A Case for Adolescents
Current quantitative data and publicity on learning loss related to COVID-19 tends to lean on early grades; by virtue of being closer to entry- than exit-level education, there is admittedly more room and time to develop strategies to narrow pandemic-related learning gaps before losses reach the critical stage.
A dangerous assumption is implied here: that secondary and undergraduate level students are already ‘hard-wired’ enough with foundational language and communication skills, and therefore the gaps created by the pandemic are smaller and less critical.
In reality, a qualitative scan will reveal that most secondary and early undergraduate students have been adversely affected by educational fallout due to the pandemic, and that some have suffered significant learning losses. This could indeed put them in an even more precarious position than elementary and middle school students: the skills and practice required to enter and master post-secondary education have atrophied, and the urgency with which recovery is required is in some respects far more pronounced than in younger students.
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Secondary school graduates tend to struggle to write unique, noteworthy statements in support of their university applications and to apply critical thinking to their own personal narratives. The educational chasm forged by COVID has further augmented these difficulties for many students. One experienced Guidance + University Counsellor reports that
students readily avail themselves of the myriad activities that [schools] offer. For university application purposes, they are able to list them or say, "I did this" – the what – and explain "how I did this." Where they fall short is in the detail of the telling, and through that, the realization and sharing of who they are because of what they did, or why it is significant to them and the wider world.
Engaging a Language + Communication Specialist will serve to bridge the COVID learning gap for senior secondary and early undergraduate students, and also help to make possible the opportunity for university application writing to be more authentic, thereby fostering student preparation for and success in their post-secondary pursuits.
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