Access.
If there is one thing this pandemic has done for education, it has shone a bright spotlight on the gaps in access that our young adults have to the education pathways that lead them to the future they envision.
Access is a complex term. Some young adults go to high schools that are relatively small. They have access to great teachers f2f, but with few students, options for the choice of courses may be limited.
Remote areas may not have access to infrastructure.
Some children don’t have access to mobile devices for learning. Others are living in places where values and culture do not align with internet access.
The public school system should provide opportunities for success regardless of genetics and geography. How, then, as we move to more online learning opportunities, can we ensure equity of opportunity for access to all young adults?
Here in Manitoba, we have a history of offering “telephone school” to students unable to access the opportunities to take high school courses in areas they need for their career pathway, or in subjects that they are passionate about. The Teacher Mediated Option – TMO – provides course materials in a format that is accessible to the student, and access to a teacher who both teaches and supports the student(s) by telephone.
Now that so many educators are working to teach children who don’t have basic internet access, what can we share about our experience doing this work?
Over the next 4 weeks, Pine Creek School Division TMO teachers, students and administrators will share their story on VoicEd Radio. Join us at 11 a.m. CDT each Friday as we talk about what it takes to reach and teach all of our young adults in rural and remote Manitoba.
How can we help you reach, teach, inspire and empower EVERY child in your school division?
Feel free to ask questions here, or on Twitter @fryed
Listen to the first episode here.
Featured image by Quino Al
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