Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!
As I took my walk, I saw many parents walking their children to our local elementary school. I see signs about opening school and posts addressing concerns if we do. So this month, let’s talk about school.
Usually, the articles I recommend from McSweeney’s are satire. This one is not. The writer is a high school English teacher who sarcastically says, “I Started School In Person This Week, And It Went Fine.” Reopening schools does not mean schools as they used to be at all.
A second piece from McSweeney’s is a masterful parody of the short piece “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. This one is called “Teacher” and it is a great complement to the piece above.
I am not sure how I landed at the Des Moines Register’s article, “9 ways America is having the wrong conversation about 'reopening' schools.” But it outlines the issues we are talking about – and those we are ignoring when we discuss going back to in-person classes.
Education is built on relationships. Starting a relationship through a Zoom class is difficult for adults and extremely challenging for children and teenagers. Mindshift from KQED examines a wonderful solution in this article about looping, the practice where students have the same teacher for multiple years: “How Teacher Looping Can Ease the Learning Disruptions Caused by Coronavirus”
As a retired teacher and former dungeon master, I loved the idea that, especially as we use computers to reach our students, we can use some of the best lessons from Dungeons and Dragons to engage our students! This second article from Mindshift from KEQD provides, “Five Best Practices Teachers Can Learn from Dungeon Masters.”
It’s not only classroom experiences that have transformed as schools moved to remote learning. Students in the performing arts have adapted their work to the screen, too. This short radio story from NPR focuses on one high school’s play, but I have heard concerts and watched performances that have been artfully adapted so students can still create beautiful work, even in this frightening time “Performing In A Pandemic: Taking The High School Play Online”
Three articles from The Atlantic; The first two deal with issues regarding the college admission process. First, a professor from Tufts recommends, “The Easiest Reform for College Admissions.” Then, the president of Johns Hopkins University explains, “Why We Ended Legacy Admissions at Johns Hopkins.”
Lastly, echoing arguments I have been making since last spring, this Atlantic article states the obvious, “School Wasn’t So Great Before COVID, Either” and makes recommendations for improvements. COVID is an opportunity to reimagine and improve education. We should do far more than create an online analog!
I am currently reading A Promised Land by Barak Obama.
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