I just came across another of those grim new words for 2020: “doomscrolling.” According to Wikipedia, this is “the act of consuming an endless procession of negative online news.” Ugh. Where, you may be asking, is the good news?

The good news is that the good news is everywhere! The deep and layered pain and hardship induced by the spread of Covid-19 worldwide notwithstanding, the pandemic’s context has also unleashed a wave of innovation in all sectors of society, and especially in education. There are also changes in social norms afoot, as well as redirected priorities, policies, and perspectives.

Here are just a few examples I’ve come across of the unexpected “silver linings” that have accompanied the pandemic:

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Instead of taking place at school, the Food Prints program from Fresh Farm is supporting kids cooking at home with their parents. Cool! I often wonder how to get kids to “take home” a farm to school activity like this, and now we’ve figured out how to beam that learning right into the home kitchen.
Shelburne Farms professional learning programs have a “special sauce” that includes an amazing setting that attends to the emotional and physical needs of participants. They have been learning that people felt some of the same magic even when attending virtually. Now they are rethinking their model for scaling up and reaching audiences who have been unable to access these opportunities in the past. Excellent!
Our very local ReTribe Forest School has their longest waiting list ever. Parents are recognizing the importance of getting kids outside for wild play, whatever the weather. I can hear their singing and shouting from my window. Ah, the sounds of childhood freedom.
One of our current clients, The Keene Public Library, made some unexpected discoveries about their grant-funded program bringing STEM thinking to 2- to 6- year olds via making and tinkering activities. The pandemic forced them to turn their In-Library program into a virtual At-Home model. Last week, the Director of Engagement, Outreach, and Youth Services said, “We would never go back to only doing it in-person. I don't think parents got a sense of why we were doing the programs when they came into the library and did the programs.” Don’t you just love libraries?
Outdoor classrooms are popping up in public schools everywhere! May they live long and serve many students, well after this disaster is behind us.
Kellyanne Conway (president’s adviser) was talking to Betsy Devos (Secretary of Education) about best practices and then told reporters (4:23) “Some folks are saying let’s just do more outside instruction, get the kids outside with nature.” Something we agree on? That was unexpected!
In Whatcom County, Washington, three districts spanning urban to rural have adopted an innovative new outdoor enrichment program involving 13 Community-Based Organizations which are coordinating to address emergent needs. This model of partnership is a powerful example of how multi-sector outdoor learning collaborations are increasing access to online learning, child care, meals, and social and emotional support for young people. Way to collaborate! Seize this moment to build the movement.

As an evaluator, I’m actually experiencing a little panic. Wait, is anyone measuring all this? What’s working and why? How do we capture and disseminate effective practices quickly? This is a national emergency! Our teachers and trainers on the front lines need information now, not when we’ve written a grant to study it and publish a report five years later. Things are emerging and evolving at an unprecedented rate. We’ve gotta move, people!

We at PEER have the wheels in motion for making this work spring into action. Care to collaborate with us? Know a forward thinking funder who might like to do so? Have any pandemic lemonade to add to ours? Drop us a line sometime. Stay safe and well.

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By Andrew Powers (Andrew@PEERassociates.net)

Good News Everywhere!