Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday distance learning would continue for Minnesota students through at least the summer, but how are those impacted by the change feeling?
Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker says since it is the reality for the foreseeable future, the agency is taking feedback and making changes, especially when it comes to replicating student-teacher relationships.
“We know distance learning hasn’t been going perfectly,” she said. “It’s actually been really hard.”
Students transitioned to distance learning when the stay at home order went into effect about four weeks ago. Teachers had about a week to build plans.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan talked Friday about inequity whether it’s rural students without access to broadband, parents and students sharing one computer, or students forced to support their families and take on caretaker roles in an unprecedented time.
“These inequities have been further exacerbated by this crisis,” Flanagan said. “I think we’ve heard some say that COVID-19 is the great equalizer, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
We know that supporting our students is a community effort. That is why we'll be partnering with different interagency groups so that every student still has many adults in their lives checking in on them, communicating with families, and focusing on student well-being. pic.twitter.com/wC2pN0VsUC
— MN Dept. Education (@MnDeptEd) April 24, 2020Glazell Toledo, a high school math teacher at a school that serves the highest needs students from 11 districts in the west metro, says many of her students have mental health needs, or a history of trauma or homelessness. She says school is normally “their lives,” but she is having trouble getting in touch with some students or getting them to engage in school work.
“My students can’t get the medical or mental health support they need,” Toledo said. “Our education system hasn’t provided the academic opportunities our students deserve. They are unable to find stability in their lives and their futures are full of worries and question marks.”
Angela Forland, a third grade teacher at Kingsland public schools in Spring Valley in southeastern Minnesota, has battled unreliable internet living in a rural area that has impacted her job and her students.
“I was getting up at 1 a.m. to get my work done,” she said. “I could not access my Google Classroom, my videos, my email, or comment on my students’ questions because my internet was not working,” she said. “I have a student whose broadband went down. Her family waited four days for it to get back up and running, and now it’s slower than it was before. This student is now a week behind her peers and feels like she is never going to catch up.”
A mobile hotspot wasn’t better, either, for Forland and neighbors said the other provider wasn’t worth the switch.
Step one of the education department’s retooling is finding ways to rebuild those teacher-student relationships. Lap Nguyen, a high school senior in Rochester, says that it is critical for students to stay engaged and learn.
“Too often I think we focus too much on the standards and how we can get as much information into the student’s head as possible,” Nguyen said. “We do this through very concrete, mechanical ways. But the truth is, for a student to understand a concept, it has to be taught to them in a way that they can understand and is personable. The people who know them best, who can teach them the best are the teachers themselves. I think continuing distance learning, for all its faults, is keeping and maintaining those contacts and those relationships."
We know the Distance Learning Period has brought new challenges for families. If you have any questions, please reach out. We are here to help. pic.twitter.com/YI4leIXCKx
— MN Dept. Education (@MnDeptEd) April 24, 2020
