Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the rapid flip from in-school to on-line learning, I have heard countless statements that school as we know it, will change forever. I certainly understand why some would make these claims: broadly speaking, and with notable exceptions, Jewish day schools were able to pivot and provide a re-imagined balance to the 2019-2020 school year, and as of this moment, most of these same schools have pivoted again to provide Covid-conscious in-building education this fall.
Yes, many changes were made, but will this mean that the institution known as school will be forever changed? Despite extraordinary advances in technology, social upheaval, economic growth, and new understandings of the human mind, history has shown only limited lasting change in schools since the catalyzing events of the 1950s, namely Brown vs the Board of Education and the launch of Sputnik and the ensuing space-race. I add to this a concern that the desire for change is frequently counterweighted by a deep desire to return to the familiar and “normal.”
I would like to posit here that while I am skeptical that schooling has changed forever, I do think that there may be an enduring change in our feelings about school and the parental understanding of what school is and can be.
Here is what I think may have really shifted for good:
School as a “space,” not only a “place:”
Historically, conversation about school focused on the formal aspects of teaching and learning, with particular emphasis on content acquisition. With our children learning via Zoom and with teachers making unbelievable efforts to keep the tap of knowledge flowing, many parents could see first-hand that teaching and learning are only a small part of the educational experience. Kids were still getting the curriculum, but they were missing so much more. School is about acquiring knowledge and skills, to be sure, but it is also about relationships, social and emotional growth -- experiences that cannot happen at home. Online school didn’t “feel” like school, not simply because children were not in a specific building or place, but rather, because they were not in the complex environment or space in which full-self learning happens.
What is really at stake in “falling behind:”
Along the same lines, many schools have rightfully celebrated the yeoman’s efforts that went into ensuring that students did not fall (far) behind in academics even with a significant loss of time-on-task for core learning. Parents and proponents of Jewish day school education should be forever grateful to the teachers who made this happen. At the same time, many parents were witness to a different sort of lagging in the form of social, emotional, and spiritual growth in their children. I have heard many parents lament that in ways, their children are “falling behind” in autonomy, social skills, emotional growth, and the development of a personal relationship with G-d. Perhaps this crisis will make us more appreciative of the myriad ways in which schools advance the social skills and souls of our children.
Teachers’ other job:
The primary responsibility of the teacher is supporting students in their educational journeys: Teachers help kids become school ready, school able, and school successful. This is universally known. What may have been less well known and appreciated until now is the role teachers play in ensuring positive student mental health and wellbeing. It is impossible to overstate the impact teachers play in fostering student confidence, self-awareness, and self-actualization. As well, teachers play a front-line role in identifying mental health challenges in their students. Let’s remember how important this “other job” is and start acknowledging, training and planning based on the totality of teachers' jobs.
Imagine what it will mean when educational leaders, funders and parents only see and embrace the holistic role of a teacher. The shift in what a teacher's job actually is would be significant and influence professional development, teacher retention, new teacher pipeline, curriculum development, intended learning outcomes, etc. That is certain to result in a positive impact on the student learning experience and growth.
Teachers’ other other job:
Schools provide child care. There - I said it - and without a doubt, many parents really felt it these past few months. Teachers watch our children during the day, and in doing so, contribute to parental ability to work and volunteer, engage with the world of adults, manage the household, and more. School makes “adulting” possible, and this awareness ought to make us feel all the more appreciative of the indirect care and support teachers provide our families.
From varying places on the participant-observer spectrum, parents experienced schools in a whole new light this spring. Whereas once schools may have been thought of as stable, but static, now they were seen as fragile, but flexible, bringing to mind Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazar’s advice to be “supple as a reed and not rigid as a cedar.” Schools demonstrated both institutional vulnerability and systemic plasticity in ways really never seen before.
Here, I see two invitations to feel differently about how we engage with schools:
How can we each feel more responsible for the sustainability of Jewish education? What would it mean for all of us to make Jewish day school an even higher priority through personal philanthropy, positive word-of-mouth advocacy, and an ongoing commitment to expressing our appreciation to teachers, staff and administrators?
Can we also build into our changed feelings a sense that schools can, and therefore must, be nimble, accommodating, and flexible? In what ways can we encourage educational leaders (from the classroom to the front office) to be innovative, creative, and focused on the individual child? How can we link a call for change to a commitment to patient support?
Has school as we know it changed forever? I doubt it. Can we as consumers and supporters of Jewish day school education change how we feel about school? I hope so!
Dr. Marc Kramer is an independent consultant focused on issues of leadership and transition in the Jewish education and communal service space. He can be reached at marc@krameredgroup.com.