Pandemic- Related Learning Loss

As children growing up we played school. I recall we had a blackboard and chalk. Yes, we had real school at home. Our parents, particularly my mom Vinette did not like to see too much playing. I was always surrounded by books. I read during my leisure so too my siblings. Books were a feature of my home. I had to read the daily STAR for my dad Fitzroy each evening when he got home from the garage. I would use syllabication to pronounce unfamiliar words. There was not much room for stumbling and or the mispronunciation of words. In fast forwarding to March 2020 and the coronavirus the educational landscape has changed. The Government of Jamaica ordered the closure of  all educational institutions in Jamaica on March 13 in an effort to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Our schools have been closed since then. The pandemic has claimed more than 108,000 lives globally. Jamaica has recorded 65 confirmed cases and more than 1.8 million people worldwide have tested positive for COVID19. We were always encouraged as children to do some school work. The academic year usually ended the last week of June and school reopened the first Monday in September. Students were out of schools for quite a while during summer.  However, in my household, we, and by we I refer to the children had to “tek up our books” or else. You do not wish to know what the or else was and therefore I will not say. The fear our parents had was that we would regress over the extended summer holidays if we did not find time to study, revise or do some school work and schoolwork we did. Educators have always been concerned about learning loss during the prolonged school closure. The concern has been magnified in an age of the coronavirus where educational institutions have been closed. However, schools being closed do not mean that teaching and learning has stopped.  Students’ educational instruction has been removed from the confines of the hot, bully-driven, uncomfortable and packed classroom to a virtual environment. Students are being homeschooled and parents are getting the chance to experience on a smaller scale of course the struggles of what it is like being a teacher.  Unfortunately, there is a segment of the society which holds onto the notion that teachers are not doing anything. This view usually rears its ugly head especially around the time of salary negotiations for teachers.  It is too early to identify the extent to which prolonged school closure will impact learning loss. Anecdotally, educators are aware that there will be some learning loss even with parents’ homeschooling their children. It is safe to say the longer our schools are closed the higher the learning loss among our students. An analysis from the Northwest Evaluation Association finds that students could retain about 70% of reading progress and lose as much as half of their academic growth in math. We are all aware that there are inequalities of income in most if not all societies. Some students have more access to online resource materials. Recently, the Education Minister mentioned at a press conference that 30 per cent of Jamaican students do not have ready internet access. This pronouncement by the Minister speaks volume regarding the digital divide among our students. This digital divide certainly will impact students’ outcome  negatively.    
What is the Digital Divide?     
The Digital Divide is a term that refers to the uneven distribution between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don't or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers and the internet. It is not unusual to hear of rural schools in Jamaica without internet access while there are urban schools with State of the Art computer labs.  There are many students who lack reliable broadband internet at home, either because their families are unable to afford it or because it simply it is unavailable where they live. Many of us speak from a background of privilege; we take things for granted.  This digital divide, especially with the novel coronavirus has left many children and adults alike with fewer educational and economic opportunities. The problem is compounded with schools, libraries, and workplaces closed during the coronavirus pandemic, those without broadband are struggling to access schoolwork. The digital divides should not be a roadblock in the life of a student. Many educators have had to find innovative means to assist students during this difficult period. It bares thought that such a time as this calls for transformational leadership in our schools. For example, students who lack internet access in the United States of America has been receiving packets of materials at their homes, either through the mail or with school bus drivers wearing protective gear. Students who can use them will receive DVDs or thumb drives with the recorded lectures. In Jamaica the education ministry has partnered with various media houses in order to have lessons broadcast daily at scheduled times. However, even with this initiative there are some parents who do not have a television set.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) estimates that 21.3 million people had no access to broadband Internet service at the end of 2017.  A report published in 2019 by Microsoft estimated that 162.8 million people in the US; about half the population do not use broadband internet, whether due to unavailability regarding where they live or the cost associated with the service. It is being said in some quarters that the coronavirus is the great equalizer. However, what the pandemic has done is to expose the gaps and the inequalities in various aspects of the society such as education and healthcare and the impact this will have on future generations.      
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
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#education #transformationalleadership #pandemic  #Jamaica #coronavirus