Using a variety of methods and interactions, teachers and students have had to adapt to a new idea of the classroom
in the Western Cape where Covid-19 was discovered. Sizwe’s mother has fortunately retained work during South Africa’s lockdown. That work, though, is in front-line services, exposing her to unforeseen risks. Sizwe worries about his mother’s health and the disease she might bring home.
Schools in many parts of the world act as front-line support for vulnerable families. They offer social and psychological support and care, safe spaces, free meals, and can be the first to report abuse in the home. So what happens when schools temporarily shut down? And how are South African schools and students learning to cope?
In a case where students were deemed particularly at risk, online engagement has been organised so that each class teacher is responsible for all communication with their students. Subject teachers send material to the class teachers, who pass it on to students through a class WhatsApp group. The class teacher could therefore monitor who was accessing the material.
In one school, the guidelines for how content should be taught were standardised across subjects. Teachers “dumped” the content with the students at the start of each week, and at the end of the week sent a follow-up video answering students’ questions and clarifying common mistakes. Using a programme called ‘Screencast-o-matic’ teachers spoke through PowerPoint presentations, and recorded their face on a webcam.
As lockdown continues, pedagogical considerations will need to be revisited. Eventually the poetry module will finish, and topics which require more debate and discussion will need to either be tackled or replaced.Our experiences are relatively privileged and do not represent the whole of South Africa, but there have been successes and learnings in our schools that will continue post-lockdown.
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