Parents, teacher hope Manitoba's return to remote learning isn't extended
Most students learning remotely until Jan. 17, though uncertainty looms around whether that date will change
As parents and educators across Manitoba prepare for a brief return to remote learning on Monday, some are dreading kids being forced to stay home from school once more — and worrying about what might happen if the planned week of at-home instruction gets extended.
For Winnipeg teacher Karla Havelka, it's still not clear whether making teachers scramble to prepare for the switch was worth it to keep kids at home just five extra days.
"It's a lot of work to switch to remote for a week, and I'm not sure it's going to make much of a difference. But I really hope it doesn't go longer," she said.
That's because to Havelka, the pitfalls of remote learning have been clear.
Last time Manitoba schools went remote, her class of 21 only saw about six kids show up regularly to virtual sessions. Now, some students in her Grade 5/6 class are lagging far behind in core subjects like reading, writing and math.
And the kids already facing socioeconomic barriers — one who can't easily access technology for online classes or find a quiet place to learn in a crowded home — are being hit the hardest, she said.
"It accentuates the divide," Havelka said. "They're the ones that are suffering the most and they're already at the disadvantage."
Premier Heather Stefanson announced the extra week of remote learning after an extended holiday break at a news conference last week.
The plan is for in-person classes to resume next Monday, with most students staying out of schools until Jan. 17 as the province works to distribute rapid tests and medical-grade masks to schools.
The update came as Manitoba deals with a continued spike in COVID-19 infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.
But Havelka said she's worried about how quickly the call to move to remote learning seems to have been made.
"They had said before schools will be the first to open and the last to close. And now they've shown us that that's not the case," she said.
"So it concerns me, if cases are spiking again or a new variant comes, that … we're just going to be in this vicious cycle."
More support needed
Mary Burton said she fears the kids in her home — her 15-year-old stepson and 11- and 10-year-old grandsons — will be among those struggling in remote classes.
All three have some form of attention deficit disorder, she said, and their grades fell dramatically last time students were sent to learn from home without constant supervision from a teacher.
For Burton and her husband, the week ahead of working full-time while managing the boys' school work and caring for her five-year-old granddaughter is going to be "utter, total chaos."
"There's only so much that teachers can do in remote learning. There's only so much that I can do in remote learning," she said.
Burton said she hopes the switch to remote only lasts for the week that's been promised — and if it is extended, that more work is done to give extra support to kids who need it.
Her older grandson, Jesse Lund-Geddes, said he hopes he gets to go back to his Grade 6 class soon, too.
"It's going to be tough on me because I need to get my grades up," he said.
"[Remote learning] takes my learning progress away because I don't have as much help."
Mental health challenges
For some kids, remote learning also had a significant impact on their mental health, Havelka said.
And when they're staying home, students who once relied on counselling services aren't getting access to the same level of help they got when they were at school.
Havelka said she worries about what she's seeing in her students — and wonders whether the people making the call to move to remote learning fully appreciate its effect on kids.
"Closing schools down is not without risk. I think they understand that a little bit. I don't think they understand that fully," she said.
"Kids this age should be excited for the future, planning for their future, excited to go on to junior high. And I don't see that. It's kind of like a dullness."
Alana Demler said she saw that effect in her two teenage daughters over the last year, when existing anxiety disorders intensified and symptoms of depression crept up during remote learning.
One of her daughters "went from being an honour roll student to barely getting by," she said.
"To watch your child go deeper and deeper and deeper into a poor mental health situation and feeling helpless, not to be able to do anything about it, is disheartening. It's horrible."
Demler said a week of remote learning is one thing. But if that period gets extended, she hopes to see more flexibility to allow students with mental health challenges to attend class or get more supports.
"If you can get a letter from a psychologist or psychiatrist that can share that your child is struggling and that the online [learning] is detrimental to their mental health and well-being, I think there should be other options," she said.
"In some ways, I am more fearful of what online [learning] long-term is going to do to their mental health, versus getting COVID."
With files from Erin Brohman