Prioritizing Play Over Pen And Paper: What COVID Can Teach Us About Education

On March 18th, the UK prime minister announced the closure of nurseries, schools, and colleges “until further notice” in order to prevent further spread of COVID-19 across the country. The daily routines of children, and their parents/carers, were overthrown by the pandemic’s ruthless path through the nation. So, on Friday, school-gates closed on formal education in the UK, as we knew it pre-COVID.

Across the globe, educational establishments have taken similar precautions as we battle with coronavirus, and children have been absent from their institutions of education from as far back as January. But by how much are children truly ‘missing out’? With a tragic global death toll of over 468,500 (as of June 22, reported via John Hopkins University tracker) the world seems geared to a negative mindset but some adaptations made during this time open up conversations of change and progress, rather than for just the immediate protection for our current climate. 

There, of course, remains hugely influential factors upon educational advantages, such as socio-economic status, familial setting, individual circumstances of the children and family, offering vast avenues of debate regarding educational influences. Nonetheless, (in a very generalized perspective) with the majority of children in the UK not currently attending their usual educational facilities, practices of play and instinctive exploration have, to varying degrees depending on these factors, replaced the strategic formality of assessment criteria across the board of education. 

As students of all ages across the UK geared up for their summertime exam season, the closures meant that even the earliest of exams were canceled for many students: 11-year-old pupils could not take their Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) that have, for many years, faced criticisms regarding their authenticity and true effectiveness as a results system. Further along the chain, 16 year-olds and 18 year-olds have had their exams for qualifications of general education (GCSEs) and Further Education (A-levels or equivalent) halted, instead of replacing results with average prediction grades. Politically, schools have missed out on their most vital term - the one that produces the quantitative evidence of their ‘success’. 

So what have children been doing, since March? 

Well, this, again, is very dependent on individual circumstances. Many reports in the media have highlighted the risks for child protection during this time: many children use educational establishments as their safe haven, and safeguarding procedures are unable to hear these children when they’re in a lockdown at home.

Similarly, educational inequalities have become a prominent concern for teaching associations, where wealthier families might be able to afford private tuition during these times, for example, and put their children in a higher academic position. But in a more positive light, lockdown, in general, has given the world a slower pace - fewer people are out working strenuous long days away from home, and students of all ages have been out of the educational rigor.

 For children who are currently in school (as of 1st June, children were allowed to return to reduced-size classrooms), the lower ratios of students to teachers, and greater utility of outdoor learning spaces, combined with the relaxed learning content has given the opportunity to launch a more exploratory platform for education and a much more accessible opportunity for educators to prioritize student wellbeing. For children who remain at home, similar experiences can be had: children have had the chance to learn, first-hand, about the processes of infection, the importance of hygiene, and the history of such valuable sciences. An ‘adventure’ in the park can open up a thousand opportunities, given the chance (that we now seem to have). 

Street after street of houses are decorated with children’s artistic creations of rainbowed thank-yous for our wonderful system of key-workers and National Health Service - this very practice has a multitude of educational conversations behind it, and a plethora of inspirations for young minds. 

Of course, it is vital to recognize that this is NOT the experience of everyone - many children will have suffered through missing the routine, or protection, of their schooling, and it is essential that we recognize this, to highlight the true value of our amazing educators across the world. But, the temporary erasure of a strict, fast-paced, and standardized education has allowed teachers and parents alike to relax the strictest curriculum and introduce alternative teaching methods.

Assessment processes will not be excluded permanently from teaching and learning processes, the current COVID climate has forced education to take a new spin on how they learn, what they learn, and why they learn it, both in and out of school. People around the globe have taken this time to recognize and appreciate precisely what they value. I think the world’s education systems should take a similar note, too.

The views and opinions expressed here belong to the author or interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of  The Youth Cafe.