The Retro Report film “Loneliness Is on the Rise. Are Closer Neighbors a Solution?” (Transcript) challenged my thinking both as a community member and as a teacher. After viewing the film and learning about the health risks linked to social isolation, I started looking around my community and classroom with a new focus. 

While walking in my traditional suburban neighborhood, I realized that there were basketball hoops in many driveways. I watched a child practicing alone, while two doors down, another child was doing the same. I asked myself why they didn’t play together, and then, why don’t we just have a hoop in the cul-de-sac for all the kids to use? Next, I walked past the house of a dear woman who lost her husband over a year ago and asked if she had had any company lately. This film made me realize that a community is more than a ZIP code.

In my classroom I wondered if any students, surrounded by others, felt alone. I strive to make my classroom welcoming, friendly, supportive and exciting, but you can be lonely in a crowd. Next, I pondered my online learners.  I have never seen a few of them. Are they lonely or isolated? Or are they working hours at a store, caring for a loved one or excelling at a sport, so the online learning setting gives them the flexibility needed to reach their highest potential? How can I better connect with these learners?

There are endless ways to use this film, and while the lesson is a great starting point, I am sure teachers will be able to adapt it for their community of learners.

JENNIFER KLEIN is an AP Government and Politics teacher at Fox Chapel Area High School in Pittsburgh. She is a member of the Retro Report Council of Educators.

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