Then What IS the Answer?

      Unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard all about how this year's students need more Social/Emotional Learning than ever before! Many will blame it on the pandemic.  Others will blame it on the home lives of the students, or a host a many other reasons.  As I was lamenting about this in a chat, a principal put the blame on the classroom teachers. He said that the kids are dysregulated because teachers are dysregulated and that the students feed off the teachers' energy. While this may be true, it's also very unfair, in my opinion.

     I have to admit, this response really pissed me off! Teachers are working harder than ever before. The responsibilities that have been heaped on them are staggering!  "You need to catch those kids up!"  "There is a learning gap!" You've all heard it. Listen! We've ALL been trying to adjust to life in the midst of a pandemic. I get it! But, to put the burden of "catching kids up" fully on the shoulders of the teachers is just plain WRONG! What if we just accept the fact that there is a learning loss. through no fault of anyone, and assess their growth rather than putting unrealistic expectations on them?  Or better yet, let's not assess at all and just build strong relationships with our students and let them guide the instruction?

     There is a teacher shortage. I know of several districts that are still trying to solve staffing issues.  Who suffers?  The kids! The needs of those kids that we teach every day are being slighted without enough staff to support their varying academic and social/emotional needs.

     And another thing: Our kids' ability to have meaningful connections is suffering. Why? I've shared about this before. Readily available technology.  This was a problem, pre-Covid. It's a bigger problem now.  Kids don't know how to have a real face-to-face conversation. Their manners are horrible. Their eating habits are even worse. And peaceful conflict resolution? Forget it! Many kids spend more time on a device than they do engaging with their own families.  Sad, but true.

     You're blaming dysregulated teachers for their dysregulated students? Seriously?  If that's the case, what's being done for those teachers to help them be less dysregulated? Smaller class sizes?  Nope.  Decreased assessing? Nope.  Decrease in the number of "hats" the teacher wears? No. Time to relax and reflect? No.

     I'm so tired of the assumption that teachers will do more than is expected of them. We always have. When you push too hard for too long something's going to give. There are so many excellent teachers that just can't handle the pressure anymore. We should have never let it get to this point. So, what IS the answer?