In a pandemic like COVID-19, clean information is vital that is fact-based and accurate. The COVID-19 outbreak and the consequent lockdown have thrown at schools challenges they have never faced before. Several studies of COVID-19 hint that children are less likely to catch the coronavirus, and don’t often transmit it to others. Relying on these scant data and the reassuring knowledge that very few children get severely ill from COVID-19, some governments are beginning to reopen schools. As parents and teachers know all too well, children excel at catching and sharing germs, from influenza to common colds, even when they don’t feel very sick themselves. Far less is known about the risk posed by infected children with few or no symptoms.
Access to learning is one thing but access to quality learning another. It’s important Not to worry about curriculum learning outcomes this year. We need this information to safely plan for return to school and work and play, without it, we’re completely in the dark. Reopening schools will likely accelerate transmission
The digital divide could be disadvantageous for some students. Are the platforms for discernment of knowledge equally viable for and accessible to private and government schools? Whatever the schools are doing right now- be it online classes or other activities--is possibly the best, but still not enough and, so, everyone is looking forward to the opening of schools again. Nevertheless to forget how much our teachers are trained for the online interaction with the students regarding the academics. Moreover our teachers and students are all not equipped with the internet and the computers needed for the online classes. Not everyone is privileged to afford the digital learning. This year should not be about academics only; overall growth must be focused on--there is a social and emotional, and not just academic, aspect to school. Sometimes taking two steps back is better than rushing ahead.
The issues of accessibility of education can only be attained by involving fun and interaction between the teachers and students. The educator’s classes can only be successful when the students respond and ask questions. What they are doing or not is not the question; they must also find out what is working and what is not. As an educator for years, I feel the need of the hour is to ensure children have social, emotional learning, a learning of household chores, bonding of families, and how to cope with uncertain situations, which children are learning at home right now. Children’s health and safety are most important, so schools can be opened later when the situation is under control.
People generally believe that if the school is closed then children are not learning anything. But as a result of the present situation, time should now be devoted to finding out what children have actually learnt, especially about coping with life when there is uncertainty in the family. These are the things which we don’t teach in schools; this is a period where teachers have to learn from students. It depends on reconnecting--as human beings--with each other. It is important because different children will have different experiences to share. It’s so much important to “Not” to rush but to take a few steps back to make the foundation strong.
Right now parents irrespective of different strata they belong to have a sense that since schools are closed they are supposed to do something more for their child’s learning. I feel this is not the year for accelerating curriculum. This is a year for settling down, taking care of things around us and strengthening our base because we don't know what lies ahead. It is time to ensure basic health and nutrition and to do some exercise because then you are broadly ready for anything that comes at you. An alarming number of parents appear to have little confidence in their ability to "teach" their children. We should help parents understand the overriding importance of incidental teaching in the context of warm, consistent companionship.
Therefore, closeness between school and home has to be established, and not just for academic purposes, but also to help the child grow in his or her entirety. The biggest resource that parents have is their own experiences, education & the ability to help children in whatever way they can. The government funding might get cut down in this economic recession and we will need more local resources in future; for this a strong community of parents should be seen as a resource that can add value to school. Schools should look at parents as an extra hand and not a liability.
When you open schools, open them in a new way that they become a place where information for family is available. Children are learning even at home. Education should help build a skill-base, not just the text book education (or curriculum). Today, children are learning household work, which is also very important. They are working on maintaining good health and hygiene, and most importantly, are getting to know the importance of family. A lot of interaction should happen between school and parents about broader subjects such as family hygiene and health and the importance of nutrition.
What is the rush? Schools are not going to fetch the money states need--like in case of excise duty from liquor shops. To me, it is not a problem if the schools are the last to open. Children’s health and safety being the prime concern, the syllabus can be cut down and more attention paid to their emotional needs. More of activity-based learning, and learning by doing should be deployed. Even if we start schools a bit late, our connection with students and involving parents can work out well. The challenge is to design an education system that delivers effective learning while protecting staff and students. A robust reopening plan must include all these hygiene measures. School weeks could also be shortened and different groups of students can attend on different days throughout the week. School transport will need reorganization. To understand how to live with the virus, it seems important to help everyone to understand that a new balance will be established – not by the virus disappearing, but by limiting its transmission.
Why should children be penalized for the current crisis? In the longer term, this means there is a need for education systems to be set up with contingency capacities to mitigate and manage risk in the future.
Let’s concentrate on more of family and less of school, more of parents and less of peers, more creative freedom and less formal lessons. We urgently need to support teachers, parents/caregivers, innovators, communications experts and all those who are positioned to provide education, whether through radio programs, home-schooling, online learning and other innovative approaches. This requires innovation and creativity to enhance remote learning tools, services and education. Priority should be to provide and deploy funding and use our in-built agility and emergency-design to respond quickly to education needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.