Children advocate Faith Marshall-Harris is asking authorities to listen to the children of the nation who are asking for the days of face-to-face classroom teaching to return.
Harris, who applauded Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw for reaching out to students across the island to hear from them what they need at this time when they are participating in a blended face-to-face and online teaching environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said the students, should be given what they want as much as it is possible.
During the sessions at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex where students voiced their views on the benefits and disadvantages of the blended approach to learning under the COVID-19 restrictions, to Minister Bradshaw revealed that, students asked for an extension of times so that they can do more face-to-face.
“I also like to tailor what I say though to what is possible, what is practical because there is no point my calling for anything that is not going to conform with the necessities of protocols and that sort of thing because there could be greater danger there. But I would want to invite them to do as much as they can to accommodate the children’s choice.
“Too often in Barbados through the years, children have had little voice and most of their issues have been pushed to the back burner and I have always put that down to ‘they don’t have a vote so you don’t have to worry too much about them’. But this is one example and I hope it is going to be repeated in a number of areas. That is an important step forward and I like to salute when there is a step forward,” she said.
The UNICEF Champion for Children said this move by Bradshaw is important because quite often authorities do not hear the voices of children.
“I am a child rights advocate so I would tell you if that is how children feel we must do everything in our power to comply because if that is how they are comfortable learning, we can’t deny them, we have to try to help. I know that a lot of them would want to, given the calls I and others have had. They are not comfortable in the domestic space on the devices. And the fact that they said it really encourages me because they are interested in learning and that is good.”
Marshall-Harris said in addition there have also been calls to the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust Helpline suggesting that teachers have been missing from online teaching sessions, while there have also been several complaints from children not logging into the forum. She said she has also heard concerns about disruption in households denying children the opportunity to focus during ongoing online classes.
She said she has also received complaints about children misusing the technological devices that should be used as learning tools, an issue which she believes is due to a lack of parental supervision.
“That is where face-to-face teaching is important because children need guidance. You can’t leave them to their own devices and not expect to have some foolish choices being made,” she said. (AH)
