Rethinking Schools

 The "Learning Loss" Trap

By the editors of Rethinking Schools

Illustrator: Christine Grauert

    I read an article about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on education. This article mainly discusses the "learning loss" that the pandemic caused, but it also calls out those in power for not recognizing what the real reason is for why students are behind academically. As an educator with students that are significantly behind in grade level academically it is really frustrating that the people in charge of our country and the funding for schools (President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardoza) see the schools and teachers as the problem. Miguel Cardoza described the results from today's Nation's Report Card as "appalling and unacceptable". Reading this made me really infuriated because first off, why are we using standardized testing to rank schools, teachers, and students when the history of standardized testing is rooted in racism? Second, if the scores are so "appalling and unacceptable" how about changing the curriculum to meet the needs of the students rather than just pushing them through? "What is puzzling is not that students' academic skills were impacted, but that anyone would imagine otherwise." 

    Two quotes stuck out to me and reminded me of Patrick J. Finn's text, Lisa Delpit's text, and Allan Johnson's text. The first was, "Shifting blame away from the for-profit healthcare system and the government's response to the coronavirus is part of what makes the learning loss narrative so valuable to politicians who have no interest in challenging existing patterns of wealth and power." The second was in relation to the $122 billion to help schools safely reopen, "But the law prioritizes speed - schools must spend all of the money by 2024 or forfeit it." These quotes just scream "people in power care about being in power, not about doing what would benefit those without it" and that is the same message that all three of the authors mentioned prior preach. As Delpit says, "we must push from the top down" and in this case it refers to the president and the Secretary of Education. They are very much aware of the significant impacts that COVID-19 had on our country as a whole, not even just education, yet they continue to turn away and say "See? Just throwing money at schools doesn't work." Schools provide not only learning opportunities for students, but for many it may be the only source of food and way to work and be able to provide for their families since our country does not offer free childcare and taking away funding and pushing blame on those educators and other school staff that show up every day for the students is extremely unfair and "unaccpetable" as Cardoza says. 

    In order for there to be change in education and the respect paid to teachers, the ones in power need to take the accountability and recognize how they can use their power and keep their word to improve it. "Tripling Title I funding,...would only cost one-fiftieth of the $1.5 trillion in wealth U.S. billionaires have added to their fortunes during the pandemic." The fact that these people who had really no setbacks during the pandemic and actually MADE money, is so infuriating and is a perfect representation of what Finn states, "Those at the top have gotten a whole lot richer." This needs to change.