Last week of lessons for primary school children. Last exams for high school seniors. We finally draw the plogue on this long school year, the first for two years which approaches a certain normality.
I am like a student. Always happy and feverish at the start of the new school year, always tired and happy to leave at the end of the year.
A few observations
After 180 days of class – including only seven at a distance in my case –, it is now possible to make some observations about the effect of COVID-19:
– The gap between the strongest and the weakest has widened
To give you an example, for the same Secondary III mathematics exam, the averages of the groups of students in a selective program such as the MYP had traditionally about 20% difference with those of the regular. This year, the gap has sometimes reached 40%. Never seen. Learning is not a 100m race, but a marathon. Everything must be done to help the most vulnerable get to the finish line.
– The meteoric rise of magical thinking
For two years, young people have received a free pass to the next level. They are now convinced that it is impossible to fail. And if it should happen (much like the end of the world), a simple 10-day summer course will save the day. Why make the effort?
– The increase in cyberaddiction
The phenomenon is infinitely sad. In this regard, I invite you to read my column of June 6th and a text from Harvard University. Add to that more young people in part-time jobs and you have the perfect equation that leads to failure: increased recreational screen time + increased time at work = less time for school.
A difficult socialization
There is another observation that is almost unanimous: the more difficult management of behaviors.
I read yesterday that “toddlers this year are more “popcorn”, that is to say, they tend to burst into crisis without notice”. This is also the opinion of Marie-Eve Thibault, an elementary school teacher: “We have a lot of management in terms of social interactions, emotional maturity and egocentrism. The learnings were difficult to integrate! It was necessary to take care of certain group life skills before being able to touch on learning. At the end of the year, it is still not settled … for the entire cohort.
In high school, same scenario. I have read, seen and heard things that I did not believe possible in a school.
The common denominator of many of these students? They have parents who minimize their actions or who always agree with them.
Cause.
Knowing that class management is the element that has the most impact on the risk of dropping out of teachers, we are not out of the woods.
Reference-www.journaldequebec.com