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by Wali Warsame
Section Editor
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Course.
An overview of the crisis
Most Americans remember the day of March 13th, 2020. On that day, the former President of the United States declared a National Emergency concerning the coronavirus outbreak. Students across the country were sent home that weekend, not knowing when they would return.
People have questioned whether education would ever be the same again. For many, although a lot of things have returned to their original pace, this question still remains unanswered.
Probable Causes
The effects of the education crisis are most evident in public schooling. A shortage of teachers has been an issue for public schools for a while now. Not only is there a lack in staffing, but student enrollment rates have been low. According to Fox News, a national survey has found that public schools have lost 1,268,00 students since the start of the pandemic.
Students having to make a sudden switch to online learning has caused many to fall behind. Many schools were unprepared for this change in learning, especially schools in lower income communities. Socioeconomic inequality has led to public schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods struggling to find schooling alternatives for their students.
The responses from students, parents, and schools all factored into students' performance. Students who are unfamiliar with homeschooling may struggle with this learning alternative, and academically respond poorly to this change. Schools across the countries found different ways of teaching their students that aligned with the pandemic guideline, such as full remote learning (which consisted of teachings over video call platforms such as Zoom) hybrid learning (which had students attending school on an A/B schedule), and more.
The change from in-person learning to online schooling during the pandemic as well as the lockdown itself has had its effects on learners, such as a shortened attention span, burnout, and fatigue. As stated in The Independent, one in five teachers said that they spend less than 10 minutes on a single activity to maintain their students' decreased attention capabilities.
Is there a possibility that our difficulties with the education system are beyond Covid? In November of 2022, The New York Times released a video titled "Empty Classrooms, Abandoned Kids…", where educators talk through the current state of America's education system. Anna Sutter, a previous Director of School Counseling who had spent 5 years in education stated: “The education crisis was very much here way before Covid.”
Social Media's Response
During September, a stitch of videos on Tiktok erupted of teachers discussing the academic struggles of their students. These stitches branched from a video made by Tiktok creator @qbthedon.
The 7th grade teacher expressed his concerns on the issue in a nearly two minute clip, stating that his 7th grade students are performing at a shocking 4th grade level, and although he places zeros in the grade book, they will most likely be moved to the next grade: “I could probably count on one hand how many kids are actually performing on their grade level.”
The Tiktok had also begun the discourse across other social media platforms, on whether the root of the cause is the students home. Some question whether parents are to blame for being oblivious to the state of their child's education and if the economic state of the child's home is a cause. A Twitter user by the handle of @KingCooleyXIII said in response to the TikTok: “The kids are coming to school hungry, sleep deprived, and angry…My mom taught for 20 yrs and I worked as a 4th grade teacher’s Aide in college. You see it. The kids cant focus bc they’re in survival mode.”
The Changes in Florida's Education
While students across America are struggling with reading comprehension, school districts in Florida have been ordered to remove all books and material with Queer characters and themes. This comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four bills restricting LGBTQ+ rights.
To combat these changes in the Floridian education system, Churches and community groups are making efforts to teach their communities what is being restricted in the classroom. In addition to the removal of books with Queer representation , limitations on the teachings of African American history have been placed.
Last month, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, Sharon D. Wright Austin, shared with The Hill: “I’m seeing it even with my own daughter who’s 17, a high school senior. She and some of her friends have talked about maybe just … reading on their own and just meeting here at her house or maybe her going to her friend’s house and just reading different books and talking about different books.”
Hilliard City Schools Value Award
The Ohio Department of Education recently released the Ohio School Report Cards for the 2022-23 school year. Out of 607 public schools listed in this report, Hilliard City Schools was ranked #1 on the overall growth index. This report measures the growth in student performance across schools within the district. Contrary to where education seems to stand, the students in Hilliard classrooms have been advancing in the right direction.
Just recently, I spoke with the Hilliard Superintendent, David Stewart, who has spent over 30 years in public education. In our discussion, Mr. Stewart expressed his views of optimism, in regards to the state of education not only in Hilliard, but nationwide. Stewart explains, “There are a lot of people who want others to believe people are failing…we are working very, very hard.”
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