Reimagining School Priorities in the Time of COVID
/Kathleen M Howland, Ph.D.
Northborough school committee meeting
I am a member of the regional school committee, but I am speaking to you this evening as a parent invested in the education of our children. I myself am an educator teaching neuroscience of music, cognition, language and social-emotional development. I teach both online and in person courses.
It is my understanding that the block for library, PE, music and art will be on a rotation with low frequency. I have heard that it is 16 maybe 17 days. Whatever the true number, I highly recommend that the frequency be greatly increased.
Our children have had an unnatural 6 months since the beginning of this pandemic. They have had to shelter in place, be disallowed peer play and relate to people wearing masks. The detriment to social development won’t be known for years. In addition, they have lost time in their cognitive development trajectories and all that that entails— being attentive for periods of time, listening to instructions, solving problems and reasoning. This is a detriment to their cognitive development, especially if they have spent this time on devices that cannot substitute for the way the brain ideally learns which is through human interaction, especially with toys that encourage imagination (e.g. no batteries) and books that do the same.
I am proposing that the children’s re-entry to school be based on the 4 specializations that can prime their brains for learning and relating again, to put them back in the stream of good, healthy development. Each day should begin with at least one of these 4 specialties. That would serve as a foundation for cognitive engagement, emotional regulation and frankly just plain fun (which serves to reinforce their relationship to school and all the demands of it). This is also an important resource against the stressors they may have been feeling during this time and about returning to school.
Here are some points from neuroscience that should be of interest to the community.
Art - research at MIT presents ways visual perception can translate into student creativity across other domains (https://news.mit.edu/2019/3-questions-sarah-schwettmann-interface-between-art-and-neuroscience-0416)
Physicians regularly include art classes in their training to improve their clinical observation skills
(https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170906103528.htm)
Scientists have long drawn what they have seen in microscopes and telescopes as a way of understanding the relationships amongst cells and stars
Art has an essential place in education to be able to look at things holistically (from every angle), to imagine something into being, to create preferences for media or other artists, to weave it into one’s life as a stress reducer (check out all the coloring books for that purpose). A family art break in the evening, to music or just in silence, could be just the ticket after a day of Zooming and separation from one another. It is a lovely, social and engaging way to be together authentically. Art education can support this with shaping your children’s relationship to valuing art as an important part of our humanity.
Music - research shows that music abilities are directly related to reading success, language development, cognitive and social development. I know of no other force on the planet that can offer so much good for optimal human development
(see: ‘how science informs the importance of music’).
If your family has a history of dyslexia, I would very much recommend that they have a robust music education, both in school and out of school. For the past year, I have been taking lessons at Jack’s Guitar Garage in town. When we transitioned to online learning, it worked very, very well.
Of note, music and art are not a matter of talent (so they get educated) or not talented (and they are asked to just ‘mouth the words’). At least 98.5% of the entire human population has below average, average or above average aptitude (from nature). The rest is opportunity, persistence, guidance, good relationships with teachers that sometimes last years, family support, etc. And if you child is going to learn an instrument, support them by taking lessons too. It will be far harder for you because you are outside the developmental windows that make that much easier. You can model persistence. This would bring a parent and child together in a special bonding and you both would benefit greatly.
PE - the anxiety and depression numbers for children are going up at alarming rates. The CDC reports:
9.4% of children aged 2-17 years (approximately 6.1 million) have received an ADHD diagnosis.
7.4% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 4.5 million) have a diagnosed behavior problem.
7.1% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 4.4 million) have diagnosed anxiety.
3.2% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 1.9 million) have diagnosed depression.
And those studies were conducted before the pandemic reached our shores. That’s 27.1% of children (presuming they are not dual diagnosed). That’s 16.9 million children.
Physical education is a primary way to treat these issues effectively as the emotional/physical system can not stay up regulated for anxiety when it is recovering from exertion. And exertion is a great way to enhance one’s attention span, one’s readiness to learn. Don’t we all feel sharper after a good workout? A good cup of coffee? A good nap? This state of neurologic arousal is just the place to begin teaching content. As a professor, I often have my students doing exercise or dance when they are losing attention. It has the added benefit of making the classes fun which is motivating and reinforcing for the students.
Library - libraries are the source of inspiration, information and curiosity for the world. If there is one thing that I have noticed over the last 8-10 years of teaching is a lack of these attributes in my college students. Education has become too focused on content and on scores. This has come at the expense of wonder and awe. Libraries would also serve as an important counter weight to the ubiquitous use of screen media that has filled these many days in children’s lives. Bring people back into reading, learning about the expansiveness of language, developing empathy for people’s lives, learning about the complexities of life at all levels, etc.
These specialties are indeed special. They enhance cognition and socialization, advance executive functioning by which we all successfully live our lives.1
Let me ask you. For those who have been in the limbo of COVID— how did you spend your time? I would wager it was reading, listening to or making music, making art (I do embroidery during zoom meetings) and exercising. More people have walked by my home during the pandemic than any time I have lived in my home these last 8 years. Joanne Fabrics cannot keep sewing machines in stock, canning jars are sold out everywhere.
I know this is a lot to ask, to essentially invert the schedule like this, to transform the way we think about educating and learning. But it is high time. The race to nowhere (came out 8 years ago and the problems spotlighted in that films- the pressure on students, the depression, the anxiety, the suicide, the lack of love of school were clearly presented. And it’s only gotten worse by the numbers and by my observations. All the research I know, teach, love and admire supports these assertions. If anybody wishes to learn more, please reach out to me. I’m more than happy to talk about this at any time with any one.
1. If you don’t know the term executive functioning, it includes problem solving, impulse control, reasoning, sequencing, having insights, making decisions. These functions, that become fully developed in mid-20’s are the hallmark of human intelligence. They allow us to learn any content that we are passionate about. These specialties also build character as individuals as well as in groups or ensembles.