New Blog Post
Helping Students' Return to School: Here's a Hint, It Starts With Our Expectations
yby Betsy O'Neill Sheehan - August 6, 2021
So we are getting back to that time in August when school supplies and pumpkins are lining the aisles of stores. Some folks are still wearing masks, some aren't. Some lanes are still mapped out on the floor, some aren't. Either way your opinions lean on those things, people have come so far from our initial pandemic fears and are moving forward together in ways that we would never have predicted. As I put the extra package of pencils in my shopping cart, the store employee preparing a section for the seasonal winter decor catches my eye. It's not the storekeeper's fault that our society is so quick paced and impulsive that we sometimes jump over the moment we are in to get to the next. David Bowie's lyrics, "Time may change me, but I can't change time," bounce on repeat in my head.
Have you ever heard the term "accelerated learning" before? I'm not sure exactly what it's definition is or will be, but it is something gaining traction as an educational buzzword, something you should tune into. The way I interpret it: We can expect that there will be learning gaps for many students universally (as in, the entire earth) as we have had interruptions in the traditional delivery of school lessons through the course of the pandemic. The solutions proposed to address these gaps hint at "accelerated learning" or "accelerated academic achievement." At face value that sound positive. We want our students to "catch up", right? We just have to go faster.
Here are my hesitations (and just like face masks on vaccinated people, please come to your own educated opinions and we can respect each other, ok?):
We Can't Change Time: As an elementary school counselor I get geeked out about brain and skills development. Our brains develop at their own pace based on the myelination and development of neural pathways in the brain. Just as there are basic roadmaps for what to expect at certain ages for walking or talking, other skills such as reading, math, or writing have basic roadmaps, as well. I get it. We all want our kids to be meeting those expectations for their ages. But, we also have to step back and see the whole child in front of us. That growing brain isn't going to catch onto things because we hammer it in there, just like a garden won't grow if you overwater it. It drowns. The idea that we will just teach them faster and more efficiently is contrary to meeting our children where they are and supporting them to effectively get where they are going. And seriously, I don't know any teachers who aren't teaching as effectively and efficiently as the can. My proposed solution for this: meet children where they are at. Let's look at the standards and adjust them to make realistic goals rather than ask our students to leap through time. Also, if building skills is a priority, invest in staff, interventions, and trainings that will help meet students where they are at and with the remediation over the course of their need (not our artificial timelines.)
The Garden: (I know I've mentioned this, but I want to expand on this analogy). This is the first year I planted potatoes in my garden. YouTube and Google taught me some best practices, but potato development is still a mystery to me. Following the guidance from the internet, I pulled out one plant to check on its development. It should have been ready based on the timing. It wasn't ready. I replanted it with the few tiny spuds it had formed. Ugh. Why didn't someone tell my potato plant that it should have been ready already? I could have given it more water. I could have given it more fertilizer. But that wouldn't have helped because what it really needed was more time to grow. I couldn't rush it. Now that we are weeks later, the plants that I didn't poke and prod are developing quite nicely. The other plant look tired from the prodding. How else are potato plants like young children? They can't tell you what's happening on the inside, you have to look for the external clues. Children often show us externally that they are struggling on the inside. When our (the big people's) expectations increase rapidly, they want to keep up. Can you imagine if I gave you a packet of seeds in September and told you to grow tomatoes by October? I call it accelerated growing.
Adults in children's lives, this one is on us. We know that social-emotional well-being is vital in our transition through this pandemic. Students' self and social-awareness is tied to the feeling of achievement: Can they do the things asked of them? Can they do the things that their classmates are doing? Do they love learning? Our teachers are strong and empathic, but they do not guide the standards, the standards are the guidance they have to follow.
Parents feel the pressure, too. They frequently relay feeling overwhelmed when their children aren't meeting expectations. So please, ask yourselves, who maps out these standards? What variables and considerations are given to adjusting them?
Because here's what else I know: They will catch up. It may not be with the urgency or acceleration the adults feel is necessary, but they will. And they will be in the company of global peers that also missed lessons last year. When school starts this year, let's meet our children where they are and make sure we're not skipping seasons. We want them to grow strong roots.
So we are getting back to that time in August when school supplies and pumpkins are lining the aisles of stores. Some folks are still wearing masks, some aren't. Some lanes are still mapped out on the floor, some aren't. Either way your opinions lean on those things, people have come so far from our initial pandemic fears and are moving forward together in ways that we would never have predicted. As I put the extra package of pencils in my shopping cart, the store employee preparing a section for the seasonal winter decor catches my eye. It's not the storekeeper's fault that our society is so quick paced and impulsive that we sometimes jump over the moment we are in to get to the next. David Bowie's lyrics, "Time may change me, but I can't change time," bounce on repeat in my head.
Have you ever heard the term "accelerated learning" before? I'm not sure exactly what it's definition is or will be, but it is something gaining traction as an educational buzzword, something you should tune into. The way I interpret it: We can expect that there will be learning gaps for many students universally (as in, the entire earth) as we have had interruptions in the traditional delivery of school lessons through the course of the pandemic. The solutions proposed to address these gaps hint at "accelerated learning" or "accelerated academic achievement." At face value that sound positive. We want our students to "catch up", right? We just have to go faster.
Here are my hesitations (and just like face masks on vaccinated people, please come to your own educated opinions and we can respect each other, ok?):
We Can't Change Time: As an elementary school counselor I get geeked out about brain and skills development. Our brains develop at their own pace based on the myelination and development of neural pathways in the brain. Just as there are basic roadmaps for what to expect at certain ages for walking or talking, other skills such as reading, math, or writing have basic roadmaps, as well. I get it. We all want our kids to be meeting those expectations for their ages. But, we also have to step back and see the whole child in front of us. That growing brain isn't going to catch onto things because we hammer it in there, just like a garden won't grow if you overwater it. It drowns. The idea that we will just teach them faster and more efficiently is contrary to meeting our children where they are and supporting them to effectively get where they are going. And seriously, I don't know any teachers who aren't teaching as effectively and efficiently as the can. My proposed solution for this: meet children where they are at. Let's look at the standards and adjust them to make realistic goals rather than ask our students to leap through time. Also, if building skills is a priority, invest in staff, interventions, and trainings that will help meet students where they are at and with the remediation over the course of their need (not our artificial timelines.)
The Garden: (I know I've mentioned this, but I want to expand on this analogy). This is the first year I planted potatoes in my garden. YouTube and Google taught me some best practices, but potato development is still a mystery to me. Following the guidance from the internet, I pulled out one plant to check on its development. It should have been ready based on the timing. It wasn't ready. I replanted it with the few tiny spuds it had formed. Ugh. Why didn't someone tell my potato plant that it should have been ready already? I could have given it more water. I could have given it more fertilizer. But that wouldn't have helped because what it really needed was more time to grow. I couldn't rush it. Now that we are weeks later, the plants that I didn't poke and prod are developing quite nicely. The other plant look tired from the prodding. How else are potato plants like young children? They can't tell you what's happening on the inside, you have to look for the external clues. Children often show us externally that they are struggling on the inside. When our (the big people's) expectations increase rapidly, they want to keep up. Can you imagine if I gave you a packet of seeds in September and told you to grow tomatoes by October? I call it accelerated growing.
Adults in children's lives, this one is on us. We know that social-emotional well-being is vital in our transition through this pandemic. Students' self and social-awareness is tied to the feeling of achievement: Can they do the things asked of them? Can they do the things that their classmates are doing? Do they love learning? Our teachers are strong and empathic, but they do not guide the standards, the standards are the guidance they have to follow.
Parents feel the pressure, too. They frequently relay feeling overwhelmed when their children aren't meeting expectations. So please, ask yourselves, who maps out these standards? What variables and considerations are given to adjusting them?
Because here's what else I know: They will catch up. It may not be with the urgency or acceleration the adults feel is necessary, but they will. And they will be in the company of global peers that also missed lessons last year. When school starts this year, let's meet our children where they are and make sure we're not skipping seasons. We want them to grow strong roots.