Okay Folks - I've Had It Up To Here by Misty Doy

Ok folks—I’ve had it. I am UP. TO. HERE. with the media pushing the false narrative that these kids “aren’t learning” in online instruction. I can only believe every single one of these “reporters” is failing to check in with teachers before sharing this nonsense, though I’ve seen it online, in print and on the air. I’ve listened to talk radio and heard John Q. Public lament the trouble we are in as a country because our kids are so far “behind”, and I’ve seen the experts nodding in agreement like some ridiculous felt-finished bobble head dogs on the dash of a ‘73 Dodge Dart.

If a single one of them HAD stopped to interview a teacher, the resulting story may have revealed something far different. Not only are our kids learning, in many cases they are THRIVING. My students are typical urban middle schoolers, and let me tell you—they’ve had to learn more this year than any class of students I’ve had over the past 30 years.

First, let’s consider the software and the apps. My students have had to learn to:

-Find, download and navigate the login for Microsoft TEAMS. Once there they’ve had to learn to use the cam controls, mute and unmute the mic, utilize the chat feature, share their screens and raise their hands;

-Login to CLEVER. Once logged in, they have had to navigate to at least six different teacher pages to find links to apps for use within that classroom;

-Login to Schoology. From the login, they’ve had to navigate a Schoology site for each of their teachers, learn to move between folders, link their One Drive accounts, complete and submit assignments, know where to look for daily tasks, locate daily journal prompts, write in their own journals there, use the messaging function and know how to check their grades;

-Login to Pearson/Easy Bridge, the online textbook being utilized by our district at all middle and secondary grade levels. Once logged in, students had to learn to find their class, navigate the textbook, annotate readings online, complete assignments and utilize the multimedia resources there;

-Login to FlipGrid, where they had to learn how to use the record function and add text and special effects;

-Login to StoryboardThat, where they had to learn to create panels and add objects and text;

-Login to Common Lit. Once there, students learned how to navigate between readings, use the app to annotate, answer discussion questions and track their progress;

-Login to Quill. In this app, students had to learn to navigate to various assignments and complete that work online;

and

-Navigate to and use Digital Compass, a digital citizenship “gaming platform” where students had to learn to choose an adventure, make good decisions and screenshot and print digital certificates for credit.

If you’re not yet impressed, allow me to further educate and enlighten you. These kids learned to use all of that technology AND still had time to address curricular goals and objectives. My sixth graders ALSO learned how to:

*judge the reliability of a website;

*identify phishing scams;

*identify and utilize the tenants of responsible digital citizenship;

*identify what is appropriate to share on social media;

*contribute to a Gallery Walk and share that contribution;

*use multimedia to enhance an online presentation;

*set goals;

*complete a sequencing chart to illustrate organization in writing;

*punctuate dialogue;

*identify the characteristics of a “non-fiction narrative”;

*define and identify the point of view being used in a piece of writing;

*read and identify different ways authors express point of view in a non-fiction narrative;

*use text-based evidence to write from a point of view different from the original text;

*expand knowledge (and use) of concept and academic vocabulary;

*conduct short research projects to clarify meaning of unfamiliar items/events referenced in reading selections;

*collaborate with a small group to share ideas, come to consensus and communicate effectively;

*create a “word network”;

*summarize reading in paragraph form;

*use the R.A.C.E. model to respond to a prompt;

*construct different types of topic sentences and determine which is appropriate for the task at hand;

*construct different types of concluding sentences and determine which is appropriate for the task at hand;

*deconstruct a prompt;

*construct a text-dependent analysis;

*utilize graphic organizers when engaging in the writing process;

*discuss biographic information re: Jacqueline Woodson;

*discuss biographic information re: Jerry Craft;

*discuss biographic information re: Bill Watterson;

*discuss biographic information re: Michaela DePrince;

*discuss biographic information re: Amanda Gorman;

*reflect on an author’s work in paragraph form by discussing the author’s craft;

*discuss the significance of the document “Declaration of the Rights of the Child”;

*determine and identify the relationship between readings relative to a common “essential question”;

*conduct a close-read;

*annotate, question and conclude while participating in a close-read;

*define examples of and effectively use onomatopoeia;

*use inference while reading;

*use context clues while reading;

*identify common, proper and possessive nouns;

and

*utilize time management tools, such as agenda sheets and scheduling outlines.

Just as a frame of reference, I took a class called “Software and Apps” when working on a master’s degree in Instructional Tech. My students this year—my SIXTH GRADERS—have had to learn to utilize a larger swath of software and apps in a matter of several weeks than we had to do in a full semester. Let that sink in for a moment. Eleven and twelve year olds have learned more than we did as GRAD STUDENTS.

This doesn’t even begin to address the incredible resilience these kids have shown. When they entered first grade, we offered them a contract of sorts—learn to function in a classroom, and those skills will follow you through your academic career. COVID-19 then blew that contract out of the water and made it necessary for our kids to come back to the table to renegotiate—and they have. They’ve agreed to relearn the process and engage in brand new routines.

We have students using district-distributed devices to log in from homeless shelters and day cares and empty apartments. They show up for class, in many cases with no parent there to insure that they do so. They log on in the midst of the chaos of younger siblings, extended families under one roof and inadequate resources to make it more comfortable. They sit on boxes, and beds, and the floor, and huddle under coats and blankets to keep warm. They miss the hot breakfast we offered when they were here with us and feel the hunger pangs well into lunch. THEY ARE RESILIENT AND DEDICATED, and even in their fear of what is in their futures, they continue to laugh and smile and move forward.

So to those in the media—STOP. Just STOP. Stop telling these kids they aren’t learning. Stop telling them that they are behind. Stop trying to justify sending us back into unsafe learning environments by lying to the public and demeaning the work being done. I’ve spent the last two days arming my students with the knowledge they need to combat this “fake news”. We all need to let the media know that our kids ARE learning and know more about how to function in this environment than most adults. Seriously. Enough already.

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