Year-end Reflections

Year-end Reflections by Chloe Weir Chair, School of Education

On March 23 Burman University transitioned quickly from a face-to-face delivery to an online teaching-and-learning modality.

It was a quick pivot!

At the School of Education, faculty responded with alacrity as they moved classes online. Asynchronous classes were augmented by occasional Zoom sessions that facilitated meeting as a group. While students seemed to have little difficulty navigating the Zoom platform, some faculty experienced a new learning curve while engaging with their students.

It quickly became evident that isolation and having no face-to-face contact with friends and peers was difficult for many students. The lack of daily structure also created added pressure for some. So our faculty encouraged students and found time to conduct wellness checks to help them cope with the new way of life under COVID restrictions. The personal touch of checking in with students via Zoom, emails and telephone calls gave them opportunities to express their fears and concerns. Students appreciated the efforts made to accommodate their individual needs and ever-changing situations.

To end the semester in one of my classes, students wrote inspirational thoughts to each other as they navigated the new time of COVID. Some shared Bible verses such as Deuteronomy 31:6 and Psalm 91:1-7. Others wrote their own words of encouragement and hope.

One student commented, “The times we’re living in are uncertain, uncomfortable, and scary. But there is a God who protects us from these terrors, and promises that He will take care of us. Even though humans frequently can’t solve our problems, God promises He will look after us. Take courage in that.”

As I read their postings, I shed some tears. I thought, at the School of Education we are committed not only to teach, but to address the holistic and dynamic realities of the human experience. Our students have learned to do so, as well. One wrote, “We are all struggling with our new realities due to corona virus: leaving school early, doing online classes, and for me, living at home again rather than having my own apartment.

“But through our struggles we have to remember where we get our strength from. No matter what life throws our way (because it’s going to get worse before it gets better), we are able to access true strength. Like the tree that doesn’t fear when the heat comes, we too can rest assured that God will carry us through.”

In the age of the corona virus, “zoom” has acquired a capital “Z” and now has a whole new meaning.

Faculty of the School of Education

Chloe Weir Chair Tim Buttler Assistant Professor Isaac Darko Assistant Professor Julia Falla-Wood Assistant Professor