Managing the Post-Covid-19 Academic System
The Covid-19 pandemic has made the schools to be closed down for a long time. In this part of the world schools are beginning to resume already especially the primary and secondary schools, while some tertiary institutions are still yet to get the go-ahead to resume. If you are a teacher, probably in a primary or secondary school, then you know that resumption is already happening. Students are going back to school and soon enough lessons are going to begin full-time, but the question is how will you cope? Wondering how teachers can manage the Post-Covid-19 academic system? What measures and strategies can you use to be able to give your best at this time when there is likely to be a lot of pressure on you to meet up and then so as to ensure that you don’t do the work at the detriment of your own well-being.
Of course, it is clear crystal clear that the Post-Covid-19 school style is going to be somewhat different from the usual and considering the fact that students have missed a lot during the lockdown caused by the pandemic there will be a lot of demand on teachers to do their best. What strategies can you as a teacher begin to employ to really give the best at this time?
Early mornings
One important thing for you as an individual is that you should adapt and adjust yourself you need to adjust to the new routine of waking up early and going to school. Of course, before the pandemic and lockdown came into place you probably have been used to the early wake up time and going to school early to do your normal duties but probably during the lockdown your body has adjusted to a new style of routine.
Maybe you wake up at late hours this time around you need to get your mind set adjusted to the fact that now, it is back to school, back to work and must be ready to do all that is necessary to be able to wake up at the right time to avoid lateness. So, one important thing is mindset adjustment to the fact that now it is work time, not break or lockdown. You probably for the first few days of the resumption might feel a little bit off the normal routine of waking up early but early you must be, so if you will need to set an alarm to wake you up at the right time, you should do that.
Strategy, patience and dedication
As a good teacher who desires the success of your students or pupils, you will not just want to rush over the curriculum or schoolwork without ensuring that your students get the very best knowledge acquisition. What can you then do since you will want to balance the whole thing in the sense that while you’re giving them the very best, you’re also able to meet up with the scheme of work? You need to find a way around it, and the earlier you begin to strategize towards giving your best, the better. Get the scheme of work on time and begin to see how you can plan around it, know what you can do or what strategies you can use to ensure that your students get the very best. You will probably have to do a good deal of previous knowledge because of the fact that these students have been away from school for very long time and they will need to be reminded of some things that they’ve been taught.
You will also need a lot of patience to deal with students at this time because there may be things that you expect them to probably remember which they may not be able to remember, so just exercise patience and also do your best to practice dedication. Be dedicated to the teaching, be ready to go the extra mile just for the sake of the students, even if it’s for the meantime, so as to give them the best. When they are well thought then the quality of their education can be a reliable one.
Teaching aids
Make use of as many teaching aids or teaching strategies that you can apply to make your students quickly grasp the concept that you want to take them.
Assignments
One of the ways that you can help them to catch up on things that they also have not been taught is to give them assignments, give them as many assignments as possible and feasible so that things that concepts and topics you are unable to cover in the classroom can be covered through the assignments. This may not look like a normal thing to do, but in order to cover for all the lost time, if you think it’s necessary, then you can apply this.
They can go back home and read those things up and answer some questions on what they have read, by that they will be able to get those concepts and then you can even make the students know that they will also be tested on the assignments and you should do that, so that they can all take the assignments serious – reading up what they should and answering the homework questions. This plus the things you are teaching them in the classroom will go a long way in covering more topics in lesser time. This is a measure that you can apply due to the fact that the students have lost learning time to the pandemic-induced lockdown. Time which could have been used in transferring knowledge.
Social input
You should also take good care of the students as regards their social life. You never can tell what the lockdown has done to impact their social life, also ensure that the Post-Covid-19 measures for the school is not imposed on a way that will impair the social life of the students. Advice the school management to make the measures as student-friendly and teacher-friendly as possible. You can also make do with good games that may not necessarily involve too much contact but good social games that can involve interaction without too much contact which may still help to boost the social life of the students. As much as you may be trying to help the students academically, help their social balance too.
Self-care
For you as a teacher ensure that you take good care of yourself and your health. Do not allow the likely pressure to make you go get stressed unnecessarily. If you will have to wake up early in the morning to prepare your meal, eat and/or pack your food and take along, you should do that. Also ensure that you abide by the safety measures to avoid contracting the covid-19 virus. You should also encourage students and teachers alike to comply with the safety measures so that they can keep themselves safe and keep others safe as well. It is important to let everyone know that abiding by the necessary safety measures is the responsible way to respond to the pandemic.
So, you should harness every good initiative and discretion at your disposal to give your best to your students and to also ensure that you have the best experience at this time as a teacher.