Thinking Out LoudCOVID seriously messed with the education of children and the headspace of their parents and teachers. (No judgment from me, a parent of young children and a high school teacher during the pandemic).
We are also realising that COVID messed with the learning of babies and toddlers, kids only now starting school.
These little ones missed out on crucial interaction with the wider world. Many parents (again, no judgment) were stretched beyond normal limits at home and beyond.
Kindergarten teachers report that students are now struggling with emotional and social skills. Students in Year 1 and 2 are struggling with literacy. Megan Kuhfield researched the pandemic learning disruption and speculates the two problems are linked: “Teachers are spending more time having to teach how to behave in a kindergarten classroom — that would normally be the purview of preschool teachers. This time spent on behaviour management and behaviour regulation, cumulatively, could be affecting achievement.”
Educators refer to the “Matthew Effect”, which riffs on Jesus’ words, “Whoever has, will be given more”, and “whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them” (Matthew 13:12). This points to the serious learning gap that tends to widen over time for students with poor literacy.
In another Matthew passage, Jesus famously chastises adults who stop children coming to him, because “the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).
Jesus thought of children as his essential work. He gifted children his full attention, even when powerful people thought they were an unhelpful distraction. The pandemic was a time when it was very hard to care well for our littlest ones. Attention now turns to what can be done to mind the educational gap that is widening, and to make sure we give all our kids the gift of literacy.