While almost everyone is away from school and work, I urge you to take some of your free time to (re)watch Spider-Man: Homecoming.
I think its opening scenes demonstrate well what the world is now facing, but also some of the challenges that are likely to arise. No, we haven’t had half our population “blipped” out of existence for five years, but I don’t think it is a stretch to say that this spring will be as close as we’re likely to come to such a strange experience. At count, only a few states have suggested that schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year, but I think that any reasonable person can expect that to expand to almost everywhere in the United States, as well as abroad.
I’m not going to pretend to have the answers, because I think that the response of schools and colleges to this pandemic has barely begun to scratch the surface of the problems we are facing. ACT and SAT administrations have been cancelled, the AP tests are in doubt (and, for a number of reasons, practically impossible given the circumstances), and anyone planning on visiting colleges over their spring break is not going anywhere. Spring athletics are probably not going to happen, and anyone interested in being recruited is suddenly facing some major problems because of it.
Rereading the last paragraph, part of me wants to delete it and write something more cheerful and encouraging. But, in honesty, I can’t. Indeed, I don’t think anything I have ever written on here is helpful in this particular situation, except my basic mantra: don’t panic.
I have a number of concerns, both as a parent and as a former teacher, about the relatively ineffectiveness with which schools can operate online.
Teachers have not been trained and, frankly, the nation does not have the resources to make it work everywhere. There are classes, particularly in the sciences, where no amount of video can replace the skills needed for future lab work. And I know enough students and parents not to trust anyone to stick to anything remotely resembling a normal schedule. So, at the risk of being a Debbie Downer, I don’t think much learning is going to be taking place over the next few months. But, to be honest, that’s okay.
In the Spiderman movie I recommended to you above, students who blipped back into existence were forced to start the school year over, even though they’d blipped out halfway through it. I don’t expect that to happen, but I also don’t think it’s a terrible idea, for a wide variety of reasons. That’s not what I’m here to write about anyway, although if anyone from a department of education happens to be reading, I’m full of helpful ideas. Rather, my point is this: in Spiderman, after the blip, there are massive disruptions, but everything seems to work out. Someone blips back into what they once considered their apartment? Yeah, someone’s going to be displaced, but there are people willing to help. You end up having to redo part of a year of school? OK, worse things have happened. In real life, if sports cancellation is an issue? We’ll all have a chance to boo the Houston Astros eventually and that college scout will eventually see you when we have something resembling competitive sports, even if it is not this spring.
Life will recover. We’re going to be okay.
What does that mean for college admissions?
I have no idea. And, I’ll totally admit, that worried me. Until I realized something: no one else, from the Dean of Admissions at Harvard to the newest, most clueless high school guidance counselor, knows either.
If you’re a senior this year, odds are you’re going to college in the fall. Your senior slide just got a bit more formal, and you might miss out on prom and graduation, both of which are terrible moments to miss. You’ll live.
But, if you’re a junior, and you don’t know what to do about testing, or how you can possibly get ready for the Fall, or who will do your letters of recommendation, or anything else, guess what? We’re in this boat together. I have some theories, based on experience, but we don’t know how long our social distancing is really going to last, when or if school will restart, and how different colleges are going to react. Schools that required SAT subject tests in the past? They’re probably not going to be able to. Early application? Might not be possible the same way next year. We’ll have to see. But, unlike many things in life, literally no one has an advantage right now.
As soon as I get a better sense of what admissions is going to look like next year, I’ll let you know. Until then, try to chill out. Read a book that you only skimmed for class. Watch a few movies. Try not to touch your face. Don’t drive your parents crazy. Or, let’s be honest, more crazy. Wash your hands. And don’t sweat the small stuff about admissions, because right now, comparatively speaking, it's all small stuff. Finally, if you have questions, or need help with homework, feel free to reach out to me and I’ll try to do what I can!