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Teachers Are Fixing Gaps That Started Before School
Why connection in early childhood matters more than ever in the age of screens
Last week, I spent twenty minutes with a child teaching him to hold a pencil properly.
Not teaching writing. Not teaching spelling. Just teaching him to hold the pencil properly.
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Later in the day, I had to remind another child how to take turns during a discussion. Then, I had to help another child calm down because he lost a game. By lunchtime, I had already done the job of a handwriting tutor, a counselor, and a conflict resolver. And the social lesson had not even started yet.
This is not an unusual day for me anymore.
Today, many teachers are not only teaching subjects. We are filling in the gaps that started long ago, even before the children stepped into school.
The Gaps We See Are Not Only Academic
When people refer to “learning loss,” they are talking about reading levels and math problems. But what I see every day is more complex.
Children struggling to sit and focus.
Children unable to wait their turn.
Children who find it hard to make eye contact or express feelings in…
