This family's living room is now the mother and children's school.

It's 9:00 am and, on a normal day, it would no longer be time for the Relvas family to be all at home. Times change, routines change, and now the classroom has become the school.

Catarina is in the 1st year, Gonçalo in the 5th and are students of the Laura Ayres School Group, in Quarteira. The mother, Patrícia Jesus, is a secondary school teacher in the same group. Among the three, there is a need to adapt timetables and “adjust logistics”. Sometimes "it's chaotic", but there are also signs of hope, given by families, in this Admirable new world distance learning.

When, on television, there is an indication that #Estudoemcasa is about to start, Catarina jumps off the sofa in her house, in Vilamoura, and quickly settles down at a small table, placed right in front of the television. Her classes have been like that – all through the teleschool, broadcast on a channel that has aroused the curiosity of this 6-year-old girl.

«Mother, why does the word memory always appear?», he asks, with the class still starting. «Because that's the name of the channel – RTP Memória», the mother replies, between laughs.

Catarina's mornings are filled with this new form of teaching, created by the Government due to the current Covid-19 pandemic for students from 1st to 9th grade.

The classes of this 1st year child are Portuguese, Mathematics, Environmental Studies and even Physical Education. «She usually answers the questions that the teachers are asking and a funny interactivity is created here», says the mother.

Teacher Patrícia helps her daughter with the math exercises dictated by the #Estudoemcasa teacher, while her Biology and Geology class, given by video call to the 11th grade, has no beginning. The son Gonçalo will also start, in a few minutes, a Portuguese class, through the platform Google Meet. everything seems to happen in catadop.

«Sometimes, here at home it's chaotic… There are days when the three of us are in class at the same time», confesses the teacher.

Although they are all at home (mother, father, who is a football coach, and children), Patrícia Jesus notices that there is less time for the family. “I feel like I'm at home longer, but that we play less. With so much, too much time is wasted. Before, there were more defined moments, but now it's not so easy to manage the schedule», he laments.

This is what happens when little Catarina's first class ends and a new “run” begins. Now, it's the turn of the mother and brother Gonçalo.

He, who has been taking classes both by video call and by teleschool, is already, in front of the computer, ready for another one. Before the teacher enters the platform, she takes the opportunity to talk to her friends. “It's what I miss most. That and playing football», he confesses, smiling.

In front, at the same table, teacher Patrícia Jesus is already waiting for the virtual arrival from the students. There are no greetings at the entrance to the room, but an attempt is made to replicate, as much as possible, the normality of a class. «Hello Carina! Look at Mariana! Good morning Jessica! What sleepy faces… but everything is arriving on time, very well!».

The Biology and Geology class, given to the 11th grade, is dedicated to talking about a form, made online, in which most students even got a good grade – the class average was 17,4. Over the course of about an hour and a half, there are occasional failures in the connection – the students stop listening to the teacher, or vice versa, the call drops… «These are the new vicissitudes of this time», summarizes the teacher.

For these students, there is still a big unknown: when they return to in-person classes. This Thursday, April 30th, the Council of Ministers will have to decide how and when these young people return to school to take classes in the exam subjects – as is the case of Biology and Geology.

“I view this return with some apprehension. The beginning of classroom classes should dictate the end of these, by video call, but it is expected that some parents will not authorize their children to go to school. There will be a gap here, in terms of monitoring the matter, which makes me worried, in addition to security issues», says Patrícia Jesus.

Ao Sul Informação, Nuno Sousa, president of the Algarve Federation of Parent Associations (FRAPAL), is also concerned about this issue.

“We do not agree with opening schools at any level of education. No matter how much the groups are divided, no one will be able to guarantee the total safety and hygiene of everything, nor that social distance will be maintained. The only way, in our opinion, is to ensure that all students have access to non-presential education. As bad as it is, it seems to us the best solution».

According to data from the General Directorate of Education and Science Statistics, the Algarve had, at the beginning of this school year, 61.823 students, divided into the three levels of education (Primary, Basic and Secondary).

Of these, "about 9" are from the 11th and 12th, the years that will still be attended in person, as revealed to our newspaper Alexandre Lima, Regional Education Delegate in the Algarve.

For a few moments, Gonçalo moves to his room to follow the Portuguese class with more attention.

For now, everyone is at home – from the 1st to the 12th. The third period started about two weeks ago, the teleschool and video call classes as well, and it is already possible to take stock, so far, of this new experience for everyone.

Alexandre Lima has a vision both as a guardian and as a regional responsible for the sector.

“If you think about it, at the end of the 2nd period, it all fell a bit from a parachute. Nobody was counting and the teachers adapted as they could. Now, in the 3rd period, there is already some experience and even prior preparation, in addition to the guidelines that were received by the schools», he adds.

“At an early stage, in the first week, things went as they could. What there is now is a greater calm, some normalization and organization, knowing that, even so, there is a great effort on the part of students and guardians, who, at this point, even become a bit of teachers. We are all playing our part and I honestly say that I wasn't expecting so much success», he considers.

Teacher Patrícia Jesus' perspective is the same: “in the beginning, it was confusing and we were trying to understand why some students didn't do their homework, for example. It didn't happen with many, but even today there are cases of one or the other who falls asleep, for example. These are the new routines», he confesses.

“We have to give security to the students because they feel a little lost at this point. More than content or knowledge, we have to provide them with security so that they understand that, from this side, the thing is working and, together, we are going to overcome this situation», he adds.

Patrícia Jesus, Gonçalo Relvas, Catarina Relvas and Hugo Relvas

The teacher knows more dramatic cases, of “pupils, alone at home, taking classes and having to take care of their siblings at the same time”. “In this, there is the risk that, unfortunately, the school will be relegated to the background”, he laments.

Nuno Sousa, from FRAPAL, considers that the teachers “have done an excellent job”. This person in charge reports on the existence of «different rhythms and methodologies» between Groupings.

“Unfortunately, we have a great disparity between councils. In Silves, for example, we have many reports from parents saying that there are classes with only a third of the students. Added to this, at a general level, are the complaints of families who do not have the necessary materials, such as computers and Internet access».

This point has been one of the main concerns. The Algarve authorities have made an effort, collecting and delivering tablets and computers to the most needy students: a “crucial help in these times”.

“In fact, the issue of lack of equipment has been a difficulty. We have been trying to minimize the problems, the local authorities have given a lot of help, even going to some houses to deliver the works, pick them up, using the mail», reveals Alexandre Lima.

Another complaint from parents, according to Nuno Sousa, is related to "some contents of the teleschool less focused on the grade and subject", but Alexandre Lima counters, explaining that this is only "a complement that the teachers will guide as they see fit" .

In the Relvas family home, the children have enjoyed the “television classes”. After Catarina's classes, it is Gonçalo, after the end of the Portuguese class, who follows the “Hora do Conto”, sitting at the table in front of the television.

Teacher Patrícia's students, who do not have a teleschool because they are in the 11th grade, make different assessments of their distance learning experience.

Mariana Aguiar says that the biggest difficulty has been the fact that "they have to organize themselves". Isabel Costa, in turn, guarantees that she would rather be at school and her colleague Gustavo Silva immediately adds: «at home, we are more easily distracted». The future, related to exams, is a transversal concern for the 20 students in this class.

At the end of the virtual class, the “thrice" the bell, but instead, the teacher's warning saying that "for today, everything is". Then he remembers to give one last message.

“This week, we're only going to have one class because Friday is a public holiday, it's May 1st,” he recalls. On the other side, there is an awkward silence. «Well, boys, under normal conditions, everyone would be happy to be at home one day, without classes, but your faces say it all…».

It will be just another day among so many others, in these times of confinement and change in the teaching world.

Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação