2020 In Retrospect

So many have lost so much during 2020. At times, writing about academic achievement almost seems trite by comparison. Yet, students are still studying and still applying to school. Despite the travails of today, our collective future will still come, and our children need to be ready.

Perhaps even better preparation will make it more likely that they will believe in science and the scientific method. They will believe that rationality and evidence should prevail over fear and disinformation.

This last post of the year captures all the entries for 2020 in a diagrammatic table of contents (click here to view it).

[Best seen on a computer]

[For viewing on other devices, click here, to open a separate webpage]

The first half of the year focused mostly on literacy. Later posts used personal reflections to consider parental roles, definitions, and influences on achievement. When I first started writing back in December of last year, I had the intention of sticking to an outline, and perhaps tell a grand story in chapters. Once the pandemic hit, I decided instead to ride the flow of topics that intersected with my experience.

In addition to serving as a table of contents, the diagram also serves as a metaphor.  To the extent that my pursuit of these topics feels like an intellectual journey, the 360 degree representation of them invokes a compass.  As such, each article can lead to another set of discoveries.  

One such discovery is how 2020’s education imperatives exacerbated gaps in opportunities for achievement.  Consequently, the need to find workable solutions has been made even greater and has clarified the mission for this venture.

This podcast, Innovation Hub, highlights those gaps.

The invited guests describe how some parents struggled to keep their children engaged, while others still struggled to maintain a strong internet connection. And while some parents were already questioning the choices available for the children before the pandemic, others were using their resources to connect their children with learning pods–ragtag groups of children who are being taught in extra-curricular settings by a privately hired instructor.  The prospect of unequal resources to overcome challenges.

I will explore these conditions next year.  Other topics I will explore include: Numeracy, Student Assessment, Supplemental Education, Connectivity Options, and Cognitive Science.  I am also pursuing affiliate connections, which could expand the reach of these efforts.

Let us say good bye to this year and welcome the chance to restore what we can, and reclaim what we can in 2021.