Education amid pandemic deserves failing grade
Now that there’s more than just a glimmer of hope that our schools will reopen, it’s important to reflect on the lessons learned during the pandemic — those that teach us how not to act if we are serious about reversing the educational deficits the pandemic has caused
I think we can all agree that students are and should be the major stakeholders in our schools. Yet for the past year they have been continually caught up in the middle of adults battling over the pandemic game plan for education. Many of the grownups in the room have deserved a time out.
The shameful tug of war over when teachers should get the vaccine was a monumental waste of time. Of course teachers should be among the first to receive the shots — school bus drivers too. We need to keep everyone safe. All the time and energy wasted on when and how to return to classrooms could have been better spent upgrading learning amid the pandemic. Remote learning has been a disaster for our kids.
Beyond the disparities in access to the internet and resources to learn at home, there’s the psychological and social toll. It was heartbreaking to hear the voices of frustrated students giving testimonials on SchoolFactsBoston.org about the loss of interest in lessons, teachers who don’t show up, and being bored and disengaged by the online learning process.
And recent actions by the Boston School Committee show that something must be done. We remain the only city in the state with a school committee that is not elected. What sort of lesson in democracy does that teach our children — especially about the hard-won right to vote?
It seems like the committee is always taking one step forward and two steps back. Following the resignation of former School Committee chairman Michael Loconto, who mocked the names of community members in a meeting on a live mic, I applauded the appointment of student representative Khymani James to the committee.
He abruptly resigned late last week, citing disrespect.
The continuing sad saga of Boston Latin School is most disturbing. The public exam school, known for its academics, has a Black enrollment for 2020-21 of 7.7%, according to state data. Parents have long claimed their children are systematically excluded, starting with a entrance test that covers material not taught in BPS elementary schools.
Last year, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Casselliius created a task force to revise exam school admissions amid the pandemic. The group recommended that instead of an entrance exam, eligibility could be based on grades, 2019 MCAS scores and students’ zip codes. The move was to ensure socioeconomic and geographic diversity. Recently the mostly white and Asian Boston Latin parents filed suit and civil rights groups like the Lawyers Committee and the NAACP filed a counter suit — not only on behalf of students of color, but for equality of access and opportunity.
It remains disheartening that the needs of our children are too often sidelined while adults fight it out.