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Collected Item: “Numb”

Give your story a title.

Numb

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

video

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

As I gear up to teach high school remotely this fall, many members of my community are demanding "robust" and "rigorous" curriculum with a live daily bell schedule. We have received the opportunity to train on a host of technologies. Conversations are centered around ensuring that students do not fall behind academically. For me, these topics are misguided. How can we teach students rigorous academics without first addressing their emotional well being and the state of their mental health? If we truly want students to learn this year, we need to first focus on who they are and what they need as humans. Only then can true learning occur. Numb, created by Liv McNeil - a 9th grade student in Canada, captures what many of our students are likely experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope that global education systems can prioritize the mental well being of our students over "rigorous" and "robust" curriculum.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#HST580, #ASU, #children, #k-12, remote learning, mental health, wellness, alone, isolated, quarantine, shelter-in-place, social distance

Enter a URL associated with this object, if relevant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSkbd6hRkXo&feature=emb_title

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Liv McNeil

Give this story a date.

2020-06-17
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