Making Meaning in the Time of COVID: Interviews with Education Leaders

With so much uncertainty and so little time to reflect, young people across the country— and the adults who care for them— are asking: how can I make meaning of the COVID crisis? As part of our ongoing curation of COVID resources, the SoLD Alliance interviewed education leaders to learn how the science of learning and development can be used to navigate this pandemic and its implications for young people, their communities and the systems that surround them.

“Relationships are the Glue” with Linda Darling-Hammond

“We Need Congress to Step Up” with John B. King

“Designing Learning Settings” with Pamela Cantor, M.D.

We also asked Karen Pittman (Forum for Youth Investment), Zaretta Hammond (author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain), Gisele Shorter (Raikes Foundation) and Cynthia Leck (Transcend Education) about the strengths young people are bringing to this crisis, what concrete advice they’d give for navigating COVID and how to use the science of learning and development to tackle issues right around the corner.

• More Than Just Caring: A Discussion with Karen Pittman about How to Equip Young People with the Right Set of Skills to Succeed

• Parents Are The First Teachers: A Discussion with Zaretta Hammond

• Comfort, Solace and Wholeness: A Conversation with Gisele C. Shorter about How Educators and Students Can Jointly Process and Grow from a Crisis

• Creatively Connected: A Conversation with Cynthia Leck

• Cultivating Trusted Relationships: A Conversation with Rob Jagers

• The 3R’s—Relationships, Routines, Resilience: A Conversation with Pamela Cantor, M.D.

• Creativity Matters: A Conversation with David Osher

• Prepping for Re-Opening: A Conversation with Lizzette Reynolds

• A Holistic and Integrated Approach: A Conversation with Scott Hartl

• Developing the Learner: A Conversation with Brigid Ahern

Stay tuned for more resources and interviews to come. If you’d like to participate or help in any way, please email Samantha Kobbah at samantha.kobbah@educationcounsel.com.