Education Post COVID-19

“All children learn the same way”, is the saying that educators have been using for centuries because of the education system for the “average child.” However, this pandemic has caused the word average to be thrown out the window.

The way a child has been learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing but average. The question now because now how has the education changed to fit the average child and their learning capabilities? During the beginning of this pandemic, parents are making sure their child is not behind in their academics. However, some parents are having some difficulties because parents do not know how to teach their “average child” have made sure that their child has learned. Having to change the way a child learns new information now that they are home has been a difficult task for some parents, some even think unbearable. What makes the situation even worse for some parents is that they are having to do it on all their own without the help of teachers.

My nephew, who is a student in Jersey City, an urban community with predominately African American students, has not had a Zoom class since the pandemic started because the teachers in the school know that some families do not have the equipment, like laptops, to help each child. Now his mother has become a teacher since this pandemic. His mother is very disappointed in the education system in Jersey City because now the question becomes, where is all the funding being allocated? I have a cousin who attends high school in Maplewood — a more suburban town with predominately Caucasian students — and has Zoom check-in everyday online with his professors.

There have always been disparities in the education system. However, this pandemic has brought these disproportions to light. Though there are several factors to the imbalance of the education system, the factor that has shown and proven the imbalance in the education system is money. If my nephew is lived in a town like Short Hills, a predominantly rich and Caucasian town, his mother would not break her neck every day to make sure that her son is getting the right learning the things that he needs to be taught. My nephew would be provided with Zoom classes every day since this pandemic. It is unfortunate to say but it is the truth of this 21st century.

Education is the key to everything, and that is why it is imperative that equality education is being provided in all areas, which include urban and low-income areas. I asked my nephew’s mother how it is being her son’s teacher, and she says, “It is not easy, but we are pushing through it. When they said that his teachers were not going to be having Zoom conferences, I was stressed because I did not know how I was going to do this. Fortunately, I was able to push through and find a strategy that was best for him.”

This pandemic was a surprise to everyone across the globe, so it is imperative that the education system has a back-up plan for events like this so that no child is left behind academically.