By: Dodik Prasetyo ) *
We have been in the pandemic era for more than 6 months and until now schools are still temporarily closed. Students study at home, because schools are very vulnerable to being a place of transmission of corona. However, not all of them adhere to health protocols, because some schools are desperate to open again.
Many people are tired of facing various challenges during a pandemic. Indeed, we are getting used to wearing masks, but there are other things that do n’t change in life. Children attend school online at home and learning is done via Zoom. Homework is sent via WA and tests are held by filling out Google docs.
The government’s decision to close schools emerged because it was prone to transmission of coro na. Moreover, kindergarten and elementary school children are more vulnerable to the covid-19 virus. They also tend to have more difficulty disciplining and worry about playing together and forget to keep their distance. Also exchanging masks or faceshields , even though it is dangerous because it can attach a drop let .
Learning from home does require patience for parents who teach the material. However, the decision to ‘lock up’ the child at home is very important, because currently the Covid-19 virus can spread out there. If someone is in a place where the air is dirty and stuffy. This is according to research from WHO.
If the child is school from home and is temporarily quarantined, it will also cost more to buy credit or wifi subscription. Expenses for parents are increasing. The government notices their troubles and provides subsidies in the form of a quota of 35 GB per month. The internet quota can be used to access learning sites or Google Classroom.
If there are residents in an area with poor signal, they can learn through the TVRI educational program that airs every morning. There are also schools that give assignments to students and are submitted directly to the teacher, once a week. So there is no reason not to learn even during a pandemic.
However, even though there are quota subsidies and school closings , there are still unruly people. In some places schools are starting to reopen and unfortunately do not comply with health protocols. Even though the students are wearing masks, they don’t keep their distance. Especially in a school where each class contains nearly 40 students, they immediately sit closely together.
In another place, there are parents who are stressed because they have difficulty teaching their children. Then put them in tutoring institutions. Indeed, there are tutors who are more experienced in teaching. However, make sure the course site also meets health protocols. If students sit close together, it is the same, undisciplined and prone to corona transmission.
It is a dilemma when a housewife has to play a dual role as a teacher for her children. They have to study again and see the current curriculum is more difficult than it was 10 years ago. But rest assured that when children study at home, they will be safer than when they are at school. Especially if you live in the red zone.
Better to be dizzy and study again to accompany the children at home. rather than exposing them to corona. Do not also let children play carelessly on the field or on the road, without protection from masks and face shields . Teach them the health protocol and the dangers of the Covid-19 virus as early as possible.
Be patient and wait for 19 vaccine-official covid be launching to the public. When everyone has been immunized and the number of people sick with corona has decreased, we are optimistic that the pandemic will end soon. Life becomes normal and children can return to school as usual.
) * The author is a contributor to the Indonesian Strategic Information Studies Institute (LSISI)