How COVID-19 Affects the Youngest Learners

November 09, 2021

By Nancy Mugele

NAIS

The formative years in a student’s academic journey are incredibly important. A longitudinal research study of more than 30,000 kindergarteners through eighth graders by the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education demonstrates that the steepest learning occurs before third grade. Those critical years build a solid foundation from which all growth and depth in learning begins. But because of the pandemic, our youngest learners have been disrupted for three academic years, and that’s concerning for long-term academic success.
 
The return to school has been a challenging transition for adults and children alike. Because of school closures and parental choices to keep children home, many young children have never experienced the wonderful, noisy, creative, joyful life of a school. At Kent School (MD), where I am the head of school and oversee a preschool and lower division of just over 100 children, many young students did not begin this academic year with the stamina or the skills to learn in a busy classroom setting with other children.
 
While the media and educators are paying the most attention to older students’ social and emotional well-being, particularly because of the increasing rates of anxiety and depression, we may have forgotten that our very youngest learners also need support and help in unexpected ways. We noticed right away during the first few days of school that there was a significant increase in young students’ separation anxiety from parents. Our students expected and demanded instant gratification and were often impatient and frustrated. They were having trouble with some basic skills like sharing and waiting their turn.
 
We realized quickly that we need to teach children the social skills of how to learn in a group, listen to others, be a good friend, and navigate transition times between activities. The developmental pace of almost everything related to our youngest learners has slowed, and the transition to school life is taking longer. We have had to be flexible, patient, and ready to teach skills that students would normally come to school possessing.

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