When can normal schooling re-open?

[Devourment]

Taking this idea from another poster with respect to Carnival, but on something a tad more important.

Our children (figuratively) have not been in school for over a year (14 months to be exact).

I won't get into all the issues with online classes but to summarize, it leads to poorer academic outcomes especially in boys. Additionally, the lack of socialization during this phase in their life can be detrimental to their social development. The lack of stimulation, face-to-face classes and using pen and paper in a classroom environmental also leads to other ill consequences.

I have nephews who are struggling with online school, they haven't been able to focus properly or get much out of online zoom classes. I do go over to help (yes mixing households, but I don't have much choice) my sister with tutoring them since she works all week.

I can see a drastic change in their performance and lack of motivation. And these are pupils who have proper access to it.

What about the tens of thousands who literally have not been partaking in school for the last 14 months?

We can be ruining an entire generation.

Now sadly, given how infectious this new P1 strain is, I don't think we can reopen schools this year. Furthermore, given that we're unlikely to vaccinate 60% of the population by March 2022, that would be in my estimation, the earliest we can reopen normal schooling.

Feel free to disagree or tell me if my assumptions are wrong here. Schools are far more likely to lead to large outbreaks compared to even events like Carnival, so the reopening of normal schools might very well be the last thing we do.

It is possible we can reopen schools in January 2022, but that would require all high-risk persons to be vaccinated and us learning to live with covid, something some nations like Sweden have done.

[teems1]

70% vaccinated and fewer than 15 cases per day for 14 days consecutively.

[X_Factor]

They would also open schools on a phased basis as well
so maybe in september for std 5, forms 5, etc
then jan 22, if things go well, maybe std 3 and 4 etc

[FrankChag]

This may sound controversial, but I don't want my kids going back to school regularly (ie, M->F).
And they agree. Maybe one or two days for labs or something.

I think there should always be some option to allow school-from-home for families who want that.
I think even some teachers would agree.

Things need to change.

[timelapse]

What missing is lack of physical exercise.Boys especially, need physical exercise/play at that stage in life to keep hormone levels where they need to be.The smartphone/tablet culture does harm in this regard.A balanced life is the key.
Some parents may disagree, but end up with socially inept kids

[De Dragon]

2025, according to the JUHN Scarfy/Single Tear vaccination plan.

[Redman]

Allyuh think we going back to Jan 2020?

Why would the school spend X000 s to put eschool infrastructure in and then switch back to the outmoded face to face method.

The world has stepped forward....why should we step back.?

This interface is the way it IS.

I think schools head in the opposite direction...expand and improve their offering.

[teems1]

I think it's the opposite.

All studies have shown online schooling isn't as effective especially for boys.

The children's mental health also has suffered because at our core we are social creatures and need proper interaction.

Allyuh think we going back to Jan 2020?

Why would the school spend X000 s to put eschool infrastructure in and then switch back to the outmoded face to face method.

The world has stepped forward....why should we step back.?

This interface is the way it IS.

I think schools head in the opposite direction...expand and improve their offering.

[Dohplaydat]

I really feel sorry for students these days.

I can't imagine my entire Form 6 or year 1 and 2 in UWI being all online. The most memorable and educational part of my life was just chilling and talking with classmates.

[killercow]

I really feel sorry for students these days.

I can't imagine my entire Form 6 or year 1 and 2 in UWI being all online. The most memorable and educational part of my life was just chilling and talking with classmates.

Yeah bro couldn't agree with you more. That first year especially in UWI is gonna be completely different without the social aspect.

[Habit7]

We need to vaccinate teachers as a priority and start with pre-school, kindergarten and primary. These are the lowest risk. Secondary can do a hybrid of online and f2f.

[VexXx Dogg]

Until community spread is managed. Won't happen without significant vaccination rollout.

[Dizzy28]

My son got accepted to all three of the primary schools we applied to.
They all under the same board so only needed to accept at one and the others would be notified.

Eagerly awaiting to see what happens from here on in. He has been home with my wife doing home schooling since March last year. The pre-school didn't drop fees for the mix of online learning they were offering and I felt it wasn't worth the $16,500 per year to continue like that for a pre-schooler.

[alfa]

If a couple hundred thousand people can line up, show required documentation and vote in a single day in Trinidad why can't we vaccinate as much in the same time? Using the same schools and train people to administer the shots. I recall in primary school days everyone lined up and received the standard shots in a couple hours. Strangely enough no one asked about pre existing conditions back then or even if you wanted it

[alfa]

My son got accepted to all three of the primary schools we applied to.
They all under the same board so only needed to accept at one and the others would be notified.

Eagerly awaiting to see what happens from here on in. He has been home with my wife doing home schooling since March last year. The pre-school didn't drop fees for the mix of online learning they were offering and I felt it wasn't worth the $16,500 per year to continue like that for a pre-schooler.

You added an extra zero by mistake? That was uwi fees back in the 90s. Wda

[Dizzy28]

Nope no extra zeroes. And thats without the security and admin fees.
And I attended UWI before dollar for dollar and GATE and it is more than I paid per annum then. And at least tertiary level fees were allowed as a tax break.

[daring dragoon]

you rather your child go to school get covid and dead than to spend one more year online?

[adnj]

US CDC recommends schools reopening for face-to-face instruction with universal masks and social distancing when the "community transmission is low."

CDC defines low community transmission as less than 10 cases of infection per 100,000 persons in a 7 day period. For 1.4 million people, 140 cases over a 7 day period.

The same 15 to 20 cases per day is what is required to lift the state of emergency, also. 15 confirmed cases per day is projected to occur on or about August 15, 2021.

[teems1]

My son got accepted to all three of the primary schools we applied to.
They all under the same board so only needed to accept at one and the others would be notified.

Eagerly awaiting to see what happens from here on in. He has been home with my wife doing home schooling since March last year. The pre-school didn't drop fees for the mix of online learning they were offering and I felt it wasn't worth the $16,500 per year to continue like that for a pre-schooler.

You added an extra zero by mistake? That was uwi fees back in the 90s. Wda

That's $1,375 TT per month. Or approx $350 per week.

Is that really so high? I've heard of places with much higher costs.

In the US, be prepared to spend 2-3k USD per month on early child care.

[Dohplaydat]

you rather your child go to school get covid and dead than to spend one more year online?

Dude that's not the reason, it's because the virus will spread rapidly amongst students who bring it home to their parents. It leads to exponential increase in cases.

[Ted_v2]

This generation gone thru. Can't socialize. Can't Think for themselves. I ain't expecting noting great to come out of them.

My neighbor kids knows all the modern shows on Netflix and still don't know her nine times tables. Dunno if it's the lack of parenting or the narrow range of focus, but they can't take stress at all.

[thelem-again]

it leads to poorer academic outcomes especially in boys

Where are the statistics to support this assumption?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've never heard of a pandemic happening before 2020 whereby students need to utilize online schooling. So how can we know what are the possible long term effects? By measuring the short term ones? Prediction?

Don't get me wrong. I do agree that there have been some noticeable short term effect and issues, however, anything at this point is based on a hypothesis or assumption. The human race is quite adaptable. Even if the decision is made to have a 60:40 ratio of online to in person classes or a full 100% resumption of face to face within 2-3 years, changes would be made for legacy benefits.

Think about it. A 60:40 ratio is representative of how many of work environment's currently operate (first world countries, its probably even 90:10). And more than likely, most companies are and will continue this arrangement well beyond the pandemic.

So in a sense, having children adopt to this lifestyle change from now, it can effectively prepare them much better than any previous generations could have.

Taking this idea from another poster with respect to Carnival, but on something a tad more important.

Our children (figuratively) have not been in school for over a year (14 months to be exact).

I won't get into all the issues with online classes but to summarize, it leads to poorer academic outcomes especially in boys. Additionally, the lack of socialization during this phase in their life can be detrimental to their social development. The lack of stimulation, face-to-face classes and using pen and paper in a classroom environmental also leads to other ill consequences.

I have nephews who are struggling with online school, they haven't been able to focus properly or get much out of online zoom classes. I do go over to help (yes mixing households, but I don't have much choice) my sister with tutoring them since she works all week.

I can see a drastic change in their performance and lack of motivation. And these are pupils who have proper access to it.

What about the tens of thousands who literally have not been partaking in school for the last 14 months?

We can be ruining an entire generation.

Now sadly, given how infectious this new P1 strain is, I don't think we can reopen schools this year. Furthermore, given that we're unlikely to vaccinate 60% of the population by March 2022, that would be in my estimation, the earliest we can reopen normal schooling.

Feel free to disagree or tell me if my assumptions are wrong here. Schools are far more likely to lead to large outbreaks compared to even events like Carnival, so the reopening of normal schools might very well be the last thing we do.

It is possible we can reopen schools in January 2022, but that would require all high-risk persons to be vaccinated and us learning to live with covid, something some nations like Sweden have done.

[Devourment]

it leads to poorer academic outcomes especially in boys

Where are the statistics to support this assumption?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've never heard of a pandemic happening before 2020 whereby students need to utilize online schooling. So how can we know what are the possible long term effects? By measuring the short term ones? Prediction?

Don't get me wrong. I do agree that there have been some noticeable short term effect and issues, however, anything at this point is based on a hypothesis or assumption. The human race is quite adaptable. Even if the decision is made to have a 60:40 ratio of online to in person classes or a full 100% resumption of face to face within 2-3 years, changes would be made for legacy benefits.

Think about it. A 60:40 ratio is representative of how many of work environment's currently operate (first world countries, its probably even 90:10). And more than likely, most companies are and will continue this arrangement well beyond the pandemic.

So in a sense, having children adopt to this lifestyle change from now, it can effectively prepare them much better than any previous generations could have.

Taking this idea from another poster with respect to Carnival, but on something a tad more important.

Our children (figuratively) have not been in school for over a year (14 months to be exact).

I won't get into all the issues with online classes but to summarize, it leads to poorer academic outcomes especially in boys. Additionally, the lack of socialization during this phase in their life can be detrimental to their social development. The lack of stimulation, face-to-face classes and using pen and paper in a classroom environmental also leads to other ill consequences.

I have nephews who are struggling with online school, they haven't been able to focus properly or get much out of online zoom classes. I do go over to help (yes mixing households, but I don't have much choice) my sister with tutoring them since she works all week.

I can see a drastic change in their performance and lack of motivation. And these are pupils who have proper access to it.

What about the tens of thousands who literally have not been partaking in school for the last 14 months?

We can be ruining an entire generation.

Now sadly, given how infectious this new P1 strain is, I don't think we can reopen schools this year. Furthermore, given that we're unlikely to vaccinate 60% of the population by March 2022, that would be in my estimation, the earliest we can reopen normal schooling.

Feel free to disagree or tell me if my assumptions are wrong here. Schools are far more likely to lead to large outbreaks compared to even events like Carnival, so the reopening of normal schools might very well be the last thing we do.

It is possible we can reopen schools in January 2022, but that would require all high-risk persons to be vaccinated and us learning to live with covid, something some nations like Sweden have done.

It can't help them if many get left behind. That is the point. We can't predict the long-term effects but we do know missing years of schooling at a young age is a HUGE setback and very difficult to overcome.

We don't live in an idealist world where all students have laptops, a quiet comfortable place to study at home, with parental supervisory and fast internet. Many many kids aren't even participating. Many are zoned out. Primary school children are way too young for this. Humans aren't meant to learn and communicate over a screen at such a young age. I've seen some UNICEF data on participation and roughly only 60% of children across the world are participating, leaving 40% without any real schooling. That figure likely holds for Trinidad as well.

And while remote work might definitely be a permanent fixture for many companies, I do think in 5 years time it'll be only 10% of employees who'll be working from home.

Also, I do agree that overall some good will come from this, the net effect will be that lots of students will be academically behind where they should be.

[adnj]

it leads to poorer academic outcomes especially in boys

Where are the statistics to support this assumption?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've never heard of a pandemic happening before 2020 whereby students need to utilize online schooling. So how can we know what are the possible long term effects? By measuring the short term ones? Prediction?

Don't get me wrong. I do agree that there have been some noticeable short term effect and issues, however, anything at this point is based on a hypothesis or assumption. The human race is quite adaptable. Even if the decision is made to have a 60:40 ratio of online to in person classes or a full 100% resumption of face to face within 2-3 years, changes would be made for legacy benefits.

Think about it. A 60:40 ratio is representative of how many of work environment's currently operate (first world countries, its probably even 90:10). And more than likely, most companies are and will continue this arrangement well beyond the pandemic.

So in a sense, having children adopt to this lifestyle change from now, it can effectively prepare them much better than any previous generations could have.

Taking this idea from another poster with respect to Carnival, but on something a tad more important.

Our children (figuratively) have not been in school for over a year (14 months to be exact).

I won't get into all the issues with online classes but to summarize, it leads to poorer academic outcomes especially in boys. Additionally, the lack of socialization during this phase in their life can be detrimental to their social development. The lack of stimulation, face-to-face classes and using pen and paper in a classroom environmental also leads to other ill consequences.

I have nephews who are struggling with online school, they haven't been able to focus properly or get much out of online zoom classes. I do go over to help (yes mixing households, but I don't have much choice) my sister with tutoring them since she works all week.

I can see a drastic change in their performance and lack of motivation. And these are pupils who have proper access to it.

What about the tens of thousands who literally have not been partaking in school for the last 14 months?

We can be ruining an entire generation.

Now sadly, given how infectious this new P1 strain is, I don't think we can reopen schools this year. Furthermore, given that we're unlikely to vaccinate 60% of the population by March 2022, that would be in my estimation, the earliest we can reopen normal schooling.

Feel free to disagree or tell me if my assumptions are wrong here. Schools are far more likely to lead to large outbreaks compared to even events like Carnival, so the reopening of normal schools might very well be the last thing we do.

It is possible we can reopen schools in January 2022, but that would require all high-risk persons to be vaccinated and us learning to live with covid, something some nations like Sweden have done.

There is a vast amount of scholarly research on the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning - not necessarily due to disease but because of educational resources.

-------

Educating the Masses: The Rise of Online Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
August 14, 2018
Stefan Trines, Research Editor, WENR

Online education is a divisive topic. Often criticized as an inferior form of education providing an isolated learning experience at best, or as a harbinger of global, Western-dominated educational homogenization at worst, online education is simultaneously considered a promising means to increase access to education in developing countries.

Current trends in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia illustrate that online education is gaining traction in these regions despite persistent technological barriers—not because it is a better form of learning, but because it is perceived as a rational, cost-effective means to widen educational opportunities. Escalating population growth and exploding demand for education are causing countries like India to increasingly embrace online education. While still embryonic, digital forms of education will likely eventually be pursued in the same vein as traditional distance learning models and the privatization of education, both of which have helped increase access to education despite concerns over educational quality and social equality.

https://wenr.wes.org/2018/08/educating- ... -education

[shake d livin wake d dead]

sept 2022 seems good.....as long as vaccinations are out and about

[Dohplaydat]

sept 2022 seems good.....as long as vaccinations are out and about

Carnival 2023 then?

Schools should be 100% our priority over carnival, I just really hope we source vaccine fast enough to go back to normal.

Resuming normal schooling in Sep 2022 more than a year from now brah! Them poor kids.

Meanwhile schools have reopened in the UK.

[timelapse]

2023 sounds more realistic.Hopefully the pandemic get under control by then