asking him to go out, take a break. Besides that, he has been coping well on account of him being a self motivated and independent learner,” says Bhuvana Krishnan from Suwanee.
Regardless, school districts across the United States are keen on setting up virtual options for their students for the coming academic year. Closer to home, Cobb County has confirmed the 2021-2022 school year will include a five-day school week for both face-to-face and online learners. According to an official statement, all kinds of online learners will be supported through their new Cobb Online Learning Academy for online learners in grades 6-12, local school based online learning for students in grades preK-5, Cobb Horizon Academy as an alternative school for online learners, and the Cobb Virtual Academy for part-time online learners. With both virtual and in-person options, the issue of learning loss has been the most discussed issue among academics and policy makers. They are hoping that a focused recovery method over the summer might especially help students who needed extra help with their academics before the pandemic.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recently announced the launch of a new Summer Learning & Enrichment Collaborative to help states use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to develop high-quality summer learning and enrichment programs for all students, with a focus on addressing the needs of student groups disproportionately affected by Covid-19.
Recently, Atlanta Public Schools announced that it has budgeted $15 million for over 20,000 students to attend summer courses for four weeks to upgrade reading and math skills that were lost in the past year. But some teachers feel that summer school may not be the perfect solution to “salvage” the year. “Learning depends on the students. You could send the kid to a so-called failing school and they would succeed because the kid is motivated. We try to do Saturday academy at our school—some kids show up and some don’t. I think it’s really up to the parents to gauge what will help their kids and ultimately for the kids to participate and gain something from it. It is the responsibility of the districts and schools to offer it but beyond that it’s really up to the families,” says Manoj.
According to a report from McKinsey, while all students have had to deal with challenges due to a prolonged period of virtual learning, it is those who came into the pandemic with the fewest academic opportunities and access that will face the greatest loss in learning. The stress of catching up and a failure to connect with online delivery of education has led to rising rates of anxiety and depression, primarily in adolescents. Expectations from students need changing
and educators feel that this is the right time to reassess and reinvent the wheel, starting with testing. “Though we are following the instructional calendar, if there are concepts that are hard to understand, we give our students more time and are not in a rush to complete the curriculum. We are not going as deep, depending on the topic,” says Manoj. She mentions that math and writing are particularly affected by it, mostly because there needs to be a lot of back and forth and individual attention needs to be given to some kids. All this is hard to do in a virtual set up. Then there is the pressure of standardized testing, which is being deemed unnecessary by some. “So many kids are struggling at home, some have had to stay at home randomly for quarantining, so many disruptions have happened. A year of transition would be good. We need to remember that if we go back full in person next year, it will be tough for kids who haven’t stepped into a school since March of last year. They may get along or not with other kids or might just have a really hard time adjusting to going back to a classroom,” she adds.
The attitudes towards academic excellence also need to change; counselors who work closely with families are urging compassion towards students who are already stressed out.
“There might be struggles that come to the fore that did not exist earlier, so we need to be prepared for that. Now, a lot of hybrid or virtual was to become a norm so the approach has changed as well. For example, for tests that are taken at home for students that are virtual, now they’ve had to make it an open notebook test. How can you oversee students and ensure integrity when you aren’t there? You tell them to turn their camera but there is so much you can’t control. And rather than stressing the child out, and the teachers out, teachers have moved to an open notebook format. There are strategies that can be adopted to make it a successful year for both staff and families. But of course, right now we are trying to get to graduation in May. Then we sit down and plan ahead,” says Moudgal.
Baisakhi Roy is a Toronto-based writer and editor who loves to write about ordinary people and their extraordinary stories. Her daughter, Ayumi, is a seventh grader. She can be reached at baisakhi.roy@gmail.com. To comment on this article, please write to letters@khabar.com.
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