With the Spring Break ending, distance learning resumed for students across Ontario today. Not for everyone, though. The usual organizational problems dictated by the online studio were also added to technical problems due to a massive service outage that affected Rogers and Fido’s customers in much of Ontario but also in parts of British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.
The online lessons of many students did not even start today since the problems were encountered as early as midnight. “Please note that the intermittent interruption of the Rogers service may affect student-loaned LTE devices and staff mobile devices,” the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) tweeted. Many parents have expressed all their discontent with this unexpected inconvenience. “Kids have to take lessons online and the connection comes and goes!”, said one mother at the height of the exasperation while another parent pointed the finger at Rogers. “Will it come and go? There is no connection at all!”, was the comment.
Many virtual classes were halved yesterday due to the inability to connect with classmates and the teacher of those who relies on the Toronto-based telecommunications company for wireless communications, cable television, landline telephony and the internet.
The parents were certainly upset, children may not have been so. It was another day of vacation added to the long list of school days lost since the pandemic entered the lives of all of us. Because of the spread of infections, after having ensured that yesterday the children that attend in presence would cross the threshold of their school, the government suddenly changed its mind and opted to close all schools in the province until a date to be communicated.
Meanwhile, there are already those who bet that children will never return to their desks this year. And while staying safe within the four walls of the house protects against the possibility of being able to contract an infection, on the other hand, it does not help children to socialize with classmates and friends, it doesn’t give them the possibility to play and enjoy each other’s company.
Many psychologists and pediatricians are sounding the alarm about the mental health problems of the little ones catapulted into a completely different reality from the one known. “Children have to go to school,” they say in chorus. “It’s too dangerous, schools aren’t safe at the moment,” teachers’ unions say, concerned about the health of teachers and children. The Ford government, while convinced that it has implemented all prevention measures to eradicate the transmission of the virus, has closed all the schools. And now after Rogers’ mishap, for many kids, the resumption of online lessons will happen – hopefully – today.
