Coronavirus shutdown is a golden opportunity to reinvent school learning
Put “education” on the growing list of things that could radically change because of the coronavirus, in Modesto and beyond.
Innovation is not new to education. But basics of the way children have learned institutionally — in a classroom, surrounded by peers, led by a teacher — have endured through the ages.
School administrators in Modesto are talking about the possibility of switching that up in a big way, when COVID-19 cases subside enough for classes to resume, maybe in August.
What if some students attend school only in the morning, and others in the afternoon? What if students came to school only two or three days a week? What about others never setting foot on campus at all?
Variations of these ideas are on the table, Modesto City Schools Superintendent Sara Noguchi said in Wednesday’s online forum hosted weekly by Stanislaus County. She indicated students, parents and teachers will have chances to weigh in, in coming weeks.
The coronavirus has turned education on its head all over the world. In Modesto, schools closed March 19, and distance learning with computers at home started April 13. That 25-day gap was about middle of the pack for 174 districts surveyed by CalMatters; a few (Castro Valley, Manhattan Beach, Novato, Ontario-Montclair) were well-prepared and started immediately, while other districts lagged, needing 35 days or longer.
By now, 92% of Modesto City Schools students have logged on for some type of distance learning, Noguchi said.
Five weeks ago, half of the 1,700 teachers in the large Modesto district had zero experience with computer instruction. Many took crash courses to learn how to teach in a way they never had.
Teacher unions — a formidable force here and elsewhere — would have to agree to any changes in the traditional model of classroom learning.
“We are open to discussing the parameters of how we can provide the best education possible for our students during this pandemic,” Doug Burton, president of Modesto Teachers Association, said in an email. It’s too early to discuss specific distance-learning models, he added.
Good educators know that all students learn on different levels and in different ways. A chalkboard lecture might reach some, while others prefer a slideshow. Work in a game or a field trip and you’ll catch more attention. Charts and graphics, stories and poems, arts and crafts, small groups and one-on-one — you get the idea.
The prospect of a hybrid model combining traditional classroom instruction and distance learning is intriguing because it represents a move away from the old and toward the new. Children these days don’t know a world without technology; using it effectively in their learning seems a smart way to set them up for success.
Teachers and their unions must keep an open mind. Administrators must respect the rights of teachers. Ultimately, both sides must seize this unique opportunity to improve the lives of our children.
The question of when schools will reopen isn’t settled, but it won’t be in July, as Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested recently.
“Sometimes he will throw out aspirational goals,” explained Scott Kuykendall, superintendent over all 25 school districts in Stanislaus County, in the weekly forum. While an early jump might make sense for areas used to starting school after Labor Day in September, most districts here years ago moved school starts to early August. Gaining only a week or two with a July start simply wouldn’t be worth the trouble.
Unless the pandemic pushes things further out, Modesto City Schools — with 29,000 students and 4,000 staff — remain on track to start up Aug. 10, Noguchi said. Whether everyone will wear masks or stay six feet apart has yet to be determined by state and county public health officials.
Some parents won’t be comfortable sending kids anywhere they might contract the virus, including school. That’s understandable. Noguchi’s team is looking at independent study options for those families, she said, as well as for students and teachers who simply thrive on pure distance learning.
Missing sixth-grade camp, graduation, proms, senior trips and summer camp is more than a bummer for so many students and their families. All will look back on these days as unforgettable times, perhaps with great sadness.
Amid the trials of sickness, death, isolation and economic hardship, at least we have the prospect of improved schooling coming out the other end.