The Importance of School Experiences
/“We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.” - Mary McLeod Bethume, American Educator & Special Advisor to President FDR for issues related to minority populations.
In the face of COVID19, we must change our mindsets about education. Students are going to need to catch up at an exponential rate, putting more pressure on schools to make up for learning & opportunity loss. Returning back to our old definitions of “normal” will no longer suffice to adequately address these needs. If we’re going to move the needle, we need to change how our students are experiencing education to engage deeper with the learning process and provide hope for a better future.
Positive learning experiences means looking beyond just having fun, being happy, and getting a good grade. We can’t shelter our children from challenges, but instead, we need to teach them how to turn negative situations into learning opportunities that build confidence and skills. Exposure and experiences are the key drivers to student growth. Students need to interact with the world around them in meaningful ways in order to build confidence, understanding, and skills that enable them to contribute to society.
In my recent TedX Talk, I described most pre-COVID student experiences as “sitting, listening, reading, and writing, and speaking only when called upon”. This experience was replicated across most subjects and repeats itself year after year in the average K-12 pathway. In the middle of this global pandemic, virtual and hybrid schooling is implemented across the country, and the student experience is even more disconnected, leading to detrimental learning loss and disengagement from the learning process.
In 7th grade, I wanted to be just like everyone else, and fit in. Every afternoon my teachers asked everyone in the class to read out loud. I was flooded with anxiety and fear because I did not read as well as all the other kids. I am dyslexic, but did not know it at the time. When my teacher called on me I would flip the order of words, read words that were not on the page, and stutter/stammer over words I could not pronounce. One day my anxiety turned to anger when a classmate laughed and made fun of me. I was so enraged that I flipped his desk. My teacher, Ms. Lawrence realized that I was not only struggling academically, but I needed help managing my temper. She spent the entire year providing extra reading support and helping me control the emotional tornado going on inside my mind and body. Ms. Lawrence empathized, connected, and taught. By listening to my perspective, helping me feel understood, and providing a different perspective she was able to turn negative situations into teachable moments.
Building appropriate learning experiences for students takes time, resources, and intentionality. Students deserve to love learning and feel adequately prepared to leave school and be successful. They deserve to be exposed to college, careers, role models, and mentors who look like them. They deserve to engage in extracurricular activities to develop interests beyond core subjects, and be supported by adults who love them and believe in them. Schools have the potential to inspire entire generations of leaders and world changers, and put them on a pathway to a better future.
Learning only happens when we’ve made our students feel safe, confident, and supported. We need to give them a reason to engage with the learning process, and foster a sense of curiosity. At Coaching4Change, we believe that schools should be flooded with diverse, talented adults who are invested in the success of our students. College students from across the country have stepped forward to make a difference in communities who need support. With active mentors from over 19 different colleges and universities, Coaching4Change is at the forefront of a movement to utilize the college workforce to better engage students in learning and inspire them to succeed. This is the time to innovate and pilot new ways to improve the school experience. We must have the courage to change old ideas and practices.
Watch & Share my TedX Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gMx31NdEjg
