B’DOS NOT READY FOR E-LEARNING

Online teaching in the public school system is far from ready to be rolled out. This is the consensus of many of the teachers who are trying to make the most of the situation under the current COVID-19 pandemic.

With the third and final school term of this academic year scheduled to have begun earlier this month, the shutdown of businesses, the 24-hour curfew and the efforts at social distancing have made the return to schools across the island impossible. Several other countries across the world have made the move to online teaching, but for more reasons than one, that approach is improbable at present in Barbados.

With The Barbados Advocate reaching out to several teachers over the past few days as arrangements move forward to have all schools under the Ministry of Education fall in line with the distance teaching, the narrative remains the same, Barbados is just not ready.

First and foremost comes the issue of accessibility. With the Government opting to use Google’s G Suite software for the interface, there remain many households which do not have access to an adequate number of devices, or the internet or electricity for that matter. This sees many children already at a major disadvantage as they are handicapped by not having the basic needs to learn.

In a recent correspondence from the Democratic Labour Party, it was suggested that teachers be categorised as essential workers, giving them the freedom to move around during the curfew that they may access their teaching resources from their respective schools, which is necessary. The letter went on to say that the free movement would also allow them the ability to visit the homes of students, who along with their parents or guardians, would need assistance as the introduction to distance learning would not be a smooth transition for all. However, none of the teachers thought the idea to be a good one as it defeated the purpose of staying at home as they could put either household at risk.

With the move being referred to as a knee-jerk response and not being completely thought through, many of the teachers are of the view that ‘chalk and talk’ face-to-face teaching has been a staple and has many benefits. However, with the situation being what it is, there are those who do not have the capacity to make a smooth transition. “Those who are quick learners are easily adaptable to different measures, but for those who aren’t, the physical contact helps immensely. How are you going to do that when your only point of contact is a computer?” one teacher said as he spoke of both teachers and students.

For some, the necessary adjustments have been hard and some teachers are bemoaning the training which has been grossly over-subscribed and insufficient in most cases, forcing some to learn on their own and share what tricks and tips they pick up along the way. The device availability issue comes to roost at the homes of teachers who have children of their own, while the super-vision of students becomes questionable for parents who are teachers as well as essential workers.

There is a silver lining as one teacher said that those who were creative and understand the technology can create useful and fun learning experiences for the pupils. In time, distance teaching could become the way of the future, however, rushing to make it the standard in an unprecedented situation where the entire globe has come to a screeching halt seems impractical.

The consensus is that instead of rushing, the implementation should be more organic. Take the time to train the teachers and students, and work out the teething issues. In the meantime at home, teach children practical life skills.

One of the most vocal teachers said that although she was up to scratch and trained as she is more technologically savvy, she knew that the island was not ready for the move on the technological or social front. “We are not ready across the board and it is not Ministry’s fault or any one entity’s fault. We as an island and as a people are not ready for e-learning. Whenever the next school year can start, because I can’t say September because we don’t know what will happen, I honestly feel like we need to start from where we stopped. They can choose to send up the children to the next class, keep them in the same year-level – that is unimportant to me. But we need to start where we stopped and then continue. I am most concerned about what is going to happen once we get back to school,” she said.

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