2020 Was a Difficult Year for Teachers and Learners
2020-12-27
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1At the beginning of 2020, the problems faced by American schools and colleges included issues like slavery, school shooting, sexual assault and the use of technology.
2That all changed in March.
3The coronavirus pandemic sent students and teachers home,
4 forcing schools in the U.S. and around the world to move classrooms online.
5Asha Choksi is head of research for Pearson Education.
6She saw the move to online learning as a chance to improve higher education.
7"What it's done is, it's actually given a lot more power to students in terms of how, when and where they learn," she said.
8However, Stephanie Hall of the policy research group The Century Foundation argued that online education can never really replace in-person learning in fields like healthcare and teaching.
9Hall said, "Students need to experience...what it is they're learning about, reading about or hearing about in the classroom. And I don't know yet the degree to which technology can facilitate that."
10The health crisis also made it difficult for international students to stay in the United States.
11And it prevented U.S. students from studying in other countries.
12Bryan Alexander is a professor at Georgetown University.
13He said the experience could push more colleges to develop online education.
14He warned, however, that might not happen if students have "poor online experiences, or if the coronavirus fades into being just another flu strain."
15As the year went on, it became clear that low-income communities and students in rural areas were not equipped for online education.
16Only half of the students in the city of Philadelphia had computers and home internet service.
17It took some time but officials and businesses finally stepped in to provide equipment and service.
18In rural areas of South Carolina without internet service, the state sent buses equipped with wi-fi internet to help.
19Students around the world faced similar problems.
20UNESCO reported in April that only half of the world's learners could take part in distance learning.
21In places like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, lack of electricity and internet service kept students from continuing their studies at home.
22Many countries, including Sri Lanka, Columbia, Ecuador, Chile and Haiti used radio and television broadcasts to provide education for at-home students.
23Diana Lopez is a teacher in Funza, a town near Bogota with 10,000 public school students.
24She said, "The radio lessons give children a space to develop their reading and writing skills and also show them that their teachers are still with them."
25Educators, however, worried about the mental health of students who could not attend school or see their friends.
26Frank Chen is a psychiatrist who has worked with college-age young adults.
27He said college can be a difficult experience for students with or without mental health issues, as they balance work, studies and personal relationships.
28A major event like the pandemic makes it very difficult to predict what the long-term psychological effects might be.
29"I don't think that there's another event in the history of the people who are alive now that can really measure up to this," said Chen.
30In the state of Virginia, fifth-grade teacher Aileen Watts said she and other teachers built in activities to help students reduce anxiety.
31Classes took "brain breaks," which meant stopping the lesson to play a short game or even do a dance.
32 And, if a child was feeling anxious, he or she could partner with someone to help calm those emotions.
33In August, parents, teachers and politicians debated on whether U.S. schools should reopen.
34Meanwhile schools in countries where the pandemic was under more control, such as in Europe, South Korea and Vietnam, were able to reopen successfully.
35As U.S. schools reopened, the tragic result was the death of teachers and infection of children with COVID-19.
36In the state of Mississippi, there were 604 cases among school teachers and workers by mid-September.
37Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers.
38She said, "If community spread is too high,
39as it is in Missouri and Mississippi,
40 if you don't have the infrastructure of testing,
41and if you don't have the safeguards that prevent the spread of viruses in the school,
42we believe that you cannot reopen in person."
43I'm Jill Robbins.
1At the beginning of 2020, the problems faced by American schools and colleges included issues like slavery, school shooting, sexual assault and the use of technology. 2That all changed in March. 3The coronavirus pandemic sent students and teachers home, forcing schools in the U.S. and around the world to move classrooms online. 4Asha Choksi is head of research for Pearson Education. She saw the move to online learning as a chance to improve higher education. "What it's done is, it's actually given a lot more power to students in terms of how, when and where they learn," she said. 5However, Stephanie Hall of the policy research group The Century Foundation argued that online education can never really replace in-person learning in fields like healthcare and teaching. 6Hall said, "Students need to experience...what it is they're learning about, reading about or hearing about in the classroom. And I don't know yet the degree to which technology can facilitate that." 7The health crisis also made it difficult for international students to stay in the United States. And it prevented U.S. students from studying in other countries. 8Bryan Alexander is a professor at Georgetown University. He said the experience could push more colleges to develop online education. He warned, however, that might not happen if students have "poor online experiences, or if the coronavirus fades into being just another flu strain." 9Hardship for rural and disadvantaged students 10As the year went on, it became clear that low-income communities and students in rural areas were not equipped for online education. 11Only half of the students in the city of Philadelphia had computers and home internet service. It took some time but officials and businesses finally stepped in to provide equipment and service. In rural areas of South Carolina without internet service, the state sent buses equipped with wi-fi internet to help. 12Students around the world faced similar problems. 13UNESCO reported in April that only half of the world's learners could take part in distance learning. In places like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, lack of electricity and internet service kept students from continuing their studies at home. 14Many countries, including Sri Lanka, Columbia, Ecuador, Chile and Haiti used radio and television broadcasts to provide education for at-home students. 15Diana Lopez is a teacher in Funza, a town near Bogota with 10,000 public school students. She said, "The radio lessons give children a space to develop their reading and writing skills and also show them that their teachers are still with them." 16Mental health and pandemic effects 17Educators, however, worried about the mental health of students who could not attend school or see their friends. 18Frank Chen is a psychiatrist who has worked with college-age young adults. He said college can be a difficult experience for students with or without mental health issues, as they balance work, studies and personal relationships. A major event like the pandemic makes it very difficult to predict what the long-term psychological effects might be. 19"I don't think that there's another event in the history of the people who are alive now that can really measure up to this," said Chen. 20In the state of Virginia, fifth-grade teacher Aileen Watts said she and other teachers built in activities to help students reduce anxiety. Classes took "brain breaks," which meant stopping the lesson to play a short game or even do a dance. And, if a child was feeling anxious, he or she could partner with someone to help calm those emotions. 21Back into the classroom 22In August, parents, teachers and politicians debated on whether U.S. schools should reopen. Meanwhile schools in countries where the pandemic was under more control, such as in Europe, South Korea and Vietnam, were able to reopen successfully. 23As U.S. schools reopened, the tragic result was the death of teachers and infection of children with COVID-19. In the state of Mississippi, there were 604 cases among school teachers and workers by mid-September. 24Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers. She said, "If community spread is too high, as it is in Missouri and Mississippi, if you don't have the infrastructure of testing, and if you don't have the safeguards that prevent the spread of viruses in the school, we believe that you cannot reopen in person." 25I'm Jill Robbins. 26Jill Robbins adapted this story based on Learning English education coverage in 2020. Hai Do was the editor. 27___________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29facilitate - v. to make something easier 30fade - v. to lose force or strength 31strain - n. a specific kind of closely related living things including germs 32psychological - adj. of or relating to the mind 33anxiety - n. fear or nervousness about what might happen 34infrastructure - n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly 35How did the pandemic affect your education or that of your family members this year? 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