Education in the time of Corona: Views from Vermont

This is maybe officially the new normal. Six weeks since school closed and it seems on one hand to be just the other day and on the other, it seems like forever ago. It's crazy anytime I think about the worldwide nature of this whole experience. There is no other event I can think of that comes close to affecting the whole world. What even comes close to this reach? The World Cup? Maybe 2 billion watch the final. Some eclipse? Only a swath of the planet, and then only in sequential time. Even these events are one off, short duration occurrences. Nothing comes close to the scope of this shelter in place phenomenon impacting basically the whole world. Since everyone is under similar limitations, I'm not sure my personal perspective has much to offer others. It's hard to really know what others are going through, since mostly I'm not interacting much with others. But from various sources (mostly podcasts and a little through calls and on-line meetings with individuals), ...

     We're back from "vacation" although it's not clear how that week was different from this week. It may be my main roles are somewhat removed from the students and teachers daily work and the weeks are more distinctly different for them.      Although I don't think I'm doing that much (although it seems my days are full and a lot of my time is related to "work"), I think leadership in this situation involves shepherding the whole school in short and longer term sustainability. Maybe that is what leadership always is, although what "sheep" you're herding probably differs greatly depending on the circumstances. I guess this goes back to the old idea of "situational leadership" (Ken Blanchard I believe, if I recall my grad student days:)--the idea of what leadership entails based on the situation.      This situation seems to be calling for a couple areas of attention.      First of all is financial stability. This involves...

     Another week under stay at home rules and another week of trying to identify what exactly I've been doing all week. Trying to recall in general: Running, walking, biking, a fair bit of school work projects, cooking good food and lingering conversations after dinner, some house and bike repairs, reading in bed in the morning and watching a bit of tv but since I only really do this after dinner and that is usually almost 9 pm, that is pretty limited. Somehow that pretty much fills my time.      I'm interested in the messaging about how long we'll be under stay at home orders and how that is periodically extended. While part of this is just the evolving nature of what experts are learning, a lot, I think, is helping with people's psychology. I think if we had been told on March 15, these orders would be in place until May 15 (or beyond), so many would have pushed back, felt overwhelmed, or think it is futile to even try. Aiming to get through a couple we...

      This is officially spring vacation week, and per edict of the Governor's office, we are expected to keep to this schedule, although it's a little hard to tell how it's different from non-vacation week when sheltered in place.       What's different for me is the more immediate work related to school has slowed down (especially after hearing our "Continuity of Learning Plan" was approved by the Agency of Education, through a review process I assume was not super detailed given the piles of these they must need to review).        What had become a fairly effective routine of dedicating most of the morning to school stuff (with appropriate distraction to sifting through emails and news, as well as time for some kind of morning meal) is now thrown amiss a bit. I still get on the computer and sift through news and email, but the work stuff is less pressing, which leaves me a bit more adrift.       With a bit less immed...

     Yesterday was a full day, capped by the wonders of a virtual family seder that in many ways was better than the in-person version, as we were able to bring together family from far away who would never be with us in normal times.      I am once again struck by the ideals of Passover (and the not so subtle pressure that places on us to act for social justice in our lives). The Haggadah we used this year (Next Year in a Just World, from the American Jewish World Service) was especially poignant (or maybe I'm just more emotionally resonant in these unusual and challenging times throughout the planet).      As explained in just the introduction to the service, "The title of this book—a variation on the traditional incantation “next year in Jerusalem”—embodies our aspiration for a better future. In our reflections on Seder night and in our hope and actions every single day, we strive to build a more just world so that next year, all people ...

     Another day of sunshine, before what looks like a return to that cold rain that can be a drag in April. Although I think there continues to be struggles for students with our remote learning, it seems like we are getting more positive reports from teachers, students, and parents.      At faculty meeting, our list of students of concern continued to drop as several kids are more connected with individual teachers and making progress with their school work. There continues to be a crew of kids who aren't getting much schoolwork done (meaning none at all). But at least several of these kids seem to be finding all sorts of somewhat worthwhile pursuits to fill their time (skateboarding, running, playing music, making videos, building things, etc.). Our requirement for enrichment activities is meant to encompass and value these activities so we just need to get these kids to document some of this to add to their portfolio of learning.      W...

     Three weeks since school closed and the sun is shining bright. More a report on the weather than the state of the world, but with some perspective, there are rays of hope, or at least some appreciation for small steps in otherwise difficult times.      Last week, I ended the week a bit discouraged after hearing some 12th graders share how little they were doing for school, and hearing from teachers that there appears a not unexpected phenomenon that those who struggled doing homework in regular school are, duh, not so good at doing work when at home now.      But as we ticked through the list of students of concern (a meeting we have preceding every faculty meeting), I realized that list was getting shorter each week. Like so much at Compass, when something is new to our culture, a few kids come on board quickly, but for many there is an adjustment period. There seems to be a certain level of shared energy or cultural norming that need...

      Maybe it's just the rain outside, or a minor sense of guilt about missing blogging yesterday, but I awoke a bit discouraged today.       I think the main factor in this feeling was listening in on the 12th grade advisory check-in yesterday and hearing how many kids said they were having trouble being "motivated" to do school work. Like many other educators, I've been particularly concerned about the students with less support at home, who struggle with school work even in normal times, or tend to be impacted by anxiety or other needs for daily support in school. These seniors who expressed their struggles with schoolwork were all pretty strong students in normal times, which makes me worry even more about students with more challenges.       Admittedly, these are seniors and it is close to spring, so maybe this is a bit of senioritis. And they are teenagers who somehow have this uncanny ability to sleep through a lot of daylight hours...

Night time Learning Only   Per the order of the Governor, we are asking all students to only do school work once the sun is down. Following evolving research from other states with closed schools, teens seem to be more productive in the night and value the health benefits from an adjusted sleep cycle that allows them to awake somewhere closer to 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Accompanying sociological research is showing some evidence that family relations improve when the teens are asleep most of the daytime hours and interaction with younger siblings is minimized. Starting Monday, April 6, students are directed to begin the aptly named “LID  (Learning In the Dark) Learning.” Put the LID on it:). APRIL FOOLS:) This was the opening to our weekly newsletter that got nixed by the rest of the staff. As little as I like the idea of April Fools Day and playing tricks on others, it felt like a bit of levity might be in order when so much seems so gloomy lately. But it's a sign of...