Helping address educational inequities

ALTHOUGH the Covid-19 pandemic has affected all lives, it has not done so uniformly. Learning in the current educational context exacerbated the existing disparity between children of well-off families and children of poor families. The shift to remote learning has put marginalized families at a further disadvantage.

Teachers are seeing that inequities in access to learning are magnified and that these extend far beyond the digital divide. The economic downturn caused by the pandemic has aggravated their problems on food and health security and even housing stability. Moreover, due to varied reasons ranging from parents having low levels of education, some parents are not able to provide parental academic supervision and support necessary for remote learning. Compounding this is the fact that in some households there is a lack of dedicated space for formal learning. All these and other vulnerabilities heighten the risk for negative academic outcomes and widen the achievement gap among learners.

Teachers recognize that they have a role to play in addressing the inequities. In other remote areas, teachers travel by foot or commute to children’s homes just to ensure printed modules are handed to learners who do not have internet access. In some cases, teachers redirect their route to drop off and pick up student work at their homes. They strive to contact every learner to reinforce established relationships and ensure students are okay. Of particular concern to teachers are children who have not been heard from and whose families have not responded to their teachers since the resumption of classes. Some teachers have gone so far as to go to students’ homes to check on them.

I am sure there are other things teachers do to reach out to their learners, especially the underserved. Creating more equal educational opportunities for students begins in the classroom and with the teacher. A strong teacher is one who treats his or her students fairly and creates an environment where students feel equally able to take part.

School and community leaders must continue to proactively work together to address not only learners’ academic needs but also their socialemotional and psychological and physical safety. Programs that facilitate partnerships between schools, community organizations, and social service agencies to provide support to families experiencing economic hardship are very relevant.

All of us who have devoted our careers to serving children believe that our greatest responsibility is to create a world in which every child, regardless of her place of origin and economic status, has the same chance to attend school and fulfill his or her potential. We cannot deny education to children just because they are poor. The achievement gap is destructive to our society because it hampers economic growth and threatens democracy. Educational inequity erodes the values of equality of opportunity and social mobility. We have to honor our belief that every child has a right to education no matter the status of his or her parents.

School and community leaders must continue to proactively work together to address not only learners’ academic needs but also their socialemotional and psychological and physical safety.