Post-Covid-19 education

When we talk about the pandemic, few good things come to mind, but of those few, one stands out: the time we spent being present and dedicated to our children. With more or less challenges, with or without remote work in the mix, truth be told, rarely in our lives have we had so much availability for our children. This is reflected in their education to the point that it is possible to say that there is a pre-COVID-19 education and a post-COVID-19 education. But what are the main changes and what can overcome the negative effects ? Let's reflect on the 4 main changes that are here to stay:

• Decentralization of the learning environment and more active parental involvement.

The most obvious change was related to the decentralization of the learning environment. Classrooms and activity rooms were replaced (totally or partially) by the home office or classroom, and this motivated a more active participation of parents or caregivers in their children's education. Traditionally, there is a basic level of school monitoring with a superficial understanding of the subjects taught, tracking the child's progress based on test scores or the teacher's report, without going into great depth about what the school curriculum covers.

Now, if parents are forced to take an active role in their children's school education, this scenario changes completely. It is advisable for parents to be familiar with the curriculum in order to anticipate their children's difficulties and facilitate a blended learning process.

• New teaching methods considered

Homeschooling could continue to be considered, albeit partially, but the pandemic context has even led many parents to consider it the primary model for their children's education, regardless of government or health guidelines.

While for some it was a genuine challenge to balance work and household chores with homeschooling, for others it was a unique opportunity to understand how parental support and the dedicated support of a teacher can be productive.

It has been learned that the socialization process, which is of great concern to those who oppose homeschooling , can be addressed through the use of new technologies and can be considered useful during extracurricular hours.

• Importance of preparing school content

Regarding preschool students, the scenario is somewhat different. Technologies could essentially serve as support for parents, but are not as interesting from an educational point of view for younger children. Their attention span is shorter, and certain content needs to be very captivating and well-made to also be pedagogical for the learners. In this case, parents effectively need more preparation time and availability for their younger children than is estimated for older children.

The skills that should be stimulated at this age require activities based on interesting, dynamic, and strategic materials. Therefore, parents should plan their children's educational week/fortnight/month in advance to use the right teaching tools and avoid frustration. This is an extremely important phase in learning skills that will be essential for the rest of their lives (such as reading, writing, or public speaking), and therefore, it's important to understand what is done with young children in a daycare setting so that it can be replicated at home.

• Increasing appreciation for the staff of the educational community.

During the months of mandatory lockdown, it quickly became clear that preschool children don't just go to play at daycare. That the scribbles that parents love to see photographed on the school walls have a greater purpose and follow an overall learning strategy that should be maintained consistently.

There was also a growing appreciation for educators, teachers, assistants, and everyone involved in the educational process. Parents and other caregivers quickly realized that it's not easy to hold a student's attention and teach even the simplest concepts when there are other, more interesting things being done.

If there are good things to be taken from this pandemic, it is the mutual understanding and recognition of the work of everyone involved in the education of our children, from the youngest to the oldest. The mandatory distance also forced us into closer communication and the discussion of deeper issues that, otherwise, would hardly have come up.

Post-COVID-19 education will therefore be more coherent and participatory, involving everyone at home and at school. It will also be more modern, making use of new technologies to enhance knowledge and present content in a dynamic and more interactive way. Assessment will also need to be more flexible and customized to each student's individual performance.