MEMPHIS, Tennessee — The back and forth of online learning and in-person instruction this year is not easy for students.
For a few weeks they’re engaged with their teacher and next they’re learning virtually.
“Kids thrive on routine," said Brain Galvin of Varsity Tutors. "Every kid knows exactly what time the bell rings. It’s not 11:30ish it’s 11:32.”
This year has proven to be a challenging one for students.
“The things that are shaking them up, not knowing what to expect day to day it adds a little apprehension," said Galvin. "Just that kind of cognitive load of having to think about you know what do I do at different times detracts a little bit from their ability to focus on what they're learning.”
Galvin said he’s seeing a higher volume of parents reaching out for services, about triple than what’s usual for this time of year.
School districts across the country have reported that the number of students failing classes has risen by as much as two or three times.
“Critical skills that normally 10-20% of students are behind on now is more like 50-60% of students,” Galvin said.
But there's a way to catch up.
When it comes to closing learning gaps the earlier families act, the better.
“One of the skills we’ve seen kids struggle a lot with is finding common denominators and adding and subtracting fractions," said Galvin. "It really comes down to factoring. Well, factoring is big for Algebra. If you don’t shore up that factoring deficiency now then it’s a multi-year problem.”
Tutors also said in order to keep weary students engaged during the day, make the most out of break times. For instance, talking with friends via phone during lunch or taking enrichment classes.