CLOSED DOORS: EDUCATION UNDER COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, politicians faced many difficult choices. One of their hardest decisions was whether or not to close schools; it soon became apparent that they had no choice. According to the UN, at the peak of the pandemic that year, an estimated 1.6 billion children were affected by school closures.

Some families found that homeschooling was a useful substitute¹ for attending school in person. Parents who worked in white-collar office jobs were often able to work from home. This meant they could homeschool their children daily and maintain² some educational continuity. Some parents said they appreciated the chance to spend more time with their children and be involved with their education. While we cannot generalize, it is likely that these parents had a fairly high level of education and thus were able to tutor their children to a relatively high standard.

For parents who worked in blue-collar (manual) occupations, homeschooling was often not feasible³. It is impossible for bus drivers or factory, construction, and healthcare workers to work from home. Instead, many were forced to continue going out to work and were therefore unable to homeschool their children. In fact, they were often left with the challenge of finding someone to care for their children during the day. In countries like the UK, some blue-collar employees were identified as "key workers," and their children were allowed to attend school as part of small classes.

Remote learning also reduced some effects of school closures. Many teachers used programs like Zoom or Google Classroom to teach and monitor their pupils' progress. Features on these programs allowed teachers to set tasks, share books and films, and give students advice. But if parents were not present, it was often difficult to ensure that work was being done. For some children, it was not only working parents that made remote learning less feasible. Many did not have access to computers at all or lacked the money to buy essential books. In some countries, under normal conditions, public libraries provide these for free, but unfortunately, libraries were also closed due to the virus⁴.

School closures had some negative consequences for all students. Schools are not only centers for formal education but are also crucial⁵ to behavioral development; they are where we learn to interact, socialize, and share. At school, we form relationships that can define⁶ our lives for years to come. During the pandemic, those with access to computers or smartphones could use social media to replace some of these interactions. But, again, this did not include all students. Also, teachers are trained professionals⁷; all children benefit from exposure to the personal guidance they give; without it, any child is at risk of developing more slowly. On top of this, many less-fortunate children rely on free school meals. While at home, many were not able to eat well, or eat enough. Without sufficient nutrition⁸, their physical and intellectual⁹ development may have suffered even more.

While life was difficult enough for many families during school closures, it may take years to see the long-term effects. Already at an innate disadvantage, many poorer children may have fallen further behind. This will reduce their chances of attending university and getting well-paid jobs, so the cycle¹⁰ of disadvantage will continue. Some parents were able to create a fairly smooth and short path through the COVID-19 pandemic. For others, the journey is likely to be much rougher-and far longer.

• continue their education
• permanent disadvantage
• access to computers
• monitor their pupils
• to close schools
• remote-learning tools

• innate
• behavioral
• closure
• generalize
• continuity
• occupation

Helping Hands

The COVID-19 pandemic closed schools all over the world. While some families were better equipped to cope with the resulting problems, others struggled. To try and help, individuals and communities responded in a variety of ways.

England and Manchester United soccer player Marcus Rashford knows how important free school lunches are. Although now a successful athlete, he relied on them as a child. So he used his public profile and huge number of Twitter followers to draw attention to the problem. The British government responded by agreeing to give free meals to some students for a brief period. Rashford asked that they extend the program to cover the period of the pandemic. The government refused, but many food companies and restaurants agreed to provide food to less-wealthy children for free. Rashford promised to continue his mission to provide free lunches to 1.4 million of the UK's poorest children.

Meanwhile, students at Stanford University acted to address the fact that eleven million children in the US did not have access to a laptop or computer; for these children, remote learning was impossible. So Margot Bellon and Isabel Wang founded the non-profit organization Bridging Tech. They used a nationwide network of volunteers to collect used, unwanted laptops and deliver them to children who needed them. During COVID-19, this allowed less-wealthy children to participate fully in remote learning and online study. The pair chose the name because they aim to bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor, a gap that the COVID-19 pandemic only widened.