Happy Friday Everyone!
I have found another silver lining in the wake of closing our school buildings to students for the remainder of the year. Although this silver lining appears to be miniscule at this time, it has the potential to be significant in the future. First, a little history. Parents, how many of you attended school at a time when state standards were a thing? Or when high stakes standardized testing was mandated for every student in grades 3-8, & 11? The answer for me is a resounding NO. Yet, contrary to current practice, I learned. Did I learn everything recommended by our current state standards or national standards? Again a resounding NO. I was taught by great teachers who taught me how to learn on my own. No standards, other than their own high expectations. No standardized multiple choice exams, instead, thought provoking questions, engaging projects/presentations, and personal feedback from my teachers.
Now, you may be asking how does this have anything to do with the COVID-19 school closure? Due to our current state of emergency and worldwide pandemic, students are not attending our school buildings where our current practices can remain in tact. Instead, we have been given the freedom to provide "continuity of learning" which means we can focus all of our time, energy, and resources to create meaningful, relevant, and fun learning activities for ALL students. Parental help and guidance will be crucial to their success. Teachers can provide personalized feedback to our students on their progress. Feedback that will be much more useful and meaningful than a single letter grade. Parents and students, for the time being, do not need to worry about grades or failure or comparisons. All we have to do is help our children learn. I admit, it is hard to wrap your brain around this because we have grown accustomed to the schedules, standards, and grades of our current practice within our buildings. But we have an unprecedented time in history where all we(teachers, students, and parents) have to worry about is engaging in learning. We have outstanding teachers who will spend their remaining contract days creating learning activities and giving specialized and personalized feedback to each one of their students to teach them how to learn for life. We have loving parents who will support their children with these learning opportunities and activities. Parents, teachers, and students should seize this opportunity, embrace it, and only worry about learning. Learning for every single student of Battle Creek Public Schools!
Happy Friday!