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I teach at the high school level in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area. Generally, it is a middle class community in which the basics are provided for (th

I teach at the high school level in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area. Generally, it is a middle class community in which the basics are provided for (that said, there was obviously an uptick in family crises, job loss, transient housing, etc.) About twenty percent of my students handled the transition to distance education just fine. Many of these students told me they missed friends/clubs/etc, but enjoyed having greater control over their time (my district encouraged, but did not require, synchronous learning). The middle sixty percent were mixed, but generally plateaued in perceived achievement or struggled to keep motivated. Since going back to in-person about six weeks ago, the majority of these students are back on track. Achievement remains somewhat below a typical cohort, just a little less snappy and insightful with observations and arguments. So it goes. The bottom twenty percent were various flavors of missing. They did not or could not cope with the transition to distance learning. Some of these students were struggling prior to going online, but the reduction in structure and support pulled a lot of kids into this group that wouldn’t typically fail. No objective here. Just sharing.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
My teacher friends (younger age groups than yours) said essentially the same thing. Some fraction of students simply disappeared during remote learning and no amount of phone calls to their parents could get them back. On the other end of the spectrum, some students had stay at home parents with them for the entire duration and were doing just fine. Students in the middle were okay but would have done better in person. It seems the challenge now is that the most prepared students have gotten further ahead while the least prepared students fell further behind. Managing the increased divergence in coming years will be a challenge.
- germinalphrase 5y ago
  “My teacher friends (younger age groups than yours) said essentially the same thing. Some fraction of students simply disappeared during remote learning and no amount of phone calls to their parents could get them back.” We were sending staff door to door everyday, but it is unclear how much of an impact that (or any of our other interventions) really made. A lot of these kids were depressed, anxious, unmoored. “It seems the challenge now is that the most prepared students have gotten further ahead while the least prepared students fell further behind. Managing the increased divergence in coming years will be a challenge.” Anxiety over that divergence is already building amongst the teaching staff.
  - kbelder 5y ago
    One solution (that would never happen) is to do some testing and evaluation, and have those that fell behind repeat the grade. I think my daughter did ok, but we have a stay-at-home mom. Most aren't so lucky.
mullen 5y ago
I have a good friend that is a High School Vice Principal and she more or less said the same thing. The top 20% handled it well with only a handful having issues (Any issues got worked out), the middle 60% was hit or miss with some students improving and some doing worse (The school had to be flexible but firm in its expectations). However, what she said about the bottom 20% was pretty shocking. A lot of them would just disappear unless the school staff was chasing them down 5 days a week. Many of the bottom 20% just disappeared and no one at the school knows where they are. The school calls, texts and emails (If they have email) but they never hear from anyone. It made her realize that High School is just glorified babysitters for a lot of kids. Just a place to warehouse 30% - 40% teenagers until they are 18 with the hope that the school can get the basics into their heads before they are unleashed into the world.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

My teacher friends (younger age groups than yours) said essentially the same thing. Some fraction of students simply disappeared during remote learning and no amount of phone calls to their parents could get them back. On the other end of the spectrum, some students had stay at home parents with them for the entire duration and were doing just fine. Students in the middle were okay but would have done better in person. It seems the challenge now is that the most prepared students have gotten further ahead while the least prepared students fell further behind. Managing the increased divergence in coming years will be a challenge.

germinalphrase 5y ago
“My teacher friends (younger age groups than yours) said essentially the same thing. Some fraction of students simply disappeared during remote learning and no amount of phone calls to their parents could get them back.” We were sending staff door to door everyday, but it is unclear how much of an impact that (or any of our other interventions) really made. A lot of these kids were depressed, anxious, unmoored. “It seems the challenge now is that the most prepared students have gotten further ahead while the least prepared students fell further behind. Managing the increased divergence in coming years will be a challenge.” Anxiety over that divergence is already building amongst the teaching staff.
- kbelder 5y ago
  One solution (that would never happen) is to do some testing and evaluation, and have those that fell behind repeat the grade. I think my daughter did ok, but we have a stay-at-home mom. Most aren't so lucky.

mullen 5y ago

I have a good friend that is a High School Vice Principal and she more or less said the same thing. The top 20% handled it well with only a handful having issues (Any issues got worked out), the middle 60% was hit or miss with some students improving and some doing worse (The school had to be flexible but firm in its expectations). However, what she said about the bottom 20% was pretty shocking. A lot of them would just disappear unless the school staff was chasing them down 5 days a week. Many of the bottom 20% just disappeared and no one at the school knows where they are. The school calls, texts and emails (If they have email) but they never hear from anyone. It made her realize that High School is just glorified babysitters for a lot of kids. Just a place to warehouse 30% - 40% teenagers until they are 18 with the hope that the school can get the basics into their heads before they are unleashed into the world.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]