COVID-19 Learning: How Parents, Teachers And Professors Are Adapting Their Approach To Education

Published April 15, 2020 at 10:00 AM CDT

Colin, 10, whose school was closed following the coronavirus outbreak, does school exercises at home in Washington on March 20, 2020. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Got a question or comment about learning in the time of COVID-19? You can email Stephanie Jones at sjones1@uga.edu.

What do we really want our kids to learn in this moment in history? Two education professors say throw out academics, we simply need to teach kids how to be.

Guests

Hilary Hughes, associate professor and graduate coordinator in the department of Educational Theory and Practice at the University of Georgia. ( @hilaryehughes)

Stephanie Jones, professor in the department of Educational Theory and Practice at the University of Georgia.

Luvelle Brown, superintendent of the Ithaca City School District in New York. ( @luvelleb)

Henry Bucher, 7th Grader at Deerpark Middle School in Austin, Texas. His school district moved to asynchronous learning via Google Classroom.

From The Reading List

Atlanta Journal Constitution: “ Opinion: This is not home schooling, distance learning or online schooling.” — “Gov. Brian Kemp announced today that schools won’t re-open this year, marking a historic moment in time that none of us have experienced or imagined before, a time that will shape us all – and possibly education – moving forward. It’s a time to pause, take a collective breath, and learn to be in this new reality so our path forward is one that we can be proud of when we look back on it.”

WHYY: “ Gimme structure: Why some Philly parents are eager for online learning to begin” — “Every night before bed, Andrea Clark and her husband have a little ritual where they recap all the things on their kids’ agendas for the next day. Usually, it’s a long list. These days, not so much.”

Washington Post: “ Millions of public school students will suffer from school closures, education leaders have concluded” — “Only weeks after the coronavirus pandemic forced American schools online, education leaders across the country have concluded that millions of children’s learning will be severely stunted and are planning unprecedented steps to help them catch up.”

Salon: “ Advice from a home-school veteran: Ditch the schedule and let your kids play” — “I keep seeing them on social media: The “school schedules” written on kitchen whiteboards, shared proudly by parents newly tasked with home schooling in the face of a pandemic. Those whiteboards make my heart sink — they send me straight back 22 years.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.