Learning Loss… the new education buzz word for 2021
We don’t seem to hear the words “unprecedented times” anymore… nope we have now lived through that, survived them…so naturally we move on to a new educational buzz word… Learning Loss
Don’t know about you but both phrases make me cringe.
So let’s talk about this new phrase that has infiltrated every email and faculty meeting agenda we have received in the last few months.
In my opinion, learning loss is only a thing IF you believe a school is only for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic….
If you believe that, then yes… our students did suffer from some Learning Loss since March 2020.
With schools closing for the 4th quarter last year AND not opening “normally” in the fall, it is true…teachers couldn’t “get through” as much AND students most likely did not master topics like they would have during previous years.
How could they? Their basic needs for consistency and feeling safe was always being attacked every time they turned around with new policies and changes. And well education 101 tells us that if the basic needs are not met, then learning can not happen….
BUT… and I mean a huge BUT here…
What if we remember what schools also teach. GRIT. PERSEVERANCE. LIFE SKILLS. ADAPTATION. LEADERSHIP. (Just to name a few)
That’s right, if you have been a classroom in the last few decades (or let’s be honest..since the beginning of school really) you know it is not just about the 3 R’s…. it is about so much more… it is about teaching the WHOLE child, not just the curriculum.
So do I believe there is learning loss…. not as much as society would like us to believe.
Our students learned to do something WE never had to do, go to school during a pandemic!
They also did this while learning to LIVE during a pandemic (cough, cough) GRIT
They had to learn to adapt quickly through all the changes. And let’s be honest, they did it better than most of us adults. (Another big cough) PERSEVERANCE
They had to learn to LEARN in a whole new way, unlike anything that their parents OR teachers had to do or even had advice to give them on how to handle it successfully, since, you know, they had never done this before and were “making it up” as they went along too. (Double Cough) ADAPTATION. LEADERSHIP.
Some even had to learn to juggle school, family, and work (as in their parents working along side them from home as well) all as a 6 yr old, 12 yr old, 18 yr old. (Need to pop a Halls kind of cough) LIFE SKILLS.
They had to learn how to make the most out of a not so perfect situation for things like their Senior prom, first day of kindergarten, last day of middle school, high school graduation, socializing and friendships. (My final cough) UNDERSTANDING.
So learning loss…. do I believe it is a thing this year?…. NOPE
I choose to celebrate the successes that our students have achieved.
I choose to show them just how much they have learned this year.
And why “surviving” this has made them into a high achieving student that no state testing score will ever be able to take from them!
In my opinion, they did not have learning loss, they may have actually learned more than any other students that I have had the privilege to teach.
I am ready for a new buzz word….
With so much love,
Listen to the exclusive audio version of Learning Loss on the This Teacher Life Podcast