Educational Apocalypse

Oh the wonderfully amusing and thought-provoking conversations I have in my own mind. So many poems, songs, and stories created in my head that will never be recorded. Somehow the process of transporting my thoughts from my brain to paper is too far a distance. These ideas and revelations come so quickly and sporadically that I lack time to either open my mouth and speak them or pick up a pencil and write them; let alone, type. There is something so raw and nearer to my spirit that comes from oral storytelling and writing on paper that no other medium can translate. My thoughts get lost. They get misconstrued. 

There is so much to say. Too many topics to cover. Problems to be resolved. Beauty to convey. Knowledge to teach. Wisdom to share. Experiences to communicate. Face to face conversations to be had. We need to step away from behind our computer screens and have real conversations. What happened to social skills? Where did personal relationships disappear to? What happened to real teaching and learning? Just as it is impossible to dance with a partner via technology, it is impossible to develop any real human relationships. 

With the quick technological advances in our world we have become increasingly dependent on computers to overtake multiple aspects of our lives. Computers made it possible to attend school kindergarten through college completely online. We can purchase just about everything online from food, pets, and cars, to tiny homes, various services, and pharmaceuticals. Although technology has made many aspects of our lives much more convenient, it has taken away so much of what makes us human. 

From birth, babies need human touch and loving connections to develop normally. Throughout the early years, social interaction and personal relationships are crucial in babies' overall development. This does not change as children grow and mature. Into adulthood and throughout our lives we require closeness to other human beings. We need to feel genuinely loved, protected, and cared for by others in our lives. What happens when young children are not allowed to interact with peers or adults? What happens when children are not provided meaningful educational experiences  to engage in? What happens when young people are forced to sit in front of a computer screen for hours every day? What effects does a lack of physical activity have on a child's development? 

While schools nation/ worldwide are deciding on ways to reopen with the least amount of disruption from school as usual, the focus remains in managing numbers of students with available resources. Scheduling, creating online curriculum, assessments, compliance issues for SpEd and Bilingual students, supplies, budgets, and on and on...

As an educator, when asked what my thoughts are regarding this pandemic and school closures, my response is that this is exactly what was needed to finally disrupt the system and rebuild it from the ground up. Although this disruption was forced upon us in an unexpected and scary way, it has brought about great opportunities to completely dismantle the system as we know it and begin rebuilding the educational system that our students need and deserve. 

Everything within education must improve in order for student's overall learning experiences to improve. The yearly calendar, school schedules/ structures, curriculum, pedagogy, counseling and mental health supports, resources for families, staff training, community outreach, teacher recruitment, nutrition/ food services, funding, developmentally-appropriate lessons, artistic/ creative learning, inclusion, disciplinary practices, cultural relevance, and bilingual education are a few to name. 

The conversations of what is best for our students should not be between the policymakers and so-called school leaders that continue to implement harmful school policies and practices that strip our students of their dignity and hope. These conversations and decisions must be conducted with families, educators, community members, and folks that actually care. We need people that understand the existing problems in education and are equipped to fight for what is necessary to create equitable learning opportunities for all of our students. Education was never intended to be just. Those that know this must be the ones to  create it for ourselves and our children. 

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. - Nelson Mandela