Education was one of the hardest hit sectors, with schools closed for months.
How has your job changed because of the coronavirus crisis?
Since the government closed schools because of social distancing efforts, distance learning has been implemented in schools across the country. Fortunately for me, my school has its own online platform where we upload all the lessons and coursework year-round for the students so the digital classroom transition has been a simple one. Teachers give their lessons via Zoom, which is a bittersweet experience. I miss interacting face-to-face with my students and laughing at their stories. Unfortunately, some students aren’t as self-sufficient as others and haven’t been handling online lessons as easily. With physical classrooms, I was able to guide them and help them stay on track. I do my best to make sure they have all the support they need.
What have you been doing during this time to help you grow?
During my working hours, I teach. During my non-working hours, I like to learn. I’m taking a Udemy course on web development where I’m learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I’m also using this free time to get ahead on a side-project I didn’t have the time to begin before.
How do you think the industry you’re in is going to change after COVID? What do you think the “new normal” will look like?
I hope a lot of schools and parents will be more open to the idea of distance learning for children, either part-time or full-time (homeschooling).
It’s a more convenient education option for some students (varsity athletes for example), but until Covid-19 it was never a serious one.
I also hope working-from-home will be more widely implemented in Egypt - less office space needed, less time spent during the commute, less “watercooler talk”, and studies have shown it can result in an increase in productivity.
WRITTEN BY
Salma Youssef
High School Science Teacher and Jack-of-All-Trades. Passionate about far more than just science and education. Between classes and after school hours, I always find time to play sports and exercise my creativity through graphic design and digital illustration.
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