For most of us, as soon as we roll out of the bed, the day starts with checking smartphones or laptops to keep up with the news, placing an order for breakfast, setting up online classes for children or connecting with our colleagues.
In short, what passes for normal life now happens almost entirely online. Developers both in public and private sectors have been mobilised and engaged in designing new apps and services to suit work from home.
More and more activities including communications, entertainment, and social interaction — all have gone online. Educational institutions around the world have had to adjust their teaching to be carried out through remote learning.
All these are happening as a result of Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent movement restrictions including lockdowns!
After facing the biggest ever challenge during the recent months, policymakers and authorities are slowly reopening activities with expectations of injecting life into their economies shattered by the pandemic. So are the decisions to open educational institutions, even though it is a new integration of residential and online learning in countries including Oman.
Everyone in the education system, especially our children who have been missing the classroom for several months, up to a big extent, will savour again the experience of face-to-face classes. Parents, on the other hand, are anxious and apprehensive.
And for teachers, they have to balance teaching with a virus-familiar behaviour!
While experts are of the opinion that the long closure of schools has adversely affected the learning abilities of children, my friend, who has two high school level children, reacted by saying, “seclusion of months is going to end soon. It is a relief for us the parents and children although the Covid-19 scare still persists”.
While schools are set to reopen even as the education system will be blended, all measures must be taken to prevent transmission of Covid-19. Reopening of schools must be guided by careful risk analysis and epidemiological factors.
Although a section of the parents and teachers support reopening of school, we should not forget the fact that a lot of parents are opposed to the idea.
Schools may adopt one or more approaches during the course of the school year and pandemic. Being prepared for a variety of schooling environments can empower you and your child and reduce anxiety.
It’s important to make sure that managements are proactively implementing every plan and measure needed to keep the children safe while at school. They should take all necessary steps, if need be, a parents-teachers committee should be formed to ensure that precautionary measures are followed in the compounds.
Social distancing is still very important. The most likely way for Covid-19 to spread is from person to person — primarily between people who come into close contact with one another.
Wearing a mask helps contain any potentially infectious respiratory droplets that may be released while breathing, talking or coughing — especially when social distancing is more challenging and even if the person doesn’t yet know they’re sick.
Although surface-to-person transmission isn’t the primary way the virus spreads, parents, on the other hand, must encourage their wards to practice hand-washing at home and explain why it’s important to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before and after eating,
Covid-19 symptoms must be monitored and antigen tests must be conducted at schools. When it comes to how we work and how we learn, I don’t think we will return to the pre-pandemic status quo. Still, we can win and feel assured that our children are safe provided we follow the precautionary measures – both at home and school!
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