Most Students in Grades 5-11 Will Not Go Back to School – Minister Is Shocked, But Principals Have Their Own Arguments

While psychologists acknowledge that students will feel the consequences of quarantine for a long time, school principals Delfi interviewed said the decision to return everyone to school would only add to the confusion.

Fear of confusion

Gintautas Draugelis, Acting Director of Alytus Likiškėliai Progymnasium, stated that this issue is complicated. According to him, it is primarily the government’s responsibility to take care of this and, as they would point out, so would the school.

“However, in my personal opinion, the students and we talked about this, and both the children and I thought it would be chaos again in a few days. I’ll tell you where I see the problem.

Now that the beginners are learning, we have allowed them to learn safely by keeping their distances. If the seniors were going back to class now, they would have to choose a co-ed option or think hard about how to make the kids safe anyway. “

The principal said there were surveys of elementary parents on the return to contact education and on the cumulative assessment.

“We did not speak to the parents of the senior classes on this issue, although the deputy had called the presidents of the class parents committees and there was such a general opinion of parents and children about whether it was worth making such a mess now. for a few weeks.

People understand that it is not easy. If everyone was healthy, there would be no problem, but now there is a constant trend of coronavirus cases in Alytus, I don’t know, so if all the children were together, there could be outbreaks and everything, “he said.

He also pointed out that it is not easy to work in contact and with beginners, as there are still positive cumulative tests every week and certain classes have to be isolated.

There would be no quality of education

Asta Skripkienė, director of Marijampolė Rimantas Stankevičius Progymnasium, told Delfi that after consulting with the school community and listening to teachers’ arguments, she decided not to return the children to schools.

“We have come to the conclusion that it is not appropriate to return at this time on the required terms. The safety and flows of the students must be guaranteed, they must not comply, tests must be carried out. After all, the school has a cafeteria , bathrooms where it is not realistic to administer it. Of course, we can simulate the educational process, but then there would be no quality, “he said.

A. Skripskienė noted that it was taken into account that in distance education they had already reached a certain level of work, so it makes more sense to stay in it than to return.

“Of course, it is possible to integrate physical culture and mathematics, but how prepared are you and what will be the quality of that integration?” Asked the director rhetorically.

It is true that he noted that parents were surveyed upon return, but no consensus was reached. She also added that some parents feared they would not want to risk their job if they had to isolate themselves.

A class returned

However, in some Lithuanian schools, at least some pupils in grades 5-11 have returned to contact education. Laima Simėnienė, director of the Kelmė Kražantė progymnasium, indicated that a fifth grade had returned to her school.

“During the first survey, the 8th graders agreed to return, but they have not yet returned this week because we are collecting parental consents. We do not yet have the exact number of how many would like to return. We interviewed all 5th grade parents -8, but most parents in grades 6-7 refused to return the children. Many agreed to return in a fifth grade class, and in another fifth grade class, when they had to sign the consents, their parents they finally refused, ”he explained.

He also noted that now they are thinking about what will happen to the eighth graders and how many parents will want to return.

“We do not force anything to be done through coercion, but we hear that parents who refuse to return their children to school feel pressure from other parents to return as a result. But they are the decisions of the parents and their affairs. We want the kids to come back, but we don’t really push or shake. “

However, L. Simėnienė admitted that he could still safely return eighth grade students to school, but if he returned more, he would have to apply a mixed teaching method to make it safe again.

We will not avoid the consequences of quarantine

Child psychologist Sonata Vizgaudienė sees it in two ways when assessing the situation when most Lithuanian students are still studying at a distance and their return to school is very vague.

“On the one hand, the children have been really harmed by this long lack of communication. It is the children who most need companions and those who most need contact according to their development who are now closed at home. They are really losing their social skills. and they are even losing contact with their main friends. “

According to her, not only distance communication is suitable for all children and not everyone knows how to nurture it.

“Still, it is better for children to cultivate that real connection and that real contact. In fact, that distance increases their entanglement, a feeling of apathy and, in general, increases the fear of having some kind of contact. It seems that sometimes you may not even know what to answer, how to communicate or how to be with that other person, except for loved ones with whom you are in constant contact, “explained the psychologist.

According to S. Vizgaudienė, it is necessary to take into account the aspect that learning is also very necessary for contact with teachers and with the whole environment.

“It must be recognized that all of this improves children’s learning outcomes and helps them function smoothly. However, the current situation is such that there are a few weeks left until the end of the school year. The more we weigh, the less time there will be.”

Therefore, in his opinion, two weeks would still be a very short period to have a significant impact on children.

“We need to go back to constant contact, to constant work, and now the children will just come back, we will have to readjust, because there will definitely be some negative psychological aspects after quarantine and some will have to get used to certain skills again.”

So, he summarized, although he will have to deal with the psychological consequences, but now a return of a few weeks would only cause more stress.