Chris Lehmann (Practical Theory)“What is the least bad thing we can do?” is, in some ways, a darker version of “What is the worst consequence of my best idea?” which is a concept we’ve used at SLA for years to make sure we stayed humble and never fell in love with an idea without examining unintended consequences or questioning who is privileged by it or what will go wrong, even if the overall concept goes right. “Least bad” is a recognition that whatever we do right now to move schools into an online version of themselves, it’s not the way we should do it under any normal circumstances, and what it becomes, then, is perhaps our own educational Hippocratic oath to remind us that so much of what we’re about to do is triage.
Chris Lehmann suggests that in the time of coronavirus our focus should be on the ‘least bad decision’. This includes teaching the child, remembering that online learning is not automatic, simplify assignments, rethinking assessments, doubling up on feedback and remembering the purpose of it all.