Coronavirus, Let's Hear It From the Kids!
- Gemma
- Mar 31, 2021
- 7 min read
By Gemma Tabet
Written: September 22, 2020
Theme of Issue: SDG 4, Quality Education. Here is the official UN link where you can learn more about this particular Sustainable Development Goal: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4
Photo Credit: Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash
Author's Note: I wrote this last year when many countries around the world were still in their 'First Lockdown'. I know the situation is slightly different today, but many schools as still closed around the world and the virus has changed education greatly, which is why I think this article is still relevant.
Coronavirus has completely changed the world. Thousands have died, and millions around the world have been stuck at home in a lockdown. To help support students at home, many schools, universities and learning institutes have started online school on electronics, to continue their students’ education. This pandemic has united billions of people across the globe, as we all fight against the virus. Many people have been impacted differently, so I wanted to shed light on other situations of students worldwide. Here are my interviews, from emails to WhatsApp to voice recordings to show the impact of Coronavirus on students everywhere.
The map above shows where each of the students I interviewed live. I made it using Canva.
Ella Nyerere: Khartoum, Sudan
Q: What is your name, age and what school do you go to? A: Hi! My name is Ella, I’m fourteen and the school I go to is called the Khartoum International Community School or KICS in Sudan.
Q: Did the country you live in go into lockdown? A: Yes, Sudan did go into lockdown, but I wasn’t in the country when it did. My family and I got locked out of the country, so we had to go to Sweden. We lived there for four months but now I’m back in Khartoum.
Q: How did Covid-19 impact your education? What happened to your school?
A: I went to a school in Sweden as well as staying online with my school in Sudan, KICS. Going to two schools at once was kind of hard because since I was doing online school and real school there were moments where I couldn’t attend a Google meet because I was in class. Since I was going to a Swedish school barely anyone spoke English so communicating was difficult. I understand Swedish but can’t speak it so they would talk in Swedish, and I would answer in English.
Q: Do you think, overall, this was a bad experience or a good one?
A: I think it was a bit of both because I got to go to Sweden and staying there was quite nice (I’m half Swedish, half Kenyan). I also liked going to a different school with a different culture, but it was quite bad because there were a lot of friends I never got to say goodbye to, and a lot of stuff was cancelled because of Covid.
Simone Ford: Seattle, USA
Q: What is your name, age and what school do you go to? A: Hi, my name is Simone Ford, and I am fourteen years old. I live in Seattle, Washington and I go to the Salmon Bay K-8 School.
Q: Did the country you live in go into lockdown? A: Seattle did go into lockdown and is still in lockdown now. I’ve been stuck at home since March, but I got a short break during the summer when my family and I went to Montana and Alaska (we took planes for both of them). Now I’m back at home.
How did Covid-19 impact your education? What happened to your school?
A: We had online school for the end of last school year and because schools in Seattle have not restarted, I think we’re going to have online school for most of this year. Online school is very hard for me especially when most of the kids don’t have their cameras on, so it’s hard to connect with the classroom. I also miss seeing my friends and working with them.
Q: Do you think, overall, this was a bad experience or a good one?
A: I think Covid-19 is both a good experience and a bad experience because it just reminds us of how dangerous viruses can be and prepares us in case this happens again. Going into lockdown also gave me a lot of time to learn new skills or to improve in ones I already had, like drawing. I think Covid-19 was also a bad experience because it impacted a lot of people’s physical and mental health. I feel bad for the teachers too though, it must be so hard for them to manage online school and be stuck at home.
Ayumi Tsuchiya: Qingdao, China
Q: What is your name, age and what school do you go to? A: Hi my name is Ayumi and I’m eleven years old. I go to a school called QUAIS (the Qingdao Amerasia International School).
Q: Did the country you live in go into lockdown? A: Qingdao sort of went into lockdown, it wasn’t 100 percent forced but it was encouraged. The government thought it was a good idea, but you weren’t forced to stay inside; my family and I hung out at the beach a lot but most of the malls and stores were closed.
Q: How did Covid-19 impact your education? What happened to your school?
A: Our school closed for 62 days but while we were at home, they would send us work to do and projects to make. Sometimes we had live lessons, so it was basically school all day except on the computer. We also did movie watching and lots of other fun things. Online learning was hard (even though the work was easier) because if we didn’t understand something we had to call, or text and it became very complicated. We are back at school now; we came back to school June 3rd and in the end, we got to do our end of year Exhibition not online which was great!
Q: Do you think, overall, this was a bad experience or a good one?
A: It depends on how you think of it. This was a good experience because I got to know my family better but bad because so many people are sick and worried. The schools closed so that was tough too and my class (Grade 5) was about to start the PYP exhibition where we look at problems we want to solve and try to find solutions. We had to start this online and it was hard because we didn’t have many materials to make posters and things like that. I also missed my friends and teachers but luckily, we sometimes met each other at the beach!
Isolde Mcsharry: Maputo, Mozambique and Enniskillen, Ireland
Q: What is your name, age and what school do you go to? A: Hi, my name is Isolde and I’m thirteen. I now go to the Enniskillen Royal Grammar School in Enniskillen, Ireland but I used to go to the American International School of Mozambique (AISM).
Q: Did the country you live in go into lockdown? A: The country I used to live in was Mozambique and it went into lockdown when Covid-19 arrived there. Me and my family were evacuated, and we were moved to Ireland, which was also in lockdown.
Q: How did Covid-19 impact your education? What happened to your school?
A: I had to switch schools from Mozambique to Ireland and I did a couple of months of online school with AISM which is very different from being there in person. Now I’m attending an Irish school which is a lot harder because we just sit at our desks ALL day and we get a lot of homework and it’s very boring. It’s also different because we have to wear masks at school and stay in social bubbles (specific groups).
Q: Do you think, overall, this was a bad experience or a good one?
A: It wasn’t a good experience, it was mainly bad, but it was also more of an interesting experience. I learned a lot from the lockdown, and I think I got better at time management and planning because I had to manage my learning during online school.
Marie Masozera: Kigali, Rwanda
Q: What is your name, age and what school do you go to? A: Hi, my name is Marie, I am fourteen years old, and I go to the International School of Kigali Rwanda (ISKR).
Q: Did the country you live in go into lockdown? A: Yes, Rwanda did go into lockdown for around three months. Rwanda isn’t in lockdown anymore, but I am still in online school right now because schools haven’t reopened yet. I do think though that regular school will be starting again soon.
Q: How did Covid-19 impact your education? What happened to your school?
A: After Covid-19 hit my country and we went into lockdown, I started online school. Personally, it hasn’t been that bad for me, however some of my classmates and other students in my school want to spend more time with other kids and interact with people. I find that in online school I have fewer interactions with other students which I don’t like but some aspects of online school are easier, like focusing in class (besides when the WiFi has issues). I think that it is easier to follow what the teachers are saying and doing but it depends on the teacher because some teachers don't know how to do certain things online.
Q: Do you think, overall, this was a bad experience or a good one?
A: I think I had a good experience because I still go to attend school and my parents have stable jobs, which allowed my family to stay home during lockdown without too much trouble. But I feel that I lost the hands-on part of my education; luckily, I wasn't transitioning from high school to college during the lockdown like other students.
I hope you learned something new about how students all around the world were affected by coronavirus. Covid-19 has impacted everybody globally and it’s important to see how, even through the lenses of students of different ages worldwide. A special thanks to Ella, Simone, Isolde, Ayumi and Marie for taking the time to share their experiences and thoughts, and showing that coronavirus really has affected everyone everywhere, from the cold seas of Ireland to the green hills of Rwanda. Thank you!
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