children suffering during covid 19 period

 

Analysis of alternatives

As discussed above in this essay, parents and their children have suffered a lot during this COVID-19 pandemic. The government has already ordered the partial reopening of schools to all students of all levels. The virus has proved to be fatal and therefore many parents are uncertain as to whether they should allow their students to participate in the programs suggested by the government (García, & Weiss, 2020). There are many measures that have to be taken in order to ensure the safety of teaching staff and students.

Some of the challenges faced by the school system today include the reduction of the number of classes since students need to maintain social distancing regulations. Strict routines have been added and the government has been forced to provide computers to less fortunate families. In order for schooling to continue, there is a dire need for financial aid and staff. This section will provide different alternatives that may be established by the government and the ministry of education in order to sustain learning amid the pandemic. The government may use a hybrid system, subsidies and making online learning affordable to all students.

 

Hybrid System:

As stated above, the first alternative is the adaptation of the VSB’s hybrid system. As mentioned earlier, students attend a four-quarter school year enrolled in two courses per quarter. Each day, they take both classes, in-person for one and remote for the other, with a classroom capacity of about 15 students. Some of the students may be given additional teaching lessons after class hours. The students may also be involved under some school programs while still using the hybrid systems (VSB, 2020).

Overall, this alternative will impact the students the most. However, it will be subjective, since the impact will vary depending on the student. Many students may find success under the online format since it allows them to work at their own pace and benefits them. On the other hand, some students may find the online format more difficult than regular classes. Since these students are in highschool, it’s doubtful that parents will be affected and won’t have to deal with childcare.

 

Giving Subsidies:

One alternative to create more equal opportunity for students could be money given to families that have high school students to allow families to choose which route in education to take (Slavin, & Storey, 2020). The student’s family may be eligible to receive these government subsidies of $1,500 if they apply for the money. This will enable families to have equal opportunity to access different learning formats without financial challenges. Online education can be expensive for students who come from fixed budgets and cannot allocate extra money for new technology. Therefore, the government aid should allow families to use the money to benefit the students learning in ways they couldn’t before due to financial restraints. This will ensure equality for students of all levels of income and will enable them to afford the education style that fits best for them. However, some students are still computer illiterate and have not yet advanced in the technological world. Which means that the parents need finances to pay teachers who will participate in training these kids on how to use and install the educational programs.

Some scholars had suggested that the schools should adopt a hybrid system from the first of September. Wherein the staff will use the classroom together with the virtual learning. They continue and say that this  system will cost the government a lot of money which could approximately cost more than one million dollars (Slavin, & Storey, 2020). The money is also budgeted for the buying of the protective equipment for both the teachers and the staff. Furthermore, there have been many economic issues that are being experienced by low income earners. The school districts have been relying on a combination between federal local and state dollars in order to run their programs. The money used is always collected from the citizens through taxation. The following graph shows the approximated funds needed before the school reopening.

 

Affordable Online Services

The government can also provide the resources that are not accessible by all the students at an affordable fee or even for free. They may provide free WiFi and hotlines to all the states so that accessing the internet services can be fast and effective (García, & Weiss, 2020).  The areas with unstable network connectivity can be supplied with boosters to enhance the network. As a method of curbing the teacher challenges due to the social distance aspect, practicing teachers can also be involved when offering the online learning. However, all the requirements needed for effective, remote and alternative learning are not available thus affecting online learning. The primary learning tools applied during the COVID-19 season are either homeschooling, alternative learning or remote learning. For online learning to take place, it is critical that students should have the experience and the tools since it requires students to have devices such as computers that are too expensive to be purchased by some of the parents. This alternative solves one of the problems in our stakeholder criteria which is students unable to attain the same high quality of education as the other students without being restricted by external factors.