@melhawk46 Dr. Mike Robinson: How can schools practice social distancing when kids return to school?
Mel Hawkins: The closer a school gets to full attendance the more problematic social distancing will become. Schools are designed to pack kids in more than to keep them separated and the more packed in they are, the more at risk are students, teachers, staff, and families. It is hard to imagine, in a school full of kids, that we can control the close physical interaction between any of the parties.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Is Schooling with social distancing even possible?
Mel Hawkins: We will be faced with some difficult choices. The demands of getting the economy up and running will place pressure on employers to bring people back to work the more there will be to open schools. We may be forced to exchange choosing the safest options for choices with the least intolerable levels of risk for children and adults. Let’s hope this herd immunity thing is real.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Staggered start times; alternate weeks of attendance; remote learning until further notice.
Mel Hawkins: Given all the challenges parents will face in balancing the safety of their families; they need to go to work; the need for someone to care for their kids; of wanting their children to learn and all of the associated logistical difficulties, it is hard to imagine we could make staggered start times and alternate weeks, work. And, how do we extend our commitment to remote learning when there is no one to supervise our children at home? It all comes back to the need to make difficult choices. The very decision on the part of our government to open up our communities, will create a chain reaction of high-risk scenarios for which we will have to find answers.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What are thoughts about teaches wearing masks and other PPE?
Mel Hawkins: No one likes to be inconvenienced by personal safety equipment, but people must do what is necessary to mitigate the risk of injury or illness. For many jobs, such protection as hard hats, safety glasses et al, is the norm. PPE may become everyone’s norm.
Dr. Mike Robinson: This question comes from a parent. "When schools are open, what signs would be visible that would suggest social distancing is working?
Mel Hawkins: The larger question is whether this pandemic experience has created an opportunity to do consider some long-needed changes in how we prepare our society’s most precious assets for a challenging future.
For example, during this period of “remote learning” and “during the first few months after returning to school, could we work on shifting our focus to success in learning rather than viewing school as a competition to see who can learn the most, the fastest? Or, rather than striving to keep students on track, could we use this “time out” to give struggling students more help where they need it the most; or, give high achieving students an opportunity to work ahead at their speed or do more in-depth work on things of special interest to them?
Could we shift our focus away from earning grades to documenting subject mastery, with the goal that everyone is learning at an “A” level? Accepting “C” level or below outcomes ensures that we will keep getting them. Will a population of “C, D, and F” students provide the leadership we need, moving forward? Could we work to eliminate the stress of learning by experimenting with ways to make learning more fun? Could we work to change our view of time from a scarce resource to one where students can have as much time as they need to learn more than just subject matter; so they can learn how to create success for themselves.
All of these things are priorities in the education model I am offering to any school willing to try something new.
Bio
A former Chief Operating Officer of a distribution and inventory management firm, Mel Hawkins has also served as a juvenile probation officer, Court Executive of a unified trial court, manager of a multi-specialty group medical practice, management and leadership consultant, and a small business owner. This experience has given Mr. Hawkins a unique perspective, one that has served him well as an innovator and problem-solver. Educated at Manchester College where he received a BA degree, the author has also earned a Master of Science in Education (Psychology) from the University of Saint Francis and a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University. Mel resides with his wife in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Mel and Chris have three adult children and four grandchildren.
Mel Hawkins: The closer a school gets to full attendance the more problematic social distancing will become. Schools are designed to pack kids in more than to keep them separated and the more packed in they are, the more at risk are students, teachers, staff, and families. It is hard to imagine, in a school full of kids, that we can control the close physical interaction between any of the parties.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Is Schooling with social distancing even possible?
Mel Hawkins: We will be faced with some difficult choices. The demands of getting the economy up and running will place pressure on employers to bring people back to work the more there will be to open schools. We may be forced to exchange choosing the safest options for choices with the least intolerable levels of risk for children and adults. Let’s hope this herd immunity thing is real.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Staggered start times; alternate weeks of attendance; remote learning until further notice.
Mel Hawkins: Given all the challenges parents will face in balancing the safety of their families; they need to go to work; the need for someone to care for their kids; of wanting their children to learn and all of the associated logistical difficulties, it is hard to imagine we could make staggered start times and alternate weeks, work. And, how do we extend our commitment to remote learning when there is no one to supervise our children at home? It all comes back to the need to make difficult choices. The very decision on the part of our government to open up our communities, will create a chain reaction of high-risk scenarios for which we will have to find answers.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What are thoughts about teaches wearing masks and other PPE?
Mel Hawkins: No one likes to be inconvenienced by personal safety equipment, but people must do what is necessary to mitigate the risk of injury or illness. For many jobs, such protection as hard hats, safety glasses et al, is the norm. PPE may become everyone’s norm.
Dr. Mike Robinson: This question comes from a parent. "When schools are open, what signs would be visible that would suggest social distancing is working?
Mel Hawkins: The larger question is whether this pandemic experience has created an opportunity to do consider some long-needed changes in how we prepare our society’s most precious assets for a challenging future.
For example, during this period of “remote learning” and “during the first few months after returning to school, could we work on shifting our focus to success in learning rather than viewing school as a competition to see who can learn the most, the fastest? Or, rather than striving to keep students on track, could we use this “time out” to give struggling students more help where they need it the most; or, give high achieving students an opportunity to work ahead at their speed or do more in-depth work on things of special interest to them?
Could we shift our focus away from earning grades to documenting subject mastery, with the goal that everyone is learning at an “A” level? Accepting “C” level or below outcomes ensures that we will keep getting them. Will a population of “C, D, and F” students provide the leadership we need, moving forward? Could we work to eliminate the stress of learning by experimenting with ways to make learning more fun? Could we work to change our view of time from a scarce resource to one where students can have as much time as they need to learn more than just subject matter; so they can learn how to create success for themselves.
All of these things are priorities in the education model I am offering to any school willing to try something new.
Bio
A former Chief Operating Officer of a distribution and inventory management firm, Mel Hawkins has also served as a juvenile probation officer, Court Executive of a unified trial court, manager of a multi-specialty group medical practice, management and leadership consultant, and a small business owner. This experience has given Mr. Hawkins a unique perspective, one that has served him well as an innovator and problem-solver. Educated at Manchester College where he received a BA degree, the author has also earned a Master of Science in Education (Psychology) from the University of Saint Francis and a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University. Mel resides with his wife in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Mel and Chris have three adult children and four grandchildren.