On the 13th of March, we hurriedly packed the students off home with their iPad, some maths manipulatives and their literacy folders.
Lockdown was in place and school was shut.
Eight weeks later and the classroom is ready for their return.... But are we ready?
The response here in Switzerland to close schools was met with mixed reactions at my school. Teachers had to rapidly up-skill to be able to deliver lessons remotely and parents had to navigate a whole new world of home learning. Initially, some colleagues were overwhelmed. They had to organise class meetings online, meet virtually as a team to brainstorm and plan while trying to cope with the other recommendations associated with the lockdown. Parents panicked with the expectations from school and how they would motivate their children to engage with this new normal.
In the weeks that followed teachers, parents and students all became proficient in online learning. Of course, there were varying degrees of success with the newly named CLP or ‘Continuous Learning Program’. The students had the advantage of using a familiar application to record their work which greatly helped their transition to home learning. However, home learning did bring challenges for some. It was essential that everyone learned the importance of being patient and taking turns in the online environment. This is challenging for 7-year-olds who are very much used to sharing their thoughts if and when they please. The home dynamics also challenged some students as their parents took on a teaching role overnight. This brought challenges for the teachers as they were faced with student work which was submitted without parental intervention and student work that clearly was.
I think by week three everyone involved with student learning had realised that in extreme circumstances we required some understanding. It was no longer necessary for every student to complete every piece of work perfectly. Expectations that students would submit all work online were revised when this was understood to be unsustainable. It became obvious that the relationship between student and parent, student and teacher, teacher and parent must be protected over anything academic. As educators, we know that students will continue to learn regardless. It may be in a different way or over a different period than initially planned but it will still occur. We needed to establish the ‘here and now’ as a time for learning how to be patient, calm and resilient. This was what helped us through the time at home and this will ultimately be essential as we return to school.
After eight weeks of following recommendations to stay home and minimise contact with people outside of your home, it was time to take our first steps out of lockdown. The Swiss government decided that on the 11th of May children who are compulsory school age shall return to school. So now begins the next step in the process. On Friday the 8th of May myself and my colleagues were faced with the task of preparing the classrooms. Different people reacted in different ways to return to school. Some were not present due to being in the risk category for COVID-19. The rest fell into two groups, one group who were eager to return and start having some normality returned to their lives and the other group who were anxious about coming into contact with others. COVID-19 is still a huge risk in Switzerland as ‘Herd Immunity’ has not been reached yet.
In my school, we have followed the Zurich Cantonal guidelines. There is a one-way system in place for students to arrive and depart from school. Arrival and departure times are staggered to ensure social distancing when entering the building. The classroom has been organised with all non-essential items being removed. Carpets, cushions and excess equipment have been packed up to free up classroom space and to ease the cleaning of those areas. Tables have been separated and each table has been assigned to two students and labelled to that effect. Students have a tray of their personal learning materials together with pencils, pens and other stationary equipment which they are responsible for and must keep separate. Bathroom and recess breaks are timetabled and staggered. Recess locations have been defined to ensure that class groups do not interact with other groups. It all seems well organised but it also feels alien and clinical.
The practical things are prepared. Now for the preparation of the emotional. The first step was to familiarise everyone with the new environment. Before leaving the classroom on Friday evening we made a small movie of the new setup/routines to try and minimise the impact of walking through the door on Monday.
We have all become accustomed to living day to day within our family groups with little to no contact with others. The exception, of course, is that we have all become more at home with online chat rooms and video meetings to keep us socially connected. These applications have been instrumental in allowing us to maintain relationships outside of the home.
How will we cope with being back face to face?
This next transition could well be the most challenging as we come together but with strict social distancing practices in place. I had an interesting conversation with a student where I was stressing the need for revised expectations when we return to school. This student has anger issues which can lead to him running away. Under our new guidelines, we only have timetabled slots out of class and I needed him to be prepared for this and understand. His response was very positive but then he caught me off guard.
Student - Yes I know that already, Yes I understand… but how are you going to cope?
Me - I’m sorry, what do you mean how will I cope?
Student - Well you know you are going to want to hug me… and you can’t!
Me - You know me too well :)
The outcome was that we established a sign to show that either I was sending him a hug or that he was asking for a hug. Our new normal…
I wonder what other little flexible strategies we will need to employ with our students? I think I will write about that next time.
Comments