The Covid pandemic has meant that since last year, we had to stop teaching face to face , but we were able to keep going by giving virtual lessons/giving our lessons online. This year we have staggered the teaching timetable so that our pupils could come back to school at different times, thus avoiding having them crowded together. We have had social distancing arrangements in place in our classrooms with class time limited to giving the children any explanations they needed, and have supplemented this with extra guidelines that they could take home to help them keep learning effectively there. Little by little the children have adapted to the new way of learning, and by comparison with the situation last year, the staggered classes system has resulted in much higher levels of motivation both for them and for us teachers.
One of the major problems we faced last year was the internet and the shortage in the children’s homes of IT equipment and reliable connections needed to enable our pupils to access their lessons. We teachers took it upon ourselves to work with our students to make sure they could follow their lessons. We helped by covering some of the internet costs and by finding good quality second-hand IT equipment so that the children could carry on with their schoolwork, and in this way managed to overcome this challenge.
At one stage, the mayor of Chachagüi offered to install wifi masts and provide connectivity to every student in the town, but this hasn’t yet happened as though they did install the system, it doesn’t work properly.
As for the staggered class system, the children have done very well. They have done the work we’ve set them, there haven’t been any problems, and they are still enthusiastic about learning. Seeing their teachers and classmates and being back in the school building has motivated them much more. We notice that they have taken more responsibility for their learning and valued their lessons as something important in their lives.
In 2021 in response to the problems that covid 19 has caused children – depression, aggression, obesity, child abuse, family breakdown – we felt we needed to get permission from the Department of Education and local health authority to be able to work with our students in the Talita Kum school building. They asked us to do a biosecurity assessment and adapt our facilities where necessary: we installed a new sink and bought certain supplies – a digital thermometer, soap, disinfectant, sanitizer etc. They then checked that everything was in place and permission was granted for us to work with the children provided that they attend classes on alternate schedules. This development has enabled us to achieve a better environment both at school and at home with the family[R21] .
Thanks to the financial support that you have given us, the school has been able to comply with all the measures required by the Secretary of Education, the Chachagüi Mayor’s Office and the local health authority. This has enabled the students to come to the school and us to provide a completely safe environment and avoid spreading infection.
When we get to school, the first thing we do before anyone goes into class is take everyone’s temperature, change our masks, disinfect our shoes, wash and dry our hands. Each classroom is thoroughly disinfected and every child has a designated desk, at a specified distance from anyone else. At first it was difficult to get used to wearing masks because of the heat but as the days went by it became the norm.
Each day we work on the areas that the children find most difficult and we explain how to do the work at home. Working like this, we have seen the children make rapid progress and it gives us the opportunity to help those who are having difficulties. The parents have collaborated with us and supported the learning at home, even though, because of the severe shortage of work and money, they weren’t; able to afford to cover internet or mobile phone costs.
In these times, our students and our teachers are very happy that we have had this opportunity to share these new experiences, but we’ve also had so much to learn, both in caring and sharing with those that need us.
Sonia Diaz
Director Talita Kum School
TALITA KUM SCHOOL 