How to follow WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations to stem the spread of coronavirus while living in the slums of Kibera, Kenya, where people not only face overcrowded conditions, but have no access to something as basic as water?

This question – featured on a report published on the UN website – was introduced to Year 4 children as soon as social distancing guidelines were imposed. At the time, they were learning about water as an element in Natural Sciences, and the UN article helped bring their studies closer to reality and broadened their view on the challenges that humanity has been facing with the pandemic.

Teacher Luciana, who used the report as a reading assignment, said that she always resorts to texts, news articles and current events to support learning activities, looking for examples that can be applied to everyday life. “We try our best to bring the content closer to our reality so that the children can relate to what they are studying, and to make learning as significant as possible. So, in times of a pandemic, if we’re talking about the basic elements in Natural Science, it makes total sense to use our current situation to contextualize their studies.”

She says that just before social distancing was implemented, they had been exploring the subject of water with an article published by the British newspaper The Independent, which talked about the amount of water needed to produce a mobile device, articles of clothing, and other consumer goods. “So, when the pandemic hit, I added this article about the people who lived in a slum, without running water, who had to walk very far away to fetch water, and still managed to follow WHO guidelines, and what was being done to mitigate this situation. In parallel, Teacher Ida was teaching sanitation in Brazil and we were able to engage the students in discussions about other places that lack access to clean water. Then, while we were talking about COVID-19, we added soap to the conversation, because fat was the next topic the class was going to see. I shared a video on the history of soap, which showed how post-war Germany started making synthetic soap from petroleum instead of using natural ingredients. That led us straight into oil. Everything was related to COVID, after all, oil is an ingredient in products such as alcohol-based sanitizers and moisturizers.”

So, we managed to make very organic adjustments to the school curriculum in every class, as we brought the content closer to the context of the global pandemic we are experiencing.

In Year 2, for example, the kids have showed particular interest in microorganisms, so our Natural Science studies are being pointed more in that direction. Teacher Priscila explained, that in addition to teaching about viruses, she is also focusing on bacteria and fungi. “Some of the students were interested in microorganisms that are harmful to human beings. They also found out that we use microorganisms to make bread. Things started moving in this direction after we started the online classes. We had a lot planned, but now we’re doing things differently. The children are much more interested in this topic than in previous years.

For younger students, teachers have taken a more subtle approach to the topic of COVID, such as not focusing on the problems or deaths caused by the virus. The subject has been introduced by talking about the impact of COVID in animals or news stories such as one on Edvard Munch iconic painting “The Scream”, which had been deteriorating because people kept breathing on it, and now scientists believe that the quarantine will give it a few more years of life.

The Year 5 curriculum was not supposed to discuss the respiratory system at this moment, teacher Leticia recalled. “Our book on the human body has many systems to be studied, and we think it would make more sense to see the respiratory system now, just because of the pandemic. So, the children were able think about what happens in our body and understand how COVID works.” The pandemic also encouraged the development of a “Dictionary of Feelings” to help children cope with conflicting emotions arising from social distancing, as they are deprived from contact with friends and a social life. “At be.Living, we make sure that children are comfortable to talk openly about any issues they might be facing, but this is happening in specific formats and through activities like this one, because of the COVID pandemic.” Leticia also mentioned that children are eager to learn about the school reopening protocols, social distancing rates, and whether the COVID-19 curve is rising or flattening. “We’re going to create a TV news program. The topics they choose have to be related to the latest current events. It’s not just about patients and the disease itself; we’ll have book recommendations, talk about our dreams in quarantine… it will be done in a way that whatever they want to convey will be somehow related to the pandemic.”

She recalled an interesting story about when the class was studying heritage sites. “The idea was to look outside the school. Then, all of a sudden, we began to look inside. That’s when we recorded a podcast in which the students had to think about the intangible heritage of be.Living.” Leticia said that they used Google Street View to view the city and explore it using public transport.

According to teacher Flavia, who also teaches Year 5, the quarantine has led to significant improvements to the curriculum, especially regarding the children’s autonomy. “Normally, we would start to see these gains more towards the end of the year, but we had to encourage them now. It was a major challenge, but we are already reaping the benefits. The children are showing a lot of autonomy.” The teacher also pointed out that online education requires children to be much more organized than if they were in a classroom. “These advances need to be emphasized, like their ability to create a study routine in a place that they usually think of as a place of leisure. I believe that when the children return from quarantine, many of their new habits will continue and they might take homework time more seriously and develop a study habit that goes beyond what school requires.”