The education struggles we’re not talking about
Hard lessons about post pandemic education show that it isn’t just about what was lost, but what needs to be rebuilt.
By: J.A. Aleman
Education is something all people in America can get behind. People often disagree on the type of education they find most important, and looming changes under the new administration brings much uncertainty on how education will look moving forward.
With children having to learn differently today and needing various strategies to keep up, I ask parents, are you helping your own children at home to be successful?
If a society is to function properly, then it must be educated in various fields. There is an understanding that streets smarts are one type of education, but I also refer to that as common sense. The education I’m talking about is reading.
The ability to read in any language is a superpower. As a bilingual person, I take pride in being able to read both in Spanish and English. Being able to read has a way of helping an individual think critically when the need arises. This can make problem solving much easier. Not to mention, it’s better to be able to read for oneself what is happening in the world, rather than have someone tell you what’s happening or what to think.
In this way, with all of the information a person obtains, they can make up their own mind and contribute to their community with their own ideas.
Due to school closures during the pandemic in early 2020, children were sent home and as a result education in America took a large blow. As a parent, I saw the pandemic was difficult for various reasons, but perhaps the biggest struggle was the inability to teach my children the basics of what they needed to learn. I know I’m not the only one who experienced this challenge.
“Overall, student achievement has not returned to pre-pandemic performances,” said Peggy G. Carr, the commissioner of the National Center of Education in a press release. “Where there are signs of recovery, they are mostly in math and largely driven by higher-performing students. Lower-performing students are struggling, especially in reading.”
There was a time during the pandemic when my children were learning from me, before an online option with a teacher became available. When that connection was made, it was a relief, but there were still some concerns. Before then, much like me, all parents were fumbling our children’s education in one way or another.
I remember waking up with my children during the lockdown and sitting with them as patiently as I could, trying to explain mathematical principles, grammar and literary basics. I struggled, not because I didn’t know, but because teaching those subjects in a way a kindergartener and a third grader would understand proved difficult. Teaching different age levels is a skill I didn’t have.
As frustrating as it was, and my children saw my struggle, I had to reassure them it was not their fault. I learned that day how important teachers are and the ability they have to help our children understand things and grow is much needed. Their work needs to be seen as more important in our country. However, as a busy parent myself, I also see the benefit of getting on our grind and supporting our children’s learning.
“For me it was interesting because you were also on stage,” said Learning Assistance Teacher Karin McNett at Sunrise Elementary in Puyallup. “When kids logged in, their parents were also right there with them, which is great because I wanted the parents to hear what we were trying to teach them.”
There were good outcomes for children who had the support to get online regularly. However, according to McNett, there was still a slump in learning and teachers had to help many more kids in their educational journey.
The teachers I spoke with saw the same things I did. Kids couldn’t find the motivation to learn, because they were at home. This was something I faced with my children, as I constantly had to push them to log on with their teachers.
The National Assessment of Education Process (NAEP) website describes a key takeaway from 2024 was that fourth and eighth graders didn’t see any gains in reading, while 33 percent of eighth graders couldn’t identify basic literary elements such as the order of event, character traits and main ideas in a text. Only Louisiana and Alabama surpassed their pre-pandemic scores nationwide.
Alabama’s Department of Education praised teachers for student progress, while Louisiana’s Department of Education credited growth to increased spending on academic interventions.
Reading is fundamental to the growth of a person and society as a whole. This was the focus of Martin Luther, wanting to translate the Bible into German so the average person could read it for themselves. Before this, The Roman Catholic Church read in Latin to those who attended services. How easy was it for those in charge to tell people what to do?
The same could be said in our time. Deb Sherwood, a retired LAP Teacher for Puyallup School District told the Ledger that reading is a basic building block, because it builds auditory and phonics skills.
In the end, no one is to blame for the pandemic being as widespread as it was. Sure, it had a source and there is still much to discuss on the matter. But our kids, teachers and parents were not at fault and our children aren’t stupid. They just lived through a really tough time, one that no one was expecting.
Another key component to learning post-pandemic is focusing on social and emotional programs. This is a way for children in the classroom to get to know each other better and develop social skills, which may help them find their interests for future careers.
It’s safe to say, our kids took a big hit with the lockdowns, which is why many people were against them to begin with.
A study done by the National Library of Medicine (NIH) found “the impact of school closures and lockdown on child health during the first wave of COVID-19 show worse mental health status of children and adolescents, reduced physical activity and increased sedentary behaviors.”
This is supported by reports from NAEP showing that absences have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This tells me parents and kids have sedentary behaviors. The study from NIH also encourages law makers to think about the long-term effects of a lockdown before making it policy.
The whole world was facing COVID and the lockdowns. It was a scary time with much uncertainty. Today, we see the results of the decisions that were made by government officials. I almost lost family members and friends, and I know of many who did lose dear ones. Since nothing was certain, it was hard to gauge what the right thing to do was.
Now we have to deal with some of our kids struggling more than they should have been.
“I don’t want to use COVID as an excuse,” said Paula Salisbury, a LAP Teacher at Sunrise Elementary. “I feel at the same time it’s all these phones for the kids and all the iPads they’re constantly on. I don’t think parents are talking to their kids as much. They come into kindergarten, and they can’t tell you about the people in their family and who lives at their house Those things are detrimental to our kids.”
This was a pre-pandemic problem. It’s rare to see a child without some type of device while they’re outside, that is if they even go outside. I push my children to leave the house often and when they’re out there, it takes them a little while to get a feel for it.
“We definitely see a difference with our younger kids. We’re seeing better retention. Our job is to work with kids that fall into that intensive spectrum. And we have a lot more kids in that category than we did,” McNett said.
Teachers weren’t prepared for the online transition and had a difficult time getting kids to log on. LAP teachers were even working with kids individually, and while students struggled in different areas, there was a big focus on reading.
“I don’t think any of us thought it was gonna be just okay. Even that first year they did away with state testing for us because they realized we are in such a deficit. I think that the kids coming out of that COVID season, many of them still lack the basic fundamentals of what we call decode. So, if you can’t decode, then you can’t comprehend,” Sherwood said.
Reflecting now in 2025, we can ask ourselves if the lives saved because of the lockdown were worth it. I say a resounding yes, as any life saved is worth it. Picking up the pieces is hard, but it’s not impossible.
Our children aren’t broken, and while we disagree about what could’ve been done back then, we can’t change what happened. What we must do now is give the power of reading back to our children who will be the future of this country.
I agree with Sherwood in developing the love of reading, the love of books and curiosity.
It’s up to parents to push our kids to work harder and for us to work hard with them, even when we’re coming home tired after work. That sacrifice is worth more than gold.
It will give our children a way to take control of their heart, mind and soul. This will prevent them from being easily broken by anyone or anything in life.
