Distance Learning: Are We Failing Our Students?

It has been more than six months since Covid-19 forced many schools to interrupt in-person classes and on go online. This caused an explosion in the arena of distance learning. All stakeholders; teachers, students, parents, and administrators were thrust into a new way of teaching and learning. All of a sudden, teachers were forced to try and switch gears and deliver lessons in an online format. A very strange and unfamiliar way of teaching for many if not most educators.The change transpired so quickly that every day the message and expectations were changing, and everyone had to adapt at a moment’s notice. During this time, I was working in a school as a literacy lead. One of my roles was providing reading intervention for a handful of students. Although I did not enjoy that time period in my career, I am thankful for having gone through that experience first-hand so I have a sense of what people deal with on a daily basis.

As I reflect back on that time, the only thing I remember clearly was an overwhelming sense of frustration and helplessness. Our country was facing an unprecedented health crisis and it was a very scary time. Unfortunately, I felt like the school system I was working for was only adding to the frustration and uncertainty and making things worse for teachers and families.

I remember vividly Google Meets calls with teachers that were now at home caring for their own children and trying to juggle adapting to teaching online. The expectations were outrageous. Already overworked educators were being stretched even thinner. Remember Covid-19 was still new and everyone was trying to absorb how this was going to change our lives. I do not think anyone anticipated the long-lasting impact that it was going to have. I think many people were overly optimistic that Covid-19 was going to disappear as suddenly as it showed up and disrupted life as we knew it. During those few months in the spring of 2020, people for the most part, were gracious and understanding as everyone was learning to navigate uncharted territory in education.

Fast forward to fall of 2020. Covid-19 is still negatively impacting daily life with no signs of relief for possibly several years. That is a very frightening thought! School districts are still in reactive mode. Moving between three models of instruction delivery: in-person, hybrid (a combination of in-person and online learning) and total distance learning. What it appears is that elementary schools are trying to have 100% in-person instruction if at all possible. Middle school and high schools seem to be flowing back and forth between hybrid and distance learning models. The repercussions on families having to adapt to the different models is stressful. Especially when the model changes in reaction to a Covid-19 outbreak. What are parents supposed to do when all of a sudden their child or children are now home again? Many parents are fortunate because they are working from home, but what about essential employees or those that have to be on site for work? How can they be expected to make these quick adaptations smoothly and effortlessly?

I have noticed that parents are getting creative with solving the distance learning dilemma. Several families are joining together to form learning pods and hiring a teacher to oversee the educational activities of their children. Another option is imploring the help of grandparents. Several of my friends have school aged grandchildren and have been willing to take on the support role of helping teach. One previous colleague of mine lives approximately 100 miles from her grandchildren. She has become the distance learning teacher. Her grandchildren come and stay with her on Monday and then go home on Friday to spend the weekend with their parents. This gives new meaning to the African proverb, it takes a village to raise a child. Some parents have made the decision to homeschool their children but instead of doing the teaching themselves they have hired a teacher. What if you do not have the financial resources to do one of these options? Unfortunately, families that cannot afford any of these options are going to struggle to provide the necessary support at home to make distance learning successful. The effect of this is going to widen the achievement gap that is already so prevalent in the United States.

Finally let’s take a look at the foundation of American education, the classroom teacher. Unrealistic expectations still loom for teachers. Most teachers I talk to are working longer hours than ever before. I am not sure how that is possible. How do we make the workload manageable for teachers? If this issue is not addressed quickly teachers are going to burn out in record numbers. At a minimum their health will be impacted. Prior to Covid-19, many schools struggled to have qualified substitute teachers to fill in for absent classroom teachers. That problem is magnified now. There isn’t an auxiliary pool of teachers waiting to pick up the slack. The previously used solution of dividing up a classroom and moving students into other grade level classrooms will not work with social distancing. So many questions and so few answers or solutions. The overarching problem that needs to be addressed is the impact all these interruptions are having on student learning, not to mention their mental health.

I would love to hear from you about how distance learning has impacted you as a teacher or parent. I do not have all the answers but want to explore how all invested stakeholders can strive to make informed decisions that have a positive impact on student learning and achievement.

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

― Frederick Douglass

The joy is in the journey!

Peace,

Mary

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