Let me begin by saying I’m not saying when we need to get back to school – that is WAY above my pay grade.  However, I think there are a couple of things that need to be in place or emphasized whenever we do decide to go back because I believe they could, at the very least hinder learning, and at the most, be potentially life threatening.  Besides the obvious in terms of cleanliness and social distancing, what else might we consider when we do go back?

First of all, teaching and learning needs to be a face-to-face.  Technology can be and is a great tool to enhance education, but it’s the relationship built through work and trust between adults and children that makes for real learning.  However it is decided to structure that real, not virtual, face-to-face time is up for grabs, but ALL education in all subjects needs to be that way so that kids receive a well rounded education.  And before any of those disciplines are taught, or while those are taught,  making sure we focus on socio-emotional learning will be essential.

I’m sure that at the beginning it will feel like we’re going slowly or maybe even going backwards, but it is going to be so important to make sure kids are ok before we jump right into the academics.  Taking the time to make sure we help kids feel safe and taken care of and building those relationships will help us to get caught up faster.  After all, some kids just missed school or have lost a sense of routine.  Some will have left a more abusive home life, lack of food or even a place to live.  The emotions don’t just change because they start back to school.  Trauma stays with a person and as we know of kids in poverty, the basics need to be taken care of before we can even begin to think of the academics.  If we’ve learned nothing else during this pandemic it’s that there are a LOT of kids who depend on the public schools for the basics of life.  Public school, though imperfect, can be an equalizer for those kids in need.

The next thing we need to think about is serious classroom management, and not just for kids to do their school work.  If we find ourselves in a situation where kids need to wear masks, make sure they wash their hands, sneeze into their elbows, etc., teachers will need to be empowered to make sure this happens and have zero tolerance for students who refuse to comply.  This comes from a teacher who has seen kids get away with behaviors because they refuse and the teacher just needs to get through the lesson, or they’ve just worn us down, or maybe parents don’t support teacher efforts, or there’s simply not enough adults in the building to help this child if it’s not violent or hurtful.  After all, adults are expensive.

But what happens the first time a kid refuses to wear the mask or follow the playground rules to stay apart or touches other kids.  If the adults in the building can’t have complete control to make sure all kids stay safe, beginning school may not be safe for a long, long time.  Do we only have school for those compliant students?  So many of our at risk kids are not compliant, even when it’s important to be compliant, like for a lock down drill, for instance.  We may need more adults in our schools to make sure these kids are taken care of even if that means isolation from other students.

I have had the opportunity to speak with many teachers across the country and the stories are similar – social and administrative pressure keep them from doing what is right for those kids who disrespectfully refuse to do as they are asked.  Refusing to stop rolling their eyes is one thing.  Refusing to wear a mask is another.  But it begins with the rolling of the eyes.  For years some teachers have been discouraged from teaching students that it’s not ok to be disrespectful and not follow directions because it takes away a student’s rights or singles them out.  As a teacher I would want to know that I can single out a student if they’re not complying with a safety issue and deal with it immediately for the safety of others in the room without fear of being disciplined myself.    I certainly wouldn’t ignore a child getting ready to touch a hot stove or cross a busy street – I would single them out as quickly as I could for their safety. For some schools, this would mean completely revamping  their behavior management systems.  Teacher training, consistency and zero tolerance policies would have to be in place.  The adults would need to be the adults.

While there are many, many details that will need to be discussed and decided upon before the doors open again, these are a couple I believe need to be addressed immediately so that our kids will safely thrive in our schools.  Like so many educators, and I imagine, parents, I can’t wait until kids and teachers are back in our public schools again, building relationships and loving learning.  Safely.