From Pakistan to Brazil and Guatemala, girls share how they’re keeping up with their studies during the pandemic
Between lots of Zoom calls, girls told us what works — and what doesn’t — in remote learning.
With more than 1.5 billion students experiencing disruptions to their education because of COVID-19, we wanted to hear from girls around the world about how they’re keeping up with their studies at home. Some face challenges accessing the internet or sharing equipment with their families. Others are enjoying developing their own curricula or studying new subjects. Keep reading to find out what works — and what doesn’t — in remote learning.
“With ample time and annual assessments called off, I can fully concentrate on topics I couldn't cover in school days. I have allotted the days in a way that covers all subjects and follows the school hours at home. After a short break at noon, I continue studying until night. Also, I refer to the Cambridge Assessment website and, although its resources are for teachers, they are EXTREMELY helpful and I basically plan lectures for myself, deliver them to myself and check them for myself.”
— Uswa e Zainab, 14, Pakistan
“Unfortunately, I am not able to keep up with my studies because in my community there is no free access to the internet and I am not in a financial position to pay for the service. I'm getting very worried because time is passing and we who live in the rural area of the municipality are the most affected.”
— Rayssa, 18, Brazil
“I continue with my studies using the Classroom platform to deliver the tasks that I must do and some days we make video calls with the teachers to solve questions about the topic or the task. Even though I have the opportunity to continue my studies thanks to technology, many children in my country aren't learning because they don't have a technological device to keep in touch with their teachers.”
— Andrea, 17, Guatemala
“Many students around the world have now begun with online learning, which for me, was very unusual in the beginning, as I was very used to my regular routine of going to college, seeing my friends and teachers in person. Similar to many students, my exams in June were cancelled, which brought about feelings of anxiety about how my future may turn out. However, I am thankful for online learning as it has allowed me to catch up on topics that I was unsure of and to engage in more independent learning.”
— Saranya, 17, Malaysia
“I'm going through quarantine at home and my study routine is very heavy because we have a lot of content to study and a lot of video lessons too. The idea of having video lessons was good to help us continue our studies, but at the same time bad because the internet here in the Pedra do Amolar community is not good quality. I need to use the internet from my aunt's house, but it is still very unstable due to high use. I am lost in the face of everything that is happening and worried about the future.”
— Celly, 17, Brazil
“My university has a virtual campus. The teachers of the theoretical classes assign readings and those of the practical classes teach through the Zoom application. The virtual campus is easy to use and offers many tools to communicate with teachers. The enrolled subjects appear at the beginning of the platform and it only takes one click to access the activities of each subject, whether theoretical or practical. I can log in from any device.”
— Genesis, 18, Honduras
“It's been about two weeks since online school has started, and I am still trying to get used to it as it can be hard at times since you don’t have your friends around to support you through it and provide company, but I am very grateful that I still have the opportunity to continue school and finish my sophomore year of high school, unlike many girls who have great uncertainty regarding their school during this pandemic. I am simultaneously studying for my AP exams which is also a struggle, but I am fortunate to have access to many resources that will help me during this time.”
— Mehaa, 15, U.S.
“Here in our community, we are unable to continue our studies because the only way to keep up is through the internet and we do not have access here.”
— Ana Paula, 18, Brazil
“My university has organised online live courses that I keep up with on the normal schedule, lecturers have adapted well using new ways to be interactive through online polls and quizzes. For my group research project, we have learnt to communicate through Skype and WhatsApp to try and keep up with each other, which has been its own lesson all by itself.”
— Raramai, 19, from South Africa and Zimbabwe, living in Denmark
“The pandemic itself is affecting all Brazilians, both poor and rich. The routine, of course, cannot be the same, but thank God it has not radically changed for me because in the municipality where I live, happily there are no cases of COVID-19. With the isolation, yes, I stopped doing some things, like practicing the sport (we set up a small girls' football team in the community). With the pandemic throughout Brazil and in the world, some activities were suspended, including schools and universities. I am taking the last module of a technical course at university, but due to COVID-19, the face-to-face classes were suspended and we are not taking online classes, because not everyone has access to the internet.”
— Vitória, 18, Brazil
“I am doing a preparatory course to get into university at the end of the year. My physical classes were cancelled due to the pandemic so now I'm studying from home. I have a few online classes but mostly I use my books and notes from previous classes. I tend to study in the morning because I feel that it's the time of the day when I'm more productive. I am also using this time to read the books that are mandatory for us to take the exams. My parents are both teachers so they are teaching online classes and it's very different for all of us because we have to share notebooks and earphones, etc.”
— Luiza, 17, Brazil
“Despite the fact that I don’t physically go to school every day, we still have online school. My school uses Google Classroom to assign work and uses Zoom to have group lessons. Besides online school, I also practice some academics using other resources, such as Khan Academy, on my own.”
— Anya, 12, U.S.
“I study geography at the University of Pernambuco (UPE) at the Zona da Mata Norte Campus, but the classes were taking place at Agreste in Caruaru at the Paulo Freire Training Center. For me, the pandemic affected us a lot as we had to stop attending classes in person to return home and now the contents are being passed by email. This sometimes complicates because we have no way to clear doubts with teachers.”
— Bianca, 18, Brazil
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