In an interview with Organization for Educations Research and Planning, Hourieh Najafinejad, the manager of Iranian School in Shanghai, China describes the schools reopening in the country.
Q: How is the situation of schools reopening in Shanghai?
It's been about two months since the situation returned to normal in Shanghai. All the offices, companies, etc. have started working. The high schools opened two months earlier, and almost every week one grade gets back to school. By this week for example, the seventh grades and then elementary schools are opened.
Q: What are the health protocols in schools now?
Before students enter the schools, their body temperatures are checked and recorded. Moreover, a Corona test is done before letting them in. At noon, at 12 o’clock I mean, their body temperature is measured again. if a student’s body temperature is higher than 37 centigrade, the resident doctor at schools visits the child and then the parents are informed. the parents are required to take the child to a hospital. the sick student is allowed to return to the schools after two weeks and only if the doctor permits. Each student has a notebook called “health notebook”, where their health information is recoded daily.
Q are the parents aware of the new guidelines?
Yes, two days before the opening of each grade, the parents are informed about the new guidelines so they know the new situation. The first week after reopening, some tests are taken and the previous lessons are reviews. This is generally what we have in China.
Q: How about online education and applications?
There are also some applications. In some cities students have two different apps, one for educational videos and the other for student-teacher communication. There is a Chinese app for students to attend online classes. Some instructions about how to use the apps are provided to the students one week before, so they can get familiar with it.
Q: How are the online classes?
For every lesson, there is a 20-minute video recorded by the teacher, after the video is finished, the students are asked some questions and they have to type the answer. These videos are recorded and distributed by the ministry of Education and is the same for all cities.
After the video is played, the teacher of the class starts asking questions and answering student’s questions. Students can see the teacher all the time and the teacher is able to check student’s presence by randomly checking their webcam.
Q: What about the homework and the timing of the classes?
Students should send their homework on the giving time, the teacher reviews and answer their questions. The classes start at 8:30 and ends at 11:30. after a two-hour break, the classes continue at 13:30 and ends at 16:30.
Art, history, English and Society classes which involve question and answer, are held in a video conference manner, where attendees can see each other and discuss the subjects.
This educational system was warmly welcomed by the parents and the students and was considered to the successful. Teachers and patents have also formed separate groups in WeChat to discuss schools and classes.
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