Substitute Teacher Shortages and Disconnected Homeless Students
An August 2020 National Education Association survey found that: 28% of educators said the pandemic made them likelier to leave teaching. Meanwhile, back in mid-November, the EdWeek Research Center survey of a nationally representative sample of 913 pre-K educators--...
The Toll Exacted by Learning & Living Remotely
Thanks to the COVID vaccine, the light is on at the end of the tunnel, but it’s still a long way off and for many kids that translates into more on and off again remote instruction, with mental health and more on the chopping block… Turns out that 39% of districts...
A Must Read: Superintendent Gibson’s Snow Day Letter
It snowed a lot in the northeast last week, making for a perfect snow day, a time to unleash kids and teachers alike from devices of all sorts to play--making snow balls, snowmen, snow angels, and maybe get in some sledding, too. But the likes of Philadelphia School...
Screened-In, Kids Lose Out Educationally, Socially, & Emotionally
Stuck at home and screened-in for much of the day, kids are paying a huge price in the fight against COVID-19--but they're not the super-spreaders. Still, many, including a number of teachers, are all in with remote instruction, but justifiably so? Give a listen:...
The Cost of School Closures & Semi-Closures
As the heartbreaking pandemic wears on and new restrictions are added, subtracted, and resurrected, give a listen to those who know well the cost of closures to students, their parents, and teachers: “The United States has extracted an enormous sacrifice from its...
Remote Learning’s Already Apparent Shortcomings
A mid-October Pew Research Center survey that compared taking an online-only course with an in-person one found that: Just 30% said they “provide equal educational value.” 68% said they do NOT. So now imagine being one of the countless kids who, from mid-March to...
On the Way to Normal with Pfizer, Moderna, with Thanks
On November 18, Dr. Anthony Fauci, reassuringly said, “The cavalry is on its way. It’s not here yet, but it’s going to come. We have an even better than expected efficacy signal on two vaccines. We’re likely to already start having distribution of doses, hopefully by...
The Other Pandemic: Closed School’s Effect on Teen Well-Being
Mid-June Common Sense Media/America’s Promise Alliance surveys found that schooling’s “new normal” has hit teenagers hard—especially those who are black, Latino, and Asian. If a parent, you’re not surprised. As school psychologist Rob Coad reminds us: “One of their...
COVID’s Non-Stop Education Side Effects
The EdWeek Research Center has found that 31% of teachers and district leaders said teacher morale was “much lower” in August than before the pandemic, up from 26% in June. Plus, 32% of teachers said they’re likely to resign because of COVID, up from 12% in May. A...
Autumn’s Back-to-School Essential for All: The Seasonal Flu Vaccine
The back-to-school 2020 version began with most kids serving yet again as a captive virtual instruction audience, but the ties that bind have loosened, allowing many schools to now transition to a hybrid teaching model: typically three days of online learning, two...
The U.S. Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Survey Reveals Young People’s Ignorance
This first-ever state-by-state survey revealing how little Millennials and Gen Z know about history and the Holocaust is cause for great worry both culturally and educationally, as a new wave of anti-Semitism now overtakes America and Europe… World War II began with...
Common Sense Media Talks Remote Instruction with Teens
Of the 800 teens questioned in Common Sense Media’s remote instruction survey: 60% said online learning is worse than in-person instruction; 25% said it’s “much worse.” And yet, 42% think schooling now should be fully remote; 37% prefer the hybrid model, with 19%...
The Troubling YouthTruth Spring Remote Instruction Survey
It’s doubtful that the results of YouthTruth’s national survey of students in grades 5 through 12 regarding spring’s lockdown and all-remote schooling will surprise the parents of school-aged kids and/or their teachers. For instance: While 87% successfully handled the...
Making the Case against Education Technology
In pre-coronavirus days, Common Sense Media found that 80% of K-12 teachers had computing devices in their classrooms; that doesn’t mean, however, that they were big ed-tech fans. In fact, says Education Week’s Alyson Klein, “… Many see these companies as bad...
In or Out: The Great School Reopening Dilemma
The head spins with the constant COVID drumbeat of decrees and rising number alerts, lots of it now falling on the shoulders of educators, parents, and kids, as districts sort through it all, crafting and re-crafting their school reopening plans. The dilemma says...
Guest Blogger Andrew Clark’s Tips for Camping with Kids
Andrew has backpacked throughout the world, from the European Alps, to the deserts of the American West, to the mountains of Great Britain and Ireland, and of course, the forests of Appalachia. From his current base camp in Southern Pennsylvania, Andrew spends his...
Excerpts from the CDC’s “The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall”
Wherever you stand on the school reopening debate and now political football, the CDC reminds us: …The harm attributed to closed schools on the social, emotional, and behavioral health, economic well-being, and academic achievement of children, in both the short- and...
Safety Measures Being Considered When Schools Reopen
Thought you might like to know that, just this week, the Texas Medical Association came out with a risk assessment scale from one to nine for 36 activities, including: Getting restaurant take-out or going grocery shopping: 2 Going for a walk/run/bike ride or staying...
Move over Summer Slide, the COVID-Slide Has Gone Viral
Upcoming posts: To Keep a Lid on COVID, Keep Schools Closed in September? Pediatricians Tell Schools: “Open Wide!” School Reopening Talk Has Teachers Asking Safety Questions...
A Backward Glance at Remote, Pandemic Learning
Back on April 26, Education Week's Peter DeWitt found that, “Many teachers, students, and parents are proving to be remarkably resilient during this time when it comes to the effects of the pandemic on schools, education, and student learning. It is not easy to teach...
