It's not fun any more. (Was it ever?) March began with students and teachers excited about spring break. Then spring break was extended for two weeks, then three, then four, and now who knows how long it will be before classes resume? This pandemic has changed everything.
Now teachers are charged with providing online, virtual lessons for their students in the hopes that students will engage and continue the learning they were supposed to do for this school year. We can only hope that students and parents will be conscientious enough to do it. I have no doubt that responsible, caring, and concerned parents will see to it that their children tend to their lessons. As a former teacher and administrator of at-risk students I fear many won't.
Many of my students were in the programs I ran because they did not have supportive homes. Many parents were too busy with their own lives to be involved with the lives of their children. Some didn't even care if their children attended school or not.
Students of low socioeconomic status may not even have access to the internet. Their parents may be unable to afford internet service or even computers. Students in rural areas may not have access to reliable internet service. With libraries and coffee shops closed, what do these students do?
Will administrators keep students back who were unable to do the lessons? Will they be able to discern who couldn't and who just didn't want to? These are questions that will certainly have to be addressed. I'm glad I don't have to make those decisions. I'm glad my children are grown and that their children are too young to be in school right now.
My heart goes out to parents and school personnel. I pray for the kids, the parents, and the educators, those who are seeking an education and those who are trying to provide education. I pray God will bring us through this pandemic stronger and braver and more compassionate than we were, and that we will learn the lessons no textbook or computer could ever teach us--love for others.
Stay safe and well, my friends.
XOXO
Labels: administrators, coronavirus, lessons, love, pandemic, parents, school, students
