Midterm

Overview

The COVID-19 pandemic’s manifestation in K-12 education exposes the inequalities found in general education and magnifies them on a grand scale. It is impossible to adequately address all apparent inequalities because they were not adequately addressed in pre-pandemic times. Because of this, issues such as food insecurity, neglect/abuse, and social/emotional development, to name a few, impact students in heightened ways when they cannot rely on schools as a resource. Though vulnerable students become more vulnerable, all students and families are having their lives impacted physically and emotionally to some degree by school closures and changing procedures.

Data and methods

Due to my job and family, I have a close insight on the challenges that kindergarteners specifically are facing at this time. I work as a nanny for a family consisting of a mom, a dad, a five-year old, and a three-year old. The five year old began school this year, and both parents are working remotely from home. I’ve watched their struggles firsthand and worked to navigate with them, which has been a challenge. Additionally, my mom is a kindergarten teacher in the district I attended growing up. I’ve listened into her teaching her class, asked her in-person about her experiences, and have also watched in on board and union meetings with her. Coincidentally, my mom has been helping the woman who taught me and my siblings kindergarten because she is still a teacher in the district. I was able to discuss challenges with her over Facetime on two occasions. Another highly telling data source of which I took advantage was the community Facebook page for our school district. Looking at the comments on updates provided me with perspectives that I wasn’t otherwise considering, upon which I will elaborate below. Additionally, after taking readings and podcasts from the semester into consideration, I will specifically be referencing “The Public Purposes of Schooling in the Age of Coronavirus” by Doug Larkin, The Nice White Parents podcast, and The Shift episode.

Discussion of Challenges and Opportunities

One challenge that remote learning provides for all parties is the technological learning curve. From a teaching perspective, adapting to online learning was my mom’s biggest stressor for the entire summer. Her district in particular waited until the last minute to provide teachers with information of how the school year would initially proceed and changed their plans many times along the way. It took her a long time to gain confidence in conducting her class and implementing the prescribed programs. Similarly, parents and guardians seem to struggle with similar frustrations and insecurities. With schooling suddenly becoming an additional full-time job for so many families, parents and guardians are also expected to learn the systems the students are using so that they may be adequate supports for their children. It is also essential to note that many students and families are experiencing complex challenges that those I interviewed simply are not. Some more extreme challenges, such as homelessness and poverty, may cause barriers that prevent students from being able to properly utilize the necessary technology or participate to the extent that is expected of them. All this to say, there are a complex range of issues that all families and learners are facing. Some will be fixed by having the time to adapt, others may not see a resolution any time soon due to their widespread nature.

A resource that clearly lays out specific ways that students and families are struggling is Doug Larkin’s list of ten functions that we typically rely on schools to fulfill. Larkin brings the reader’s attention to the hardships that all communities, as well as specific marginalized groups are facing as they are related to losing access to typical schooling. He does a great job of encapsulating the struggles of a wide variety of groups, which is essential to understanding the incredible loss that communities are facing without having schools to rely on. As an individual, it is almost impossible to be aware of problems a group is facing if one does not have any knowledge or experience with those impacted by them. Many of us also had no reason to consider the major social role that schools played until they were no longer available.

Another issue that has a wide range of implications for families is figuring out how to re-situate their lives around online schooling. The district Facebook page is a great place to examine how families want their school year to play out and the reasons that inform these opinions. Generally, comments were either in support of remote education or pushback to begin in-person schooling. While I can sympathize with both sides in terms of familial needs, the comments I read helped me to better understand the stances of the latter. I had assumed that most families pushing for reopening were primarily experiencing burnout and a desire to resume work in the office. I was not thinking as much about single parents and those that simply could not work in fields that would allow them to watch their children at the same time, such as retail or food service. These families receive little support from their employer and have no choice but to make their schedules align with the schools, causing their needs to be considered last.

When school becomes a self-guided process that takes place at home, the equalizing that in-person schooling provides dissipates. The Shift mentions that in the spring especially, many students were simply unable to learn because they did not have access to the internet or devices. Though many schools and districts have addressed this issue for the fall, many have not and will not because they simply have no way to do so. The primary factor that exacerbates this inequality is the fact that it is up to individual school districts to find solutions for their students. Because there has been no sort of government assistance, it only makes sense that the districts with more resources would have an easier time providing for their students.

Conclusion

The collected data leads me to conclude that the proper way to address inequality is as a collective. This means choosing to intensely incorporate safe practices as well as put pressure on the government for support of all schools. This solution, of course, does sound incredibly idealistic. However, a theme among those we’ve learned from in class is doing what you can to the best of your ability. A speaker in The Shift asserts that schools and universities can do better by modeling systems that others can emulate. Good practices can become the standard that allows schools to open. These speakers even feel that we can take this opportunity to reimagine how schools operate long-term that allows funding to be more equitable and practices to better serve students. I appreciate the perspective that the moment we are living on could serve as a precipice of change for the better. At the same time, it is also difficult to make real change without legislative backing, which many researchers point out as well. It will be necessary for the adults in the equation to continue putting pressure on politicians to provide for all schools if change is to occur.