As a veteran teacher, I disagree strongly with a point made in “In Our View: Invest in teachers to aid school’s COVID rebound” (The Columbian, Jan 28). As we expected, measures of student learning are down. Teachers are seeing a higher percentage of students whose skills are below, or well below, grade level as a result of lost learning time.
It is true that access to internet and computer devices was (and continues to be) a problem for many families. However, the next remedy demonstrates a lack of understanding of the challenges faced in classrooms. Purporting that the solution is to provide teachers with more training is mistaken and really falls flat.
My district provides teachers with many professional learning opportunities. However, in our current situation, providing teachers with additional training is low-hanging fruit. What teachers need to meet this challenge is more resources to support the elevated needs of students.
Ironically, in an AP article published the same day, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona laid out his view of the needs of schools. He emphasizes the importance of using federal aid to expand student services. It is notable that, as a former teacher, not once does he mention investing in teacher training as a remedy for the challenges we currently face.
