Ron Paradis: "Back" to school successes show how to navigate transitions
As we all continue to face major transitions, it is critical that we follow the lead of our teachers, parents, and students: be patient, be pleasant, and be perceptive.
Ron Paradis was born and raised in Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon. After 10 years working out of state at colleges in Nebraska and New Hampshire, Ron returned to Oregon in 1991 and served for 28 years as the executive director of college relations at Central Oregon Community College.
First Day of School: 2020 version
"Chopperz 65" by SupportPDX is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Each year, the first day of school is highly anticipated by kids, parents and teachers. Even though I no longer fall into any of those three categories, I did have a high level of interest in that special day this year.
I sat in my living room listening to my wife, a middle school teacher, talking to two dozen 11 year olds at the beginning of their first day of sixth grade. She will repeat this process two more times that day, and then three times the next as she greets her various sixth and seventh grade language arts students.
As I listened to everything she was trying to cover with them, I was contemplating what is most important. Is it her taking role to make sure she can account for who is there (online) and who is not, in order to file the appropriate documents with the district? Is it getting the students ready to read and comprehend the key concepts of “Hostage,” the novel she plans to use beginning later in the week? Is it finding out how the technology is working for each kid so she knows if they will have smooth sailing for the upcoming six weeks or longer of “comprehensive distance learning” the district has planned? Or is it just welcoming them to middle school and letting them know their teachers are there for them?
Between class periods, over the lunch break and after classes were done for the day, I heard several phone conversations between colleagues, sharing successes and failings and offering advice to each other to make things better the next period and the next day.
My exposure to this new learning reality spans generations. After my wife finished her long day, my attention turned to a conversation I had the day before with my son and his six-year-old daughter after her first week of school. She says she’s doing great – having “met” her teacher and her classmates, and with a few days to settle into the pod environment they are fortunate enough to be part of. She will be with a tutor from her former daycare who will be shepherding four first graders (from different districts in the Portland area) as they move through their online learning days. My son and his wife follow up on in the evenings on what needs to be done, and continue their full-time careers while raising two young girls.
I also thought about conversations and experiences outside my family. For example, that same day, I talked to two parents, each with three kids in public school. I could tell in their voices they are unsure how it is going for their kids, and whether this will be a productive year. One parent told me she was more nervous about the first day of school this year than she had been since her kids were starting kindergarten several years earlier. “It was exciting but also scary,” she said. She also said the kids commented about problems for both students and teachers logging on and getting their technology to work – and that checking with their fellow students often was the best way to get the problem solved.
I followed up with the other mother the next day. “The key seems to be flexibility and learning to adapt,” she explained. “Students are seeing teachers learning in the moment as they use technology that is new to some of them. It is going to take intention to weave in self care, social connection and active engagement in classes this year... these are the goals at home!”
A reminder of the problems we still need to solve
"secret wifi hotspot" by woodleywonderworks is licensed under CC BY 2.0
These struggles are mirrored throughout the state and the country. More importantly, though we can’t forget the families that are less fortunate – single parents, those who have no undivided attention to spare for their kids’ classes, families unable to afford a pod for their student, and those who don’t have access to the needed technology. As long as students and their families cannot get online and access the necessary high-speed Internet, then we will continue to see disparities across the urban-rural divide and in communities experiencing housing insecurity.
My wife and I raised three kids who went through our local school district for their entire K-12 careers. I also was on the school board for six years so got a close look at more details than most parents see. I believe my kids all got a great education in our public schools and had teachers who cared greatly about their progress and success. It’s true that not all teachers are perfect, but nor are the kids (same goes for the parents). But, in my experience, my kids and their colleagues received the support they needed to move successfully onto college and into careers.
These relationships (student – teacher, teacher – parent, and parent -student) are critical to success in any schooling environment. For five years, I taught a class in a master’s degree program for teachers who wanted to become principals or other school administrators. It was called something like “School and Community.” From my time as a public relations professional and a member of the school board, I tried to walk them through navigating the various audiences they would work with in their aspired role – parents, students, teachers, district administrators, media and the general public.
At times of great transition, these relationships are all the more significant. I remember talking to my students about the transition points in a student’s school journey – from starting kindergarten through high school graduation. I told them two personal stories. First, the one about my wife getting bad information about the bus schedule on the first day of kindergarten, and being in tears when our five-year-old son came running up the driveway. He had jogged the two blocks to get home from the bus stop – 30 minutes earlier than planned – meaning she had missed meeting him as he got off the bus. Second, the time I was sitting in the audience as a school administrator talked to nervous sixth grade parents about helping kids “survive” middle school.
Fortunately, what I heard on the first day of school this year was teachers working their hardest – in an environment they could not never envisioned – to make sure that despite the challenges, kids will be able to thrive – not simply survive – during the upcoming year. That’s what needs to happen at schools throughout Oregon, and that is what I see happening.
As we all continue to face major transitions, perhaps like the one we may experience on election day, it is critical that we follow the lead of our teachers, parents, and students: be patient, be pleasant, and be perceptive. With flexibility, communication, and kindness we can make it through transitions we never saw coming.