Teacher Tom: Imagine If We Stood On the Shoulders of the Remote Learning Giants

Teacher Tom: Imagine If We Stood On the Shoulders of the Remote Learning Giants

Imagine If We Stood On the Shoulders of the Remote Learning Giants

A couple days ago, I wrote a piece that had been long coming in which I called upon educators to embrace the opportunities and challenges presented by this pandemic to reimagine how we teach young children while continuing to embrace the "freedom, equality, and hands-on democratic education" that so many of us fear we are losing, especially with remote learning. In that spirit, I will be throwing out my own thoughts and ideas from time to time, like the ones below.

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Remote learning wasn't born in 2020. Mister Rogers was doing it, and doing it well, in 1968. Language teacher Anne Slack pioneered distance learning in the 1950s. Chef Julia Child started teaching the art of French cuisine to Americans in 1963. Art instructor Bob Ross showed us how to paint "happy little trees" throughout the 80's and 90's, while Levar Burton shared his love of books on Reading Rainbow. "The Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was teaching us about nature and wildlife up until his tragic death in 2006. Documentary filmmaker David Attenborough and science educator Bill Nye the Science Guy are still going strong.

Even a cursory look at the work of these remote educators shows us how most of our schools are getting it wrong in this era of pandemic education. We are continuing to persist in compelling children to "watch," just as we compel them to physically attend during normal times. No one ever made us CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Imagine If We Stood On the Shoulders of the Remote Learning Giants