Popular culture has had a fascination for the concept of feral children for much of the last century. The idea began with Tarzan and Mogli, two literary characters in Victorian English literature who were raised in the jungle by animals. The tradition has continued uninterrupted right into the 21 Century. The idea that someone ferreted away from normal human discourse can mature into a fully-functioning adult has always fascinated the young as well as the old. Emma Donoghue’s book THE ROOM contained the idea that a woman could be constrained by a sexual predator and sire children who could still function properly upon their release into the world.
Today, there is much consternation about the whole generation of young children missing out on what has come to be considered a normal childhood because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the repeated shutdowns of businesses and schools. There is widespread condemnation of what this pandemic has done to the fully functioning business of educator and the decrying of the loss of over 20 million children in the U. S. who seemingly have dropped off the school rolls. It is indisputable that the last full year now has caused considerable disruption and that the fears of loss of educational opportunity might actually cause irreparable harm if nothing is done to reverse the loss of school time.
However, I began this post today with a reference to feral children for a reason. Whether in reality or in fiction, there has been the acknowledgement that children who have slipped far behind their peers in the acquisition of the usual pieces of knowledge and the usual performance of academic skills need not be irretrievably lost. With proper planning and the application of resources to the problem, it is not impossible for kids who are behind to catch up.
We are reading increasingly of the return to school of jurisdiction after jurisdiction with or without testing, with or without vaccinations, with or without schools being physically ready to prevent both students and their teachers from infection. What I wish to argue herein is that the next five normal school months can be devoted to rebuilding the school rolls and seeking out and getting back into school desks and seats those who have been able to disappear from class. That can be one of the primary goals of the second half of this school year, while doing the utmost to reintegrate everyone into a school routine.
In the background though, at the school staff level and the administration centrally, plans can be put into place to fast track the learning for a year or two, keeping to the regular school day but using all the tools available to individualize instruction, recruit tutors for those who need additional help and providing for supports for those who need it. If there is a concerted effort to strive to double the leaning goals for a year or two, with the supports behind those efforts, the students will make up their ground. Educators like myself know that when students are motivated and then supported, there is no limit to what is possible. And in closing, I refuse to believe that there won’t be an army of well-meaning individuals ready to help tutor those students to get them back on track.
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