Education after COVID-19, are we ready?
Wow! What a year for education! It is time to think this through…let’s think for a second…
We thought we, as educators, were pretty tech savvy, integrating technology for different parts of assignments – but we were not ready to completely digitize our curriculum!?! Then March of 2019 presented a huge anvil that dropped into our lives and shattered what we knew about education:
- Educators were shaken
- Where are the children?
- Why aren’t they sitting in rows?
- Where is the whiteboard?
- Where is the copy machine?
- How do we teach online?
- How do we get our students the materials they need?
- What if our students went home without all their books?
- …I mean, the list of problems to solve was long and real!
At our school, we were down for three days and then back up teaching. The first two days I taught a PD on how to teach remotely, then the teachers had one day to start their new lesson plans and we were back in business. We thought we were just heading home for a couple of weeks. Of course, it was over the next few months that we adjusted, evaluated, cried, adjusted again, got super creative, totally overwhelmed and frustrated, cried again to finally end the year in May of 2019 with tons of new found skills, complete confidence that our teachers and students CAN DO ANYTHING, and a new appreciation for what really matters!
Well, here we are almost a year later, and I wonder what we have learned?
During this season of reflection, isolation, division, accusation, hostility, and a break in many people’s spirits, I wonder what we have learned as educators, as students, as a society and as human beings? Is it possible that what we once found vital is now non-essential? Is it conceivable that what we once held sacred is now cancelled? Is it likely that with all the focus on social emotional checkins that we might be missing the most basic of human interactions? If we were preparing our students for life before COVID-19, what could we do to prepare them for life after this pandemic is over?
Over the next few months, we will explore different aspects of education, discuss what life after COVID-19 might look like, but more importantly, analyze how educators can help students change the world! Join us as we explore these possibilities and more!