missing a physical connection to a school building and the people in it along with the activities and social opportunities that come with in-person learning. While all of us have experienced life and school during the pan- demic in different ways due to varying privi- leges or forces of oppression, we carry our experiences with us into classroom spaces, whether in-person or online. Despite these circumstances, this new school year brings with it an opportunity to move forward in a way that promotes social justice, equity and political action. Here are some steps to consider as we be- gin the process of recovering and rebuilding.
DISRUPT THE NOTION OF “LEARNING LOSS”
“WHILE IT IS CERTAINLY IMPORTANT TO REFLECT ON THE IMPACTS OF STUDENTS NOT BEING IN SCHOOL AND THE ACADEMIC SETBACKS STUDENTS MAY HAVE FACED DURING THIS TIME, IT IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT NOT TO PATHOLOGIZE STUDENTS AS A RESULT OR TO DISCOUNT THE LEARNING THAT STUDENTS ENGAGED IN AT HOME.”
14 ETFO VOICE | FALL 2021
The report goes on to say that people living in neighbourhoods that already experience marginalization related to racism and dis- crimination have also been more likely to experience severe outcomes as a result of the COVID-19 virus than those living in primar- ily white neighbourhoods. Hospitalization and ICU admission rates were four times higher, and death rates were two times higher. The pandemic has also highlighted and
exacerbated inequities that disproportion- ately impact Indigenous Peoples, individuals who are racialized, people with disabilities and women, particularly those who work in precarious and unsafe working conditions. It is also important to keep in mind that
there are students and colleagues who are adjusting to learning and working in physi- cal classrooms for the first time in 18 months. For students continuing to learn online, this will be another year in which they will be
From the various stay-at-home orders and the associated school closures to the many challenges of online learning, the pandemic has presented learning disruptions unlike any recent event we have experienced. It has become clear that online learning, in both its hybrid and remote forms, is not a substitute for students’ learning in school. Much discus- sion has emerged about the idea of learning loss to describe what students have “missed” because of the disruptions and challenges they have experienced over the course of the past year and a half. While it is certainly im- portant to reflect on the impacts of students not being in school and the academic setbacks students may have faced during this time, it is equally important not to pathologize stu- dents as a result or to discount the learning that students engaged in at home. One prob- lematic aspect of the notion of learning loss is that it can leave educators with the sense that students are broken and in need of “fixing.” We need to be cautious not to fall into this type of deficit thinking. Rather than focusing our attention on the notion of “learning loss” and how to fix our students, our focus should be on rebuilding our learning communities, which are foundational for true learning to take place.
TEACH WITH A TRAUMA-INFORMED LENS
An April 2020 survey commissioned by Children’s Mental Health Ontario and Addictions and Mental Health Ontario found that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, 30 percent of parents surveyed reported that their children appeared to be more impacted by stress in their daily life than they were pre- pandemic, with a large percentage of parents noting changes in sleep patterns, eating hab-
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