During the first few days of the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across Korea, one could see students wearing masks all over the campus of Seoul International School. South Korea had less than five patients at the time, but with numbers rapidly increasing in nearby China, most Koreans felt that it was better safe than sorry to stay safe behind the protection of an N95 mask. 

[Photo of disinfection measures occurring in South Korea / Photo courtesy of Yonhap via http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200226000801]

As the number of patients in Korea looked to be leveling off, however, it became increasingly clear that students were less worried about the risk of infection; most students were no longer wearing their masks, and their Snapchat and Instagram stories showed that they weren’t scared of going out to highly populated areas. Still, students, not excluding me, would complain to each other, saying, “Chadwick and GSIS closed this week! Why can’t we close too?”

Well, after the emergence of the Shincheonji cluster in Daegu and subsequent surge in patient numbers across the country, it looks now that students’ wishes have been granted, but not exactly in the way we had been hoping for. As COVID-19 spreads rapidly on a global scale, countries all over the world have been forced to adapt creatively to this suddenly-emerged virus for preventive purposes.

[Screenshot of the siskorea.org homepage, announcing the closure of Seoul International School’s campus / Photo courtesy of siskorea.org]

For Korean schools (which start the school year in March), this means that the first day of school has been delayed. On the other hand, international schools in countries all over the world, which are in the middle of their school year, have resorted to using Google Hangouts to conduct online classes every day. Hangouts is a video calling service provided by Google, through which up to 25 participants can simultaneously call each other. Seeing that most international schools provide G Suite accounts for both students and teachers, it makes sense that classes would be conducted through this particular calling service.

These online classes have proven to be challenging especially for music classes. The audio delay prevents classes from being conducted effectively. Some music teachers are utilizing other video calling services (such as Zoom) to in order to conduct rehearsals.  Through a combination of Google Classroom, Zoom, and Hangouts, most international schools are carrying out online classes in order to prove that students are fulfilling the minimum number of required schools days per year. This prevents the delay of graduation, summer vacation, and advancement to the next grade as a result of COVID-19. 

[Screenshot of Google Classroom in motion / Photo courtesy of Rachel Lee]

Students show varying responses regarding the efficiency of online schooling. Ashley Seong, a sophomore at Seoul International School, stated, “I feel like it’s an effective way to learn in these unfortunate times because we are all in the classroom, just not physically. Although I’m looking forward to going back to physical school and hope that COVID-19 is under control as soon as possible, I think online school has been efficient and helpful as possible in these circumstances. Eileen Kang, a junior at UNIS Hanoi, stated, “Although online classes have been happening for a while now at my school, it doesn’t feel like school has stopped because I’m still getting a fulfilling education through video chat from my teachers.” Sumin Jeon, a junior at Concordia International School Shanghai, felt differently, “I feel like online school kind of limits our learning because we're not able to "interact" with each other and with teachers as much. Also, science classes require labs and it's sad we can’t really do them. And, we can’t do any sports or meet with friends, so that's also sad.”

Teachers also expressed the impact the movement of school onto an online platform has had on their classroom settings. For instance, Jessica Terbrueggen, a high school English teacher at SIS, wrote, “Virtual learning and e-learning has affected the way my classes are operating in both positive and negative ways. Of course, it is less personal due to the distance involved in an online learning environment. So in that way, the biggest con to virtual teaching is the loss of community, and immediate relationships in the present moment. However, that being said, the pros of online learning have been the innovative learning strategies that have been bread out of necessity. You know what "they" say: ‘"Necessity is the mother of all invention!"’ I have discovered creative ways to run class, and many of the new strategies I have incorporated into my online teaching repertoire will stay in rotation even once we are back again in our traditional classroom settings. One last final positive that has come from the Covid-19 online learning stint is that while we have lost in many ways our day-to-day community, we have gained a deeper sense of responsibility and community in a more holistic way. As Sebastain Junger stated in the book Tribe, during times of global crisis people ‘"revert to that tribal, communal, closely connected system . . . and the benefits of that system more than offset the hardships that brought it into being in the first place."’ In other words, this is a beautiful opportunity to put into perspective what is important, what makes us human.”

As said by Ms. Terbrueggen, the epidemic outbreak has forced me to assume greater responsibility – especially within an academic setting. In particular, although I am normally very good with time management, the comparatively lax setting of online classes compared to physical school, where teachers personally monitor how on-task each student is, has forced me to rewire the way I prepare for summatives and classwork. I have noticed that I have grown a bit lazier and less attentive after the introduction of online classes, and have missed deadlines for assignments that I would normally have submitted days in advance. Although I was initially flustered by the repercussions of my sudden change in my own attitude toward school, the coronavirus outbreak unexpectedly led me to redefine the way I approach school and adopt more responsible academic habits.

With the future of COVID-19 still unpredictable and unstable, it is unclear students will be returning to physical school. But it appears that though the outbreak of the epidemic is undoubtedly a tragedy through and through, schools have found an effective way to increase students’ enthusiasm for school amid these troubling times.

 









Rachel Lee
Grade 11
Seoul International School

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