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Learning. Loss.

4/5/2021

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A popular way to gain traction on a tweet is to begin by saying "unpopular opinion" and follow it up with something that is, quite knowingly, very popular. I don't intend to do that here, so I will just say this: there is such thing as learning loss through the Inevitable Forced Remote Distance Disaster Learning Model of 2020-2021.

I have read articles, posts, and tweets about how we can't possibly say students have lost any learning through a pandemic, as long as they are able to get through the pandemic. This seems to be a false equivalence, as what I have witnessed is a divergence in the students who have shown up every day compared to those who have not. 

Student 1:
Student 1 shows up to class every day. They decide to show themself on camera, respond occasionally in the chat, and turn in most of the work assigned. They are often seen in/near a bed, sometimes laying down. They aren't feeling motivated, but know that school is a place where they need to be, and they do enough work to get by. Some of it is probably copied or scanned from an app, but there is a clear effort to complete the work. Heck, there are even times when it's obvious that someone has helped them by writing the work for them.

Student 2:
Student 2 shows up to class every day. They decide to show themself on camera, respond to everything in the chat or by unmuting their microphone. They sit upright at the desk in their room, turn in work that is highlighted and meticulous, wanting to stay ahead. They get some answers wrong, even though they know that there are apps and services out there to do the work for them. They attend office hours when it is helpful, and will take the initiative to ask for assistance when necessary.

I'm not talking about Student 1 or Student 2 when I talk about learning loss.

Student 3:
Student 3 shows up to class some days/most days/every day. They might turn on their camera the beginning of the period, or leave it on as their ceiling fan gets a full workout, only to be left alone for the remainder of the class period. They will rarely turn in work, and it is often either impeccably done with too many answers (I won't assign the whole thing, and tell the students in the meeting which problems to do) or it is incomplete. Student 3 does not respond in the chat, does not ask for help or attend office hours, and will often be in the group of the last students in the meeting, even though I dismissed them 5 minutes prior.

THESE are the students I am referencing when I think about, and talk about, learning loss. I can empathize with students who have lost the motivation to complete any work, and to even show up and remain attentive. I have had students share that they will mute their teacher and watch a movie during class; this is learning loss, a lost opportunity to learn. I have had students share that they get into the meeting so that they're marked present, and go out to work with a family member; this is learning loss, a lost opportunity to learn. There are other scenarios, but these two should paint a sufficient picture of the students I am most concerned about when referring to learning loss. 

This year in my Math 2 course, we have gone into detail about recursive and explicit equations, functions and patterns, quadratic functions, geometry, trig ratios, and more. We trimmed a lot of content to account for seeing students twice a week. We assigned no more than two things per week. We have now slowed down to cover one lesson per week through the remainder of the year. I say this to clarify that it is not a coverage issue. For Student 1 and Student 2, they have received an ample amount of content to be successful in the next course, Integrated Math 3. For Student 1 and Student 2, we know that there are going to be some areas we need to review and fill in next year, but that there is a foundational understanding of the key concepts we need them to know. 

For Student 3, we have no idea what they know/don't know because they haven't turned in authentic work. To wrap my head around this, I looked up numbers, and out of my 170 students, 29 of them are currently in a position of "learning loss" through my description. SEVENTEEN PERCENT of my students are turning in nearly no work, missing multiple days, not engaging in chats/discussion, and not turning in assessments. No tutoring program or late-semester intervention is going to get them up to the level of their peers, so they are, by definition, behind. They have lost a learning opportunity.

For that 17 percent of my classes, I worry. I have not been able to build community the ways in which I had hoped, and now that we are a month from the end of the school year, I don't know what else to do. Counselors and administrators have contacted and attempted home visits. I have sent messages. I continue to attempt engagement when we are in the class setting. The return to in-person learning will be rocky and messy and exciting and chaotic all at once, and my hope is that this group of students find a way to regain their sense of belonging in a school setting. 

We return to hybrid in-person/remote learning next week, and I can only hope that what was lost is slowly able to be found again. 

Happy "In Search Of The Lost" Fishing
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Give Yourself Permission

10/11/2020

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Since returning to the classroom, I have tried to share as much of the reality as possible. There are some (relatively) awesome days and there are some truly awful days and there are a lot of mix-of-everything days in between. Never did I think that stepping back into the classroom would come with the demands and stressors as it has, but then again, nobody else did, either. On top of that, the overwhelming majority of us are working more intensely than we ever have (I say most because, well, let's be real: some of our colleagues are still showing up right at the bell, coming into meetings late, not contributing, and having the time of their life).

But then, the worst stuff is this, and it's not only Gerry. It's admin and others who think that the answer is to just relax and do nothing:

Give yourself permission to relax and do nothing on the weekend. You deserve it and it will improve your mental health.

— gerry brooks (@gerrybrooksprin) October 10, 2020
If there is ANYONE I want telling me to relax, it's this guy:
I can't possibly take the entire weekend off to R-E-L-A-X, Aaron Rodgers. Well, no, now that you say it, I will find some time to relax. I'm going to find some time to spend with my family, to sleep in a little bit longer, to call a friend I haven't talked to in a while, or do a thing that makes me feel refreshed. I will find some time to relax.

At the same time, this profession doesn't lend itself to those who do nothing. I drive by my kids' school at the end of most school days and see the cars on my way home and I don't think, "hey, those folks need to go home and do nothing this weekend." I also don't look at those cars, knowing the humans who drive them, and think that they are enduring heroic events to create materials for their students. I see those cars and feel appreciation for the work they are putting in, knowing that if they don't put the time in now, they won't get the results they want later. It isn't heroic or award-winning, but it is their work ethic and I applaud them for it. 

Sure, I can relax, but I am not going to do nothing. Yes, right now it's Sunday morning, and I have not yet planned the week ahead for my students. However, I can tell you that I've already started thinking about it. I know where we left off last week, and what launching points I want to focus on this week, and I know that materials need to be prepped in order for that to happen. I know that there is work to provide feedback on, and students who have turned things in on time deserve a teacher who is going to provide timely feedback, so they shall receive it in a timely manner as well.

So yeah: Give yourself permission. Give yourself permission to break away from the seemingly endless list of things to do to ensure that your students are getting the best possible experience in a chaotic and inequitable time, even though you know that "breaking away" is merely a temporary respite from the reality of what tomorrow needs from you. As for what will improve your mental health? I don't know, and I'm not going to espouse any half-hearted attempts. Not here, not on Twitter, not on a mass email. That's for you to find, and when you do find it, lean into it; that is what I assume will improve your mental health.

It has mine.

Happy "Aaron Rodgers Therapy" Fishing
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