Education in the time of a pandemic By: Hafsa Khatib

Education in the time of a pandemic:

How the virus has and will affect the education system for the upcoming fall semester

As the Coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, it will continue to affect the education system in the upcoming fall. In terms of how education will be ‘delivered’ and communication between teachers and students, there will be many changes and challenges for both. However, in low-income areas ‘delivering’ education will especially be a challenge. Furthermore because of the pandemic institution budgets will and have been affected (Strauss, 2020). Exactly how will education in the coming autumn will change and what it will look like is currently unclear, however, the American Academy of Pediatrics says that it “strongly advocates” that the coming school year should have students physically present, while keeping the CDC guidelines in place (Stauss, 2020), making many believe that In-Person education is now safe to conduct (as long as CDC guidelines are followed), making it one of the many options for students in the upcoming school year.

The current options for students

Despite the fact that there is currently no vaccine or remedy for Covid-19, most colleges and universities have provided various course-style options directed towards students for the fall semester. The options that are provided include In-person classes (with social distancing and wearing a mask is required), a Hybrid Model or limiting the number of students living on campus, and moving to solely Online Institution (Smalley, 2020). According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), about 60% of schools in the US are planning to conduct In-person classes, while 24% of schools or colleges have adopted the Hybrid Method, and about 9% of educational institutions have chosen to move to a strict Online-only institution (Smalley, 2020). However, online-institutional based learning faces many challenges, especially for those living in low-income areas.

The issue for the schools who choose to stay online

Online education in America, during these unprecedented times, has mainly started in March and many schools plan to continue this in the upcoming fall semester. Although this is one of the safer solutions, doing this is a challenge especially for those living in low-income areas. According to various articles Covid-19 mainly impacts the people in the bottom line. This is a huge problem not only because of the lack of testing, but the other major issue is that people in these areas do not get the same ‘educational experience’ that people in higher-income areas. In fact according to an article published by  BOLD a person’s economic status affects a child’s development, making students in low-income areas, vulnerable, and seen ‘less educated’ and this very often results in lower test scores and low funding from the state and government. Due to this many schools in these areas are unable to distribute laptops. However, even schools in these areas that can, are unable to provide internet access to those who need it. Without such products, it causes issues for these students to access schoolwork and complete the mandatory assignments. Although companies such as Comcast and Verizon are offering ‘free internet’ to people in low-income areas, this is not enough to solve this issue, as these major companies are only providing this ‘free service’ for sixty days.

What the Government can do to help the students living in low-income areas

Although these are unprecedented times, and many are fearful and are unsure what to do there are steps that the State Government can take in order to help prevent making the educational gap larger. For starters, the State could install a bandwidth internet service in areas of low income, as most places that do provide free internet are closed due to the ongoing pandemic. By providing a bandwidth service in these areas the educational gap in the US can lessen. Furthermore, by doing this it can potentially prevent the virus from spreading. Lastly, the State Government can help by increasing the educational funding for low-income area schools, and by providing some sort of technology (ex. Laptops, or tablets) to the students who do not have it. This will help ensure students access to such technology, which can help students learn better and worry less about missing assignments.

Works cited:

Author, A. (2019, March 13). Inequality is today’s greatest challenge to fostering learning. Retrieved August, 2020, from https://bold.expert/inequality-is-todays-greatest-challenge-to-fostering-learning/?gclid=CjwKCAjw9vn4BRBaEiwAh0muDMRoYXjQQerjcy3xASCpCU1BT3K00RaA8H5aIaWRFJzq-ovUwQZ1jBoC17AQAvD_BwE

Contributor, V. (2020, July 14). Comcast offers 60 days of free internet service to low-income households. Retrieved August, 2020, from https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/76964/comcast-offers-60-days-free-internet-service-low-income-households/

Strauss, V. (2020, June 29). Analysis | All the ways the coronavirus will make this school year harder than the last, even if campuses reopen. Retrieved August, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/06/29/all-ways-coronavirus-will-make-this-school-year-harder-than-last-even-if-campuses-reopen/

Smalley, A. (2020, July 27). Higher Education Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19). Retrieved August, 2020, from https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/higher-education-responses-to-coronavirus-covid-19.aspx