As the 2021-22 school year winds down, I’m struck by how much we’ve continued to talk about learning loss. This test-industry-generated term is driving our conversations about areas of focus for upcoming school years, including massive tutoring initiatives, remediation efforts, and much more. But can the real loss that our students (and teachers!) have experienced be really narrowed to simply “learning”? Approaching this summer, I’m increasingly aware of my own anxieties and concerns about my experience as a teacher and the experience of my colleagues. As I write this article, COVID-19 is simply not going quietly into the night, and we are having very public arguments about requiring masks again. And… I’m anxious about what all this means for school. I’m anxious about having to go back to the year that was 2020-21. The year that felt so isolating and emotionally draining.
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When Will We Seriously Talk About Student and…
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As the 2021-22 school year winds down, I’m struck by how much we’ve continued to talk about learning loss. This test-industry-generated term is driving our conversations about areas of focus for upcoming school years, including massive tutoring initiatives, remediation efforts, and much more. But can the real loss that our students (and teachers!) have experienced be really narrowed to simply “learning”? Approaching this summer, I’m increasingly aware of my own anxieties and concerns about my experience as a teacher and the experience of my colleagues. As I write this article, COVID-19 is simply not going quietly into the night, and we are having very public arguments about requiring masks again. And… I’m anxious about what all this means for school. I’m anxious about having to go back to the year that was 2020-21. The year that felt so isolating and emotionally draining.