Foreigners in a familiar land: adapting to the new norms of school life

By Minhee Ho

After more than three months of online learning, students have finally begun their slow return to ordinary life, with May 22nd marking the start of school’s reopening. At the moment, there have been no surges in local COVID cases and the switch from virtual to live lessons appears to have yielded positive results.

However, despite this relatively smooth transition, it would be a stretch to say that school’s reopening has been perfect. Rigorous social distancing protocols and chaotic lunchtimes have led to polarised opinions amongst the student and parent bodies; while some believe the measures are “too strict” and “hinder learning”, others have expressed uncertainty, saying “the school isn’t doing enough” and is operating under the risky assumption that all students and staff are virus-free.

One area, in particular, that has caused quite a commotion amongst the school community is class management.

In accordance with social distancing laws, individuals have been asked to remain one meter apart at all times. However, in many rooms, particularly those situated on the first, second, and third floors, limited space means it’s impossible to fit all students into one area without violating protocol. For this reason, classes are often divided, with about three students sitting outside the room and observing the lesson through a doorway or window.

While in theory, this may seem a good idea, in practice, it has led to several complications. A Year 10 student said, “When I sit at the doorway, I can’t see the slideshow the teacher is projecting. But when I move to the window, I can’t hear anything. I get distracted since other classrooms have their doors open too, so it’s like listening to different classes at the same time.” Parents have also expressed their uncertainty, with a Year 9 mother stating that her child “had to sit in the corridor for three lessons in a row. How will he learn anything when he can’t even see the teacher?”

Obviously, social distancing is essential in ensuring the health of students; however, it is of equal importance that the school acknowledges all students and doesn’t sacrifice individual students’ learning for the benefit of the group.

Another common complaint amongst both students and parents is the lack of lesson plan accommodation.

Group work is a core part of the IB curriculum and has been shown to build collaboration skills and promote critical thinking. However, in this particular situation, it’s become virtually impossible. Strict table and screen arrangements coupled with mandatory mask policies have made it extremely difficult to listen to and converse with others.

“There was one time in Math class where I had to solve some math problems with my table partner,” a Year 9 student shares. “But I had no idea what my partner was saying. Also, since there was the big screen in the middle, it was really hard to read the problems at the same time. If I had the paper on my side, it was hard for my partner to see. If he had it on his side, then I couldn’t see it.”

A Year 9 parent openly stated her opinion on the issue, telling teachers to “scrap the teamwork already” and “change lesson plans according to needs. Don’t ask the children to wear masks all day then force them to have group discussions!”

While it may not be necessary to “scrap” all teamwork as a whole, it’s obvious that the school’s pre-COVID practices are no longer effective and need to be developed to accommodate social distancing.

It isn’t just classrooms that have been suffering from these problems—lunchtimes have also been, as described by a Year 8 student, “a big mess”. Initially, the school released plans for lunch breaks to be divided in half with different year levels each allocated a specific time and place where they could eat. However, due to limited space, things have not gone as planned.

A Year 9 student says, “I was told by my advisor to eat in the undercover area, which was supposed to be for my Year level. But when I went, it was full. A teacher told me to eat in the PAC, which I had heard was supposed to be for the Year 10’s. But when I went there, another teacher said that I wasn’t allowed in since it was for the Year 7’s. In the end, I had to sit on the floor and eat since there was no space anywhere else. There weren’t any screens or anything there, and it was really hot.”

Another parent communicated their unhappiness with the situation, saying, “I would prefer my child only goes to school twice a week but gets to sit inside the classroom and eat lunch at a proper table than go in three times and spend the day like a refugee.”

While “refugee” is certainly an exaggeration, it’s true that lunch plans need to be improved. Having students eat on the floor with no social distancing arrangements or instruction is not an appropriate solution.

However, one of the areas which has arguably been the most affected by the virus, even more than lunch and classroom lessons, is Physical Education. Due to the fact that many sports require some level of contact, or at the very least, close proximity, PE lessons have become very limited. Certain activities, such as basketball and soccer, have been temporarily banned by the school in efforts to prevent potential virus transmission. Lessons have been adapted to fit these requirements, with students performing exercise routines on individual mats, spaced one meter apart. While this plan may seem perfectly reasonable, there are several factors which have aroused scepticism in parents and students.

A Year 8 student said, “I don’t trust the fitness mats since they’re shared by everybody. The teachers said they had wiped them down. By ‘wiping down’, they meant asking students to pass around an antiseptic spray and spray it four times. But four times isn’t enough to cover even half of the mat. We weren’t given any tissues or wipes either. So, like, half the mat is sanitised while the other half is still dirty. And we wear our shoes on the mat sometimes.”

Another student added, “The mats make no sense, since we do ‘team huddles’ to discuss strategies anyways. When we do team huddles, we don’t social distance. Honestly, I wish we could just skip practical and do theory lessons instead.”

These are all problems that must be addressed in order to ensure optimal student learning and safety. However, while acknowledging areas for improvement is essential for development, it’s also important to highlight the school’s successes. A Year 11 parent reported that “the car drop off system has been working really well,” and even suggested to make it a permanent arrangement. We also owe many thanks to the staff members for making this transition possible, specifically to the Blue Team, who work tirelessly to clean classrooms and lunchrooms, and the teachers, who have tried to make the best out of a seemingly fruitless situation.

School’s reopening has not been perfect, but it’s important to note that this is a foreign situation for everybody, and both students and teachers are still learning to adapt to these unusual circumstances. Our best solution at the moment is to maintain a positive outlook, have patience, and stay alert.