FEELING uncomfortable with too much idle time on his hands during the height of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Kingston College Head Boy Malikai Allwood was pushed into creating two educational programmes which he dubbed ‘Exam Relief Aid’ and ‘Each One Teach One’, to help students from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands ace external exams.

Allwood, also the national treasurer of the Jamaica Prefects’ Association, who was among youth guests at this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange, said the pandemic created in him a world view that allowed him to think outside the box.

“I didn’t struggle academically because my twin brother and I had each other to lean on. But one of the things I noticed was that I personally got so sensitive to the issues of Jamaica. I felt an urge to do something. What I did was start a programme that was entitled Each One Teach One. We had Zoom meetings but they were not paid for, so every 40 minutes we got cut off. We had students logging on locally and then we expanded. I did that with the help of the students, of course.

“There were students who got 10 distinctions. We had teachers from Suriname and Guyana and students logged on free of cost and became a part of that. The educational divide is horrendous. We refused to just sit down,” Allwood said, noting that the negatives of the pandemic included him feeling bored until he was back to face-to-face classes.

St Hugh’s High School sixth former and National Secondary Students’ Council Region One Assistant Vice-President Danyelle-Jordan Bailey, who was also a guest at the Monday Exchange, shared that she and other students developed a strong will to learn on their own.

According to Bailey, the pandemic brought good and bad for students.

“It allowed for students to become more efficient in the learning. I did the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams during the pandemic and that was the hardest time period I ever experienced in my entire life. We were thrown in the online space. But I have been in the physical setting for nearly half of my life,” she said.

“With that I said, if you want nine distinctions you are going to have to do it yourself. While the teachers are doing what they are supposed to be doing — if it is not penetrating — you have to say to yourself that ‘Okay, for the next five hours I am going to take up this book, go on YouTube and find a way to get those nine ones’. That was the same thing for a lot of my peers across the island.

“They found a way despite not being accustomed to the new modality. We found a way. A lot of students got a chance to know themselves. For student leaders, our lives were so fast-paced before the pandemic. I wrote an article about that, explaining how it was so fast-paced and our lives were going so fast and we didn’t even get a chance to know ourselves because everything slowed down and everything stopped,” she said.

Alluding to the bad during the pandemic, Bailey said that the digital divide was too great to facilitate proper online lessons. She, like Allwood, said it was difficult spending all her time around family. According to Bailey, some of her peers were exposed to abuse while at home and were deprived of the safe haven which existed at schools during face-to-face classes.

“The digital divide affected my peers. It was very hard for me to be around my parents all the time. I love my parents and they are great but I am used to going to school and missing them. I was with them all day, everyday. I am in class and they are right there washing clothes and I hear the machine going off and I am like ‘Oh, my gosh, what is going on?’

“The other thing was abuse, not for me, but I know a lot of students were exposed to abuse. School was their safe haven. They got to school and they could relax and breathe around their peers and be happy, but then they were stuck at home with their abusive parents, guardian or relatives and it really took a toll on them. Them being at home, they had that as a big distraction which could push them back another two to three years.”

In a physical classroom setting is where Friendship Primary School grade six student Samoya Gordon is at her best and she struggled to cope with online lessons during the pandemic.

“I didn’t get to really understand the lessons taught because you are not face-to-face with the teacher to get her to further explain the topic. You didn’t get group activities where you could interact with peers and share your ideas and just create a project or something. You also didn’t get to know your teachers well when you are not face-to-face. Online you don’t get to see the teacher’s personality or the things they like. I am very friendly towards my teachers,” Gordon shared.

Nine-year-old twins, Ngozi and Tafari Wright, told the Exchange that the pandemic had mostly a negative impact on them.

Tafari has concerns about the impact of social distancing. “The pandemic impacted me because when I go to school now, my classmates are saying don’t come close to me. It is stopping us from going close to our families and interacting with them. It is stopping our friendships with others and is letting the world slowly go down.”

His sister, Ngozi, was not happy being stuck at home.

“I would say the pandemic affected me by not allowing me to go outside much. Normally we would be stuck with our devices on the weekends, instead of actually going outside. The pandemic has impacted what I was supposed to be learning. Sometimes the Wi-Fi can just chip out. I am going to do Primary Exit Profile (PEP) soon but the lesson would have gone down the drain. The teacher taught it, but you weren’t in class to hear what is to come on PEP. You are not quite sure what you are supposed to do,” said Ngozi.