Believe it or not, your children are not behind anyone or anything. They are right where they should be. Parents everywhere are anxious about being assured that their children are going to be okay. They are going to be okay for several reasons:

1. The children have discovered a very valuable lesson. They can survive a sudden and dramatic change in their lives. When asked what he learned from being in Covid learning, a second grader replied, “Well, I learned to survive a pandemic. I also learned I like being with people and wouldn’t want to work at home.” These two lessons are worth their weight in gold. This student would never pick a job that required him to work from home, and he learned he is more resilient than he realized.
2. Many students learned they had to rely on themselves to solve problems with on-line learning, because their parents couldn’t help them. They tried different strategies until they found one that worked. Over the years, with more help from home, many children lost the opportunity to struggle until they figure out problems. If they hit a roadblock, many turned to those around them to solve it for them. Covid made that impossible. Those around them didn’t know as much as they did about technology and were dealing with their own challenges if they had jobs that required them to get skilled at using it. The confidence gained from managing the technical problems they faced, is more valuable than any grammar lesson they may have missed.
3. The teachers know what the children have been through and will start out slower than usual, but eventually gain steam once the students are acclimated.
4. Teachers always review the prior year’s curriculum before diving into new curriculum. So the review will fill any holes that might be present. Children are in the same boat, so the review will indicate the variety of holes students may have as a result of on-line learning does not lend itself to consistent attention. There were too many distractions for children. So much of schooling is repetition. I am currently working with both a second and third grader and their spelling units begin with review or introduction of short vowel sounds. That is true for the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade books.
5. The students have the one skill that will make sure they have a great year and assist the teacher in filling in their unique holes. Our children’s questions are the answer. When students experience the teacher speaking about something they may not have learned during Covid learning, they need to use their questions to let the teacher know this. Teachers want to know what the children don’t know. Teachers are looking to see what is unclear to the students, and because of Covid, they will be doing so even more than in the past.
6. Since the children know that not everyone will retain the same information or receive it in the same way due to Covid learning, they will be more inclined to feel comfortable asking questions in class. There is a real and tangible reason they might not know what a classmate may know, especially if they had different teachers. It will be important that parents emphasize this with their children.

The key to being successful this year will be in the questions students ask. Though they are the number one fear of students in the classroom next to public speaking, questions are the key that unlocks the door to understanding. They also unlock the door to knowing what the student needs.Pl

If students knew how important their questions are to their brain and memory, they would be more willing to ask them.

My book Essential 21st Century Skills: The Question will help parents and teachers reduce the anxiety and stress related to asking questions in class and enlightened their students to understand why the question is so important. It’s FREE to subscribers for a limited time. Start your children off on the right foot.

Please share this post with other parents and teachers that will benefit from it and help me help others.

What challenges have you faced during on-line learning and the transition back to the classroom? Leave a comment below, so I can help.