Returning to full face-to-face schooling

President Bongbong Marcos’ pronouncement of the return to full face-to-face classes this school year was one of the statements that was met with loud applause during his first SONA. I was one of those clapping as I agree with the President that it is about time that our students return to the classrooms and resume face-to-face schooling where learning and growth can be maximized through in-person interaction with their teachers and classmates. Of course this comes with risks to the health and safety of the students and teachers and we should endeavor to find the right balance between competing goals.

While the way that most schools, teachers, students and parents were able to adjust to remote and hybrid modes of learning, in most cases in-person or face-to-face learning is still the ideal. There are a great many benefits to having students and teachers in the classroom once again, in terms of academic learning, social interaction and physical exercise. Worth emphasizing is the boon that in-person learning is for many with learning disabilities or attention difficulties, as well as for economically disadvantaged parents who cannot afford stable internet or pricy gadgets, or who are unable to leave home to work if their kids are not at school.

But it is important to remember that COVID-19 remains very much a threat, and just because cases have fallen to the point that the benefits of face-to-face classes outweigh the (still real) dangers, making that decision is not the end of the matter. It is, instead, just the beginning of the balancing that will be continually required in order to make sure that neither the education of our youth, nor their health, are carelessly sacrificed for expediency.

This is not, and cannot be, a return to 2019. The lessons that we have learned in the fight against COVID-19 over the past 2-3 years cannot be mothballed until the next surge – they must be adapted to the present.

The first and most potent protection we have, what has made this return to in-person classes even possible, remains to be vaccination. And we have seen from the way COVID mutates that vaccination cannot be a one-and-done deal – boosters can and will continue to play an important role, and we cannot let our vaccination drive fall by the wayside. Already we are seeing statistics that show we have begun to lag behind in the administration of boosters to the population, because many now feel a lack of urgency compared to the past. But the fact that we are more often in the company of others is not a sign that we need vaccination less – in fact, increased exposure to others means vaccination is more important than ever. Public and private institutions – both schools and government units – need to continue to stay on message about the importance of vaccination and boosters in particular, and do their best to make these more readily available to students and teachers. (And it’s also important to continue the regular schedule of non-COVID vaccinations for children as well, as many of these have fallen by the wayside.)

Within the schools themselves, every effort must be taken to reduce the risks of exposure. This includes masks (which should still be the default, says the DOH, even with loosening of outdoor mask requirements), ventilation and physical distancing to the best degree possible. It includes self-monitoring by students and daily screening for symptoms or exposure upon entry to the school premises. When structural issues prevent the ideal application of these health protocols, this cannot simply be shrugged off – doing the best we can must be paired with an active push to improve the situation, whether through public or private assistance.

While waiting for improvements to physical limitations such as classroom availability or class size, there are other, simpler changes that can be made – even incremental increases in protection are better than none. These include making sure students don’t sit facing each other, that windows are open, staggering of arrival and dismissal times and allowing students to eat in classrooms as opposed to everyone mixing in the cafeteria.

Reducing the general mixing of the school population can be helpful – one measure adopted by some schools is the use of grouping or cohorts, distinct groups that serve as the “bubble” to limit and easily identify any potential exposures. And some exposure to COVID-19 will happen (after all, not even full lockdowns could entirely prevent that) – what is important is that there are protocols in place, and that these are clearly communicated to teachers, students and parents. Every concerned party must know the answer to basic questions: when must a student isolate and for how long; how will their classmates and teacher be informed; may an isolating student continue to attend classes remotely and so on.

The remote and hybrid learning methodologies adapted during the previous years must be ready to be re-deployed either on an individual basis (to give an opportunity for a continuity of learning for an isolating student) or on a larger scale in response to a spike in infections in the school or the community. Yes, many times remote learning is less than ideal but that does not make it any less a useful and viable alternative. We know how insidious COVID can be, and we must make our plans in a way that takes school infections into account, with an accompanying response.

And at the core of it all, it is of the utmost importance to keep the human element in mind, and to be able to protect the holistic wellbeing of students and teachers. We are still years from being able to understand the full effects of the pandemic on students and teachers, and it’s important that in re-adjusting to in-person schooling, empathy and understanding must be at the forefront of our response to the inevitable hiccups along the way. The transition will not be perfect, and we have to allow students and teachers the leeway to make mistakes, to find their footing, to take needed breaks before trying again.

The return to full in-person classes is not the end of a process but the beginning of a more nuanced approach to education where health and safety are integrated and carefully considered every step of the way… because both education and health are non-negotiable.