RAIKOS GEORGIOS & VALAVANIS ANGELIKI

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC REQUIRES A NEW PARADIGM FOR EDUCATION

— BY RAIKOS GEORGIOS & VALAVANIS ANGELIKI

The COVID-19 pandemic evolved into a world-class crisis which brought about enormous changes in the area of health, economy and education. In the first three months following the initial appearance of the virus, many countries were hit harshly by the pandemic and were forced to lockdown both their borders and their schools.

THE BACK-STORY OF CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic evolved into a worldclass crisis which brought about enormous changes in the area of health, economy and education. In the first three months following the initial appearance of the virus, many countries were hit harshly by the pandemic and were forced to lockdown both their borders and their schools.

The summer of 2020 found us all a bit more relaxed, believing that the release of an effective vaccine would be able to provide an effective immunization against the further spreading of the coronavirus. Yet, the following Autumn and Fall brought about more maladies, with additional coronavirus mutations along the persistent, original virus strain, not to mention significant draw-backs with the available vaccines, uneven vaccine availability between geographies and delays in the production and release of the alternative vaccines that have received the necessary market license.

Travel and trade took a heavy toll. So did the world economy, with the worst crisis reaching record highs in recent history. We had to change our work habits. We had to change our schooling models. We had to change our way of living. Eventually, everyone had to change.

ECONOMY AND EDUCATION UNDER THE PRISM OF COVID-19

Before the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, most high-level executives had to travel longhaul 4, 5 even 6 days per week. Travelling was part of the business, networking with clients and peers, closing the deals. The largest part of the total number of graduate and postgraduate students had also been accustomed to attend asynchronous online classes abroad. This became the accepted norm. Talent had to meet high standards and vice versa. Distance learning made that easier, offering wider reach, reusable content and economies of scale.

When the World Health Organization announced the rise of the COVID-19 breakout, early enough for the governments to take action, most primary and secondary schools were locked-down for the imminent fear of spreading the virus to the young. The mandatory measures of wearing masks and practicing social distancing were later introduced so that people could walk in the open and go to work, under conditional restrictions.

Yet, most people chose to - or were instructed to - work from home. Primary and secondary schools also operated under an almost exclusive distance- learning synchronous or asynchronous mode, with an adapted curriculum to fit the circumstances.

The lockdown in the schools and the mandatory use of masks during the time spent outside left its impact on children’s psychology. Missing the school environment and the interaction with friends and school-teachers was clearly a root cause for a heavy change in mood.

A world-wide research carriedout by Cambridge University Press in August 2020, showed that almost half of the twelve hundred participating students in the sample, found it difficult to keep-up with time management, to stay focused during online sessions, and maintain the same level of personal motivation across the learning experience.

Many students developed psychological issues. The youngest ones found it quite difficult to adapt to the new situation. The new term “Generation C” (C standing for COVID-19) has already been coined, to allow researchers and psychologists to refer to people belonging to this particular age group and track their mental progress as they proceed in later stages of their lives.

It is worth noting that a study by OECD published in September 2020, under the title The Economic Impacts of Learning Losses claims that “The experience of school closures [including COVID-19 lockdowns] has also widened the gap in skill development. As a result, there is a great danger that school closures will further increase future inequality in society”.

SHIFTING MODELS IN EDUCATION

The coronavirus pandemic led the vast majority of the Universities around the world to shift from a campus-based to a distance-learning based mode of course delivery. The average curriculum also changed in order to accommodate the changing needs. As Michael W. Apple had so many times stressed in his research, today’s curriculum has been adapted to the requirements of the neoliberal economy. Today, this is more evident than ever before. People increasingly have to reskill and upskill, so that they can engage more effectively with the emerging work-from-home norm. Certification courses and CPE credits against continuous education requirements, have also found their way in distant learning. The demand for these courses quadrupled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OUR HOPE IS OUR CHILDREN

Dr. Tony Bates, the author of a dozen or so books in the field of online learning and distance education, has offered his expert view of what constitutes good quality in distant learning courses. It’s not just technological readiness across parties, as most of us tend to believe.

Beyond anyone’s political or social ideology, the COVID-19 pandemic has given us the opportunity to rethink global crisis models in the area of health, economics, work, medical sciences and largescale vaccination programs. Working from home and distant learning are two areas where humanity had to accept change in leaps and bounds. Actually it is expected that the changes effected in work and education, as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be kept into effect long after the pandemic has gone. In year 2020 and 2021, a large number of students gained access to a personal computer and an internet connection, thus making distant learning, more accessible and the target of highest ever literacy levels across the world, more plausible. As Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 so eloquently says: “My biggest hope is that this is the last time we will have to fight for our children’s education”.

Our hope is our children. We need to rebuild that kind of open-minded education that allows freedom of thought, creative thinking and ability to make choices. These fundamental educational pillars will create a new breed of scholars that will invent novel paths that will lead out of crises such as pandemics, failing economies and non-sustainable ecology.

In that respect every single child, like Malala Yousafzai, has the right to speak. And we, have the obligation to listen, and make room for change.

ABOUT RAIKOS GEORGIOS

I have accumulated two decades of experience in executive positions ranging from Business Process Reengineering and Project Management to Compliance and Information Security, working with such multinational organizations as IBM, British Airways, ABN AMRO Bank, EFG Bank, ISACA and others.

I have devoted a large part of my executive life attending international conferences, purposefully sharing knowledge with keynote speakers and brainstorming on strategy with consultants from major firms around the world.

After the systemic crisis of 2010, I repositioned my energy into the active support of startup incubators and technology bootstraps in Greece and UK.

Today, I invest time and energy into engaging further with like-minded individuals and entrepreneurs who share novel ideas and are willing to form open think-tanks to the benefit of our community. This is our key formula in I have more than 20 years of banking experience, having rotated from credit card and debt management to legal and compliance at mid-senior level. My lengthy experience in the banking sector has allowed me to have a clear business mindset coupled with my soft skills acquired from earlier experience via acting and teaching.

My true passion revolves around theatrical education and pedagogy. Having graduated as an actor, script writer, and theater director in the age of 24, I played in many and diverging roles, in cinema and the theater. I also run an Avant-guard theater named winning new business and ripping the benefits of joint success.

I am a sought-after Author, Executive Advisor and Contributor to Strategy think-tanks. Teaching and mentoring are a significant joint vocation for me and my wife, Valavanis Aggeliki.

Linkedin profile: https://www. linkedin.com/in/raikosgeorge/

ABOUT VALAVANIS AGGELIKI

“Forward” together with a group of talented actors in an underground-type location, the melting pot of new ideas at the time.

Today I study and practice pedagogy as I am convinced that free education and the youth will provide all the necessary answers to the crises we currently face on a global scale. I work towards the realization of such a goal together with my husband Raikos Georgios. We are both inspired by this potential.

facebook profile: https://www. facebook.com/angeliki.valavani