Social distancing in schools not realistic, expert says

When classes resume and students return to school, one education expert says it’s not practical or realistic to expect strong social distancing measures.

School in Saskatchewan will not resume until September at the earliest, and the provincial Response Planning Team is currently working to determine what the 2020-21 school year will look like. Michael Zwaagstra, a Manitoba teacher and author of several books on educational theory, said strong distancing measures and online formats would both be impediments to good education, and he hopes classes can resume as close to normally as possible in the fall.

“We need to be realistic about what we can actually expect to take place, as far as distancing,” Zwaagstra told CKOM/CJME’s John Gormley.

“If we think for a second that school is going to look like Walmart, where everyone is two metres apart at all times lined up neatly, and desks are all two metres apart and we’re going to keep the kids off the play structures, we’re not really describing school anymore at that point. It’s becoming more like prison.”

Quebec students are back in classes with strict distancing measures in place, but Zwaagstra said he expected that province’s “extreme restrictions” would be a serious impediment to education.

“We have to take a more balanced approach recognizing that learning still has to happen in schools, and that requires students who actually have contact with each other,” he said.

Online or distance learning is another option for some schools. Zwaagstra said he hopes the new semester doesn’t begin with an online format because it’s crucially important for teachers to get to know their students as individuals. He said the two months of in-class time he spent with his current students before the lockdown was invaluable after making the switch to distance learning, but teachers starting a new year in an online-only format would not have that same benefit.

Zwaagstra said getting to know students individually is important in every learning context, as it allows teachers to personalize lessons and understand each student’s progress. While online learning is better than no schooling, Zwaagstra said it does come with disadvantages.

Both Saskatchewan and his home province of Manitoba both have relatively low numbers of COVID-19, Zwaagstra said, which makes him hopeful that school can resume fairly normally in September. While some exceptions may need to be made for events like school-wide assemblies, Zwaagstra said he’d like to see efforts made to bring students back for a normal semester.

“As long as the numbers remain manageable – and the indications are that they will – I’m really hopeful that we’re going to be able to have reasonably normal classes.”