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Everyone has an opinion about when and how to reopen schools and continue learning, but has anyone asked the teachers? #schoolsaftercorona
Teachers are closest to the ground realities of the classroom and to the context of their students - their voice must inform any effort to respond to the crisis through policy or recommendations for schools.
We spoke to five sets of government school teachers and boy are we glad we did. Here's what we heard from them:
(i) It's important to prioritise the mental and physical wellbeing of children.
(ii) We need to find creative ways to engage students in learning activities during the lockdown (e.g. re-imagining homework as video submissions).
(iii) Some subjects lend more easily to remote/online learning than others.
(iv) SOPs for re-opening schools must be carefully planned and take into account minor details like collecting and checking student work or other exchange of learning materials.
(v) Academic goals for the upcoming year must be collectively revised to ensure that teachers and children have practical and workable plans to make the most of remaining months.
Many thanks to @MathsSciencePK for initiating the discussion, which also touched upon the role of the teacher, the parents, the school management and the government in continuing education during the pandemic. Look out for a report outlining teachers' recommendations soon!
