The Detester Team is composed of youth from around the globe. Despite the distance that separates us, we as youth all share the experience of receiving an education. However, in times like these, when a global pandemic by the name of COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, many of our daily activities are modified in hopes of keeping us safe whilst also attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy. The following collection of responses, written by some of the Detester team members, highlights what education looks like for youth around the world. These responses provide not only an overview of the current models of learning that have been designed in response to the pandemic, but also our experiences, concerns and hopes for the future. In the coming days, we will post another set of responses that addresses education in the United States.
Melbourne, Australia
Lindsay (our writer): As soon as there were rumors of lockdown starting in Australia, with a growing number of cases, my university started remote learning only in week 3 of the first semester of the year. The transformation was fairly smooth, and we were given one extra week of holiday to fully accommodate for this transition to online learning. My university has 40,000 students, so in my opinion, they handled it pretty well. Everyone got accustomed to Zoom tutorials pretty quickly and lecture recordings remained the same. Because I am pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, all of our assignments are virtual anyway, so there was no dramatic change to this aspect. The main difference is the fact that with tutorials being online, it became almost impossible to make friends in classes. Breakout rooms were extremely awkward, and I now dread being put into a breakout room. Since remote learning has started, I have not made any friends at university, which actually makes me pretty sad because it is my last year of uni and I wanted to be social this year. Furthermore, in my degree, I rely a lot on physical sources like books to do my research for all the essays I have to write, which comprise my main assignments. I felt a bit disadvantaged with fewer sources, but I managed to complete all my research by spending more time online searching for sources. The quality of education hasn’t gone down for me since I don’t have any practical aspects in my course. In fact, my grades actually improved during this semester and my overall average mark increased by quite a bit. Because of remote learning and quarantine, I stayed at home for much longer, and I was able to concentrate better on my work, which resulted in better grades. I’ve also discovered that the teaching staff for my subjects provided us with more support and resources than ever. I’ve had so many consultations during this past year from tutors, who were enthusiastic about helping me with assignments, which I’m beyond grateful for. This whole experience has had its ups and downs, but I’m more or less accustomed to online learning now.
Toronto, Canada
Harvi (our editor): Due to Canada’s management of the virus, I believe the upcoming 2020-2021 school year will be effective and safe. My school encompasses around 2,500 students. This number is abnormally large for most Ontario secondary schools. The available models of learning in Ontario include a hybrid learning model or a fully online model of learning for the first semester only. The hybrid learning model entails having Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as in-class school days; Tuesday and Thursday are online. The in-class school days are only three hours long. On the other hand, the fully online model will allow students to stay home for the entire week for the first semester. I personally find the fully at-home model more safe and effective for me. I believe the quality of remote education is less effective than in-class education because of the difference in knowledge retainment when in a classroom setting versus being at home. Although I believe in-school education is better at teaching me, the mental health state of students during school days is way worse than them doing the work at home. Mental health disorders, such as depression, are at all time highs during the middle of the school semester. Most students I have talked to about online learning/remote learning have stated that they feel at ease and have better time to process information at their own pace when the content is online. They also feel less pressured when asking questions and learning content by themselves which is why their mental health state and confidence are at ease. I also believe that hybrid learning will mean that many students will be in close proximity with each other or prolonged periods of time, which can cause the rate of infection to rise significantly as the new semester starts. Because I am a senior, I have to worry about university applications which will be harder for me to complete if I cannot see my guidance counsellor and speak to my teachers about recommendations and evaluations. In my opinion, grade 12 students are at most risk due to this pandemic because of the rigidness of deadlines for university applications. Because students are given the opportunity to choose between online and hybrid learning, this means class sizes will naturally be smaller because of the shortage of students in school. Additionally, masks are mandatory in schools, but I believe this rule will not be upheld as properly as authority and political figures believe it will. High school students will likely not follow the orders of keeping their masks on and social distancing with one another at all times which is why the number of COVID-19 cases will definitely increase due to hybrid learning. The Ministry of Education should have decided to make the whole semester online rather than having hybrid learning as an option.
Vancouver, Canada
Suzanna (our writer): Due to my community's relatively successful attempt at "flattening the curve" of reported COVID-19 cases, we hope to fully return to in-person instruction for the upcoming school term in September. Our school board's plan states that all schools can revert to "normality," and even wearing a mask would be optional for both students and staff. However, this proposal sparked extensive controversy due to its inflexibility and disregard for the continuing emotional impact that the pandemic has on some students and their families. Specific classes where students would have close encounters, including physical education, evoke broad concern as well. Many argue for alterations such as making attendances optional, preserving the pre-existing online platform (Microsoft Teams) for those unable to attend, leaving room for each school to decide solutions based on their respective circumstances, and requiring personal protective equipment for all school staff. Personally, as much as I anticipate "waking up" from this nightmare of social distancing, I am not in favour of a complete reopening of schools. The mere thought of making my way through a hallway of crowded bodies is anxiety-provoking. As the current conversation between the board and the public proceeds, it remains unclear whether the officials will acknowledge our concerns and amend their overly restrictive plan. I hope that they will, as safety and health should always be prioritized, even in front of education.
New Delhi, India
Mahi (our graphic designer): I attend one of the largest universities in the world, in terms of student population, with around 400,000 students enrolled across various programs. Like in all other schools and universities across India, we are following remote learning with no clear indication as to when or if in the near future we will go back to in person learning.We had our end semester examinations in May and were hence promoted without any examination on the basis of performance in the previous semesters as well as on various assignments and impromptu online quizzes. However, senior year students are being forced to write the Open Book Exams (OBEs) to get their degrees. Filled with tons of instructions, guidelines and regulations, the OBEs ensure that everyone gets a "fair chance" which is just a moral grey area to me in more ways than one. These senior year students are losing their spots in Foreign Universities due the inability to send in their grades for the last semester and are losing their chance at various job opportunities as well and are undoubtedly adding to the unemployment rate of India. They have signed several petitions and written several letters to the prime minister and president of the country who are both alumni of the same university but have turned their backs on their own Alma mater. The Indian Government is keen on NOT making 2020 a zero academic year, however, zero efforts have been made. Online classes on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams are not a feasible option as many students don't own a cell phone, let alone a laptop or iPad. The Bandwidth in India is also too low for students in certain areas of "Diplomatic" and "National Security" to attend online classes for reasons primarily being not having stable internet connection.
Lima, Peru
Vasco (our project manager): When the first case of Coronavirus was confirmed in Peru, the President's primary measure was to close all schools. It is important to note that the school year starts in March and ends in December. Just days later, the county's borders were shut, curfews were imposed, and people could leave their homes for essential goods only. The mandatory lockdown lasted around four months, making it the longest in the world. Still, the cases kept rising every day; we are among the countries with the most deaths per million. Schools are not going to reopen anytime soon. Private schools constitute 26% of all the schools, and so the annual tuition can go from 300 dollars a year to 15,000 dollars a year. Many poverty-stricken parents who had sent their kids to the cheapest private schools lost their jobs and decided to transfer their kids to public schools. At least 66% of private schools have been forced to close. The private schools of middle and upper-class citizens have started teaching with Zoom and other online video conference platforms like Google Meets, Google classroom, and Microsoft Teams. Most of these schools have also reduced their fees. On the other hand, public schools have closed and are not teaching online because many students do not have internet connection in their homes. As a solution to continue educating students, the Peruvian government created a program called "Aprendo en Casa". This program provides a tv show that teaches math, science, language, and civics to kids from 1st to 11th grade. Additionally, the government is sending brochures on math, science, language arts, and civics to homes in the poorer districts of the country so that students can learn a little more. All universities, public and private, are imparting online classes with video conference platforms as well.
England, United Kingdom
Asma (our social media manager):I just finished secondary school which meant I was due to sit my GCSE exams, however, due to lockdown being enforced in March, I was unable to sit my official exams this year. The government and the exam board regulator of the country proposed an algorithm to hand out grades in a supposedly fair way but when A-level results came out, it turned out to be a postcode lottery, meaning the area you lived in hugely influenced the grades you wanted. This resulted in many smart students that came from disadvantaged backgrounds to be unfairly downgraded while private schools saw a surge in top marks. The unqualified education secretary insisted that no U-turn decision would be made unlike Scootland, however, after public outrage, massive student protests, union legal pursuits, and teenagers blocking parliament, they finally gave in and allowed centre assessed grades (CAGs) to be given out. This was incredibly embarrassing for the government and highlighted the Tory government’s utter incompetence regarding the handling of Coronavirus. The effect of every 16 and 18 year old in the country was detrimental to their mental health, especially in such unprecedented times, and the unnecessary stress and anxiety inflicted upon us were cruel, as well. College and University admissions are a mess this year, making it harder for people to secure places in clearing due to a delay in BTEC results that I am missing.
We are expected to go back to school next week full-time with in-person classes and, unfortunately, no parent has the right to withdraw their child from school. You are not allowed to wear a mask as it will be impossible to enforce social distancing at British schools. As a result, we have been put into year bubbles where you can freely be with people in the same year as you. However, different years can still intermingle at break, lunch, in corridors and outside of school.
The UK is officially out of total lockdowns nationally, however, many cities with a high number of cases are getting localised lockdowns. The number of deaths are highly inaccurate as they exclude deaths in communities and care homes as well as people who were only suspected but not confirmed of having the virus, making it easier for the government to hide the real death toll. Despite this, experts estimated there to be 64,000 cases in May and the highest death toll to be in Europe. This is hugely disappointing since the UK had a huge warning from the WHO that they were 3 weeks behind Italy, and yet I distinctly remember being told nothing would happen, to simply wash my hands for 20 seconds, and our prime minister, Boris Johnson, not taking it so seriously. Italy managed to keep the death toll lower than the UK and had no warning that they would be hit with the virus, yet the UK delayed lockdowns and ran out of PPE for the NHS staff. Experts say that the UK went into lockdown 2 weeks earlier when the death toll could have been halved.
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