Overnight, I experienced a massive change in the educational system. The traditional learning system, which I was accustomed to for nearly twenty years was replaced by online classes due to the lockdown. As an individual who can’t talk over the phone for more than ten minutes, I was made to listen to lectures and attend classes the whole day, which became a very difficult task for me. It took nearly two months for me to get used to it, and yes, it is true that I learned a lot from this experience. As my listening and understanding skills developed, I also learned a lot on how to make use of certain learning technologies.
The lockdown didn’t affect me much, as I am a person who always prefers to stay indoors. But, I was really frustrated with the blame game that was going on in the news, social media, and within our neighborhood. While going through this pandemic, I learned a lot about our mental state, we seem to be very fearless and bold, but not in reality.
Here is an example, when Tetso College Pelo Boys’ Hostel, which is in our neighborhood, was declared as a Quarantine Center, it hit our neighborhood really hard. It became a hot topic in the neighborhood and people were complaining that the authorities must not allow the government to do so. This incident made me question, how can someone be so selfish to this extent. I also saw my neighbors fleeing to their villages after hearing the news and some of them going over to stay at some place far from the hostel. I found the way neighbours’ panicky situation funny, yet at the same time educational, as l learned a lot about human nature.
It was also frustrating to see how innocent people became victims of fake news and rumors. After having experienced and seen certain things within these few months, I have this thought that humans must learn to live with this, until there is a solution.
Wapangnaro
Tetso College