“Over covid, I didn’t learn as much as I usually did. I felt like I could’ve learned more, but it was tough to get through the fact that I couldn’t interact. I had to stay at home,” said Elijah Narce, an eighth-grader participating in
Instead of reading aloud when they’re called on or answering a math question, students have shut down and not said anything at all, she said. The instructors have reviewed some key math skills, like division, because students have said they don’t know how to do it. For Kingston Kershaw, a rising fourth-grader at Tyler Elementary in the District, he said he’s excited to be back in the classroom in-person, since he has always loved learning. He felt trapped while virtually attending school, because he was never able to go anywhere. Plus, as much as he loves his brother, the two would sometimes get tired of each other, he said after his one-on-one mentoring session at one of the campuses for Youth Leadership Foundation’s summer program.
“Schools are paying attention to this issue of learning loss, but it’s not the first thing on the list,” Eubanks said. “The first thing on the list is just stabilization.” He tried to keep all the lessons engaging by incorporating hands-on activities and tying them to the students’ lives, he said in an interview. For this lesson on the importance of getting enough sleep,