We need to create more freedom to promote talent

The coronavirus has turned all of our lives upside down. It remains to be seen to what extent we will be hit by a second wave. Politicians are debating whether the measures taken were appropriate, while most people are happy that the pandemic has passed them by relatively unscathed so far. However, our thoughts are also with the people who have been hit harder - whether in terms of their health or their finances. Many people have lost their jobs during the lockdown and are therefore struggling financially.
We got off lightly in the schools. It was probably a very busy and emotionally challenging time. And yet we were all able to keep our jobs. In the end, the pupils are also back and we teachers are happy to be able to do what we have chosen to do professionally again.

However, there was a great deal of uncertainty among parents at times. Will my child have to repeat a class? With only a few hours of distance learning per day, will my child be able to catch up when face-to-face lessons start again?
This uncertainty has since disappeared. Hardly any children have had to repeat a class due to the lockdown. In many places, school reports have been adjusted or marked with a note that the assessment period fell during the coronavirus pandemic. And it shows us that too much importance is sometimes attached to assessment, i.e. school reports. But what are the effects of the lockdown on pupils?

Six weeks of lockdown hardly matter

On several occasions I have pointed out in interviews that these six weeks during a total of eleven years of primary school - including kindergarten - are hardly significant. But why is that?
Learning thrives on repetition. The lesson content is organised in a curriculum. This means that topics are repeated over and over again. An example of this in maths is addition. In the first year, addition is practised in the room of twenty. Towards the end of the first school year, the addition of numbers is gradually extended to the hundreds. In secondary school, maths is done with letters - variables are added. In addition, addition is also used in other areas and subjects. Even in geography lessons (or as it is now called: «Spaces, Times, Society»), numbers may be added in tables of values. In holistic lessons, teaching and learning is also interdisciplinary.

Teachers often allow the teaching content to be dictated by the teaching materials. The curriculum only specifies the content.

But what happens if the teacher was no longer able to «get through» the written division with a two-digit divisor (e.g. 994.46 : 19 = ?) before the holidays?
Often - and I speak from my own experience as a secondary school teacher - teachers let the teaching material, for example the maths or language book, dictate the lesson content. The curriculum, which in the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland is now Curriculum 21, dictates the content and not the teaching materials. And the curriculum is intended to fill an average of 80 per cent of teaching time. This should give teachers the opportunity to set their own priorities - depending on the class and their own talents. From this perspective, the six-week lockdown is manageable. It should therefore actually be possible to compensate for any content deficits in the current school year at the latest.

What happens to learning outside of school?

Another task of primary school is to enable children to master their lives independently. In my opinion, this also requires a great deal of knowledge and skills that cannot only be acquired at school. For example, one of my children cooked too much sauce during the lockdown phase because he made a mistake when converting a quantity. A wonderful mistake, as we will remember it for a long time to come. And a great learning moment. We also noticed that many children made progress at school during the distance learning period. Progress that we hardly thought possible in advance. We will have to think about that. Obviously, freedom also creates the potential for development.

Coping well with the existing pressure

That's why we should take away from this time not to put any more pressure on the children and young people, there is already enough of that. Those of us responsible at school (and the parents) would do well to help the pupils to cope well with the existing pressure by instilling confidence in them. We also need to create the freedom to unleash potential and promote talent - all children and young people have talents.

We should take away from this time that we should never put any more pressure on children and teenagers.

A flower does not grow if we place a heavy stone on the seedling. The flower needs to be nurtured and cared for, just like in the book «The Little Prince» by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The little prince discovers a flower on his planet and enters into a dialogue with it:
«I think it's time for breakfast,» she [the flower] resumed the conversation, «would you have the goodness to think of me ...» The little prince blushed, fetched some fresh water and watered the flower.

Read more about lockdown and corona:

• In the corona flow
  Mikael Krogerus observes the influence of coronavirus on social small talk. Conversations now start with: «How did you get on in lockdown?».

• New family feeling after the lockdown?
  There has been much speculation about what social changes the coronavirus crisis would trigger. Parents in particular were under a lot of pressure. What are the effects of the lockdown? An initial conclusion shows that it has actually made a difference to families.

• «Dear Mrs Villa Braslavsky, what is the crisis doing to families?»
  Sociologist Paula-Irene Villa Braslavsky says that we have experienced something deeply unnatural in recent weeks and months: the absolute reduction to the nuclear family. A conversation about the lack of contact, deep insecurity and the question of whether we will learn anything from this crisis.

• What will we take away from the coronavirus crisis?
  The first easing of restrictions after the lockdown is currently being gently introduced, but the coronavirus will be with us for some time to come and will continue to influence our lives. We asked around in the editorial team and publishing house to find out which new habits or rituals we have grown fond of and want to continue to cultivate.