As we approach the start of the strangest school year in most of our lifetimes, the role of the teacher is expanding. Parent and child care providers are now taking on more formal educational responsibilities, while career educators are reinventing their practice to support children in brand new ways. All these changes can feel daunting, but if we shift our mindset, we have a chance to reinvent our classrooms. Together, everyone who is lucky enough to call themselves a teacher, whether they have years of classroom experience or are brand new like parents and afterschool educators, can provide meaningful support to young people. FYI’s group leaders have often used these three strategies to help children learn that now seem even more essential in the middle of a pandemic.
Assess needs. Assessment is not the same thing as standardized testing. Assessment is a chance to determine exactly what a child needs. In a typical school year, that would involve teachers gathering information about specific subjects with which a child might need support, like multiplication tables or subject verb agreement. Now, more than ever, it is important to expand and personalize our assessments. Teachers must assess the emotional needs of young people who have spent six months away from their peers and extended family. They must assess basic food and shelter needs in a time of economic collapse. Most importantly, teachers must assess all of these needs regularly for each child throughout the year. Assessments aren’t multiple choice tests given once a year to evaluate school performance. Assessments are daily tools that teachers use to individualize their instruction and meet children where they are.
Break it down. After six months of interrupted instruction, children are out of practice with school. They will need help relearning everything from fractions to raising their hands. However, great teachers know that even the most complicated skills can be taught if those skills are broken down into smaller pieces through explicit instruction. Now more than ever, children need teachers to show them that all you have to do when something seems impossible is to start taking small steps to solve the problem. Explicit step-by-step instruction builds confidence in a time of crisis, and children deserve to feel successful and resilient right now.
Reflect together. Young people are experiencing this pandemic just like the rest of us, and it would be a mistake to exclude them from our thinking and planning on how to best educate them. The best way to support their growth this year is to encourage shared reflection at every stage of their learning. Teachers must discuss the results of their assessments with children individually so that they can collaboratively create goals for the upcoming school year. Classes must work together to reflect on how breaking down tasks into smaller steps is helping them learn. Most importantly, all stakeholders must create space to reflect on this challenging time and communicate with young people that their safety is incredibly important.
This school year will be challenging, but if we are willing to reexamine our priorities, we have the opportunity to provide children with compassionate, thoughtful instruction. Knowing the young people of FYI, they won’t settle for anything less.