Page 34 - DistanceLearning

How Covid-19 Could

Change Education

By Heather Wawrzyniak, Curriculum

and Instruction Coordinator

Riverside Township Public School District

March 13, 2020 is a day that will forever An Antiquated System Brought into the 21st Century: Since the start of the
21st century, new initiatives have been coined, “21st Century Skills” but moving
change education. Until this point in history, education had been education from its 20th century founding roots required way more than a fancy
slightly changing, but not necessarily to meet the changing needs of the stu- name. Changing education from a teaching model to a learning model was go-
dents or society. Innovative practices had been dulled by high stakes testing ing to require a total restructure in delivery and methods that would force people
demands, the decline in family support and funding challenges caused by to move out of their comfort zones. Now, faced with the challenge of teaching
mandated initiatives. For decades, educators have been drowning in a sea of remotely, teachers have been forced to reset back to a first year teacher men-
unfunded mandates, yet somehow amidst the chaos and insecurity of a horrible tality of survival. However, they are not first year teachers but rather profes-
pandemic, educators have risen to the top. Here are the top 10 much needed sional with decades of experience proving that they will not only survive, but
changes in education that could emerge from a national disaster: thrive with this new level of teaching. Teachers across the country are setting up
An Increase in Teacher Recognition: With the onset of federal mandates virtual classrooms, holding online live meetings and showing up on YouTube,
such as No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act, education that’s right, where students usually spend most of their waking hours! Jumping
has been faced with a myriad of changes with little support offered to teachers. on new platforms that have captivated their audiences for years, teachers are
Published accountability reports that announce raised rigor (with inadequate now rocking the web!
time for training), highlight falling test scores (but ignore underlying student Updated Approaches to Learning: Along with technological advances, teach-
needs), and blame teachers (by assigning an annual teacher rating) have made ers were now also faced with the dilemma of delivering new material in con-
teachers a target. densed days and relying on student engagement to promote learning. These
This sudden closing of schools left everyone questioning. But in less than 48 shifts in pacing and grading have started new professional conversations based
hours, teachers were there with answers! Pulling through in a time of need on identifying essential skills first. Teachers are now providing students with
(because it’s just kind of what they do), teachers across the nation met the choice activities, that allow for flexible grading options that also include flexi-
challenge and far exceeded expectations, leaving the world in awe of their awe- bility in submission dates. To allow for varying schedules and varying levels of
someness. Parents quickly learned of the vast responsibilities of teaching and a support, teachers are grouping students based on feedback from assignments
whole new level of respect emerged from the shift to remote learning. Teachers and holding small group collaborative chat rooms to help students grasp new
are now being seen by more and more people as the heroes they are. concepts. Furthermore, with state testing cancelled, teachers are free to try new
things rather than being bound to teach to a test. New technology, essential
skills, student choice, flexible grading, small group support, and calculated risk
taking have all been brought to the forefront in these times.

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