Parents, teacher hope Manitoba's return to remote learning isn't extended
CBC
As parents and educators across Manitoba prepare for a brief return to remote learning on Monday, some are dreading kids being forced to stay home from school once more — and worrying about what might happen if the planned week of at-home instruction gets extended.
For Winnipeg teacher Karla Havelka, it's still not clear whether making teachers scramble to prepare for the switch was worth it to keep kids at home just five extra days.
"It's a lot of work to switch to remote for a week, and I'm not sure it's going to make much of a difference. But I really hope it doesn't go longer," she said.
That's because to Havelka, the pitfalls of remote learning have been clear.
Last time Manitoba schools went remote, her class of 21 only saw about six kids show up regularly to virtual sessions. Now, some students in her Grade 5/6 class are lagging far behind in core subjects like reading, writing and math.
And the kids already facing socioeconomic barriers — one who can't easily access technology for online classes or find a quiet place to learn in a crowded home — are being hit the hardest, she said.
"It accentuates the divide," Havelka said. "They're the ones that are suffering the most and they're already at the disadvantage."
Premier Heather Stefanson announced the extra week of remote learning after an extended holiday break at a news conference last week.
The plan is for in-person classes to resume next Monday, with most students staying out of schools until Jan. 17 as the province works to distribute rapid tests and medical-grade masks to schools.
The update came as Manitoba deals with a continued spike in COVID-19 infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.
But Havelka said she's worried about how quickly the call to move to remote learning seems to have been made.
"They had said before schools will be the first to open and the last to close. And now they've shown us that that's not the case," she said.
"So it concerns me, if cases are spiking again or a new variant comes, that … we're just going to be in this vicious cycle."
Mary Burton said she fears the kids in her home — her 15-year-old stepson and 11- and 10-year-old grandsons — will be among those struggling in remote classes.