Although progress has been made in many districts, there are many children still returning to “sick” buildings because their communities can’t afford to replace antiquated infrastructure. The digital divide has grown wider, and the goal of digital equity seems no closer. It seems an estimated one-quarter of school-age children did not have what they needed for online learning, particularly those in historically marginalized communities by generations of systemic racism, classism, and inadequate funding for their schools.
I so hope as educators, we do not reinforce the concept that students are now “behind” due to the pandemic like so many parents and students perceive. Remote learning certainly did not work for everyone. That only means there are some things (skills) these students haven’t learned yet. It so angers me that these false beliefs are promoted by state standards that are unreasonable, at least in New Jersey and do not reflect what is developmentally appropriate.
Unfortunately, remote learning led to an increase in cyber bullying, even during a virtual class. We know kids don’t think about later consequences, so both parties are embarrassed when returning to in-person classrooms. Students were further embarrassed when they didn’t have access to a space, they wanted their classmates or teachers to see. They were the ones who would not turn on their video, who experienced anxiety, depression, and isolation, resulting in assignments that were not completed or not begun. Often, if one saw anything, it was the ceiling of the room they were in or the top of their head. Then there were the students who got ‘lost;’ never ‘showed’ up to their online classes. For some, it just didn’t feel like school. For others, as the oldest, they became the main caretaker for their siblings; students were home alone with an older sibling “in charge” who was not concerned about monitoring what their sibling was doing; parents who were not capable of providing the framework for their child’s virtual learning; those who returned to their native countries during the pandemic; and those with mental health issues that were not capable of sitting in front of a computer for hours a day. Many students requiring special education services did not do well online. Many reacted poorly requiring more individualized instruction and one-on-one in-person instruction. I don’t know about everyone else, but certainly I had an awful headache by the end of the day after being online for 6-7 hours. Zoom fatigue was definitely an issue for me. I felt tired and exhausted after videoconferencing. I read it is supposedly related to a millisecond delay making our subconscious brain feel something is off that causes the fatigue.
Those of us in special education saw more referrals that probably could have been mitigated if instruction were in-person. There definitely was an increase in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten referrals since parents opted not to put their children in daycare or preschool environments. There is no question the Early Intervention Services, attending preschool or daycare help develop social and emotional skills, play skills, and pre-readiness for academic learning. Experiential learning and opportunities to imitate in play face-to-face with peers is far superior to isolation, perhaps with an older grandparent where television is the only stimulation. A year lacking in conversation and physical activity, whether in daycare or preschool, will have an impact.
I saw students just give up on remote learning because if was confusing and just wasn’t the right environment for them to learn, even when teachers did try to help with extra individual sessions. I saw students showing the signs of Zoom fatigue, preferring to go outside and therefore, skip classes. What I saw were students left without proper supervision by parents who had to work, who were embarrassed by their dwellings, had no quiet place to work or were consistently distracted by the activities of the household.
What I see are teachers who are going to have a wide disparity of skills among their students who have to devise creative solutions to remediating holes in different areas at different levels and challenge those who have already acquired the grade level skills they need. Everything I read is about attending to a student’s mental health, let alone a teacher’s own mental health. Workshops abound on what should be done, how it should be done, knowing when you see a traumatized student, and then taking care of your own mental health.
Hope springs eternal.
