Lessons Learned from Remote Learning

Pandemic measures called for a closing of schools for about the last 3 months of the academic year. Now parents, administrators, and teachers are scrambling to plan for the fall. I was asked by Fox5 DC news to discuss the impacts of remote learning on children.

The impact is extremely varied.

My clinical experience has shown a pyramid of children’s experiences with remote learning – a small subset are thriving, some are managing, and many are struggling. The pandemic has highlighted the large social-economic divide. While children of resourced families may excel and be promoted during this time, others struggle to have access to the internet or a computer. Child abuse and domestic violence have increased. Children with different physical and mental abilities that rely on schools for counseling, or low-income kids who rely on schools for meals and shelter, are all left behind. Children who have English as a second language, or whose parents aren’t fluent in English, are struggling.

We need to prepare for the fall by ensuring that we are complementing learning and not complicating kids’ lives.

We do this through more individualized education. Teachers need clear mechanisms for feedback from students individually that’s not just on their academic progress, but also about their social-emotional well-being. We can support the benefits of remote learning – play, breaks, helping promote independence and ownership of one’s education.

And we need to care – not just for our own children, but for all children

Especially those that are falling through the cracks. For those at the top of the pyramid – that’s great these kids are doing well. But if we don’t support the foundation, then the whole thing crumbles. These equity problems need to be addressed head on.

For more information on the impact of remote learning, feel free to read “Keep schools closed and support American families”, where I discuss my article on The Hill. As well, feel free to watch my brief video discussing the above on IGTV.