Community Challenges
"I Miss My Madrasah*" Adi Abdurrahman's story (September 2020) Madrasah teacher in Bandung, Indonesia It's hard to believe that we have to deal with this situation. This was the first thought that came to my mind when the COVID-19 pandemic began to appear in Indonesia in February 2020. Since the beginning of March 2020, the Madrasah, where I teach, restricted our learning activities and applied some health protocols. We could only fill 50% of the classroom capacity, all teachers and students must wear masks everywhere, and there was regular body temperature checking. Facilities for handwashing were built in some places. However, this did not last long because at the end of March 2020 the local government issued circulars about schooling from home. The Madrasah had to follow the regulation, whether we liked it or not. At first, it was difficult to accept because the teachers had to adapt to new learning tools such as Google Classroom. For teachers, it was a challenge but we learnt quickly. It was different for the parents who had different abilities and facilities. Some parents had problems accessing the internet, others had cell phones that were not compatible with Google Classroom, and some didn't even have cell phones. We used WhatsApp as an alternative learning platform. And for students who didn't have cellphones we instructed them on assignments to be done at home. We haven't been able to study at the Madrasah for almost a year. Most parents also complain about online learning, especially those who are busy with their work. We, the educators who were initially enthusiastic about teaching, gradually felt bored too. Hopefully, this pandemic will end soon, so we can all return to the Madrasah to study as before. *A Madrasah is an Islamic boarding school.
SPEAR team