Some schools are able to take this in stride— with stable digital infrastructure already in place for digital/remote learning. Other schools and families are left at a loss, especially in the younger grades with how to engage students in lower elementary in online sessions.

Italy just announced a similar decision (2-week closure), but nonetheless, students and families are left to homeschool or hope their children are self-directed enough to not loose all that they have learned this year already.

While not idea of schools nor families, this provides a unique opportunity for families to determine how school is meaningful and the ways to find alternative educative experiences without school and classroom facilitation. As this story continues to develop, please contact us If you are a family or school interested in learning more about options, planning, or engagement when school isn’t an option.

Full article from the Wall Street Journal can be found here.

Education is changing. From when I was in school and when my parents were in school, to today, things are very different. Students want to become youtube sensations and they see the reward in “viral”. 

This change is reflective of the availability to get a message to millions with equipment we carry around every day. Instead of needing a book or dial-up to find a solution, students have access to information like never before. We are only just seeing the effects of this instant access to information. 

I consistently ask schools I visit, what makes you different? What benefit do you give students that can't be found elsewhere?If the public school down the road is teaching the same information and using the same curriculum, why are you assuming that families will continue to pay $46,000 per year for something they can get for free? Are you selling the ability to feel superior to my neighbor? Are you selling access to a better college or more friendships with more famous people? Do you have nicer facilities or a more amazing cafeteria or computer lab? While these are often added perks-- maybe even selling points, there are very few differences in the teaching methods or content covered that make an impact worth thousands of dollars some upwards of 46K. 

Before public schools were mandated and available everywhere, most children were taught in the home by their parents, or if they could afford, a well-learned tutor. I’m noticing a new shift happening that reverts back to personalized education in homes of long ago. Families are asking more questions about what it would look like to “unschool” their children. Often, these families are seeing the value in a more worldly perspective-- by actually seeing the world. This means there are dozens of remote learning options-- schools and homeschool platforms available. State specific learning, nationally recognized, and even accredited schools that allow students to learn the same material as a classroom (public or private) at home or anywhere in the world. This shift to remote work is mirrored in education because of the access to information and communication that is new to the 21st century. 

I see how students need to learn foundational concepts in reading, writing (composition), math, science, and social studies are necessary for life in the 21st century. These skills are basic competencies! (If a student can't read, how will they know what “oncoming train” means when their high speed commuter is fast approaching?) There are many outdated lessons taught even at the elementary level that do not reflect the skills students will need to be able to survive and thrive today or by the time they are living independently. I see families taking action.

What does this mean? Fortunately, homeschool does not have the same stigma it did years ago. Families are realizing that a true personalized education can be achieved at home, with specific insights into a child's interests while still meeting benchmarks or standards set for their age. Families are also realizing that there are many learning routes to ensure their child knows and understands the lessons necessary to transition to the real world-- no matter the “real world” they choose.

We no longer live in the industrial-revolution era of learning where schools are intended to create a workforce. We also don't live in a hunter-gatherer society, nor a class-based society. Fortunately, this means choice for students and families. Of course, we do (at this point) still need workers who go into office every day, we do still need assembly line workers, and computer programers. We still need farmers and tailors, plumbers, electricians, doctors, teachers, and hairstylists. The difference today is, families have a choice. 

Families can choose the school their child attends, the education they receive, and the extra-curricular experiences that shape who they are. For most self-directed learners, school is easy, and even homeschool would be easy. Get a good grade, move on to the next lesson, continue for the rest of your life. Students today see more-- there is a drive to not only do “well,” but also get recognition, be interested in the “why” and maybe even do something meaningful-- if not meaningful, just something they enjoy. Families are starting to choose based on what is available and who their child is (and what they need!). 

I see many families are shifting to this new (old) choice to take their child's education into their own hands. Standards of learning are still met, extracurriculars to give a child an “edge” in a particular interest area still happen, but there is choice. Families and students both have choice.

I can’t wait to see what opportunities develop for students and families as the information we receive becomes an even more ingrained part of living. Education is changing. While schools are still catching up, I’m excited to participate in the next new change.

This winter I’ve chosen some PD (more on that later) and books to recharge my teaching practice. The first of this series was the book Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. This book is included on several recommended reading lists for its ideas about memory learning and supporting executive functions and general cognitive practice. This reading has been exciting and thought provoking! 

Refreshing (not so new) Takes on Learning

Flashcards work!

Mini quizzes encourage long term learning!

Wait, what? These sound so boring-- so rote-- All of my Bank Street colleagues are rolling their eyes. Especially when there is such a push towards play based and student created learning. There are traditional techniques that do work-- and sometimes there are times when timing does matter and we wouldn't other naturally come upon the learning required for school.

I remember my dad helping me study when I was in middle school. He would spend so much time typing quizzes based on my social studies and science coursework. It was often my job to take the quiz and then turn it back into him to grade and redirect my learning. As I grew, he then tasked me with taking his homemade quiz and then grading it myself-- looking back and finding the places where the information came from. My parents were really invested in supporting my learning, really doing well in school, that they would both spend their time relearning my 7th and 8th grade coursework.

I worked with a student who needed parental support to complete any academic work. Reading this book helped me identify some strategies for this family. This need was felt two-fold. 1) he wants to see his parents' reaction to the work. Do they ask questions? Are they critical? How important is the answer? Do they have questions? And 2) he wants his parents to feel the struggle he is going though. AKA “if you're going to make me suffer through this, i’m going to make you suffer too.”

My advice to this family and other families in this situation sounds familiar-- your child is listening to you. Encouraging, and believing, valuing, and really seeing the work your child puts in, is so important. When a student needs support every step of the way, they are really asking for buy-in. This is where flashcards and mini quizzes (and some of the other themes in this book) come into play. Instead of fighting your child on summer work or other tasks, see if there is a way to help them learn a strategy. Language could include “ I notice that page of work looks especially challenging. Can you teach me what you are doing?” The longer this behavior has been enabled, the craftier the child is…

As the school year winds down, schools and families eagerly anticipate summer plans. For teachers, this is part of the cycle— packing up one year and trying to anticipate the next class in September. For families, it often looks like a guessing game of registrations and vacation, plus downtime to keep children entertained and outside! 

Families often reach out for summer support work to ward off the “summer slide”. The summer slide is when students regress in their academics because of the absence of school and daily academic lessons. Studies have shown that some summer academic work to maintain progress does tremendous good for a student at the start of the next school year. A student who does no summer academic work- even in a fun summer environment- have been shown to slide a full 1-3 months of school time learning. Of course the amount regressed has countless factors and implications for schools in September.

National Summer Learning Association https://www.summerlearning.org

What should you do about the summer slide? There are several factors that can impact the culture of your summer. If the library seems like a far stretch for your family audiobooks and making non-screen time a family event is one way to Segway into reading all together. I highly recommend the Harry Potter series read by Jim Dale. There are also so many events around communities in the summer— many historical sites have events directed towards students and families to make learning more dynamic.

If you are a family that has a lot going on, perhaps a more traditional approach works better for scheduling. Summer support for students to get ahead and boost confidence in their progress and to get ahead for the upcoming year is sometimes a necessity. Programs Like Lindamood-Bell are expensive both in dollars and in time ($15,000+ for 6 weeks, 4 hours every day…) but the results are impressive. I believe structure is great to students even in the summer time. It  is a great opportunity to feel how learning can be fun in the summer— students can choose content areas that interest them and make each book the read or math problem they complete about the Avengers or LOL Dolls. 

 How does Meg's summer work look? To avoid feeling like the “mean” parent or caregiver, families often ask for support to make summer “work” fun. I of course can make a more structured program— similar to Lindamood-Bell for a fraction of the cost, but I know- most students are reluctant to tutoring or school in the summer time. My own version of summer work often looks different based on each students needs and the learning plan that is established at the start of summer.  This year, I’ve created “Meg Camp” (both weekend and self-paced sessions) crafted to several different units of study that will help prevent the summer slide and have some fun too! 

This is a lot of information— as always, please let me know if you have any questions, ideas, thoughts or concerns. Enjoy summer!