The New Normal: On Schools Adapting to the New Normal

Written by Jane Law Lee Bin, Edited by Rifqi Faisal and Researched by Team MYER.

7 min readMay 22, 2020

Imagine this. You’re getting dressed in your uniform that has been in the closet for months. It’s been a long time since you’ve picked up that old, trusted school bag. You’ve probably forgotten what it’s like to comb your hair or tuck in your shirt. You can finally meet your friends, your teachers and even sit on your usual seat in the classroom. Things are starting to turn around. Everything is finally going to be normal again. Or is it?

COVID-19 has definitely striked our country in many ways. One of them being education, which has been scrambling to stay on its ground for the past few months. Yes, schools reopening may be a good sign that things are starting to shape up but things are probably not going to go back to normal soon. One of them is because social distancing will still have to be exercised among individuals in order to curb the spread of the virus. That means you would probably have to wave goodbye to your tablemates and have second thoughts about giving your best friends those hugs you’ve promised for the time being.

However, the gospel truth behind this is that social distancing will be a hard routine to follow once schools reopen. With thousands of students and teachers swarming under a roof, schools will most likely be the next hotbeds of infections if proper guidelines and measures are not taken seriously.

In fact, scientists have actually warned against the idea of resuming physical schooling sessions after studies showed that children may be as contagious as adults. Though it’s believed that children are prone to have milder symptoms, those infected seemed to have the same levels of the spreading virus in their bodies as adults.

So, should it not be reinstated at all?

We don’t think so. It’s time to take a look at the matter from a different angle.

For many, schools are not just brick and mortar. The continued closures of schools will only pull the inequality gap in Malaysia wider. Students from especially remote areas will be left to their own devices as they continue to struggle with their studies (as explored in our previous write-up). Students from lower income families also cannot afford further homeschooling since a comfortable online learning environment will require a computer as well as a reliable internet connection, which is a ‘privilege’ not all Malaysian families have. Furthermore, with their children being sent to schools, working parents will be able to focus more on their work as distractions such as helping their kids with their homework will be taken care of by the teachers in schools.

Additionally, school closures will exacerbate food insecurity. For many students living in poverty, schools are not only a place for learning but also for recieving food. This is even more important for students who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds as programs such as Rancangan Makanan Tambahan, Bantuan Makanan Prasekolah and Bantuan Makanan Asrama provide food security when their homes do not. Research shows that school lunch is associated with improvements in academic performance, whereas food insecurity (including irregular or unhealthy diets) is associated with low educational attainment and substantial risks to the physical health and mental wellbeing of children.

Research also suggests that non-school factors are a primary source of inequalities in educational outcomes. The gap in mathematical and literacy skills between children from lower and higher socioeconomic backgrounds often widens during school holiday periods. Long holidays are also associated with a setback in mental health and wellbeing for children and adolescents.

How should we go about it then?

The Education Minister has posed a suggestion to split classes into smaller sections — 17 students in a class, to be precise. Plausibility is in question because schools will have to take into consideration whether they have enough rooms as well as teachers to accommodate the students’ needs. It will only cause more problems for minute schools or schools in rural places that are already having troubles with the lack of facilities provided.

Nevertheless, it isn’t a difficult pill to swallow that social distancing is going to be the practice moving forward for schools. With that in mind, teachers will have to be better prepared to teach in a new environment. Hence, new ways and methods of teaching will have to be adapted in order to catch up with the syllabus and to make sure that the students’ learning is still on track, even if it means extending schooling hours during alternate days.

In a recent survey conducted by the MYER Team, 53.8% of the respondents, which consists of students, teachers and parents from all across Malaysia, agreed to extend learning hours after the Movement Control Order (MCO). However, teachers will still have to bear in mind that the safety and health of the students are the top priority, predominantly during this pandemic. Therefore, schools should only extend schooling hours if the students’ and teachers’ safety is guaranteed.

Alternatively, teachers can turn to online platforms to assist with their teaching to further coach students who are having difficulties with lessons. Howbeit schools shouldn’t rely on online learning, knowing the apparent and significant digital divide in our country. Online learning should only be considered as ‘extra tuition classes’ or ‘exercises’ to attend to for students who are in need of help with their homework. Teachers should not teach any new topics online so that students that are at a disadvantage wouldn’t miss classes due to their inaccessibility to the Internet.

In addition, online content such as mental health courses and entertainment resources like Kahoot quizzes should be encouraged in the direction to build fun, interactive learning along with a safe space to take care of students’ well-being during this trying time.

If teachers would like to invest in digital learning, they would also have to be mindful of the screen time they will employ. Research has found that spending long hours in front of black screens is not beneficial for students at all. This is because online education would need a heavy amount of motivation and attention from students for the sake of focusing on a single pixelated video screen. The constant exposure and consumption of screen content would only lower students’ attention span as well as increase screen-time fatigue that would indirectly affect their studies.

Thus, teachers will need to plan their lessons carefully- limit online sessions between 15 to 30 minutes (which has been proven to be the most effective) and arrange interactive activities in between so that students would have something to look forward to as they could still participate in class despite the ongoing situation.

Of course, schools would not be fully prepared to confront the new reality if hygiene procedures are not taken into account. The former NUTP secretary-general, Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam has proposed to introduce ‘hygiene’ as a vital learning topic once schools reopen. This will aid students, especially younger ones to further comprehend the dangers of the current situation while taking preventive measures.

Besides having laboratories cleaned now and then, placing hand sanitisers at strategic locations to urge frequent hand washing, schools must implement a strict hygiene guideline based on the WHO checklist for students, teachers and other school workers to follow. The WHO checklist includes:

Washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds,
Not touching your face,
Not sharing cups, eating utensils, food or drinks with others,
Not stigmatizing your peers or tease anyone about being sick,
Telling your parents, another family member, or a caregiver if you feel sick, and ask to stay home,
Identifying Covid-19 symptoms and let your parents know or visit a doctor immediately if symptoms persist,
When at home, stay informed of all the new updates regarding school, examinations, public area norms and other policy changes from time to time.
Participating in online classes and/or complete homeworks given by teachers responsibly.

Schools should emphasize that if an individual is feeling unwell, they should not attend classes as they may spread the virus to the people around them. That being said students, teachers and even non-academic staff shouldn’t be punished if they were to stay at home for the reason above. Furthermore, teachers will have to be proactive in monitoring by ensuring that all rules and regulations to counter the virus are being observed by their students.

This can be done by constantly reminding the students’ about these practices as well as the intention behind imposing them so that students will not only be health savvy but responsible members of the community. Teachers will also need to educate themselves as well as the students about COVID-19 symptoms to increase awareness about the rife disease.

Subsequently, parents, too, have a crucial role in this equation. Parents should shred off the attitude of depending schools to teach their children about the virus and take the initiative to advise their children instead about social distancing and the importance of it (not only at schools but everywhere outside the four walls of their homes).

Schools are a haven.

Schools are a haven for students to learn and grow. It is salient for them to understand the menacing threat of the virus without putting a hold on their education. For this reason, authorities like the Ministry of Education (MOE) will have to explore all options and come up with the best solutions to protect them — the leaders of the future.

After all, without schools, where would they learn?

References

The New Normal: On Schools Adapting to the New Normal

Written by Jane Law Lee Bin, Edited by Rifqi Faisal and Researched by Team MYER.

So, should it not be reinstated at all?

How should we go about it then?

Schools are a haven.

Written by Malaysian Youths for Education Reform

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