Education at this time of the pandemic
THE COVID-19 pandemic means education may never be the same again. As the dreaded virus spreads its tentacles across the world, concern over a potential second outbreak has disrupted traditional schooling practices.
The usual face-to-face set up where learners go to school to learn will no longer be the case. All schools in the country will have to shift to remote or distance learning forcing the adoption of online and other learning modalities in providing learning continuity for students. As a result, educators are now beset with challenges which include difficulties and limitations posed by the use of technology in the classroom. However, this should not prevent or discourage teachers from using technology. Every teacher has to try. Otherwise, teachers will lose their relevance in this digital age.
In the new normal, teachers must transform how they teach by leveraging technology to create a different role for themselves in the classrooms. Every teacher should feel the emerging sense of obligation to learn technology and explore ways to integrate it into his or her pedagogy. Instead of using class time to spoon-feed information, technology will help educators use their time with students to advance problemsolving, communication and collaboration— exactly the type of higher-order skills that leading education specialists say should be the goals of education for today’s world. Autonomous learning requires that teachers shift to be designers and facilitators of learning instead of the sage on the stage.
As educators, our role is to break down walls or barriers that prevent students from accessing and enjoying high-quality education. So, in this new normal, let us always uphold the right to high-quality education by providing multiple pathways to learning that can accommodate every student.
By the same token, students need to build up a character of interdependence, discipline and responsibility. Along the same lines, the current learning-from-home practices should gear parents to be a beacon of these character values instead of extended academic tutors for their children.
Needless to say, the Covid-19 crisis presents an opportunity for all education stakeholders to come together, forge connections and share what works. Education is not the work of teachers alone. Collaboration and partnership play crucial roles in sustaining learning at this time of the pandemic. Teachers, parents, school leaders, and external partners have to work together to address the many challenging issues of remote learning. In the end, collaboration makes life’s challenges—not necessarily easier but more bearable.