
It is almost three years since the pandemic hit and we are still grappling with the reality of what teaching and learning looks and feels like in the current context. As we are picking up the remains of an education system we knew, we are slowly coming to terms with what we missed in the past three years.
I asked myself the question: What Did We Miss? as I was having an important conversation with my son about his university choices. My son was in year 9 when the pandemic hit, and he started online school/classes in February 2020. He missed social interactions, he missed school lunchtime, he missed sports tournaments, he missed music ensembles and performances, he missed a lot of things, a lot! Most importantly he missed out on learning collaboratively, a very effective pedagogical approach to learning. The pandemic robbed us of the most important teaching and learning strategy-learning by collaboration.
I asked myself the question: What Did We Miss? when I was talking with my ex-students who could not go to university in 2020 due to the pandemic. They shared with me that they missed the graduation ceremony; transitioning to university; moving to a new country for higher studies; making new friends. They missed a lot! Most importantly living the dream of getting into the university of their choice. Dreams were shattered and yet we did not realize the residual effect of what we missed. Three or four years of undergraduate learning from a university of your choice is probably the biggest dream a student has, did we ever realize how much was lost and missed? Are we keeping a track of what we missed so we can make up later? Can we make up for what we missed in the past three years?
I asked myself the question: What Did We Miss? when I was reviewing the school policies with the school senior leadership team. We added sections and procedures into the policy documents that were never considered necessary earlier. For example, in the case of school closure the exams will…; in the case of body temperature over…; in the case of travelling outside the province…; in the case of online teaching and learning…; in the case of school trip cancellation…We missed a lot! Most importantly life experiences that become happy memories; like studying together for exams; discussing the exam questions after the test; going on school trips; having parents on campus; going on field trips. We lost and we missed out on learning by experiencing-experiential learning.
I asked myself the question: What Did We Miss? when I was talking to a colleague who is separated from her child for the past two and half years. I could relate to the pain as I am separated from my husband for the same amount of time. As a family we missed eating dinner together; going to movies together; going on holidays; celebrating birthdays, and anniversaries; taking care of each other; we missed a lot! Most importantly we missed the protection of love and warmth that a family offers during a crisis. My son did not have his father during his interschool matches, music performance, or middle school graduation and yet we carried on. The pandemic snatched away these precious moments that parents reminisce about their child’s school life. Will we get this back, no, never! Like me and my colleague, we will never completely know what did we miss?
Little cracks develop on the surface of the porcelain when it has lived a long life, telling us about its experiences and longevity. It also remins us of a grim reality of the time lapsed during this journey, that the cracks will lead to a break. What we missed in the past three years are cracks on the surface; we are yet to ascertain the break this will cause in teaching and learning. It is like knowing something is missing yet not able to pinpoint on the exact thing that is missing. What Did We Miss-A lot, Everything and Something!