«Mrs Rösler, what is the coronavirus crisis doing to equal opportunities at school?»

The coronavirus crisis and distance learning are putting equal opportunities in the classroom to the test. Dagmar Rösler, President of the Swiss Federation of Teachers (LCH), explains in an interview what this means for children, parents and schools, and draws an initial conclusion about remote schooling .

Mrs Rösler, what does your everyday life look like at the moment?

It mainly consists of media enquiries, interviews and video conferences. I spend a lot of time on the computer and on the phone.

And how much time do you spend supporting your daughters at school?

Relatively little. They are 15 and 13 years old and pretty independent, so things are going quite well. My husband and I help from time to time, but no more than before. However, the situation is very different from before. Everyone is at home and you have to organise your work, school and family life completely differently.

Many parents are overwhelmed by this. The word «corona burnout» is already being bandied about.

You want to be productive in your home office, but the children have to get their work done. What's more, neither parents nor children leave the house on a regular basis. Understandably, a certain amount of cabin fever sets in at some point.

Dagmar Rösler's conclusion after three weeks of distance learning: "The teachers show a very high level of commitment. The first week was dominated by organisational issues, but now the lessons have got off to a good start. (Image: Paolo Dutto / 13 Photo)
Dagmar Rösler's conclusion after three weeks of distance learning: "The teachers show a very high level of commitment. The first week was dominated by organisational issues, but now the lessons have got off to a good start. (Image: Paolo Dutto / 13 Photo)

How much time should parents actually invest in homeschooling their children?

First of all, I prefer to talk about distance learning, not «homeschooling». The latter is when parents deliberately teach their children at home and do without lessons from teachers. But that's not what the current crisis is about. The task of teachers is to give children as much structure as possible and to keep them occupied with meaningful tasks, not to force them through the regular school curriculum at all costs. It will not be possible to cover all the topics in exactly the same way as in normal lessons. That's why mums and dads shouldn't drive themselves crazy at home. Everyone is aware that these are special circumstances. If the children have a «slump» and are not so motivated, I would, if possible, make arrangements for the tasks to be completed at a later time. Or you can contact the teacher and discuss together which tasks can be left out. Working at home also demands a lot of self-discipline, personal responsibility and concentration from pupils - you simply have to be aware of this and react appropriately.

According to studies, there is hardly any other country where academic success is as strongly linked to background and parental home as in Switzerland. Will the era of distance learning widen the gap between stronger and weaker pupils?

That depends very much on how long it lasts. After several months, the gap will actually widen.

Is there any way to counteract this?

This is very difficult in the current situation. Weaker children in particular are often not as independent and work better when they have direct contact. What should a teacher do, for example, if a child is simply not available and neither are the parents? Your hands are tied. But teachers must of course try to maintain contact with the children as much as possible and, if necessary, demand it. They also have the task of checking whether the children are handing in their work, giving feedback and insisting on agreements. This is sometimes very difficult, especially if the infrastructure is not available at home or if no one is making sure that distance learning is taking place. It is certainly important that the children realise that the teachers are looking after them as best they can.

How high do you estimate the risk of individual children being completely left behind?

Here, too, the longer the greater. It has to be said that there are also lower-achieving children for whom this does not necessarily have anything to do with the lack of support at home. But they too can fall behind the longer they go on.

Is it possible to catch such children when returning to face-to-face teaching? How?

When school resumes with normal lessons, it will take some time for the classes to regroup and for the initial excitement to subside. After that, it will probably crystallise who has worked at home and how, and who has lost ground. I think additional support measures will be needed from the school so that the latter have a chance to make up for their shortcomings. During this phase, it will be very important that teachers are not left alone, as a new dimension will emerge in the classroom after the coronavirus crisis. It will not be possible to compensate for new deficits in regular lessons. Not even in the existing curative education pool. New, additional resources will have to be mobilised.

What significance should be attached to next summer's report?

The Federal Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) has decided to count the school year as a full year and to add a note to the school reports stating that the situation was exceptional. At the end of the day, it's the same for everyone - all pupils are affected, regardless of their background, age and school year.

However, some are particularly hard hit: school leavers from the summer who have not yet found a solution for the 9th grade.

According to the apprenticeship platform Yousty, over 15,000 apprenticeships are still open for summer 2020. We are currently looking for the most suitable solutions to fill these and how apprenticeship seekers can still get a job. Everyone is aware that these young people now need even more support and initiative than they would normally.

Do you also see one or two opportunities in these difficult times?

I see an opportunity to slow down family life a little and spend time together that isn't organised around a fixed schedule. You should make the most of it if you can. What's more, as parents you can now gain deeper insights into your own children's working and learning behaviour, perhaps shedding some light on what the work and everyday life of teachers looks like.

Sandra Casalini ist Journalistin und Mutter von zwei Teenagern (15 und 13), mit denen sie nun ihr Homeoffice teilt. Das funktioniert genau wie der Fernunterricht: mal besser, mal schlechter, mal gar nicht. Aber alle nehmens mit Humor.
Sandra Casalini is a journalist and mum to two teenagers (15 and 13), with whom she now shares her home office. It works just like distance learning: sometimes better, sometimes worse, sometimes not at all. But everyone takes it with a sense of humour.

Read more from Dagmar Rösler:

  • The old song about grades
    The assessment of pupils' performance using grades is distorting and has long been controversial. It is high time that schools moved towards a modern, fair and child-centred system of assessment. This also requires the trust of parents.
  • Dagmar Rösler: «Some parents enter schools like warships»
    Dagmar Rösler has been President of the Swiss Teachers' Association since August 2019. The German and PE teacher demands respect and realistic expectations from parents. She talks to us about this and other pressing issues in a big interview.