6 minute read
FEATURE STORY
Someone somewhere is writing a short novel about this time in history. It will be a historical fiction piece that nestles itself right at home between something Orwellian and Ray Bradbury. A two-month quarantine; lockdown restrictions; social distancing, plexiglass, floor markers; press release after press release after press release; the debate over essential and non-essential work. There most definitely may be a chapter or two on the proper use of face masks.
What may hit closer to home for many are the shutdowns of businesses, government agencies, gyms, schools, etc. in the noble attempt to reduce the spread of the virus. Whoever is writing it is going to have a field day with character perspectives: politicos, media pundits, social media influencers, bloggers, vloggers, essential and non-essential workers, etc. - everyone and anyone affected by this disease, which has shaken the world out of its regular normalcy and dumped a whole lot of uncertainty, anxiety, and sanitizer in our hands.
However, in real life, it is August 2020 - nearly five months after we initially went into lockdown. Back-toSchool sales are abound; however, this year, notebooks, folders, and pencils are at the bottom of the materials list. Along with ‘Welcome Back!’ signs schools are putting markers on the floor for social distancing; student desks are being positioned at least six feet apart; and a whole new era of learning is on the horizon
More, the realities of the new normal in everyday life have emerged throughout our community. The GCA Trades Academy wasted no time. On their website, on March 16, 2020, there is a post about how the organization will be taking appointments, especially since a few weeks prior it announced its course schedule between March through May. Dr. Bert Johnson, Education Director at the GCA Trades Academy, stated, “The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a total disruption [for the organization].” He continued with how they ‘innocently assumed’ it would blow over, like a ‘banana typhoon’ - “here today, gone tomorrow.” However, to the dismay and ire of the entire global community, COVID-19 has remained and put a monkey wrench in everybody’s plans. In response, Dr. Johnson said, “Without notice, all our classes came to an abrupt halt.” He continued, “Over the following months, we repeatedly revised our schedule to resume classes as the Governor announced another extension of the executive order to stay-at-home.” Dr. Johnson mentioned how the Trades Academy was even working through an accreditation audit during the initial shutdown and went through the experience, dotted the ‘i’s’ and crossed the ‘t’s’ expeditiously.
However, the organization didn’t remain idle. Johnson cited how some of the instructors moved the academic portion of the classes online, and “for the practicum, we arranged for small, isolated, socially-distanced groups to practice and perform the required physical tasks.” Additionally, he stated their pandemic plan continues to be revised and tweaked as best practices come to light in delivering instruction and services. “After four months, we implemented the plan and resumed classes, albeit with smaller groups and staggered attendance to enforce social distances.”
Johnson discussed how the demand for courses in electrical and heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) has remained the same as before the pandemic hit. However, now the Trades Academy is “seeing growing interest in carpentry, construction craft laborer, electronic system technician, heavy equipment operations, & (sic) project management.”
Throughout this pandemic, the names of the game has been adaptability and flexibility. Organizations have had to examine pre-COVID protocols and how to fit them into a - sorry, I’m going to use it again - ‘new normal’. Johnson pointed to adaptability as “one of our key competences.” He went on saying that even though online options have been available for years, the Trades Academy has formally stayed an in-person operation because of the preferences of students and instructors. As the pandemic persists, Johnson stated that GCA is bolstering the use of its online component with fervor. Further he pointed to the impracticality of a purely online course because of what’s expected in trades training.
Johnson talked about a hybrid model of learning “where classes meet occasionally with the instructor to practice and test the hands-on activities.” He pointed that when not in these face-to-face opportunities, students are online working on the academic part of the class. Johnson added that it’s similar to traditional coursework “just with more homework using information technolo
gies.” In a time of uncertainty and anxiety rising, it is only natural to be nostalgic for the ‘old normal’ and hopeful that the stress will all be over soon. Change does not happen overnight, and most of the time it is challenging. Johnson said, “We have come to accept that the future of trades education, and education in general, will be remarkably different from prior to the pandemic.”
What else might seem remarkable is the idea of safety training - a cornerstone of the industry. With that said, it can be easy to forget that safety is sometimes right in our hands, literally and figuratively. “This pandemic has given us the added opportunity to teach safe and proper hygiene techniques,” stated Johnson. “Construction is not exempt.” He added how the health and safety of their students, instructors, and staff remains one of the most important tenets of the organization.
Sometimes it is extremely easy to get caught up in the negativity that is pervasive and prevalent in times of uncertainty. Though the end of the pandemic doesn’t seem in sight, Dr. Johnson remarked, “we need to remain cautiously optimistic that this too shall pass.” He cited how the success of the Trades Academy stems from a partnership between the Guam Contractors Association and its membership supporting them: their staff, instructors, and Board of Trustees. But more so, Johnson ended with some words of encouragement that we may have forgotten along the way. That teamwork, partnership, listening to and sharing best practices, and support are all part of a bigger formula to overcoming the obstacles we face. “Together we came
into this. Together we will get through this. Together we will emerge the better.”
Who knows what this will mean for the future of an industry that is continuously trying to bounce back? In the last five months, and what may be the foreseeable future, our entire island is going to be filled with uncertainty, obstacles, unpredictability, etc. But, more than anything, how we overcome this is by working together, supporting one another, and finding ways in which we will all emerge out of this saga safely. The book being written should be epic - but could you imagine the film? That would be biblical, and I’d like some royalties.
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