According to the Center on Reinventing Public Education, about twenty-five percent of U.S. school districts have started the year fully remote. If not wholly virtual, many schools are doing some form of hybrid or staggered in-school learning. However, with this shift to online instruction, social and emotional learning (SEL) practices have been disrupted. Some children and teens are really struggling in this remote environment and need increased SEL support. Surprisingly, some kids are thriving and are easily adapting to this new normal. Whether a child is grappling or flourishing during this time, one thing is certain – the face of education and social and emotional learning is changing.
Below, we investigate the positive and negative effects of virtual instruction in children and teens. We also reveal what experts report could be the outcomes of this new world and how to improve SEL moving forward.
Adverse Effects of Virtual Learning
In Texas, several school districts announced that report cards from the first weeks of school show more students than last year failing at least one class. “Students are turning in assignments late if at all, skipping days to weeks of virtual school, and falling behind on reading. Some students without support at home are struggling to keep track of their daily workload,” reports the Texas Tribune. This is one example of the educational fallout of the pandemic, but what about SEL? Students are being asked to learn in a climate of increased stress and anxiety, often through a plexiglass barrier or a Zoom call. How do we approach SEL during this time? Before tackling this issue, we need to address how this current environment affects kids’ psychological health. The Harris Poll did a study on the state of teen mental health during COVID-19, revealing:
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Sixty-one percent said they had experienced an increase in feelings of loneliness.
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Forty-three percent said they had experienced depression.
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Fifty-five percent said they had experienced anxiety.
On top of these psychological impacts, many students deal with the trauma of sick or dying family members, economic hardship, and disruption to the life they once had. These mental health consequences are alarming, but what do the experts say about the long-term social and emotional repercussions?
What Experts Predict
Child psychiatrist Dr. Jeremiah Dickerson tells WCAX news that research is still ongoing to determine the consequences of remote learning on children’s health and development. He states, “The outcomes ultimately depend on several variables for each student, such as home environment and social or learning disabilities.” He does say there are some reasons for parents to be concerned about social development during this time. “Without socialization, some kids may become anxious and irritable. Socializing is what helps us think about our own identity – to see where we fit in and see where we do not fit in. It is important for positive development and growth,” states Dickerson.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asserts that the pandemic has impacted young children’s social, emotional, and mental well-being and that trauma faced at this developmental stage may have long-term consequences. “For example, home is not a safe, comfortable, and predictable place for some kids. And not having the escape of going to school can be concerning because those kids are also not presenting to teachers and other grownups in their lives to say, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ In that case, we do worry about the long-term impacts of those environments of those particular kids,” states Dickerson.
The constant fluctuation of in-school and virtual learning is also causing social and emotional issues among school-age kids. A Keiser brief, including data from the National Survey of Children’s Health and the National School-Based Health Care Census, states that students attending and not attending in-person school may face behavioral challenges including:
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High rates of clinginess, distraction, irritability, and fear among children, particularly younger children.
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Nearly a third of parents claimed their child experienced harm to their emotional or mental health.
It is obvious that virtual learning is leaving its mark on kids. These negative results need to be reported, studied, and corrected moving forward. However, there is a flip side to remote instruction and its effects on children and teens. Some students are thriving in this new environment. These positive outcomes also need a spotlight and should be factored into children’s new social and emotional needs.
Positive Impacts of Remote Learning
Though remote instruction has brought many challenges, some students seem to be thriving under the new circumstances. An article in Edutopia (reporting from the George Lucas Educational Foundation) shares thoughts from educators around the country on this critical issue. Montenique Woodard, a teacher in Washington, D.C. states, “I think not having those everyday distractions in school has allowed for some kids to focus on the work.” Teachers are increasingly reporting that a handful of their students, shy kids, hyperactive kids, highly creative kids, are suddenly doing better with remote instruction than they were doing in the physical classroom. “It’s been awesome to see some of my kids finally find their niche in education,” said Holli Ross, a first-year high school teacher in California.
Re-Thinking the School Day
Some students are finding the benefits of self-pacing during virtual learning, according to the Edutopia report. In most schools, students face back-to-back classes with little reprieve. However, during the pandemic, school schedules have become more fluid. This pace allows students more choice over when and how they do their school work. “I think a few of mine [students] are doing really well getting a taste of more independence,” said Lauren Huddleston, a middle school teacher in Tennessee. “They are taking ownership a bit more because they are no longer under the micromanagement of the school day.”
Research has found that over-booked schedules filled with sports and other activities can be a significant challenge for a child to balance and even cause unhealthy anxiety and stress levels. Teachers are seeing a difference in some students’ performance with enrichment activities being canceled or scaled back due to the pandemic. “For my students, there are some that are thriving. I think it is partly because so many things like sports and social activities are no longer happening, and they have more time than they ever had to work on schoolwork,” says Kasey Short, a middle school teacher in North Carolina.
Kids Are Breathing a Sigh of Relief
Though in-person connections and relationships are essential for some students, school socialization may be filled with anxiety for others. “Students who have been victims of physical or verbal bullying while at school are likely to be relieved to be home in a safe space,” said Elena Spathis, a high school Spanish teacher in New Jersey. For other students, socialization at school may be too distracting or intimidating. According to the Pew Research Center, a third of teens have reported feeling pressure to ‘look good’ or ‘fit in socially’ at school, influencing their participation and focus in class. “The online environment may allow for voices to be heard without the added bit of social anxiety,” states Blake Harvard, a psychology teacher in Alabama.
The Future of SEL
Whether a child is struggling or flourishing during this time, one thing is sure – the face of social and emotional learning is changing. Educators from coast to coast are doing all they can to meet these challenges head-on. Lindsey Jensen, a high school teacher in Illinois, believes that supporting her students emotionally is integral to teaching and learning. “This [her SEL support] doesn’t change as a result of COVID-19,” Jensen says in a National Education Association (NEA) news article. “My role and responsibility as an educator are the same. I want to create a safe space for students to talk through their fears and apprehensions. We just happen to be doing so virtually.” Christina Cipriano, director of research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, is among those pushing for more SEL during the pandemic. In another NEA article, Cipriano stated, “It is next to impossible to expect teaching and learning to occur in a crisis without attending to our emotions.”
So how can parents and teachers deal with the myriad of challenges during remote and staggered in-person learning? In our next article, we investigate the best strategies and resources from educational experts and institutions for social and emotional learning during COVID-19.
