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Covid-19 in Russia: Russian English School Administrator speaks out about online schooling measures

“It’s been quite difficult to solve some problems when you can’t be near the person. We have had to solve everything by talking to each other using the phone and that was really difficult. I am on my phone all day long – working.”
– Daria Lekhanova, English School Administrator based in Russia

Covid-19 in Russia

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The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted countries all over the world. according to the World Health Organization over 28 million people all over the world have tested positive for the Coronavirus. Russia is currently the fourth leading country of having over one million confirmed cases, additionally over 5,000 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours (updated 14 September 2020).

As these numbers of confirmed Coronavirus cases continue to increase, the World Health Organization has reported ‘over 165 countries are attempting to to develop a vaccine within a short time period in hopes to stop the spread of the Coronavirus with the support of COVAX Market Advance Commitment (AMC)’. The AMC is designed to guarantee rapid, fair, and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world – rich and poor – and to make rapid progress towards slowing the pandemic.

The World Economic Forum has said, ‘in order to develop a vaccine, it typically can take more than 10 years to fully develop a vaccine’; however, amid these unprecedented times, many scientists are working hard to try to develop a vaccine in a much less shorter time – less than a year.

©Stock image – 1794129322 – By Yalcin Sonat

Russia is one of the countries who are undergoing trial phases of the Coronavirus vaccine. Russia has underwent two phases thus far and are planning for the third phase in October, which would include “40,000 volunteers from “different age groups and risk groups.”

The Coronavirus has not only impacted people’s health, but it has also impacted schools from functioning normally. I spoke with English School Administrator Daria Lakhanova, who told me about how Russia has been impacted since the Coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s been difficult – when we went on lockdown – it was very difficult to stay at home for more than two months.
But when Summer came, it became easier, because the sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, and we were able to go outside.”
-Daria Lekhanova, English School Administrator based in Russia

Video featured below: A clip from my interview with Russian School Administrator Daria Lekhanova who spoke with me about how Russia has been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Duration 1:40.

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Online Schooling challenges

As many schools all over the world have had to administer online learning due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Russian English School Administrator Daria Lekhanova said, ‘her school implemented online learning measures back in March and will continue to do so. Some school officials have had issues with online learning; however, Daria said, ‘it has not been that bad’; on the other hand, Daria did say that there were other issues – external factors – which have been the biggest issue while administrating online learning.

“The only problem that occurred in the first place was technical problems, because not everyone had a computer at home or they had problems with downloading Zoom onto their phone.”

-Daria Lekhanova, English School Administrator based in Russia

Additionally, Daria said that it was most challenging to do online schooling, because her and her colleagues can’t see if the kids were doing their work or not when they should be; whereas, compared to when the kids are in a classroom setting, the teachers are able to keep an eye on them.

With regards to communicating with her colleagues, Daria said that Zoom has been a great asset in order to effectively communicate with one another; unfortunately, when problems do occur it can be quite time consuming to resolve these issues, because she is not able to handle the issue that is at hand in person.

“It’s quite difficult to solve some problems when you can’t be near the person. We have had to solve everything by talking to each other on the phone and that was really difficult.
I am on my phone all day long – working.
We have to call each other. People can’t just come to our office, so they have to send us messages, emails.
I have to have my phone with me at all times.”
-Daria Lekhanova, English School Administrator based in Russia

Even though Daria has had issues at times with others having problems with internet connection and not being able to quickly solve issues that her colleagues have been experiencing, she has noticed that online learning – for kids – has been a bit more interesting compared to in-person learning. It has enabled her students to have unlimited resources by using the internet.

“With studying online they can use lots of resources – websites, they can play games on the computer, watch videos, listen to audio or even some music. “
-Daria Lekhanova, English School Administrator based in Russia

Video featured below: Russian English School Administrator Daria Lekhanova shared her experience with me of how she, her students, and her colleagues have been coping with online schooling measures during the pandemic. Duration 7:42.

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What's ahead for Private English School in Russia?

Daria said that she, her students, and her colleagues have been utilising online schooling measures since March and they plan to continue to do so. However, this has created problems for her school with regards to the fact that most students prefer to do in-person classes; therefore, Daria said that this has resulted in at least a 15% drop of students withdrawing from English classes. Moreover, she said, when school does resume in-person classes, the Covid-19 measures that have been put in place might make teaching English more challenging.

“We will have to place desks 1.5 metres from each other.
Teacher’s may need to where masks during classes, but I think that’s strange – especially when you teach languages. You usually see the facial expressions while learning a language, because of the pronunciation.”
-Daria Lekhanova, English School Administrator based in Russia

Even though these measures may be difficult, English School Administrator Daria said that they do plan to abide by these rules in order to keep everyone safe when school does resume. Either way though, Daria is happy about doing online learning and how effective it has been during these unprecedented times.

Video featured below: English School Administrator Daria Lekhanova interviews with me to tell me more about the online learning that has been implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic and how her students have been coping. Duration 3:28.

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Covid-19 in Turkey: English Teacher says ‘kids will continue online learning through the rest of the year’

“So we decided to completely forego homework, because it’s already stressful enough having to deal with Coronavirus, staying inside, and being bored. We play a lot of online games and that’s how we learn English. We learn English through fun rather than – sit down, lecture, and do in-class work.”

– English Teacher, Kathleen Phelps

Covid-19 In Turkey

©Stock image – 1016497315 – Resul Muslu

Currently, Turkey is at high risk for the Coronavirus. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has placed Turkey at a level 3 Warning for the Coronavirus, which means the CDC recommends, ‘travellers to avoid all nonessential international travel to Turkey,’ because medical resources may be limited. If a traveler were to contract the Coronavirus while in Turkey, he or she may not be able to get the necessary treatment in order to get well.

According to the World Health Organization, Turkey has reported over 267,000 Coronavirus cases. Additionally, in the last 24 hours, there have been 1,500 newly cases and 39 deaths (Coronavirus statistics updated 31 August 2020).

As many schools have had to implement online schooling measures due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I reached out to English school Teacher Kathleen Phelps who works at Two Private English Schools – for kids and adults – based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ms. Phelps shared with with about what the people of Turkey have experienced since the initial outbreak of the Coronavirus and how the people of Turkey have handled the pandemic.

“Overall, it shut us down for a good three months, until we started to open our doors and go outside.
Turks are very cautious with their health – it’s just a part of their culture.
So they’re still very cautious to get out, to get started, and that’s why school – we’re still not quite sure if it’ll resume.”
– English Teacher, Kathleen Phelps

As many counties all over the world have decided to make it mandatory to wear face masks with hopes to overcome the pandemic, Ms. Phelps did say that Turkey has opted to adapt the law to make it mandatory for the people of Turkey to wear face masks. She said, the Turkey government has imposed a fine of ₺900 Lira ($122.36 USD or £91.84) to those who do not abide by this law.

Video featured below: English Teacher Katie Phelps shares more with me how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the people in Turkey. Interview conducted on 13 July 2020. Duration 1:01.

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English Teacher speaks out about online schooling measures implemented at private school

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English Teacher Ms. Phelps, who teaches ages 7 to 11 years old at a private English school, has said that ‘her students are doing very well with online learning,’ and believes that her and her colleagues teaching methods during this pandemic has been effective.

“At my school, we decided to completely forego homework, because it’s already stressful enough having to deal with Coronavirus, staying inside, and being bored.
So, we decided to forego homework and we have really tried to make class more fun and enjoyable.”
– English Teacher, Kathleen Phelps

As Ms. Phelps and her colleagues have tried to create a more fun and educational environment for their students while teaching online, this has included creating online games for their students as they learn English from home.

“We play a lot of games and that’s how we learn English.
We learn English through fun rather than – sit down, lecture, and do in-class work.”
-English Teacher, Kathleen Phelps

Ms. Phelps said there are certain parts of Turkey that have had issues with the internet while either working or doing school from home. She said, for Eastern parts of Turkey the internet can be ‘touch and go’, but for the Western parts of Turkey – such as Istanbul where she is based – it is a more developed region and is more populous; therefore, the internet connection is not that as bad in Istanbul Turkey.

Additionally, Ms. Phelps said, “the Turkey government has been really good about providing the schools with the necessary tools to connect with their students.” However, she did say that even though the Turkey government has tried to ensure that the internet will not be problematic in order for people to work or do school from home, it has still been one of the biggest challenges at times.

Video featured below: English Teacher Kathleen Phelps shares more with me about what measures have been implemented with online schooling at her private institute, if her students have had all of the resources they need in order to do online schooling from home, how she and her colleagues have been working together amid the pandemic, and what plans will be implemented when school does resume. Interview conducted on 13 July 2020. Duration 5:15.

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English Teacher Kathleen Phelps provides a message about online learning and a message to her students:

“Online education is not for everybody. It’s very hard to sit down and focus, looking at a computer for hours upon hours a day. This is natural – not everybody was built to do online, but we try to make it as fun and engaging as possible.
I can’t wait to see my students in class again.”
– English Teacher, Kathleen Phelps

Video featured below: English Teacher Kathleen Phelps shares more with me her thoughts on online learning and how much she misses her students. Interview conducted on 13 July 2020. Duration 1:17.

Featured above: English Teacher Kathleen Phelps with student

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US Texan Middle School Teacher says online schooling measures ‘have not been effective’ amid pandemic

“In Dallas schools, students have an entire week to turn in their assignments; however, 50% or less turn in their work, but most don’t turn in anything at all.” – Journalism & Social Studies Middle School Teacher Josh Ault

Texas: Covid-19 Hotspot

According to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, Texas is the fourth leading state in the US who has over 530,000 confirmed Coronavirus cases.

As these numbers continue to increase and taking into account that this has made it challenging for students to resume in-class learning, Texas’ schools have had to continue with online learning for the first few weeks for the Fall semester.

I spoke with Middle School Journalism & Social Studies Teacher Josh Ault who said, ‘it has been really crazy in the state of Texas’. Mr. Ault also said, the state of Texas has had to take serious measures in hopes to decrease the Coronavirus numbers.

“We were under the mandatory lockdown from when we left for Spring break, until just a few weeks ago – where they lifted the lockdown, so we can go back into restaurants and the gym.
However, there are still a lot of requirements.
They just passed a couple weeks ago, masks have to be worn everywhere – at the grocery store, at the gym.
So, that has caused a lot of people to be concerned.”
– Journalism & Social Studies Middle School Teacher, Josh Ault

Video featured below: Teacher Josh Ault discussed with me how the pandemic has impacted the state of Texas as a whole and his School where he works at. Interview conducted on 17 July 2020. Duration 2:36.

Mr. Ault's students struggle with online schooling measures

As school classroom seats remain empty in Mr. Ault’s classroom, Mr. Ault said it has been extremely tough on each child as they attempt to complete their assignments at home.

“I teach 12-14 year olds. They had a really hard time with online learning .
If you don’t have that one-on-one interaction where you are able to talk with them, it’s difficult.
Zoom is okay, but it’s just not the same thing. You don’t know what the kid is doing on the other side.”
– Journalism & Social Studies Middle School Teacher, Josh Ault

Mr. Ault said, the hardest part about online teaching has been the fact that it’s been extremely challenging to get students to submit their work in a timely manner. He said, as for the Dallas school systems, they made a requirement for all students to submit their work in a week’s time every week; however, students have not been submitting their assignments within this time frame.

“I’ve had less than 50% of my students submit their work.
Most of the time what they turned in wasn’t exactly what was asked of them to do. So if they aren’t applying themselves, reading, and watching the videos I would send them, then they just wouldn’t get it.
So even giving them a week, a lot of them didn’t turn in the material that I gave to them.
So, I really don’t think online schooling is effective.”
– Journalism & Social Studies Middle School Teacher, Josh Ault

Fortunately though, all students at Mr. Ault’s school who did not have access to a computer at home were provided with one just before lockdown measures were implemented. Mr. Ault’s school received these computers through a grant, as well as other schools in Dallas, Texas.

However, even though the students have these resources, Mr. Ault said some students still struggled to submit their assignments on time, because some students just didn’t have enough parental supervision or some simply had internet connection issues at times.

Moreover, Mr. Ault said online schooling is just not effective for Middle School students as many students don’t have the self-discipline as a college student might have.

Video featured below: Middle School Teacher Josh Ault shares more with me how his students have adjusted to the online learning. Interview conducted on 17 July 2020. Duration 5:11.

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Expectations of how school will reopen amid pandemic

Mr. Ault said, face masks will be required once schools resume as well as social distancing will be put in place amongst students and the teachers; however, having a capacity of 900 students, Mr. Ault is hesitant to believe that will be an achievable objective.

“I think starting the school year online, we have to see how that goes.
I’m hoping that the vaccine will be approved so that can start being rolled out, because right now I just don’t see how we can have school.
If one teacher or student gets sick, it’s just going to spread.
It’s kind of scary. I don’t think we can go back to school until these numbers go down.”
– Journalism & Social Studies Middle School Teacher, Josh Ault

Moving forward, Mr. Ault said parents will have the option to have their kids continue with online learning or they can attend in-school classes if they wish, but either way this will be a challenge for him, his teacher faculty, and his students.

Video featured below: Mr. Ault shares with me how measures will be implemented at his school and how achievable he believes it will be. Interview conducted on 17 July 2020. Duration 3:23.

Mr. Ault offers a personal message to his students:

“Hang in there and strive to continue to learn.
If you don’t have the greatest home life, I hope that you can continue to read books and search for things on the internet.
Continue to do your best and continue to learn.
Stay positive. Make goals. Strive to stay focused and we will get back to normalcy.
Just do your best and be happy during these tough times.”
– Journalism & Social Studies Middle School Teacher, Josh Ault

Video featured below: Journalism & Social Studies Middle School Teacher Josh Ault offers a personal message to his students. Interview conducted on 17 July 2020. Duration 1:53.