Like many educators, I have been wrestling with what format teaching should take in the upcoming academic term. Like most countries in the world, schools in Nigeria have been shut since March 2020, and we have only begun to see an easing of restrictions in the last couple of weeks to allow school leavers to sit their crucial end of phase exams.

Up until the lockdown, we delivered over 90% of our lessons in person, mostly in client’s homes or schools. When lock-down happened, we were forced to transition quickly to virtual teaching and have been doing so ever since. Now that schools are set to open in the next few weeks, my team and I find ourselves asking the question, what is the right response for us?

My first thought is that the coronavirus is still very much with us, and even countries like New Zealand who declared an early victory over the pandemic, are currently experiencing a second wave of new infections and are in the throes of a new lockdown.

While it appears that Nigeria (mercifully) has had a relatively easier time compared with other countries such as South Africa, cases are nevertheless still rising. As of yesterday, the 23rd of August 2020, there were over 52,000 confirmed cases. Of these, 2% are linked to foreign travel, 24% are contacts of known cases, while 74% were infected through “unknown exposure” (source: COVID-19 SITUATION REPORT 177, Sunday, 23rd August 2020, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control). I don’t know about you but the high percentage of untraceable infections is of concern to me.

According to this guidance released by the Federal Ministry of Education, schools and learning facilities need to undertake risk assessments to determine how safe it is to reopen for the 2020-2021 academic year. As we are not a traditional school, not all the considerations are applicable to us, but we were able to draw up our own risk assessment based on the Government’s guidelines which we feel is relevant to our unique situation.

KMC COVID RISK ASSESSMENT

1. Is there a high rate of community transmission in the area in which the lesson is due to take place?
2. Is there a high rate of community transmission in the area in which the Music Coach resides?
3. Will the Music Coach able to maintain a physical distance of 2 meters between themselves and other commuters enroute to the client’s home and back again?
4. Does the Music Coach, the Learner or anyone they are in regular contact with have a pre-existing condition that puts them at higher risk of contracting the virus?
5. Will the Music Coach able to measure the body temperature of themselves, the Learner and any other persons present at the lesson location with an infrared digital thermometer before entering the premises?
6. Will the Music Coach be able to wash or sanitise his or her hands conveniently before, during and after the lesson as the need arises?
7. Will the Music Coach be able to maintain a physical distance of 2 metres from the Learner and anyone else present throughout the lesson?
8. Are both the Music Coach and Learner able to wear face masks for the entire duration of the lesson without negatively impacting teaching and learning? (may not be feasible for voice, brass or woodwind lessons for instance).
9. Does the location of the lesson have adequate cross ventilation that does not require the use of a fan or airconditioner as these could potentially circulate the virus in a confined space?
10. Can the lesson take place without the Music Coach needing to share equipment with the pupil, such as pens, pencils, notebooks, music books and musical instruments?
11. Where sharing of equipment and resources is unavoidable, can these be adequately sanitised before and after the lesson is due to happen so as not to impact on teaching and learning time?
12. Is everyone present aware of proper hygiene protocols regarding sneezing and coughing in order to minimise the possible spread of water droplets?
13. Will the Music Coach and Learner have access to safe and sanitary rest rooms with running water if required?
14. Are there adequate contact tracing protocols in place at the lesson venue should it become necessary to reach people who may have come into contact with an infected person?

In addition to the health considerations above, we feel that the following logistical concerns are equally important:

1. Does the increased congestion presently being experienced in Lagos on account of ongoing repairs to the Third Mainland Bridge and the Okada ban allow allow the Music Coach to fulfil their obligations to other clients?
2. Does the timing of the lesson allow enough time for the Music Coach to return home before the start of any curfews imposed by the State or Federal Government?

With so many factors to consider, my team and I have decided that our default teaching format for the start of the 2020-2021 academic year will be virtual with the possibility of in-person lessons once a month for those clients who want it, provided the risks outlined above can be mitigated.

To make our virtual lessons as effective and impactful as possible, we will adopt both syncrhonous (live) and asyncrhonous tuition methods. This format was used to great effect in delivering our eight week virtual summer camp for which we had fantastic feedback from both parents and children alike.

With regards to when we are likely to return to all in-person lessons, it is not possible to give a specific time frame as there are just too many variables at play. All we can do is to continue to keep the situation under review, with the aim of switching to in-person lessons when the benefits of doing so outweigh the risks.

I have a sneaky suspicion however, that virtual instruction will remain an important part of learning in the future and that blended teaching methods are here to stay.

Till next time,

Mrs O

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Sometimes listening to a song and meditating on its lyrics is all that you need to gain fresh perspective and peace.

#morningwalk

#goodgoodfather

#christomlin

This Psalm conjures a beautiful picture of the Psalmist spending time on his instrument before dawn. Giving God the first fruits of his musical skill.

It is often said that the best time to practice ones instrument is first thing in the morning while the brain is fresh and I am encouraged to see David doing the same.

As a person of faith, I find that my best days are those that begin with quiet contemplation, reflection on God’s word and with prayer but I rarely spend those moments in the company of my piano, my equivalent to David’s “lute and harp”.

I am also reminded of the famous hymn:

“Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty, Early in the morning, my song shall rise to thee…”

I am challenged therefore to include in my morning rituals, this practice of awakening my “lute and harp” that I might awake the dawn.

Thankfully, with the advent of digital instruments, it is possible to do so without awakening the rest of the neighbourhood by wearing headphones. 🙂 🎧

The last three months have been intense. It felt like we slammed on the brakes hard while simultaneously manouevering round a tight corner at top speed on the edge of a cliff, not sure whether we would survive the experience.

So, we had our first virutal music summer camp this week, I must say with some trepidation. We have never been here before (neither have 90% of the music education industry). But we made a conscious decision at the onset of COVID to embrace technology and remain as relevant as we could be in the new age in which we find ourselves. And so my team and I worked hard to create a series of Olympic themed music programmes to be delivered entirely virtually.

But this week, we discovered something we were not expecting. We found that the children for whom we were making this transition had arrived at the destination before us. They were settled and comfortable in this digital space. For them, the virtual world has always been home. The rest of us where simply catching up.

The children in our summer camp age bracket are known as Generation Alpha, the first generation to be born entirely in the 21st century. These children have no experience of a world pre smartphones. Their parents are mostly millenials and are themselves, digitally savvy, using technology in a myriad of ways in both corporate and domestic settings.

For Generation Alpha, technology is part of their identity. All the content of our virtual camp is delivered using a myriad of digital tools and I was worried about the technical complexity behind the programme. However, many of the children took to it like a duck to water. The testimonial of this parent below is a case in point:

Having said that, the most popular sessions were those that involved using technology to interact with other children. Thanks to technology, we were able to group the children in all sorts of interesting ways so they could build friendships across school and indeed geographic borders as we had children from outside Nigeria take part. It seems like while Generation Alpha are likely to be the most tech savvy people on the planet, their preference is for technology that fosters human connection. And long may that be.

Next week therefore, we will build in more interaction between our “Olympiads” and incorporate a lot more collaborative activities. I am excited about where this Generation can take us and I look forward to learning as much from them, (and probably more), as they would from me.

While we must take seriously our responsibility for safe-guarding the welfare of our children both online and offline, let us not allow our anxieties to hold them back from experiencing the many positive experiences that technology, used wisely, can provide.

So this morning, I was challenged by my journal to envision where I would be in six months time and to schedule an email to myself to arrive on that date, describing where I hope to be by then. As it happens, six months from today will be the 4th of January 2021. The first Monday of that year. I had a lot to write and the email has been scheduled for delivery on that day, thanks to the magic of modern technology.

This made me think about the goal setting exercise my team and I do at the beginning of each term for every one of our students, where we envision and write down what skills we want them to have acquired by the end of term.

The process of thinking through and writing down a vision helps to focus the mind and directs effort in an intentional, often unconscious manner.

The Bible says “without a vision my people perish”. It’s one thing to have a grand vision but this can sometimes be overwhelming and seem unattainable.

Setting micro visions to be achieved within a reasonable time frame motivates and inspires action.

So, go ahead and write that email to yourself. Where would you want to be on the 4th of January 2021 and what needs to happen to get you there?