On average, students and staff who report having flu like symptoms are out of school for 4-5 days and even upon returning they are not back to peek performance. This represents hours of instructional time lost. Students face the challenge of catching-up on the work they missed, while at the same time, completing all of the new work assigned. As you might imagine, this is daunting for all 11-14 year-old's.
Recently, a teacher shared with me that she gave a test and only 80 of her 120 students were present to take the exam. She expressed frustration and was trying to figure out how she would be able to have her students who were ill make-up her exam. I asked her why she was trying to do "business as usual" in the face of a pandemic? While I think academic rigor is important, I also believe we have to be reasonable during unusual times. As professionals, our use of discretion, is critical to helping our students recover both mentally and physically. It is time to vaccinate our late work policies to avoid making our children sick of school.
When reviewing your policies on make-up work this year, here are some suggestions:
1. Be flexible and consider each child on a case by case basis.
2. Send home only essential information to be completed. Less is so much more when a child is at home recuperating.
3. Send home well-wishes. Along with any work that needs to be completed, it is always a nice to send along a personal note to wish your student a speedy recovery.
4. Extend deadlines.
5. Remember the whole picture. Your class is not the only work that has been missed and needs to be made-up.
6. Prioritize what is important. When your student returns to school, help them understand what work is most important to complete first. Most middle school students have not mastered this skill yet.
What do you think? Any other suggestions?
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1 comment:
Hello Tom~
Wow you're most recent blog post really struck a chord with me (I tried to jot this comment on the blog but I think I need to have an acct. to do so). Anyway, how utterly common sense which makes your words incredibly wise and powerful because it appears common sense goes out the windows in some places these days! You hit everything right on and the statement that hit me like a ton of bricks.....
"It is time to vaccinate our late work policies to avoid making our children sick of school."
I don't know how the big picture gets so blurry for some but it does and thankfully you are in a position to lead and with the support you give to your teachers and students, WLMS remains a student-centered environment. You took the weight of the world off of the teacher's shoulders when you said "I asked her why she was trying to do "business as usual" in the face of a pandemic?" You know how it is, teachers feel they must know the answer to every problem and sometimes there is not an easy solution. Yet in your post you made it simple and brought it back to the basics and the big picture. A powerful and necessary reminder.
Thanks KD!
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