BOSTON — There are several different perspectives on how remote learning for the rest of the school year should be handled.
The State Department of Education plans to have a set of recommendations out by the end of the week.
Commissioner Jeff Riley said in a news conference, “Remote learning is not synonymous with online learning. We’ve seen project-based learning happen. We’ve seen work packets. We’ve seen different ways to reach kids.”
The President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association Merrie Najimy told Boston25 News, “It’s not just parents. Everyone is struggling with remote learning--educators, students, families.”
She explained that the organization believes that safety is the priority and getting back into the classroom did not make sense, but she also does not support rushing new guidelines.
Najimy explained, “We cannot replicate school at home, so we shouldn’t be thinking in an old mindset. This is a perfect opportunity to realign what’s been lost and think about new possibilities for the future but our immediate task in front of this is finding out how it’s been working for families."
Some private schools are handling it differently.
The Rivers School in Weston is continuing to hold shortened days of classes online including extracurricular activities.
Ned Parson the Head of School explained their approach saying, “so we can keep them grounded in routine, it’s so important for young people to be grounded in routine and to have that sense of purpose and start their day.”
Dedham High School Teacher Rachel Dudley told us she is a fan of structure for students but said right now, it’s not possible for all of them.
She said, “In a situation like this, we have to be very mindful that the students could be dealing with a lot of things that may be a lot more urgent to them and their families than school work."
“Even for someone where everything is fine and the same, there’s certainly some mental health tolls that are being taken on all of us,” Dudley said. "And I think that maybe a middle road between having it look exactly like a school day and having it look like summer vacation is perhaps the best.”
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