Times Of Swaziland: WHERE IS COVID-19 TAKING EDUCATION?

WHERE IS COVID-19 TAKING EDUCATION?
================================================================================
Editor on 25/10/2021 08:12:00


Sir,
Where is the COVID-19 pandemic taking education and what does it mean for the
future of traditional teaching methods’? It is fair to say the year is almost
over... well at least for most industries. What has been apparent is the fact
that a major shift in methods is apparent as is the loss of some professions.
Those who will adapt will thrive, while some will be created as a result of the
virus. Adaptation has always been man’s best friend and now, more than ever,
the power of group thinking has been highlighted.
Island
They say no man is an island – that is to say no one person can discount the
value of other people’s skills and advice. It is entirely amazing how one can
see things being done differently by people on a daily basis, leaving you with
the ‘how did I not think of that’ feeling. Following the right channels on
social media and subscribing to those who you better align yourself with makes a
world of difference. The advent of social media has significantly made things
simpler and easier. Although the dangers remain pretty much more or less the
same; one thing is for sure, you will always get what you are looking for.
Acquire
Wanting something and looking for something are different things. You may want
something yet not take the necessary steps to acquire it. You can only imagine
then what teachers and pupils have been up to lately. Since we are almost all
connected it is fair to say some teachers have been up to no good with the
pupils just as much as other teachers have been actively pursuing ways to change
the course of education. This entails moving out of the classroom entirely and
taking shorter courses that are affixed to a child’s intellect, thus providing
them with skills necessary to survive, for that is life really.
Community
It also means community-based education, as travelling to and fro spreads
COVID-19, meaning we might have community fairs about best produce,
technological advancements and what not. It means all that we have done in the
name of development might need to be reversed. Although we may not sit in a hole
and hide from life’s daily tragedies, it does mean everything we have known
and been taught were all just a screen to hide our true worth.
As for the abuse on women and children, do we not put unnecessary pressure on
ourselves by wanting designer clothing and other material stuff including
sending children to schools where they’ll attend a third of classes due to
lack of fees. Although the idea is good – as we know private schools have
life-long networking programmes – the psychological and physiological trauma
that a child will face will scar them for life all because you want to brag to
your friends.
Children should be involved in these discussions and proper risk management
practised so everyone is on the same page.
Pressure
Not telling our children about peer pressure, violence, ethnicity, slavery,
depression, mental breakdown, social status syndrome, oppression, corruption,
good and bad debt will only fuel the flames of frustrations about what we know
and should have known to spill over to others. It begins by not sharing real
life situations with your children; because, by the time they learn as adults,
they’ll be knee-deep in debt, living from hand to mouth, chasing another
person’s idea so they continue the cycle of ‘lessness’. Yet somehow life
is about happiness; all else is a bonus.