I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of young people. All of the teachers I work with in our small regional Victorian school hold a similar view. We work there to make a positive impact, to help students learn they do have choices, to teach them work and life skills, and pathways to their dreams.
The resilience shown by many parents, students and teachers throughout this COVID-19 pandemic has been truly uplifting. However, there is a dark side to school system responses to COVID-19, which has not yet been given sufficient attention.
For example, the new Queensland Government decision to delay a return to school triggers our worst fears about further student damage.
But it's only two weeks, you may say.
As a Cobram year level leader for years 9 and 10 during the pandemic and lockdowns, it deeply concerns me that any state government could continue to be so cavalier about inflicting further damage to students’ mental wellbeing and education.
Feeding fears throughout the constant media cycle, intent on giving us daily infection rates, and predictions of a collapsed hospital system, we are led to believe that keeping schools closed for a little bit longer is no big deal, nothing to worry about, and it might even avoid some infection.
I have been on the other end of phone calls to crying students when I asked, “How are you going?”
How do you really help parents who are at a total loss when expected to assist with home schooling?
This was not just frustrating for students and parents, or a slight inconvenience. There have been student suicides.
Responses to isolated rural and regional students lacked any compassion and “online learning” never came close to substituting for face-to-face education and seeing your friends.
The time for students being held back from face-to-face learning must now be over. For good. No political leader should be able to so casually require that students, in the most formative years of their lives, stay at home for “just another few weeks”.
Instead students (and teachers) should be fully vaccinated, and wear masks and practise some distancing — until such time as those restrictions too are no longer required.
They should enjoy good air flow in classrooms and outdoor classes when they can. It's not that hard. Staying at home deprives our young people of friendships, playing in a team and peer leadership, rites of passage that can never be recaptured. And sometimes our kids even miss their teachers!
Steve Brooks is a local school teacher and the Liberal candidate for Nicholls
