The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Challenges can become opportunities
As we mark the anniversary of the announcement of the COVID-19 global pandemic onset, we should remember the words of America’s 33rd president.
President Harry Truman articulated it best when he said, “A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.”
How we utilize the challenges we have been navigating as a result of the myriad growth opportunities presented from a global crisis will no doubt play a significant role in shaping the future of our most valuable community assets, our children.
Throughout this past school year, local school boards have worked with administrative leadership, school professional and support staff and community stakeholders in developing instructional and learning models that best meet the needs of their respective communities. This unwavering commitment in providing a voice of choice with regard to instructional and learning options has truly been remarkable.
What we have seen in many school districts is full remote/ virtual/online models of instruction and learning, staggered models of instruction and learning, hybrid/blended models of instruction and learning, in-person models of instruction and learning, and models that combine all four at varying age/grade levels as well as to varying degrees.
In the Daniel Boone School District, varied learning options were offered to students and families of our Blazer Learning Community, allowing for transparency and flexibility of pivoting to those varied options based on the ever-changing circumstances of the pandemic and its specific effects on students’ and families’ particular situations. This shift in making available multiple learning options should be utilized as a catalyst in continuing to transform how educational opportunities are provided for all students and families.
The traditional manufactured in-person learning environment of the past should never again be the only normed option if we want our children to be prepared for future jobs that currently do not even exist, in work environments that too, will be nontraditional.
Flexibility in varied learning options should be the contemporary norm moving forward, making sure that all learners are future ready. The goal at Daniel Boone is that our Blazer Learning Community graduates are life ready because they contribute to community, are resilient, readily advocate for others and effectively communicate. In short, they CARE. Transforming education so that our children can learn anytime and anywhere means that in-person instruction and learning, hybrid/blended synchronous instruction and learning, asynchronous instruction and learning or any combination thereof, can appropriately and effectively be delivered to meet the growth opportunities for all students and families. This transformation does not come without growing pains; however, in the words of Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
In our Blazer Learning Community, we have worked hard as a team to make opportunities of these difficulties.
We will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure our community’s most valuable assets; our children, are best prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow in a world; that no doubt, will continue to change.
As adults we certainly owe that much to our young people for having to navigate the challenges and complexities of a global pandemic with unwavering resiliency, at such a young age.
Recent changes should serve as a catalyst to transform how educational opportunities are provided for all students