Paretents Protest Remote

PARENTS PROTEST AGAINST ON-LINE

By Stephen Wilson

 

             In recent weeks parents of school children have been rallying and demanding to know whether it is really necessary to enforce on-line education for 6th to 11th grade classes

until December 7th and beyond. They are anxious about the falling quality of education as well as declining physical and psychological health of pupils, parents and teachers.

 

"I got a message sent to me from my teacher at 11 p.m. on Sunday asking me to do my homework for tomorrow which was originally intended to be finished by next Friday. I wrote back saying I couldn't do it! Then I read on the computer that I had got a mark two{failed }. Then I got 86% for a test. What mark do you think I should have got? {usually a student would get a four or five} Well, I got a three. We have been doing nothing but tests and more tests. I did the same test seven times! I don't mind the teacher forgetting, but why should I do the test 7 times?

  

I have been getting twos for all kinds of strange reasons. I made one mistake in the geography and I was given a two. I asked the teacher why and she gave no explanation but simply said, "Well that is what I have given and that is that". I told other friends about what problems I was having and they said they were also having this problem. As I understand it is forbidden for pupils to sit more than one test a day. But we often do seven tests a day. Most teachers just send us homework and tests to do and that is it. Only two or three teachers give on-line lessons. I think I'll end up in a psychiatric hospital if this goes on," stated Dmitri ,{Not his real name} a 14-year-old school boy. 

A Russian teacher of English Oksana Chebotareva confirmed that teachers should not give more than one test a day. She stated, "Before we decide to go ahead and give a test we have to check in the school notice board if other teachers are about to go ahead with a test so we don't break the limit".

The exasperation of school students is understandable. And many teachers never mind pupils didn't know when exactly Olympiad tests were to be held yesterday and many pupils missed them. Few people felt inclined to sit such tests on a Sunday morning and many people could not sit them because they did not have the required password. {Olympiad tests are special exams which would allow pupils who score very highly to enter universities.}

 

In recent weeks Russia, like many other countries has been hit hard by Covid 19. The number of people being infected has soared to record levels leaving many people numbed or reeling from the pressure. As many 20,000 and well over a day have been infected and the death rate is far higher than official figures. In response to this crisis the mayor of Moscow Sobyanin decided to avoid a full scale lock down instead choosing the golden mean of imposing stronger restrictions such as people with chronic illnesses and over 65 have to stay at home, 30% of workers at a company operating on-line and older school students in the 6th to 11th grade going on-line while the younger pupils go to school. Despite those measures, there seems little reprieve from this illness. And the impact of this illness on people should never be underestimated. A local Orthodox Priest I used to listen to at my local church died of this illness and teachers have also died. Peter Rezvykh, who teaches philosophy at Moscow State University stated he knew of around 3-4 philologists who work at the university who have died.

 

The switch to both on-line work and school lessons has led to a highly stressful home environment. Some teachers have become more tense and angry with their pupils, some children are losing their temper after doing on-line lessons for seven hours and there is often not enough available computers to use. Many mothers can't afford to give up their jobs to supervise their kids. But face to face lessons can be problematic. I personally have lost two face to face students because the fathers of family returned infected with Covid 19. As a result I am teaching mainly on-line.

 

Due to  those intense pressures some parents in Moscow have gathered together to protest against the policy to keep older children at home On-line. They demand that their children be sent back to school on the grounds On-line education not only represents poorer quality education but puts unneeded pressures on pupils and parents. For example, Ilona Menkova , a spokesperson for 'Parents of Moscow' argued that there was no need for schools to switch to On-line as it is not an emergency situation in schools. 

"Before, when one pupil got ill not all the pupils were sent home. Instead, we carried on studying ... There is no information available about the illness of children between the ages of 11 and 18. We demand the publication of such statistics of sick children in Moscow". The government responded by publishing such statistics and the group concluded that, "Covid 19 does not kill children. Now we know". 

Actually, we don't know. It is fair to state that there has not been enough research to prove whether children die from such an illness and it is rash to jump to such conclusions. Some people are angry about the almost light way some parents speak about only a small percentage of children being infected. They also forget that some teachers have been infected by this illness and died. The figures of teachers dying in the regions is much higher. Olga Stefanova a Teacher stated, "I am worried that some of the Russian teachers are vulnerable to this illness because many of them are in their fifties and sixties. It is not easy for teachers to go on-line. I noticed that one teacher who is nice and good with children spoke a bit nervously while giving a lesson." Nevertheless a petition requesting pupils return to school has gathered around 2000 signatures. Russian newspapers regularly report of 'Parents going to the barricades'.

 

One of the most disquieting aspects of this lingering crisis is that nobody is sure when it will end. Some school students believe that On-line lessons will be extended again and again into 2021 and even 2022! One point to emerge from this is that such a grim experience has practically killed many illusions in On-line Education as an attractive and viable alternative. On-line education is now seen as only a last resort or reserve resource rather than an ideal program of the future. Oksana Cheborateva was besieged by students at both the institute and school who told her, "Let us just hand our homework to you on school pads in the classroom rather than sending it to you electronically. We are sick of doing and sending homework On-line." Oksana happily agreed.