Students out west favour in-person learning
Published:Friday | January 7, 2022 | 12:05 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
AFTER ALMOST two years of being absent from face-to-face classes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, some students in western Jamaica are excited at the prospect of having in-person schooling so they can meet with their friends and have better-quality learning opportunities.
The Ministry of Education had announced late last year that face-to-face classes would resume at 129 schools across Jamaica, to including all pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools.
Arnando Ramson, a grade six student of the Sudbury Primary and Infant School in St James, said the in-person learning experience is better than online schooling, which he has had to engage in, like many other children across Jamaica, after physical schooling was shut down in March 2020.
“I feel great about being back at class because I can come and experience being at school. I do not have to be at home because at times the Wi-Fi is giving trouble,” said young Arnando, outlining one of the many issues students have had to wrestle with in terms of Internet connectivity for online classes.
His view was shared by his schoolmate Juniecia Stewart, who is also in grade six and is not worried about the current potential spread of COVID-19.
“I feel excited to be at school because I am able to learn better and understand more. I am not really worried about the fourth wave of COVID-19,” said Juniecia.
Both students’ observations about improved learning quality in the physical classroom illustrate concerns raised last May by Education Minister Fayval Williams, that 120,000 students islandwide were not engaging in online classes or using any other modes of learning in the past academic year.
Other problems that teachers and students have had to wrestle with in getting accustomed to online learning are a lack of consistent connectivity in some rural locations, availability of gadgets and the high cost of telephone data plans.
Such concerns would be especially daunting for high school students who are preparing to sit external exams and work on school-based assessments to complete their required coursework.
Michael Christie, a grade eight student of the St James-based Herbert Morrison Technical High School, told The Gleaner that he is looking forward to his return to physical classes in the coming week, although he admitted that he was not fully invested in learning on the available online platforms such as Zoom and Google Classroom.
“I feel I will learn better by being at physical school as I never really engaged in the online teaching. I feel I will have a better experience with learning in person and it feels good to be at physical class because I can get to see my friends and get to learn better and ask the teachers questions,” said Christie.
“COVID will affect schooling in some ways, but if we wear our masks and sanitise after we touch surfaces, it is an easy thing and it will not really affect us,” he added.
Meanwhile, at the Westmoreland-based Belmont Academy, Principal Rayon Simpson said that his student cohort and academic staff have given a generally positive response to the opportunity to engage with each other in person once again.
“The fact that there is a new variant and an upward trend in COVID cases, so there is that level of apprehension and there are some that are scared,” said Simpson. “But largely speaking, teachers and students are excited about the learning situation and about socialisation as well, as they have not had the opportunity of engaging and seeing their friends for some time.”