19-year-old Janek and 13-year-old Marek from Warsaw are brothers. They now joke about sharing a school desk. 10-year-old Szymon from Budapest practices the violin under the watchful eye of a camera and during a remote lesson he is given instructions from his teacher. 8-year-old Olivia from London and 11-year-old Ethan from Norwich, together with hundreds of thousands of other British primary school pupils, are doing their homework together and painting a rainbow as a sign of solidarity with doctors and other key employees who keep their country going. Ever since schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the everyday life of children, parents and teachers has changed.
A SUDDEN CHANGE
"I learned about school closures the day before, on Wednesday 11 March. – says Przemysław Kowalczyk, headmaster of The Holy Family Catholic Primary School No. 109 in Warsaw – we were not forewarned at all, we found out just a few hours before." Headmasters and teachers in Polish schools had four days to organise their work so that remote learning could begin on Monday. "The fact that we could not meet face to face was the biggest difficulty. Organizing an online meeting was the only solution. Lack of experience in remote learning and the fact that not all teachers have modern computers presented us with further difficulties. Sime don't even have a fast internet connection. There was little time to prepare, but we had to adapt to the new conditions." - says headmaster Kowalczyk.
In Hungary, schools closed on 16 March. Hungarian teachers only had a weekend, even less time than their Polish counterparts, to organize work in the new system. Piotr Kaczmarek, who lives with his family in Budapest, talks about the difficult beginnings: "The authorities' decision was announced on Friday night. The weekend was eventful, to say the least. We were in touch with the teachers, trying to determine the form in which learning was to take place. We exchanged information and started on Monday. For the first three days we were getting used to the new method. Both the children, parents and teachers were wondering what it would be like in practice, but since Thursday, school has been forging ahead as per normal."
Joanna Jarząb and her husband Mark work in British secondary schools – she's in a public school, and he works in a state-funded school. "On 18 March, a public announcement was made, stating that schools would remain closed until September. Friday 20th March was the last day of school. I still had to go to work until March 23rd. The decision to begin remote learning was only made after a powerful speech by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who placed great emphasis on the fact that all those for whom it is not absolutely necessary to go to work, should sit at home."
SCHOOL AT HOME
IN Piotr and Daria Kaczmarek's Budapest apartment, the day starts early and proceeds according to a fixed schedule. This is dictated by their situation – parents working from home, e-learning of the oldest son and the need to take care of two younger children. The ten-year-old Szymon attends fourth grade of the Hungarian primary school, as well as the Polish School by the Polish Embassy in Budapest and a state music school. "Between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. we receive tasks and exercises from the Hungarian school. Sometimes our son needs our help, mainly within the scope of using the computer and software. As his Hungarian is better than ours, we don't help him with the lessons themselves, we just support him to focus in this new situation and use his time well. - says Piotr - The platform used by the school does not give the children direct contact with the teacher. Children chat with the teacher, the teacher sends out assignments, and the children take a picture or confirm that they've done the work, and also fill in online documents. There is a separate 'classroom' for parents within the learning application, where we can exchange information, and if someone has a problem, we help each other immediately." Whereas the Polish school by the embassy has introduced a form of lessons based on on-line contact: "Under normal circumstances, children attend this school once a week, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and they learn Polish, Polish history and geography. Now lessons are taught using Skype. Teachers connect with the kids and conduct lessons using video conferences." The teachers from Szymon's music school also dealt well with the challenges of remote learning: "It's all done via an instant messenger. A teacher calls us, I point the camera at my son, and he plays the violin. The teacher instructs him on how to tune the instrument, and then the lesson proper begins." Piotr Kaczmarek is satisfied with the way learning has been organised: "Everybody has adapted to the new situation. Considering the scale of the change, the children were very quick to switch to e-learning. And so were the parents. I thought it would take much more time."
The public school where Joanna Jarząb works is closed. Teachers teach lessons remotely from their homes. "Knowing that this would happen, the school bought additional equipment, including webcams. We had to fill out a form stating what computer equipment we have at home. If a teacher didn't have the necessary equipment, the school provided it. Internal training sessions on the use of remote learning software were held. Teachers, working from home, can rely on the support of IT specialists employed at school." The state-funded school where Joanna's husband works has not been fully closed. By a decision of the state authorities, state funded institutions are obliged to provide care to the children of the so-called key personnel (employed in health care, trade, maintenance services, etc.) and pupils from poor and pathological families, for whom meals served by the school are often the only food they get during the day. There are hundreds of thousands of children across the country who need such care. In the school where Joanna's husband works, out of the 1200 or so pupils, a number fall into that category. The teachers taking care of them are divided into teams. Members of a team work for one week and then stay at home for two weeks. All that to avoid the spread of the epidemic.
Other pupils work at home, mainly using materials which teachers send them by e-mail and available on e-learning platforms. Sometimes schools organize joint efforts. "One day, children all over the UK painted rainbows, which were then stuck to windows as a sign of solidarity and gratitude to those working in the healthcare sector." – says Joanna Jarząb – "PE lessons, published on YouTube by personal trainer Joe Wicks, have also become very popular. Every day at 9:00 a.m., children from the United Kingdom, but also from other countries, exercise with Joe."
Teachers from Catholic Primary School No. 109 could, if they needed to, borrow the necessary equipment from school. There was no shortage of computers. In order to ensure the facility functions efficiently, the headmaster issued a special instruction governing its operations: "We assumed that not every student has unrestricted access to a computer and that not everyone can participate in on-line lessons. That's why we have adopted the following model: on specific days, according to a strict schedule, teachers send students materials for them to work on. In addition, there are on-line lessons in which students may, but do not have to participate. Those who cannot take part in the lessons work on the materials sent by teachers and thus are not excluded from the educational process." It is very important for Przemysław Kowalczyk and his team not to discourage children from learning and to keep them active: "We must take into account the time and practical limitations faced by parents. Especially for the younger kids, in primary schools, parents need to spend more time working with their children on the educational content the teachers sends. It is easy to define tasks and enforce them under all circumstances, but we cannot afford to do so and the school must adapt to the pupils' abilities. For the time being, we think it's working. Only time will tell if it really is."
Przemysław Kowalczyk answers the question on the preparedness of other Polish schools for the new modus operandi: "We cannot think in only terms of Warsaw, Gdańsk or Poznań. We cannot forget about smaller towns which have far fewer opportunities than larger cities. According to the ministry, 95 per cent of schools are ready. Headmasters only had to fill in a very short questionnaire on this subject. In my opinion to a large extent schools are far from being ready. Even if a facility is trying, like ours, it doesn't mean there are no problems and everything will work out fine. A parent calls me and says that they have one laptop at home, both parents work from home and have two children with whom the school organizes on-line lessons and sends materials to work on by e-mail. And this means that these kids can't always take advantage of it. However, statistically out school is ready for remote learning. But real life is not statistics."
WHAT NEXT?
In the United Kingdom, school closures were accompanied by information about the cancellation of A-levels and GCSEs. Joanna Jarząb replies: "Children had their mock exams in January and February. The grades for these exams, tests they sat at school and the grades for the work they do now are to be the basis for the end of the summer semester grades. Then university admissions will be based on those grades. Some children are worried about it, for others it seems a blessing. At this point it's hard to say whether this year's pupils will have it easier or harder." In Poland, the postponement of the eighth-grade exams or the baccalaureates has not been announced yet. Mock exams for students in eighth grade were held for the first time ever in remote mode. There is quite a lot of confusion as to how to conduct the exams proper, which should start on 21 April. "I don't think the exams will take place. The epidemic is spreading. Not all training sessions for headmasters were held and they did not receive current guidelines or barcodes which are to be placed on pupils' examination sheets. Another problem is that not all of the curriculum has been done. According to the regulations, the Central Examination Board should be prepared for emergencies and have a second or even third date for the exams. - summarizes headmaster Kowalczyk.
And schools are not free of concerns about the economic dimension of the pandemic. And this applies to public schools in particular. A very large proportion of students at the school where Joanna Jarząb works are from abroad. For two thirds of the pupils this is a boarding school. "There are many questions and uncertainties as to the future. We do not know whether the parents of our pupils will continue paying tuition fees. The fees have been reduced by the cost of boarding, meals and some sports activities, but it is difficult to predict how many parents will decide to pull their children out of the public school. We realize that the jobs of the parents themselves may be in danger. The salaries for March have been paid at the normal rate, but from April onwards I will receive 80 percent of the salary guaranteed by Her Majesty's Government in a special anti-crisis package."
In the school run by Przemysław Kowalczyk, a savings plan was implemented alongside the new learning system: "The plan reduces expenses to the bare minimum. It is intended to ensure that employees are paid on time and that NI contributions and taxes are paid. Parents have been informed that families who are struggling can reduce their tuition fees by 20 percent. For families who have several children in our school this is a significant discount. I told teachers that there will be no bonuses, even though they are spending much more time on their work now. However, they will be eligible for other benefits. All these efforts will allow us to go through this difficult time safely. My most important goal was to keep the teaching and auxiliary staff."
Questions about the future are on everybody's lips. With the progressing pandemic, hopes that the complicated situation we found ourselves in and which affects all spheres of life would pass quickly have perished. Everyone says that the world will be different. But it what way? And what does that mean for each one of us? What does it mean for entire nations? How will it affect small school communities, the education and development of our children?
"many specialists, teachers and psychologists, say that it is important for us, teachers and headmasters, to adopt a rational approach to the situation which we are in. We can't do and organize everything. And one cannot reproach oneself if something does not go as intended. Parents and pupils have to be aware that the teachers are there to support and care for them, and not to make demands. Not exams, not tests, not consequences, but just one long form tutor period with educational elements. Only then will we go through this difficult time unscathed." - summarizes headmaster Kowalczyk.
Teks i fotografie: Marta Dzbeńska-Karpińska
Autorka jest z wykształcenia politologiem i fotografem, redaktorką portalu wrodzinie.pl