| Author |
Post |
|
|
|
|
I currently teach 5th grade in a school that majority of the students are below grade level. We are currently facing staffing shortages and teachers are thinking that our system will move virtual either for a short period of time or for the rest of the school year. When COVID origionally hit in 2020, our students essentially stopped learning in March because our schools were not ready for remote learning. The students who continued learning virtually and who must quarantine didn't bridge the gap in their own deficits, but rather increased it. I was wondering if this trend is similar to other schools at all levels or simply my area.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You are definitely not alone; I live in an area where not only my district but most of my region is low-income. Therefore, many students do not have access to internet, which is essential during virtually learning. This means they pick up paper assignments from the school, and/or they can only complete assignments on campus. We have moved back in person but there is still no consistency or stability for staff or students as we never know when a covid outbreak will hit in our classrooms. Seems like students still aren’t learning the best they can most are still trying to catch up from the loss last year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is not just your area. 'Virtual learning,' or lack thereof, widened an already huge achievement gap, with low-income students and minority students falling even further behind. This has been seen all over the US. There are already a lot of studies that have been done on it, already lots of data that's been collected over it. That's not even factoring in the drop in mental health and well-being, especially for low-income and minority students. It's been a disaster for many. The question is whether our state and federal legislatures take this into account as they discuss the future of standardized testing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi Jessica!
I think you bring up a very strong point about low-income and minority students falling especially behind. Now I am a university student majoring in Elementary Education. Thanks to my mother who was always finding ways to teach or help me in elementary school I am here today. I can only imagine students who do not have the help at home due to working parents. It is especially tough during this crisis we are going through, just like you mentioned. I hope we can soon get out of this spiral to give all students the adequate education they deserve.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have mixed feelings about virtual learning. I'm a mom and a full time college student majoring in education. For the safety of my children, I chose to continue to have him in a virtual learning setting and I feel comfortable in his progress. However, I know that not every child is fortunate enough to have the capabilites that I have. I enjoy teaching my child when he does not understand. I have several resources for him in his bedroom. He's an A honor roll student and if I were to test him currently, I'm confident that he would excel in a lot of areas. Where do I see the downfall, and again, this is all personal to me; but I see a downfall in his social skills. Now as a mom this frightens me, but I have to make a choice between exposing him or keeping him safe for just a while longer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am a college student in the field of education. During the pandemic, I would help out my nephew, who is autistic, with his online school. I would see that online learning wasn't built for someone with a learning disability because they wouldn't slow down for him, and the teacher wasn't with him when doing the work. I would help him with the best of my abilities, but it still wasn't the greatest education he could've had. Now he is falling behind because his online school wasn't really helping. I've seen so many cases like this, including myself. My grades dropped a great amount. I wasn't learning online; I was just memorizing and that's not how I liked to learn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am also a college student in the field of education. I find this very interesting because I am studying to become a special ed teacher. I can imagine how hard it may be for someone with a learning disability to try and learn during this whole pandemic. Not only for students with disabilities but everyone in general. I find a lot of students with lack of motivation because in reality, no one wants to do online learning anymore. I hope the cases drop so we can all get back to our normal daily school.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hello! I believe that visual learning is most effective to learn. Every student is different when it comes to learning. Some students can't keep up with the teacher just talking and talking, they can easily daydream and have difficulty focusing on just listening. Providing visual learning can help students focus on the lesson and can boost participation. From my perspective, I do have trouble just listening to the teacher, sometimes the professor goes too fast-paced with the lesson, and sometimes I feel like time goes insanely slow because it's nothing, but listening, no note-taking, no visuals, no creativity.
|
|