2020 was no ordinary year. The last time the world had experienced such a phenomenon was in
1919 – the Spanish Flu. You can well imagine then that none of us, neither adult nor child, knew how
to navigate this crisis. The COVID19 virus appeared on the world stage, determined to make its
presence felt in every corner of the Earth. Needless to say then, the St. Elizabeth Technical High
School was also severely affected by the unforeseen and persisting effects of the COVID19 virus. On
March 12, 2020, the school was forced to cease all physical learning activities and seek to provide
the students with the usual solid education via online mediums. This was fraught with challenges.
As a Grade 11 student, I can speak intimately of what some of those challenges were for us Grade 11
students. With our external exams about a year away, we felt as if we had hit an iceberg, drowning
in the pits of anguish. This was a crucial point of our lives. Albeit the desire and understanding we
had cultivated in order to persevere and do our utmost to cope with such circumstances, we
certainly could not steer clear of each and every obstacle thrown in our way. Numerous students
had no access to any of the online mediums as they were residing in remote areas with poor
connections. Several were unable to use mobile data as they did not have the financial means by
which to continuously stay online. Others lacked operable devices to work in the virtual classroom.
Even more so, students were simply, as it were, anchored to the sea floor by the hands of
depression. This online learning modality required a greater amount of self-discipline and
motivation, of which some students critically lacked. Subsequently, the academic performance of
students had decreased in the span of three months. When asked how the change had affected his
learning, a student of Grade 11 passed the heartfelt remark, “Me lost. Worse like how me hear that
CXC is not giving us only Paper 1 but Paper 2. Me stressed.” Another student who, although able to
access the online learning platforms and has an excellent performance record, expressed herself by
saying, “My learning has been affected tremendously, mainly because I am a kinaesthetic and visual
learner. I cannot learn without being in person communicating and performing.” The strenuous task
at hand, then, seemed unfeasible.
Enter November 2020. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information had begun to explore the
possibility of accommodating schools under the e-COVID-19 face-to-face pilot reopening of schools.
The pilot for the reopening of physical classes involved six thousand students at selected schools, all
located in nine parishes. You can imagine how blissful we were when it was affirmed that the St.
Elizabeth Technical High School was listed as one of the schools involved in this assessment. It was as
if we had hoisted new sails. We understood that we were still in a serious situation, but given the
near-to-impossible feat of completing School Based Assessments (SBA’s) and the rest of our syllabi
virtually, we embraced the proposition. Clearly, all parties involved would need to play their part for
this face-to-face part of the voyage. The school implemented a slew of protocols that had to meet
the Ministries’ of Health and Education requirements. We were required to do our part as well, such
as wearing our masks, observing physical distancing and sanitizing frequently. Did the valiant effort
of all unearth any pearl?
Numerous. Too numerous to mention. Students who been left behind are now able to gain greater
ground in completing their SBA’s and other work. Being able to see and interact with each other
face-to-face gave many the needed mental lift. Needy students were sure of at least a solid meal of
the day, something they could not be sure of at home. There have been fewer distractions in
learning face-to-face in comparison to the online teaching. Teachers now have an opportunity to
reach out to students they could not contact online. In regards to health, there was less suffering
1919 – the Spanish Flu. You can well imagine then that none of us, neither adult nor child, knew how
to navigate this crisis. The COVID19 virus appeared on the world stage, determined to make its
presence felt in every corner of the Earth. Needless to say then, the St. Elizabeth Technical High
School was also severely affected by the unforeseen and persisting effects of the COVID19 virus. On
March 12, 2020, the school was forced to cease all physical learning activities and seek to provide
the students with the usual solid education via online mediums. This was fraught with challenges.
As a Grade 11 student, I can speak intimately of what some of those challenges were for us Grade 11
students. With our external exams about a year away, we felt as if we had hit an iceberg, drowning
in the pits of anguish. This was a crucial point of our lives. Albeit the desire and understanding we
had cultivated in order to persevere and do our utmost to cope with such circumstances, we
certainly could not steer clear of each and every obstacle thrown in our way. Numerous students
had no access to any of the online mediums as they were residing in remote areas with poor
connections. Several were unable to use mobile data as they did not have the financial means by
which to continuously stay online. Others lacked operable devices to work in the virtual classroom.
Even more so, students were simply, as it were, anchored to the sea floor by the hands of
depression. This online learning modality required a greater amount of self-discipline and
motivation, of which some students critically lacked. Subsequently, the academic performance of
students had decreased in the span of three months. When asked how the change had affected his
learning, a student of Grade 11 passed the heartfelt remark, “Me lost. Worse like how me hear that
CXC is not giving us only Paper 1 but Paper 2. Me stressed.” Another student who, although able to
access the online learning platforms and has an excellent performance record, expressed herself by
saying, “My learning has been affected tremendously, mainly because I am a kinaesthetic and visual
learner. I cannot learn without being in person communicating and performing.” The strenuous task
at hand, then, seemed unfeasible.
Enter November 2020. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information had begun to explore the
possibility of accommodating schools under the e-COVID-19 face-to-face pilot reopening of schools.
The pilot for the reopening of physical classes involved six thousand students at selected schools, all
located in nine parishes. You can imagine how blissful we were when it was affirmed that the St.
Elizabeth Technical High School was listed as one of the schools involved in this assessment. It was as
if we had hoisted new sails. We understood that we were still in a serious situation, but given the
near-to-impossible feat of completing School Based Assessments (SBA’s) and the rest of our syllabi
virtually, we embraced the proposition. Clearly, all parties involved would need to play their part for
this face-to-face part of the voyage. The school implemented a slew of protocols that had to meet
the Ministries’ of Health and Education requirements. We were required to do our part as well, such
as wearing our masks, observing physical distancing and sanitizing frequently. Did the valiant effort
of all unearth any pearl?
Numerous. Too numerous to mention. Students who been left behind are now able to gain greater
ground in completing their SBA’s and other work. Being able to see and interact with each other
face-to-face gave many the needed mental lift. Needy students were sure of at least a solid meal of
the day, something they could not be sure of at home. There have been fewer distractions in
learning face-to-face in comparison to the online teaching. Teachers now have an opportunity to
reach out to students they could not contact online. In regards to health, there was less suffering
