I think the academic and social emotional consequences of the Covid years are going to be debated for years to come, Brentlind. The last day I taught in the classroom was Friday, March 13th of 2020. I think we knew then that we'd be going to zoom classrooms shortly, though my memory is fuzzy. I ended up teacher that group of 6th graders via zoom through mid-June. In September of 2020, the majority of my grade 5/6 school went back to the classrooms with safety protocols, mandatory distancing, etc. I was one of the few teachers chosen to teach the following school year with zoom (September 2020 to June 2021) to students whose parents kept them home for various reasons, health-related issues, and just concerns over contracting the virus in school.

Any evaluation of the impact on academic and social emotional outcomes will have to differentiate between students out of the classroom for just 3 months, as opposed to the group who spent 3 months plus another entire year out of class. Where do things stand with respect to their development? I have heard from my colleagues these last few years that the students are less mature, less able to navigate social relationships, less adept at settling squabbles in class and at recess. Did the isolation due to covid cause this? Quite possibly, but did the generally heightened state of anxiety in society also play a role? Possibly. And there may be other variables at play like what were so many kids doing while isolated? How were their parents treating them differently? How were the parents reacting to covid during this time? I can't offer too much insight here because I left the general 6th grade classroom in September 2021 and transitioned to working with children with autism. 

The academic declines are alarming, though they seem to be part of a many years trend of falling scores in both reading and math. It's hard to be hopeful that this will turn around. The majority of children, and their parents, are just not reading, and they are especially disinclined to indulge in challenging text. We hear such stories at the college level where remedial instruction is so in demand and many professors don't even require students to read complete novels or textbooks. Societal ills don't stop at the doorways of schools, and I think the fragmented attention that social media, algorithms, and screens breed has impacted deep, sustained thinking and learning, at least for a lot of young people, and most likely a lot of their electronics-obsessed elders too. I don't know how we turn it around but I have a thought.

I think it would behoove school districts to apply a little positive peer pressure to their communities. I would have an enormous push for the creation of "family book clubs." There would be a sustained conversation regarding the value of this and each school would provide parents with books, instruction, and questions.The subject matter would of course be grade appropriate. This initiative would get children and parents reading, talking, and hopefully connecting with each other on deeper levels. There would be a communal expectation that everyone is doing this. Communities that do roll such a program out, and really stay with it, will benefit enormously. And wouldn't it be great to boast that your town leads in such a noble endeavor. If only...

Peter T.