To return or not: the tough question for parents with school-going children
Education only for a few, virus is showing
At a door of a convenience store, I stood behind two pupils who intimated to the security guard that they did not really need masks to enter the shop. “This coco does not affect us young ones,” one bellowed arrogantly, much to the amazement of the dreamy security guard who stared at them befuddled. They giggled carelessly at their invincibility as I sauntered down the aisle suffocating in my own mask. I thought about the impending reopening of all schools by the Department of Education and, like all parents, reflected on my confused state; whether I wanted to send my child back to school or not.
Almost all the provincial health MECS have not painted a positive picture as bleak statistics continue to fill our records. The MEC in Gauteng, Dr Bandile Masuku, was quoted saying that a surge in Gauteng COVID-19 infections is expected as the number of active cases has doubled in one week. We are still climbing towards the peak, as the number of deaths is also mounting. Yet what COVID-19 has certainly done in communities worldwide is to sow uncertainty that sometimes make us lose focus as we figure out what needs to be done.
We now know that children do not die from COVID-19 or spread it – according to the South African Paediatric Association. Few parents would want to believe this, though, as health experts find schools to be far safer than many places in society, including homes. This information may be comforting to some parents who will send their kids to schools in full taxis.
Only last Monday, it was reported that South Africa has reported 83 cases of infected children who are 10 years old and under. One thinks of teachers in this hurly-burly environment who remain vulnerable as doctors say many infected children may be asymptomatic
Teachers, many of whom may have existing conditions, might not feel safe in this environment. Teacher unions are still concerned that many schools, especially, those in deep rural areas, do not have enough personal protective equipment and have not been sanitised. It may be hazardous for many of these schools to open their gates. This only adds to the uncertainly.
Numerous parents have come to realise they need to learn ways of supporting their children at home, yet not all schools or families are able to provide this online support for pupils. In fact, the pandemic has magnified the differences between the haves and the have-nots. Furthermore, how difficult it is for the children to practise social distancing when we know that real education is very social and children are very tactile.
Many families are confronted with having their children at home with no learning taking place should they decide not to send their children to school. It may be fine for parents with the necessary resources such as tablets and personal computers, but several families out there do not have the necessary implements.
COVID-19 is slowly showing us by default that education is only for a few. Those families without the right tools cannot manage to keep their children at home. There have also been huge debates about home schooling versus home education. Numerous people have complained about home schooling because of its emphasis on finishing the syllabus, tasks and tests. All these are crucial because they embrace what all schools are about and this includes teaching, learning and evaluation.
Yet some believe that we should prefer home education to home schooling because the former is about the actual learning, about the necessary aspects that pupils should glean from the teaching and learning process. Effective education is supposed to instill critical thinking and a meaningful pedagogic encounter. Critics state that home education is ideal because it stresses knowledge acquisition rather than merely pushing for the completion of the syllabi. Yet even this needs the empowerment of all parents.
We should all not lose this opportunity to equip all families, preparing them for the POST-COVID-19 period. Maybe education can find the pandemic a boon in this regard because we always need to find opportunities, even in adverse situations. We are aware of all these dynamics as we anticipate the reopening of schools.
The fears of families and communities are real, though we know that not all of these can be addressed. We want education for all our children because education matters.
Like all concerned teacher unions, we wish that all our schools would be ready for learning and teaching.
• Professor Msila is a director at Unisa’s department of leadership and transformation. He writes in his personal capacity.