The rise of the isolation society and the loss of human interaction: South African educators’ pers

Abstract

Lost in the midst of a pandemic, I started up my computer and the keyboard was as cold as ice. No truer description of how I felt inside. I want to say it was a normal winter’s morning, but something felt amiss. Looking at me square in the eyes, was a lifeless computer screen with a black background. White blocks filled the screen and a prolonged, deafening silence filled the room. I took a deep breath in, unmuted myself, and so began another day of online teaching. It was the dawn of a brand-new academic year. A proactive tone was set for 2020. Learner guides, lecture schedules and assessment guidelines were distributed at the beginning of the academic year. Feelings of excitement and innovation circled the air. We remember sitting in the tearoom discussing the news about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak overseas and being completely shocked by what was happening in other countries. Little did we know that on Thursday, 26 March 2020, South Africa (SA) would enter into a national, hard lockdown, in the hope to contain the spread of COVID-19. What does this even mean and what do we do now? Before we knew it, we lost the power of touch. Most of our teaching philosophies and learning plans were forced out the window. With only a moment’s notice, teaching and learning, as we once knew it, dissolved into an era of the unknown. This was not like a fire drill whereby we knew what steps we needed to take. It was like nothing we had ever experienced before: complete online learning. No time for planning, no time for supporting students with the transition, no time for acquiring resources and absolutely no time at all for comprehending what was happening to the world at large. Feelings of uncertainty and anxiety began to take over, leaving both ourselves and our students’ mental health exposed and at risk.