Every fiber of society wants K-12 education to stay on track. The general thinking is that kids didn’t do well last year with remote learning, although some probably did. And a lot of parents need their kids back in school, so they can work. That’s a lot of pressure. But the elephant in the classroom is the COVID-19 delta variant. Will it put the kibosh on another school year? Maybe that is why we are fighting so much; it’s difficult to deal with this kind of disruption for so long. But deal with it, we must.
I think, Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson is trying to help keep K-12 education on track with a grinding 50-city Kansans Can Success Tour, which is part morale booster and part we-need-to-do-better talk, which is probably something that could be said about everything. Nearly 2,000 Kansans in 28 cities so far have participated in the meetings.
The seriousness of the table conversations at these meetings, shows that many Kansans are undeterred by negativity — they are all-in when it comes to educating our kids. There is also the recognition that a sound K-12 system is crucial for the growth of Kansas as a state, and our local economies.
So, while some people scream about mask requirements and politicians fund raise over critical race theory, thousands of Kansans in the field of education — teachers, staff, school board members — are putting their heads down and continuing to try to educate the next generation of adults.
On a good day, it’s difficult and demanding work, but COVID has made it much harder. Among some students, teachers are not only seeing a drop off in academic achievement, but a drop off in social skills and self-regulation. Some students spent a year eating whenever they wanted, sleeping whenever they wanted, and playing on their phone whenever they wanted. Those habits don’t work well in an education setting.
So, once again, public schools are called on to cure society’s problems, which only seem to be getting worse. And at the same time, educators must weather the storms of masks in the classroom, masks on the bus, vaccines, quarantines and skyrocketing increases in the virus. And all the while some seem only too happy to point out, “Hey, you missed a spot over there.”
Last year, we were asked to show some grace to our schools as they implemented huge changes to accommodate children and parents during the COVID storm. We’ve already had a false hope COVID would be under control by now, but instead it is roaring back, this time attacking our unvaccinated children. Maybe this year, above everything else we must do, we need to redouble our efforts on the grace front — maybe even seventy times seven. Also, if you haven’t already, please get vaccinated.
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