Some Good News for Educators

This week for some reason has seemed more difficult for many people, including me. Quarantine is a wearing thing to live through. So I thought it would be good to just have something positive for you as you head into your weekend. John Krasinski has fantastic episodes of a show he calls Some Good News. It would be great to have a hopeful update just for education, so we wrote 10 positive things that we as educators have been learning during this time. It was nice to see how one good thing led me to realize another good thing was happening. Please enjoy.

1. Screens and screentime aren't always a negative for kids. For many students, those screens are providing the socialization we all crave. I try to remind myself of this when my son is on Xbox again.

2. Humans need connection to each other. I'm guessing we all wish we had bought stock in Zoom a few months ago. Whether through a screen or sitting several feet apart from each other, we need to be with and communicate with each other. We're seeing how school provides this so freely and is maybe something we didn't appreciate before.

3. Schools are incredibly important to the fabric of our society. They matter in so many more ways than just academic learning. This is a good thing to know because our society will likely value schools more when we get back to "normal." And who matters tremendously in all of this? Teachers.

4. Teachers do hard and valuable work. It's been fun to see tweets and memes about how much people appreciate teachers. That sentiment is felt with so many components of society. We're all getting more appreciative of things we may not have paid enough attention to before.

5. New, important conversations are being had. We're talking about learning, not just assessment. We're talking about knowledge acquisition and application, not just worksheets and tests. Those of us in reform have been pushing for more conversations on this, but there's never enough time. Now there is and it's a frontline concern as we try to teach remotely.

6. Teachers are learning new ways to teach and new tools to use. It's out of necessity as schools move to remote learning for the foreseeable future. Some teachers are learning tools they never thought they could or would use, but they're making strides with them. It's not easy, but teachers are working hard at it.

7. Discussions are occurring about if, when, and how much online education should be a part of various courses and age groups. Some might never have imagined that certain courses can be taught online, but they can. But also, some things need the in-person component in ways that can't always be replicated. That's valuable to know.

8. Schools can make change faster than initially believed. When push came to shove, educators of every grade level and role in schools have pitched in and moved entire schools online fast. We've seen the same thing with state and federal bureaucracies. When needed, we can make things happen. It's encouraging to see that because…

9. Equity issues are being highlighted in this time now more than ever. Schools provide a large role in leveling playing fields. And while education hasn't mastered that, we're seeing how much school does reduce inequities. We’re also seeing what we have to attend to immediately.

10. This virus is shining a light on a lot of things we're doing and showing us that there is no more time to wait to fix big problems that education faces. We've learned that we are capable of making real change quickly, and real progress is possible. I think that's the best news I've heard in a very long time.

Stay safe and take care of you and your loved ones,

Kathy

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