So here we are, at the beginning of a new school year, and at the beginning of an entirely new world of schooling that nobody expected to be in. The Covid-19 pandemic that has forced people into quarantine and isolation, shuttered businesses, halted travel as we know it, sent economies tumbling, and brought healthcare systems around the world to their knees has wrapped its ugly tentacles around the education sector as well. Schools scrambled to put together or obtain IT systems and platforms to conduct classes in virtual classrooms, students braced themselves for a new method of learning that they were suddenly forced into, parents tried to wrap their heads around what this “stay-at-home learning” would mean for their family routines and schedules, and governments struggled to craft policies to deal with all the issues that they were suddenly bombarded with from all the different stakeholders. This “new normal” was something nobody wanted, but is something we all suddenly have to deal with.
My own daughters just began their school year this week. Thankfully, their school designated this first week as a sort of “trial week” where we – faculty, parents, and students – could explore and ease our way into this new world of eLearning. The challenges were bound to be numerous: How effectively would teachers interact with kids through a computer screen? How efficiently would these teachers be able to manage their virtual classrooms? How easy would it be for students to focus and stay attuned to the lessons when they were sitting in their homes (typically places of rest and play) instead of in their classrooms? How seamless would the distribution and submission of assignments be? And for parents, especially those like me with young kids, how involved would we have to be? Although the school has made it a point to stress that “parents are not to be the teachers”, how realistic is it to expect kids from Kinder to say Grade 3 or 4 to fend for themselves, so to speak, without an adult around? During normal times, their teachers would be physically present to help them, but given the current circumstances, that is obviously not the case. My wife and I are fortunate that our work allows us to be around for them, but even now, we are already juggling our work schedules to meet our children’s needs. I really feel for parents who simply do not have this “luxury”. And on top of all these, our country’s internet is notorious for being inconsistent during the best of times, and now with literally everyone going online, well, you get the picture.
We just completed Day 3 of this “trial week” and I’m happy and relieved to say that already things are beginning to look up. Of course there were technical difficulties that had to be sorted out, processes and systems to be worked through, and the ever present schedule-juggling will always be there. But the teachers are obviously doing their best to keep their upbeat and positive attitudes so their students are engaged, so far our internet is cooperating, and most importantly, our daughters seem to be enjoying their classes. It’s early days, and I can only hope and pray that as the school year goes on, everybody finds their rhythm and things continue to get better and better.
This “new normal” is definitely not the “ideal normal” and we all look forward to the day that our kids go back to their classrooms, have face-to-face interactions with their teachers, socialize with their classmates and friends (and not through Zoom or some other video-conferencing platform), and get to enjoy the full school experience, warts and all. But until then, we will struggle through this together, navigate through this together, and celebrate the victories together. We will do this for the sake of our children. Because at the end of the day, it is about them, and it is for them.