Online learning - 'half-laughing, half-crying' stories

The whole family is "struggling" because their children are studying online.

This is the first year that online learning has been implemented right at the beginning of the new school year and in a situation where many teachers and students have not yet gotten to know each other. This is really difficult for primary school students because at this age they do not have a sense of self-awareness, many of them are hyperactive and still love to play...

I'm just starting to get used to it.online learningOnly 2 sessions, including 1 regular session and 1 session for the teacher to meet, but Ms. Mai Thanh - Hung Binh ward, Vinh city felt exhausted and "headache" because she had to follow her child until the end of the class.

Talking about this, Ms. Thanh said: My child is in grade 2 this year and is still very playful, so when he comes to school, his father or mother sits next to him to help him. After nearly 2 hours of studying with my child, I really see that the children do not learn much because the homeroom teacher has to spend a lot of time reminding the students. Many naughty students do not turn off the microphone, so there is a lot of noise... Yesterday, after finishing the reading lesson, I heard the homeroom teacher complaining, "I am so tired." I feel sorry for the teacher and also for the students.

Online learning for first graders is always a very difficult thing for families. Photo: MH

Kim Long's daughter (Nghi Kim commune) also started school this year.Grade 1However, more than a month ago, when the epidemic first broke out again, she sent her child back to her grandparents in Quynh Luu and has not been able to return to school yet. Because her child lives far away and studies via Zoom, she had to turn on her phone during the entire class to both comfort and remind her to study, but the mother and child tried to argue for only 35 minutes and then the child "hid under the blanket and cried". The class that was supposed to last 2 hours on the schedule ended early from then on.

Although they had anticipated the difficulties, just one day after their children started studying online, many parents shared their family stories.

In one of the forums for mothers in Nghe An, when asking the question "How was your child's first online class?", hundreds of comments with many "half-crying, half-laughing" stories were received. Ms. Hai Le said: The whole class was studying seriously when suddenly a student had not turned off the microphone and then a parent shouted loudly, making the whole class surprised and confused.

Many families find themselves in awkward situations when their children study online. Photo: HL

Another parent burst out laughing when her child asked, "Dad, where did the teacher go? The kids are looking for her. She was teaching and disappeared." Accompanying her child for the entire lesson, Ms. Phuong Nguyen did not know how to answer her child when in just over an hour, dozens of questions kept repeating themselves, "Mom, I can't hear the teacher, Mom, my computer is frozen, Mom, I'm logged out..."

Teachers work hard

Since the implementation of online teaching, Nghe An education sector has proposed to divide into 3 shifts, morning, afternoon and evening with many different time slots, but due to the large number of users, network congestion or inability to access or enter the classroom is a common occurrence.

Teaching online is a special experience for many teachers. Photo: PV

Thao Nguyen's 4C class has 48 students and according to a survey, the number of students who have computers to study online is over 70%. However, in the first class, according to the rule, the class starts at 5:00 p.m., but by 6:00 p.m., some students still couldn't log in. After a short time of studying, the internet connection dropped frequently...

Some students were able to restart their computers when the class had just ended. During the time their children were studying, parents continuously interacted in the class's private Zalo group because their children's computers had problems. During the second class, although the network had improved, many parents still had difficulty getting their children into class. Some parents even transferred up to 4 computers but could not get into class.

After the first days of getting used to and teaching online, a primary school teacher in Vinh city also said: Teaching an online class is 2 or 3 times harder than teaching normally. Although we try very hard and still want to convey a lot of knowledge to our children, but in fact, with this learning method, if the children can absorb 50-60%, it is already very successful.

Teachers at Tra Lan Secondary School teach online at school. Photo: PV

At junior high and high school levels, even though students are more aware and familiar with online learning, classroom management is still not easy.

Ms. Thanh Thuy, whose child is in 7th grade in Vinh, said: I think teachers work too hard because they have to teach students and interact with parents to inform them about their children's situation. In my child's class this morning, the teacher took screenshots of students who did not turn on their cameras to ask parents to remind their children, fearing that they were not studying seriously. Then, giving homework and checking students' work will also be difficult, and if any teacher is not enthusiastic or dedicated, it will be easy to "let go".

Despite the guidance from the Department of Education and Training, many schools still schedule too many subjects for primary school students. Photo: MH

Many parents and students have concerns about online learning. Currently, according to the regulations of the education sector, primary school only focuses on three subjects: Math, Vietnamese and Foreign Language, but in reality, the online learning schedule is no different from normal days. Like Ms. Mai Thanh's class, the third timetable starts at 7 pm, the first period is Physical Education. With such an unreasonable arrangement of subjects, she said, "My child just finished eating and then asked to exercise, I don't know how to do it."

For secondary schools, many schools also arrange classes such as Music, Physical Education, and Fine Arts in the online learning schedule and many parents also think that this is not really necessary. Ms. Pham Lien, whose child is in grade 8, said: I think every subject is important, but not every subject is suitable for online teaching. Should schools be flexible in arranging timetables so that online learning is effective and does not "cause difficulties" for both teachers and students...

After two days of online learning, besides the positive aspects, obvious difficulties and shortcomings have also arisen. And to adapt to the new situation, in addition to the efforts, attempts and consensus of parents and students, the operation and management of how to teach online effectively still requires more participation from the education sector and schools. Resolving difficulties early will also help online learning become easier and achieve the set goals./.