No on line encounters seem complete without the need to iron out a few unexpected glitches. In this case we discovered after Cate's first class session that her backpack did not include her laptop's charger. That was quite a small issue as we have six computers in the house, but it did give me the chance to have Cate test drive the laptop I had recently converted to a chromebook with the free Neverware CloudReady operating system. Cate, with no coaching from me, instantly navigated the connection to her classroom interface.
What we are seeing may not be representative of the state of the on line educational experience across the country, but it does seem to show that there is some justification for optimism in regard to the potential for meeting both the current health crisis and the longer term challenge of achieving excellence in universal public education.
In the near term, particularly in New Mexico, there is a pressing need to find many more teachers, in part because of many older experienced educators leaving due to increased vulnerability to contagion. Also, the State was already critically short of teachers because of low starting salaries. Network access and hardware availability are getting appropriate attention in many school districts, but there likely needs to be a greatly stepped-up increase everywhere in technical support staff that are critical to making it all work.
The sense of urgency for getting children back into schools is understandable, but if all that is accomplished is to return to what we had before, then it seems a great opportunity will have been lost.
10 comments:
Excellent pictures and thoughts Mike. As a teacher for 32 years in a secondary setting I have lived through a few educational revolutions; however those new found practices seem to always digress to what we had before. The pandemic, with all its negative implications and interruptions, have presented educational experts with a golden opportunity. A large majority of those students who are consumers of the educational system have never known a world without computers. What a wonderful opportunity to piggy back off that foundation. What I have observed during this pandemic as far as teaching is concerned is that parents and the public, in general, now have a better understanding of the expectations put on teachers and how well teachers have risen to meet those expectations. Teachers are incredible people and have committed to a lifestyle and not just a career. Although we all want life to return to normal with regards to social opportunities, I agree that we cannot let this opportunity to create an even better educational institution pass us by.
Thanks Unkown. I don't usually allow anonymous comments, but you are obviously not trying to sell me the latest gizmo for peeling bananas. I've not had any real first-hand encounters with schools for a long time, but I've been really impressed by what I have seen about how teachers are rising to the difficult challenges of the moment.
It seems to me like this could very well open the ability for students to learn more at their own pace, and to pursue more subjects that are interesting to them rather than only the subjects prescribed.
It's unfortunate that school is a key part of enabling parents to work, in that I believe as COVID lifts parents will want in-person school to resume to make it easier to earn an income.
Where I work we are all working from home (it's tech, we can do it anywhere there's Wi-Fi). I see and hear my co-workers' children on all the Zoom calls. The parents sometimes look quite frazzled trying to manage work and children.
It would be lovely if this time can be used to transform education for the better, but if I were to lay money on something it would be that within 6 months of COVID lifting, it will be back to business as before.
I had an on-line visit with my new doctor the other day. She seems very competent. She is about the same age as one of my granddaughters. While we talked, I could hear in the background: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! It was quite charming.
There are no kids in public schools these days who were born before the appearance of the Internet. Not all of them have the same access to the net, but I think they are all receptive to its use. From what I have seen, teachers are mostly negotiating the challenge of teaching on line pretty well.
The day care issue is definitely something that needs to be distanced to some extent from the teaching and learning processes.
I don't have the answers to any of this stuff, but it does seem we need to be listening closely to people who are close to the issues. If we are concerned about the future, education seem like it ought to be the priority.
As a middle school counselor in my 25th year in public education, I'm amazed at how our teachers are adapting to this new environment. They appear confident because, frankly, they're unflappable. Just under the surface, though, is this desire to get kids back into the classroom. That's where the magic happens. Teaching today is not what it was even 10 years ago. There is so much that goes on in a 50 minute class period. Only so much that can get accomplished behind a computer screen.
Another glaring issue that is coming to light is the reality of inequity. Some kids have adequate bandwidth at home and parents who can be there to support them during the day time hours. Their less affluent peers might or might not have functioning wi-fi throughout the day and an adult helping oversee their progress. That goes away once they're in the classroom.
I would be interested in knowing what role school counselors have been given in the present circumstances and what they are doing with it.
That's a great question, Mike. My role hasn't changed just because we're doing distance learning, even if the method of delivery has.
I'm tasked with making sure students are properly placed into core classes, have their electives, etc... It's a balancing act to keep all of the classes reasonably even in numbers. We have almost 600 students, so thankfully I have an assistant who helps with the clerical part of that.
I also see kids in the classroom on a regular basis. We cover college/career planning, social/emotional learning, etc...
I'm also in charge of the process for qualifying for any special programs: IEP's, 504, TAG, etc... I help with referrals to resources outside of the school whenever necessary.
We have an attendance policy that I follow, making contact with students and parents when they're not attending school regularly.
In short, my job is to work on behalf of the students and serve as a resource and their advocate. The motto posted in the counseling office is "Support - Growth - Success for all students." We try to live up to that every single day.
Then there's all of the stuff that falls under "Other duties as assigned" in my contract. The first two days of school last week, students and parents were calling/emailing me when they had questions about logging on, accessing their online instruction, etc... They knew to get a hold of me because of the relationship building I had already done in the building.
I have the greatest job in the world.
Many thanks for filling in the details. Good to hear you've got an assistant, particularly in these times. One of the aspects of the sudden shift to remote learning is that everyone in the system gets to teach computers and networking along with whatever else they are trying to accomplish. I highly recommend an article in today's NY Times on remote learning for an overview on the subject and how it is unfolding around the country: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/11/magazine/covid-school-reopenings.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
Just returning to this discussion now that I've had a chance to read the article. This quote stuck out like a sore thumb"
"The inequity of the situation is compounded over and over again. And we’re going to see the consequences of this for many years to come."
The kids with lots of support at home, and the means to create some learning space, are going to be ok. Academically, they will advance at the same rate, or nearly the same rate, as they would in the classroom. They're all missing out on a lot socially, though. It's the students who aren't logging in regularly and aren't following through with lessons that I'm worried about, though. In the classroom, our most vulnerable students have the ability to perform right alongside their more affluent peers. Case in point, our MS science department regularly ranks in the top 10% in our state. That includes kids whose native language is other than English, as well as kids with disabilities. Those students who have previously made big gains in their learning are at risk for not doing so when they're not in the classroom.
Conclusion: We're seeing how important in-class instruction is for our students.
I can certainly see the truth of what you are saying regarding inequity in the experience of our granddaugther. She is very well prepared and equipped to deal with remote learning and her parents have kept a close eye on her performance to make sure she is fulfilling course requirements for her middle school experience. Students without those advantages are bound to fall behind in achievement under current circumstances.
However, I think it is something of a mistake to frame the issue only as a binary choice between in-class instruction and remote learning. Computer mediated instruction has been shown to be highly effective, and millions of students of all ages and across a great array of social and economic circumstances are taking advantage of the opportunity. It seems to me that the real challenge is to find ways to effectively incorporate computer assisted instruction into the U.S. school system in a way that reduces rather than aggravates inequity.
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