Rethinking the educational ecology in the wake of COVID: Intellectual solidarity, teacher prestige, and educational humanization

Abstract

In this conceptual article, the authors examine changes to the United States educational ecology during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article draws on contemporary and historical research to critique how K–12 school policies and educational leadership decisions are made amidst a crisis. As schools and districts continue to navigate a shifting educational context, teachers are often left out of the discussion. The authors set out to argue that teachers should be at the center of any plan to move forward and that support for teachers and humanizing approaches to teaching and learning should be at the forefront of any change. Drawing on theories of an educational ecology, the authors investigate how this moment of rapid change might be leveraged, through their exploration of future-oriented educational policies. In doing so, they highlight key areas of the educational ecology with the most potential to (re)humanize teachers' work and support the well-being of students. These include creating policies and systems of preparation and support for historically marginalized groups of teachers, advocating for a more human-centered curriculum, and taking a cautious approach to the presence of technology for instructional and pedagogical purposes. The authors conclude with a call for intellectual solidarity, increases in teacher prestige, and new visions of accountability, ideology, curriculum, and human exchange.