I would start my story with the fourth term of the last academic year. It was a chaos. Nobody – children, their parents, teachers and even the school management – knew what to do. I don’t think we should blame anyone, because it was no one’s fault. In this chaos students and teachers loosened up, because national and external exams were cancelled. The fourth term was held under the slogan “Relax”. Summer was a great time for the Ministry of Education and the school management to understand what to do next.
Another challenge faced by teachers was to present the 40-minutes material within 20 minutes during online classes. Children should not sit in front of computers for more than twenty minutes, as they quickly get tired.
We were prepared for this academic year. The impact of the pandemic had its pros and cons. The big disadvantage is that children were much more focused in school during regular education, because they had a daily routine: get up, get ready, have breakfast, come to school and study according to the schedule. Teachers could control them. Another disadvantage is that the level of knowledge dropped during online learning. Children have lost their motivation to learn, they are now in their comfort zone: at home, in their room, and their perception of us as teachers has changed. Less contact with children is one more cons of online classes. Many students are not involved in the class, they do not answer questions. The reasons are manifold: someone is afraid to interrupt, someone's younger brothers or sisters are making noise, and someone simply does not want a lot of attention.
Online classes are comfortable for victims of bullying in school. This is, of course, one of the pros of online learning. Despite this, every child, regardless of whether he is an introvert or an extrovert, needs to communicate with peers. Family relationships have benefited from online learning: children and their parents have grown closer to each other. Teachers have grown closer to their families too.
Unfortunately, our grading system does not allow controlling children. At some universities, the mark consists of several parts: attendance, answers to questions and involvement. We apply summative and formative assessment. This method of assessment does not enable teachers to engage children to the full extent. Students do not receive marks every day, and online classes make them even more relaxed. They may do nothing for the entire term.
Teachers’ motivation also decreased. Like students, teachers struggle with the urge to lie down, watch TV shows, or do household chores. After all, when you work from home, you are more involved in your household’s everyday life. But you also need to prepare for the class. It seems to me that it is too early to talk about the impact of the pandemic; we will see it clearer in a few years.
