Entertainers speak about schooling in COVID-era schooling

Entertainers with children in the school system below the tertiary level have weighed in on how their offspring are handling the changes brought on by COVID-19.

There are currently 39 schools that are operating face to face as of December 7, as an additional 22 schools were reopened for face-to-face classes. Some 125 schools - 59 primary and 66 secondary - are set to open to face-to-face learning when the new school term begins on January 4 next year.

Acting Chief Education Officer Dr Kasan Troupe said the fears associated with more schools reopening partly revolves around whether there is adequate capacity to manage suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in schools.

"That has created a little fear for our boys and girls and for our teachers, especially because in our primary schools in Jamaica, we don't have nurses," she said during the virtual launch of the report 'Reopening Schools in Latin America and the Caribbean: Keys, Challenges and Dilemmas to Plan the Safe Return to Classrooms'.

Grammy Award-winning reggae and dancehall crossover sensation Sean Paul, who is a father of two young children, told THE WEEKEND STAR that his son, Levi, four, was in online preschool over the summer, and then transitioned to face-to-face classes this term. There are 10 persons in the class.

"Truth is, virtual classes with their age group was frustrating, but I was worried at first to send Levi to school, especially because I am asthmatic," Sean Paul shared. "It is a lot for a parent to think about, speaking about schools' reopening, as there are persons who still go out a lot. I am prepared for another year of staying home and limiting travel."

Jamaica has recorded nearly 11,500 COVID-19 cases since March. Some 270 persons have died.

Dancehall artiste Pamputtae said that her seven-year-old has been attending virtual classes.

"It rough, him call me and a cry and saying him want to answer questions in online school, and it's the dumbest thing him ever see, all because he is very outspoken and he is unable to express himself in that space. The arrangement, whichever it is, it new to all of us, teachers, parents, and students, so we will definitely need to develop an attitude of working together, as well as time to adjust," Pamputtae said.

For recording artiste and producer Craig 'Leftside' Parks, whose daughter is in kindergarten, "It's more about how parents and guardians feel about sending their children back into the space than anything else."

He believes the likelihood of schools establishing a 'normal' routine is slim.

"Let's say they make the decision to reopen schools on a full scale. It won't be the same. In terms of the mindset, it is going to take a good amount of time to get over the trauma of locking up, social distancing at their ages, and going out in masks," he said.

"There are residents who are in and out of Jamaica, going to the parties in the US, for example. And even if they do not have children, when they come back home, some have sisters and brothers that they may interact with, which in turn exposes others. That is going to have an impact for things to get back to normal."

Reggae-dancehall entertainer I-Octane is supportive of the idea of reopen schools for face-to-face learning in January. He, however, wants to be comforted that "all possible precautions are being taken so that the children do not get infected".

The My Life singjay believes the world needs to reopen, starting with sectors such as education.

"Online classes are still expensive for parents in general, and a lot are not equipped with a job to support it, or even the education to be as involved as a child may need them, and those who have the education don't have the time, and some are just not adjusting to it," I-Octane said.

He continued: "The world has to reopen somewhere or some time down the line even with COVID-19 or the whole place will collapse, so why not reopen the schools? The public space is imperative in how our children develop overall - to socialise with other people is to see other behaviours that's not part of their personalities and learn how to manoeuvre them. Something as simple as competition in class helps motivate some. Still, if it comes to the parents teaching them every day, we have to work with it."