Social distancing has become a mandatory rule since the recent events of the global pandemic. Hence, the functioning of almost all fields, such as educational institutions, has been heavily impacted by the same. While online learning has become the preferred teaching method following the pandemic, it cannot be said to positively impact offline learning where the teachers and students are in a live classroom and can interact with one another.
Before the occurrence of the pandemic, the convention center in Hesston, Kansas, with an airy area of over 61 acres, was used for hosting wedding ceremonies, church programs, and corporal meetings. However, ever since the pandemic spread increased drastically, the convention center has transformed itself into a classroom for seventh to eighth grades.
Louisiana Children’s Museum, New Orleans, has now become a classroom that accommodates around sixty students. Instead of closing down such venues and keeping it purposeless, the activity of transforming these venues into a classroom can be considered to be a very creative solution and an innovative idea that the whole world should probably be following already.
The reason for the above transformation has to be solely held responsible due to the widespread pandemic that has made social distancing more essential than it ever was in the history of human existence. In times like these, health risks have further broadened, and learning in the otherwise normal classroom can be risky. Therefore, to prevent any danger, a spacious classroom like the convention center and the museum is preferred.
Why should schools take such approaches?
● As winter draws nearer, the chance of the virus rising has expanded as well. It is believed that the use of such conventions centers and museums can be used for learning purposes so that the chances of infection are low, and students’ learning development is not hampered.
● Taking such approaches may help in the long run when one has no clue as to when the vaccine will arrive, and even if it does, how long will it take to be available for the common people. With questions like these, learning to live with the pandemic has also become extremely important.
The Education Commissioner of Kansas believes that shifting the classroom from online to spacious areas such as museums can prove to be more helpful for learning and that this approach should be followed worldwide. Virtual classrooms, though convenient, do not produce effective results as a real classroom does. Therefore, even amidst the pandemic, learning cannot be and should not be negatively affecting the learners’ development.
Sum up
It is not just museums and convention centers but also spacious music rooms, gymnasium, office rooms, and other places with a spacious area being transformed into a classroom for a safer teaching and learning experience. Churches, too, can be used as a classroom if the virus continues to spread.
Seeing that this transformation is working pretty well for those who have already implemented it, perhaps, the transformation will be a worldwide phenomenon in the days to come.