The Societal Impact of School Closures due to COVID-19

With the covid-19 crisis it has forced 188 schools to closes in the countries, this has forced
heavily disputes to the learning of over thousands of children around not only Ireland but the
whole world. When I heard the news first, I was very surprised and more shocked that they
were closing because I myself was independently teaching before Christmas and I really
enjoyed it and I was looking forward to getting back into it. But the government’s advice is to
keep schools closed until the end of January. I feel that it will have a huge effect on the
learning of students as they will not with not having to attend school every day. This will
leave students with another effect on their own learning and could even affect them in the
future. ‘’Keeping our schools open is essential for the learning and well-being of children and
their families, now and for their future’’ [ CITATION Nao20 \l 6153 ]. When talking with my Co-
operating Teacher about how he dealt with the last lock down and the school closed, he
explained to me that he sent work to the students online, but he explained to me that he
struggled to get all the students engaged in the lesson. Some students did not complete the
work for him. I feel that it can be very hard for the students to get the full benefits out of the
learning if they are not in the classroom. This not only effects the students and the teacher
but also effects the student’s parents. I feel that it leaves a lot of pressure on the parents
because it would be very hard for them to try and get their son or daughter to do class work
from home. According to Joe McHugh the former Minister for Education and Skills “This is a
very challenging time for our pupils, our teachers, our students and our colleagues in further
and higher education’’[CITATION Joe20 \l 6153 ].

What I notice when independent teaching in the practical room before Christmas, is that I felt
that some students did not have the capabilities to use some of the tools to a very high
standard this was due to students only having seven months to learn in the practical room
rather than having the full school year. I feel as the teacher that I will have to try my very
best to make up the time this year with completing the project. I also feel that it will be very
hard to make up the loss time due to school closure again for the month of January.
‘’Teachers' numeracy capability is essential for student learning in the classroom and
important across all subject areas’’ [ CITATION Thu19 \l 6153 ].

References
Dove, N. (2020, November ). IMPACT OF SCHOOL CLOSURES ON LEARNING, AND CHILD AND FAMILY
WELL-BEING. Retrieved from BC Medical journal: https://bcmj.org/bccdc-covid-19/impact-
school-closures-learning-and-child-and-family-well-being

McHugh, J. (2020). Covid-19 - Statement from the Department of Education and Skills. Retrieved
from Department of Education: https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-
Releases/2020-press-releases/12-march-2020-statement-from-the-department-of-
education-and-skills.html

Thuan Thai. (2019, Jun 30-Jul 4). An Online Approach to Evaluate. Retrieved from Learning from Their
Mistakes: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED604313