FRANKLIN — At Franklin Middle School, a rattled and tearful eighth grader knocks on the office door of Oriana Filiault, a social worker whose job includes helping kids navigate social and emotional quagmires - which might not have seemed so sticky before COVID interrupted in-person learning.
Across the county, the pandemic froze the social and emotional skill building that normally takes place in schools – leaving a chasm of reduced coping, a draught of empathy, and a harsher and blunter social world where almost anything goes between peers. Seven months after the return to full-time, in-person classes, meals and recess, it’s still hard for some kids to feel welcome, connected and comfortable.
“This is the student I need to turn the lights down for,” said Filiault, a social worker for more than 20 years. The student seeking her counsel and a refuge is feeling battered and overwhelmed by taunts from two girls who have also upped their attacks on Twitter and Snapchat. It’s not an isolated occurrence. Nor is she the only victim of intensified social assaults. Subtle or overt, a culture and attitude shift is gripping many schools post-COVID, and making it tougher for students to learn.
“It’s my job to help my students manage all the other things that get in the way of being able to learn,” said Filiault. “All these things that are rolling around in their heads that make it impossible to concentrate, because life is so stressful.” Many of these stressors ballooned in COVID’s isolation and now overshadow students of different ages....