Why is school so hard

The school year is almost finished. It was something of an ambush for many. We thought things would be settling out. They did not. Following are some of my current thoughts. They are rooted in my experience. Both my current daily work in a rural middle and high school and my personal and professional connections to public education throughout my life. The reality is it is painful to be at school. On the best days something seems “off.” At the same time there is a mysterious beauty. With little sense of what the future will become, I am intrigued to be seeing what is unfolding.

Blame Covid, the easy scapegoat these days. While there is more than a worldwide pandemic at play, it is a good starting point. Go ahead, try, and teach a class, elementary, middle, or high school. Much of your energy will be spent working to get the group to a place of focus (listening, tuned in) that will allow for basic instruction. And much of your energy will be spent managing your emotions in the face of frustration and disappointment. Add this to an unprecedented (everybody else has been using the word) increase in tensions, bullying, self-inflicted harm, mass shootings, fights, truancy, cell phones as weapons (believe me, I can show you numerous shredded souls), vaping (the current cool thing to do in the bathrooms), and other discipline issues throughout the school day and building.  

What happened and what is happening: 

·         School was derailed - students missed two or three years of relational and emotional development. A 7th grade classroom is emotionally more like a 5th grade group being expected to act and learn at a level that is light years beyond their abilities and readiness. The impact of the pandemic may have caused some to lose more than two years, slipping further behind peers. 

·         (Smart) phones and social media. If you cannot blame Covid you can always drop back to this pair. You can get lost on the internet (subtle snark intended) to find explanations of how this has impacted our culture and especially those (insert adolescents) who have known no other reality. 

·         Attendance has tanked. Missing whole days, weeks or more is too common. Skipping and being tardy are normal. It all creates an erratic chaos and wondering who is a part of this class and school. Tragically this crisis has resulted in increased suspensions and expulsions, further increasing gaps and disconnection. Little sense of consistent critical mass and teaching flow exists. 

·         Virtual learning, the gift that keeps giving. Kids became experts in tuning out. They adjusted to the system we gave them. You may have heard the stories, kids in bed (hopefully alone), kids eating, kids working multiple devices, kids taking care of younger siblings… After long being able to function on another plane while class was in process, they like the freedom and are resisting giving up that freedom. 

·         Political and social upheaval is real and directly impacts daily school life. Community members and (some) parents have fueled such disdain for school systems and leadership that it trickles down to students. Respect and cooperation are evaporating. Politicians and selected news sources have deepened a vicious distrust that labels school staff as the enemy or patsies.  

·         Kids are wrecks. Emotional health issues are real and overloading counselors, medical staff, and support systems. Resources (quality staff) are inadequate to meet the need. Beyond masks and social distancing, virtually everything changed. Students are grasping for something stable in destabilized times. And let us not forget the lingering fear of school shootings.  

·         Staff members are wrecks. We have buildings full of fragile people trying to survive. This fragility flows from being in the center of a life and cultural storm for more than two years. Some are anxious to return to the way “things are supposed to be.” Others want to find a new adventure that will take us to a better place. Sadly, many, maybe most, are hanging on to get through each day. 

·         Those most in need of support services are experiencing the greatest impact. As support staff and resources are stretched thin in new, unforeseen ways the reality of the times results in increased stress for all greatest impact for those with least supports. 

·         Kids are overconfident. While I am all for strong self-esteem and a sense of belonging. Some kids now refuse basic levels of mutual respect with staff and systems that could be the base from which we build a learning community.  

·         Everybody is stuck in MASH mode. We are forced to focus our energies on first aid or “putting out fires” and rarely get to our desired work of building for a better future. Offices are full of students in need of support, care, and intervention (at times because of exhausted teachers) resulting in counselors and administrators are overwhelmed.  

·         The future is scary. We may be entering a time where experienced staff have had enough resulting in early retirement or other career transitions. This may result in an influx of younger teachers, many of whom completed their college training in the time of Covid. Many of these new teachers will come with limited experience in actual classrooms. And the realities of teaching (classroom discipline, confined schedule, and space, pay inequities) may lead many of the best potential new teachers to other career choices. 

This is my view in the moment. This is the easy part, to vent my frustrations and concerns. Can it get better? How can it get better? That is the challenge…