Zoom burnout

AMINA JAMES

LAST YEAR, the entire world was caught off guard by a deadly pestilence known as covid19. Unfortunately, our country was not spared this devastation. In fact, it crippled our entire economy: schools were immediately shut down, people lost their jobs, businesses crumbled and a lot of measures that we were once privileged to were immediately rolled back.

Ever since this dreadful coronavirus visited our shores and overstayed its welcome, the mere thought of going back to physical school was unreal. As we were concerned about the future of our children’s education, in the wake of this unprepared attack, we had no choice but to resort to online learning – via Zoom.

At first, it was a way forward for us as a nation, given the fact that we did not want our children’s learning to be suffocated by what was happening around us.

For a while, we grew accustomed to this new way of learning and we termed it the new normal. However, a year has passed and we are now seeing the effects of this new normal on the lives of our children, parents and teachers.

Now we are at a junction where we have to revisit the way we do things, in terms of our children’s education. Our children are suffering at the hands of this virtual learning curriculum: they are frustrated, withdrawn, depressed, burnt out and, in extreme cases, the pressures of this new way of learning have led to suicide.

Doctors have proven that virtual learning has been associated with depression, loss of sight and other eye problems, as well as many other physical issues among our children.

Parents are not to be left out, as we also struggle with having to choose between our jobs and our children.

Presently, we are faced with a situation where employers are hesitant to give time-off to employees who must overseer and care for their children. On the other hand, some are forced to leave their children at home with inadequate supervision, thus resulting in serious consequences with law enforcement.

Finally, how can I forget our hard-working and dedicated teachers who have been working tirelessly to ensure that students complete the syllabus set out by the Ministry of Education?

In light of this gruesome situation that we now face, I think it is high time the ministry devises a plan that would help to make learning for our children less stressful and more accommodating. It has been over a year and we have witnessed all the trials and errors that came with this new normal. I believe there are other ways that can be employed to help all stakeholders cope with this ongoing situation.

Children are our future and the future of our children lies in their book bags. We need to be careful that we don’t tarnish our children’s future, but that we take innovative measures that would help to secure their future and prepare them for what lies ahead.