August Town Primary Happy With Return To Face-To-Face Classes

Teachers at August Town Primary school in St. Andrew say they have noticed weekly improvements in the quality of work by the students since the return to face-to-face classes.

This follows a noticeable dependence by students on computer assistance during online learning.

“What the teachers have noticed is that in the physical space the quality of work is different. So right there and then we realised that the students were getting probably too much assistance, when they were online,” Principal of August Town Primary, Jennifer Solomon tells JIS News.

Sharing a similar view is a senior teacher at the school, Sanjay Manley. He notes that although he is pleased to have the students return to face-to-face classes, there is a noticeable challenge because some students are still dependent on computer assistance.

“I think it’s more evident in mathematics because they have become so dependent on using the calculator from the various devices, that if you ask them to do some simple calculations, they find it difficult, in relation to using their brains to do it. They have also become dependent on using Google to find every information. Now, they’re forced into a situation where they must think. So, there’s a challenge for them in this regard,” he states.

“But gradually, I’m seeing an improvement since the first week. And as the time progresses, they will improve even more because being in the physical space will provide much more opportunities for success, than online,” he further points out.

Against that backdrop, Mr. Manley says he is also able to recognise additional concerns that were not noticeable while conducting online classes.

“As a teacher, I’m able to pick up certain deficiencies that I wasn’t able to pick up online. They are back here, and we can see how they do daily as well as the challenges that they have. It makes me better able as a teacher to identify these problems, and to adjust them in the classroom and inform the parents, about the challenges that our children are facing individually,” he says.

Meanwhile, Principal Solomon says since the approval for students to return to face-to-face classes, they are “more motivated and really want to learn.”

“We know that students tend to do better in the traditional setting. When they were online, they were more distracted. At school, they are now in a literate environment where they’re more focused,” she tells JIS News.

On October 26, Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness announced that some 376 primary schools were selected to reopen for face-to-face classes beginning Monday (November 8).

Against that backdrop, however, Ms. Solomon says the students are engaged through a blended approach, to abide by the existing (coronavirus) COVID-19 safety protocols.

“We’re doing a blended approach because we want everyone to be safe and we do not have the space for all the students to be socially distant. So, what we have done is divide each class into two. We have Group A who attends face-to-face school on Monday and Tuesday, while Group B stays in Google Classroom online,” she states.

“Wednesday and Thursday, Group A will go online in Google Classroom and Group B comes into the physical space. On Friday everybody goes back online, and we reinforce all the activities that were done in the week,” she further points out.

One Grade six student, Maya Brown said face-to-face classes “provide a better learning environment,” for her.

“It helps to push me to do better in my studies. I hated online school. I always pray every day and hope the Ministry makes us come back face-to-face. So, I’m relieved and glad. I’m starting to understand more than I did on Zoom,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Solomon, tells JIS News that since the students have returned, 98 per cent of them are engaged.

“When we’re doing online school, we had approximately 60 per cent to 65 per cent of our students online. Currently, we have 98 per cent of our students engaged and we are extremely happy to have them out,” she says

She adds that the school’s administration is reaching out to the parents for the remaining students in an effort to have 100 per cent of students engaged.

Ms. Solomon also says she is hoping the resumption of face-to-face classes will continue into the new year, as there have been cases of students who suffered from cyber fatigue.

“We had one of our grade two students who actually broke his tablet and told his teacher that he was ruining his life. We had to get counseling for both the student and the parents because they did not understand what was happening. We had to tell the parents that it is not that the child is being rude or really destructive, but there are times when you have to give them a break from this device,” she shares.

The face-to-face arrangement for primary schools will reach 45,390 students and approximately 2,520 teachers following an in-depth risk assessment by the Ministry of Health and Wellness in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information of each school across the island.