…..an absence in basic skills. Improvement is slow.
It’s been six years since the big COVID quarantine. My classes are now the students who began kindergarten post quarantine. We should begin seeing improvements.
Handwriting
Most of my incoming students have spent so much time on a computer, they forgot how to hold a pencil and write. It hurts too much to write a sentence. And the handwriting is beyond illegible.
Conversation
With so much texting, kids don’t speak to others in person. They may see their friends in school, but once they go home, they’re in front of their devices, playing video games and talking to their opponents/friends online. Gone are the days where you rode your bike to your friends house and hung out. Oh, and riding a bike? I have students who don’t know how. ( I teach middle school BTW )
Reading
Our district is going back to teaching phonics. They used other methods of teaching reading that simply didn’t work, and it shows.
Many of these skills are basic everyday skills that can be encouraged and taught at home. You can tell which students have the solid family who read to their children and let them help out around the house ( sock sorting, measuring ingredients and reading a recipe ) and those who may not have that solid family core.
Prior Knowledge
My class begins with journal writing where they are required to extract prior knowledge to answer questions, begin a writing prompt or spark a class conversation.
Prior knowledge comes in many varieties. It may be what they learned in school last year or something they learned on a class trip or family vacation. It may be a holiday occasion at home with family and friends.
This is where you really get to know your students and their outside lives.
And this is where I come in and show them the love they deserve.
Ms. Ro 