2021 Education magazine

Page 12 2021 Education Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS February 18, 2021 fact that I just don’t know what to do with all these thoughts. It keeps me up at night.” She also worries that teachers confuse her anxiety for laziness. “We probably see more mental health visits than we do sick visits,” said Dr. Valerie Kimball in the same report. Kimball, a pediatrician in Evanston, said the common thread is continuous remote learning. She said while kids are resilient, this level of remote learning is really pushing things. “It’s not just a matter of ‘They’re just going to have to wait it out, they’re going to have to be resilient, they’re going to have to be patient,’” Kimball said. “Their brains are not equipped to do those kinds of things, and now we’re getting to the point where it’s become unhealthy.” “Students need to see their teachers and each other because the social isolation is doing so much damage,” said parent Christina Springer via Bessler’s report. “I have four e-learners at my home, three high schoolers and one junior high, and they have headaches and eye strain from so much screen time.” But students are not the only ones that can struggle with remote learning. Teachers who are used to classroom education can suffer from the same feelings of burnout. For some, their identity as a teacher is affected, and their self-efficacy suffers because of it. What would normally be considered a great opportunity to learn new approaches to teaching and finding new tools to use has become a stressor because of external pressures beyond their control. WBEZ also cited Peggy Kubert, senior director of education with Erika’s Lighthouse, an organization that specializes in depression education programs. While the push continues to reopen schools, Kubert cautions that in-person learning, or even the end of the pandemic won’t solve all the mental health problems. “Schools that are smart are going to be preparing for the repercussions that are going to be happening next year and the year after as kids are playing catch up, as life is not immediately going back to the way it was before,” said Kubert. The conclusion here is that remote learning is effective if the conditions are right, and is offered as a choice. Unfortunately, it’s too risky to offer such a choice to everyone right now. But it should be food for thought for schools going forward. [Derek Hurley] Sources Advantages of online learning for some students on the Autism Spectrum Did College Students Perform Worse During COVID-19? In-person, remote learning underway for central Illinois school districts Is Remote Learning Causing AMental Health Crisis Among Teens And Children? Remote learning produces more failing grades at some Illinois schools Survey: Pandemic Negatively Affected Grades This Fall What did distance learning accomplish?