‘The biggest learning loss in living memory’
Pandemic schooling will leave vulnerable students behind, warn education experts
Ontario’s at-home learning program is widening learning gaps and deepening inequalities between students, say three education experts.
At least one Hamilton school board official agrees there is cause for concern.
On March 12, millions of students across Ontario saw their futures upended when the education minister announced schools would close due to COVID-19. They’ve remained closed ever since.
In place of school has come iPads and laptops, educators learning on the fly, guardians as stand-in school work overseers and a patchwork system of online learning. Education experts worry about the impact this is having on students.
“This will be the biggest learning loss experienced in living memory,” said Paul Bennett, a Halifax-based education consultant. While all students are missing out on learning to an extent, “it falls unevenly on the most disadvantaged and marginalized students.”
Bennett said a variety of factors determine whose learning suffers most. Does the student have a dedicated space for learning or do they live in a twobedroom apartment with four family members? Are they able to work without distraction or are they tasked with babysitting and household work?
Swift backlash against Education Minister Stephen Lecce when he called for teachers to ramp-up real-time learning last week further exposed how illequipped the existing stopgap system is to support all students.
Teachers’ unions and education experts quickly pointed out that not all students are able to be online at the same time, making learning more prohibitive for students whose parents aren’t able to accommodate a set schedule.
“The very groups that need the most support are going to get the least support,” Bennett said, referring to kids who have socioeconomic challenges, special needs or otherwise need extra help during the school year.
And this, he predicts, will have a lasting effect.
“There will be a widening gap in terms of performance and learning,” Bennett said.
That widening gap is on the mind of Manny Figueiredo, director of education with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
“What will it look like when they return (to classrooms)?” Figueiredo asked. “Are we a little worried that there’s going to be gaps in some students? Yes we are.”
Figueiredo said educators are accommodating students as best as they can. For students who can’t get online for realtime video conferencing, teachers are offering pre-recorded lessons. For students who need extra help, they offer smaller group sessions or one-on-one discussions.
Teachers are aware of who is “less engaged,” he said. In the fall, those students will be assessed so teachers can determine how to catch them up. Figueiredo expects more assessments than usual will be required come September.
More urgently than the need to address learning gaps, however, is the need to address students’ welfare gaps, said Judith Bishop, a local education and children’s advocate.
“School is a sanctuary for many children,” said Bishop, a former school board chair.
School boards say social workers and counsellors are helping vulnerable students. When it comes to nutrition, the public and Catholic boards are making up for the loss of in-school nutrition programs with grocery gift cards and other initiatives.
Bishop says learning from home is “absolutely” exacerbating inequalities.
Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, a public education advocacy group, says the pandemic has indeed exposed the unequal playing field of students’ personal lives.
“This has made everybody realize ... the role schools play as a core part of our social safety net,” Kidder said.
As for the education side of things, Kidder says it’s understandable the quality of learning amid has pandemic has been subpar.
“This isn’t e-learning,” she said.“This is distance learning in an emergency.”
It’s not clear when students will head back to classrooms — Lecce has said he will make an announcement next week about the future of the school year — but Kidder hopes, in the meantime, the ministry and boards recognize there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
“It is vital that we remember families are all under different levels of stress right now … that parents aren’t teachers,” she said. “Everybody is trying to make this work … my only suggestion is compassion and empathy.”