Read on Twitter
Long thread *you are warned.
But powerful.
We need to rest this education break. And refresh.
Students will need our support. Educators will need our support. Parents will need support.
These are unprecedented times. Children learn daily. That is how they are built. /1
But powerful.
We need to rest this education break. And refresh.
Students will need our support. Educators will need our support. Parents will need support.
These are unprecedented times. Children learn daily. That is how they are built. /1
However, to learn optimally children need to be doing well mentally & emotionally. Students need to connect 1st then learn. Safe spaces are needed to process this year.
The following letter was put out by an upstate NY superintendent (Voorheesvile). It is a needed read.
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The following letter was put out by an upstate NY superintendent (Voorheesvile). It is a needed read.
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"Dear Friends & Colleagues"
I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers about the deficits the children will demonstrate when..../3
I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers about the deficits the children will demonstrate when..../3
...they finally return to school. My goodness, what a disconcerting thing to be concerned about in the face of the pandemic which is affecting millions of people around the country & the world. It speaks to one of my biggest fears for the children when they return. /4
In our determination to "catch them up" I fear that we will lose who they are & what they have learned in this unprecedented era. What on earth are we trying to catch them up on? The models no longer apply, the benchmarks are no longer valid, the trend analyses have.../5
...been interrupted. We must not forget that those arbitrary measures were established by people, not ordained by God. We can make these invalid measures as obsolete as a crank up phone! They simply do not apply.
/6
/6
When the children return to school they will have returned with a new history that we will need to help them identify & make sense of. When the children return to school, we will need to listen to them. Let their stories be told. They have endured a year that has no parallel.../7
...in modern times. There is no assessment that applies to who they are or what they have learned. Remember, their brains did not go into hibernation during this year. Their brains may not have focused on traditional school material, but they did not stop either. /8
Their brains may have been focused on where their next meal is coming from, or how to care for a younger sibling, or how to deal with missing grandma, or how it feels to surrender a beloved pet, or how to deal with death. /9
Our job is to welcome them back & help them write that history.
I sincerely plead with my colleagues to surrender the artificial constructs that measure achievement & greet the children where they are at, not where we think they "should be".
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I sincerely plead with my colleagues to surrender the artificial constructs that measure achievement & greet the children where they are at, not where we think they "should be".
/10
Greet them with art & writing materials, & music & dance & so many other avenues to help them express what has happened to them in their lives in this horrific year. Greet them with stories & books that will help them make sense of this upside down world.
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/11
They missed YOU. They did not miss the test prep. They did not miss the worksheets. They did not miss the reading groups. They did not miss the homework. They missed YOU.
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Resist the pressure from whatever "powers that be" who are in a hurry to "fix" kids & make up for "lost time". The time was not lost, it was invested in surviving an historic period of time in their lives- in our lives.
/13
/13
The children do not need to be fixed. They are not broken. They need to be heard. They need to be given as many tools as we can provide to nurture resilience & help them adjust to a post pandemic world.
Being a teacher is an essential connection between what is & what can be. /14
Being a teacher is an essential connection between what is & what can be. /14
Please, let what can be demonstrated be that our children have so much to share about the world they live in & in helping make sense of what for all of us has been unimaginable. This will help them- & us- achieve a lot more then can be measured by any assessment tool ever devised
Peace to all who work with the children".
Teachers - you have had the most challenging year most of you have ever endured. We see you. We hear you. We support you. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. Thank you for all you each have done for our children.
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Teachers - you have had the most challenging year most of you have ever endured. We see you. We hear you. We support you. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. Thank you for all you each have done for our children.
/16
There will be disagreements with part of that letter & that is fine.
The overall stands though - We are ALLLL making it through a major historic event. & doing our best.
We MUST continue to support one a other & get through this together.
2020 has been a wild ride.
& we made it.
The overall stands though - We are ALLLL making it through a major historic event. & doing our best.
We MUST continue to support one a other & get through this together.
2020 has been a wild ride.
& we made it.
**Thread's original author has been found- Teresa Thayler Snyder in Albany, New York.
Retired. Wise words.
I hope we learn that kids most struggling most need academics set aside & connection & being met where they are.
I saw my own child FINALLY thrive when it happened.
Retired. Wise words.
I hope we learn that kids most struggling most need academics set aside & connection & being met where they are.
I saw my own child FINALLY thrive when it happened.
@schill_dawg @atypicalalbertn @Wright4Kids @SAndersonshpk @shoffmanAB @AdrianaLaGrange
We are ALL in this for the kids (well. Most of us in this list.
).
Please know - moving forward takes all of us supporting one another.
Thank you all educators. This has been a tough year.
We are ALL in this for the kids (well. Most of us in this list.
).Please know - moving forward takes all of us supporting one another.
Thank you all educators. This has been a tough year.
