This pandemic threw traditional education a major curve ball. Remote learning became the norm and this shift in instructional practice, may have been smooth for some teachers and parents but for the most part, it was a difficult transition. GOOD!
Now before anybody gets mad about my opinion, let’s be clear that the pandemic results, namely, death, infection and economic turmoil has not been positive. It has been hellish for people around the world. Nor do I want to downplay the tremendous role of educators and school systems in providing the best possible substitute for learning. Watching school divisions here in Alberta and across Canada pivot on a dime to support teachers in creating engaging remote learning was very impressive.
But even with all of the “blood, sweat and tears” put into remote learning it will always be a shallow substitute to the in class, face to face, social expertise provided by the teacher. I’m not against online learning and in fact believe it should be mandatory for all students to take at least one full course at some point and time in their education. I recognize as well that the online environment is life saving and necessary for some students and therefore should always be an option. However, the best case scenario will always be within the bricks and mortar of a school…at least part of the time.
I’m reminded of the work of Dr. Jody Carrington and the need for students (and adults) to feel connected. This connection is NOT through technology or measured by the number of friends of Facebook or the likes on Instagram. Rather, it is connections made from being face to face and side by side. In a world where we can FaceTime someone across the ocean, we barely have time to say hello to our neighbours. Schools continue to play a critical role in socializing children and helping them understand the importance of the common good, not just personal rights and freedoms. While we should always believe that our own children are unique, their egocentric behaviour doesn’t help grow a more compassionate society and sharing space with others in a school setting assists in that goal.
For many years, we’ve talked about 21st century learning (even though we are 20 years into it) and how the delivery of education needed to change. We know that any major shift or change occurs with some type of disruption, and this pandemic has certainly been a significant disruption! That is why it is good!
We now have the ability to create an educational system suited for today’s students. One that is flexible enough to allow for students who truly need to be in school everyday and for those who only need to attend on a part time basis. Not every student requires to be in a seat in school every single day- teachers know this and so do most parents. There is no possible way to social distance in most schools and this may alleviate some space issues. Smaller class sizes have always been preferred and this may actually achieve this desire even for part time. We’ve learned well from our remote learning experiment and those strategies will be able to be instituted for part time students. Learning needs to become more continuous instead of the often start and stop method we employ now. While I was a principal in a northern community years ago, we established demand and work classes that allowed for direct instruction of key outcomes and tutorial sessions as students worked through learning packets. With the support of technology, this provides a possible solution.
We have also come to realize during this pandemic, as I’ve seen from so many families out and about, the importance of getting outdoors and being active. The research is pretty clear about the positive outcomes associated with physical activity and learning. Yet, we still limit recesses, lunch hours and play times for the sake of the “curriculum.” While a strong curriculum is necessary, we cannot afford to continue to teach so many learning outcomes. Key outcomes leading to the successful completion of a grade and essential learning for the grade(s) to follow are essential but beyond that… It is time for governments to develop curriculum that allows for deep exploration of relative content rather than for skimming topics in order to “get through it.”
School needs to be real life and so experiences beyond the classroom must be part of the new normal. Hands on activities, opportunities for creative projects, collaborative endeavours and learning that connects to the local community are required. Schools are constantly chastised for preparing only “book learned” graduates but, that is how the system is measured and ultimately rewarded. We can and should do better than that!
Finally, we need to ensure that our schools focus first on relationships when students return. For many of our students, they have been living in trauma situations since COVID-19 hit. They may be seeking some routines to ground them but more than anything, they just want to be connected to the adults in the building. Teachers are professionals because they have a unique body of knowledge that allows them to teach. More importantly though, they care and that is why they are invaluable to our society. When students return, remember the three R’s- Relationships! Relationships! Relationships!
Remember, we are creating a new normal, not simply trying to impose what we used to do on a vastly different landscape. Years ago I heard the saying, “People would rather do the wrong thing competently than the right thing incompetently.” While we’ve not necessarily been wrong in our approach to schooling, we’ve tended to be comfortable. Creating a new normal requires us to learn to be uncomfortable and sometimes feel incompetent. Many teachers felt this way when they went into remote learning but they survived and in fact, many thrived. That is what coming through this pandemic is allowing us to do. It is allowing us to get out of our normal routines and build something even better. Let’s make sure that we take something good and positive out of this tough situation that we have endured.
