Since the arrival of COVID-19, we’ve had to reenvision the way we do just about everything, including schooling.
Over the past several weeks, the education community has worked with urgency and creativity to tackle myriad challenges—from making sure students receive essential meals to creating and implementing plans for widespread remote learning. In this initial crisis-response stage, education service providers like us have worked diligently to provide information and resources to help schools, districts, and state education departments with challenges such as online instruction, technology and internet access, communication with families and caregivers, and more. We provide a list of distance learning resources on our regularly updated COVID-19 Resources webpage.
In addition to curating information and resources, education thought leaders have offered valuable insights and advice. For example, Andy Hargreaves recently wrote a thought-provoking list of things to consider doing, and not doing, during the COVID-19 crisis. My personal favorite is number 19 – “Let teachers take the lead.” Teachers are professionals who know content and pedagogy, know their students, and know how to make things happen in less-than-ideal circumstances. Hargreaves advises us to get out of the way and “let them go, go, go.”
While conveying resources and expert advice is helpful, we believe it’s also essential to hear directly from education professionals as they go, go, go. So we’re excited to launch a special blog series in which education stakeholders from various backgrounds and stages of life share insights from their lived experiences during this unique time.
In the coming weeks, you will hear from a school counselor, a middle school teacher, an elementary principal, a high school student, and a parent as they reflect on navigating their respective roles during the pandemic. They will share perspectives about what teaching and learning looks like right now, how they and their colleagues are attending to the social-emotional and other nonacademic needs of children and families, what successes and challenges they’ve had, what resources they’ve found most helpful, and what they think schooling might look like in the fall and beyond.
One common thread you will find through these blog posts is the importance of relationships in education. At the end of the day, that’s our business—building quality relationships that help learners learn.
We hope this Marzano Research Friends & Family Blog Series shines a light on voices from different corners of our community as we go, go, go under whatever circumstances are thrown our way.
— Danette
