Today is April 8, 2020. Covid restrictions have descended upon us and schools are closing their doors for the remainder of the school year.
Isolation is taking its toll on kids, parents, and teachers. Offering a standardized approach to their current education will not produce desired results. Engagement wins. Engagement should be paramount.
This is not the time to stick to boring.
This is not the time to adhere to unbending standards.
Kudos to all parents and all teachers offering loads of flexibility to kids during this time. Kudos to all parents and teachers allowing students to prosper with creativity, autonomy, and independence.
There are but a few silver linings brought to us by the Coronavirus, and one of them is that children will begin to insist on appropriate educational activities and appropriate uses of their time. I’ve never been a proponent of standards and benchmarks, nor inflexible approaches to educating children, and now the detriments of such practices are becoming impossible to ignore. Ask any parent. Ask any teacher. And especially, ask the kids.
We can use this opportunity to serve our kids better. We can use this opportunity to listen to them, and to offer educational choices that help them become vibrant and engaged learners. We can use this time to allow them some autonomy in their lessons and build problem solving skills, independence, and a desire to learn.
Consider advocating for your child if he/she is bored, frustrated, or uninspired. This is not the time to make them more miserable, and in turn make you more miserable. This is not the time to attempt the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Time spent in mundane requirements will not serve students. Time spent in exploration, creativity, and discovery will serve them well.
This is the time to advocate for their well being and your well being. Read “Advocate Advocate Advocate” for ideas about how to go about this. And please, tell us about your experience. We’d love to discuss.