If You’re Worried about Learning Loss, You’re Looking at the Wrong Thing

This is the conversation we need to be having about our kids right now.

Since schools slowly reopened in the fall of 2020, there’s been a lot of chatter about “learning loss.” I’m a teacher; I get it. We’re looking at test scores. We’re worried about not being on grade level in core subjects. We’re concerned we won’t keep up with the rest of the world.

I’m here to tell you, though — none of that matters right now.

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Right now, we’re in a crisis I’m not sure if we understand how to get out of. And that’s not clickbait or melodrama. That’s the collective experience of the past three years of the teachers on the front lines. Just ask one.

The Real Loss

Teaching in the States after the COVID lockdowns has been a whirlwind. The expectations never faltered, yet the demands increased, and teachers were forced to be more creative than ever to reach kids who had zero motivation to join a video call for class.

To be fair, most teachers lacked the motivation, too, but we did it because we had to. We did it because we love our kids and the pandemic disruptions weren’t their fault. Even those who did it because there were bills to pay gave it all they…