This is a message for teachers, parents, and students about ‘summer slide’, ‘COVID slide’, or whatever we will call the next version of learning loss over periods of time. Let’s tell it like it is and deliver two important messages to our students:
- It’s normal for us to forget things over time while we are not using them. That is literally how the brain works, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s not a slide or a backslide.
- You’ve worked hard and need time to recharge your batteries and reset. Just because you struggle to learn or retain does not mean you have to go to school all year while others are able to connect with friends and family. We can pick it back up when you return to school. No pressure. Unless we all have a year-round school year, we have designed the system to work that way!