The Societal Impact of School Closures Due to Covid-19

The news of the school closures after Christmas did not really come as a surprise to
many. It is something I had been expecting however I did not think it would be for the
duration that is expected. Due to the lengthy lockdown that is expected which could
go on for several weeks or even months this will have a huge impact on society in
Ireland. We have already seen the consequences of previous lockdowns on society
and it is vital that we take out learnings from the past to improve our future.
The Government have been adamant that schools will not close due to the issues
that would arise in our society as a result. Children need to be supervised at home
especially young children in primary school and with a lot of parents working this
creates huge problems and stress for families. In a survey carried out by the Central
Statistics Office (CSO), parents with children in secondary school report that 45.7%
believe the closures had a major or moderate impact on their learning. (CSO, 2021)
This is a huge number of students and is no wonder these statistics are appearing.
Students have been used to a specific school routine since they were 4 and 5 years
old which has suddenly been broken and replaced with online classes which they
have no experience with. I know myself it would be a huge adjustment to switch from
being in school every day with my friends learning together in a classroom to sitting
behind a screen at home. We need to pay particular attention to our exam years
such as leaving certs, as the stress they are already going through has been
multiplied. Teachers and parents need to provide support for these students during
this difficult uncertain time.
The impact of school closures on society is huge not only with students losing out on
aspects of their school life and education but also on everyone’s mental health.
Students in particular are missing out on all aspects of their social life which at a
young age is potentially very detrimental to their mental health. Some people rely on
their friends and social interactions to get through day to day life and with all that
being taken away from them for such a long period it is vital we do our utmost to look
out for them. The only saving grace I notice that has helped solve this problem is
social media. Personally, being able to stay in touch with my own friends through
zoom calls and online quizzes as been something we would have never done before
but find very enjoyable. Likewise, my younger brother is in TY and he is never off the
playstation talking and playing with friends he can no longer visit. It makes me
realize how grateful we should be that this pandemic did not come at a time where
none of this online communication would have been possible.

References
CSO. (2021, January 14). Impact of Enforced School Closures. Retrieved from CSO:
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-sic19ros/socialimpactofcovid-
19surveyaugust2020thereopeningofschools/impactofenforcedschoolclosures/