HOW TO REINTRODUCE STUDENTS TO THE NEW SCHOOL ROUTINES.

With schools set to reopen for final year students in Ghana to complete their course of studies and COVID-19 cases still on the rise in the country, teachers and school leaders will face a difficult task getting students back on track.  

Some students may have lost relatives to the disease caused by the coronavirus, and some schools may have lost staff members due to COVID-19 or other reasons. These can traumatize the students when they get to know of it, adding to the fact that most of the students are likely to have lost academic ground while schools we're closed.

So what can the teachers and school leaders do to help get the students to embrace the new routines when schools reopen?

There are no easy answers to this question. However, teachers and school leaders can try out these ideas to help the students respond positively to the new school routines brought about by the COVID-19.

1. Integrate coronavirus into the curriculum.

Teachers can help students to adjust to the new routines of the school by making time to talk about the coronavirus disease with students. For instance, social studies can talk about the history of the disease and the current social inequality by discussing why some communities were affected by more COVID-19 than others; English classes can write a composition on the cost of the pandemic on students' lives and science can examine the causes, symptoms, and mode of transmission of the disease. This can help students make sense of what is happening in the world and why they need to abide by the new school routines.

2. Encouraging students who do not feel well to isolate themselves

Encourage sick students to report promptly to the teachers any time they feel unwell so that they can be given the necessary attention. Guide students to know that coughing, sneezing, fever, and difficulty in breathing does not necessarily mean they have coronavirus diseases and as such, they should not feel shy telling their teachers when they show any of the symptoms. Also, encourage sick students to stay at home and get medical care until they are healthy enough to attend classes.

3. Post signs encouraging good hand and respiratory hygiene practices in the classroom and on notice boards where students can read all the time.

This will keep the students aware of the need to follow laid down safety protocols to prevent the spread of the disease.

4. Be ready to listen and provide answers to questions from your students on COVID-19

It is very likely most of the students will feel worried, confused, or scared with the various news going round about the COVID-19  pandemic. As their teacher, be ready to answer questions from your students concerning the disease and be sure to provide them with reliable information. This will help relieve their fears and also know how to keep themselves and others safe from infection.

5. Encourage students to avoid and address stigmatization

It is a known fact that some students may have had their relatives affected and recovered from the COVID-19. Such persons are prone to be stigmatized by the public and this is likely to happen in the schools when schools reopen. As a teacher, you must educate the students on the effects of stigmatizing a person because he or she was a victim of the coronavirus pandemic. Let the students know that everybody is at risk of getting infected and therefore there is no need to treat those affected in a bad manner. Encourage students who are stigmatized to report the issue to the school authorities for the necessary action to be taken to prevent future stigmatization.

I believe that when these few strategies are adopted and used when schools begin, teaching and learning will become normal to both teachers and students. 

 

I urge all students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders in education, who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic to take consolation in the words of Ghana's President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo...."THIS TOO SHALL PASS".