2022: A Year for Tackling Challenges
By: Andres Congrains
As promising as entering a new year might be, it is crucial to note the challenges and reaffirm commitment to our long-term goals. Having high vaccination rates and most businesses resumed operations, it is to expect the Vietnamese education industry to follow shortly. There is no secret formula to an accurate forecast. Our success in 2021 was due to our adaptability to unprecedented circumstances.
The return to school will represent a triumph for education. After several months of online learning, resilience and commitment stand out as fundamental for goal achievement. This new episode represents a tremendous opportunity for us: to evaluate the success of our online program and reevaluate traditional learning. The unpredictability of the future makes us wonder: is it time for education to become online/offline blended?
The long-term closure of the educational industry caught us off guard. At the initial stage, there was fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Online learning started as "Review Lessons" and then converted into a solution. Teachers had to quickly get familiarized with e-learning platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. It didn't take long for us to realize: online was doable. Schools, universities, and language centers started to elaborate complete online programs with the sheer will to achieve educational progress in one of the most disrupted industries during COVID times.
The UPP Global Online Program was assembled with the idea to maintain our core values throughout the digital platform. We believe our true identity lies in the heart of our community of learners and volunteers. Hence, our priority was getting the family back together. Today, digital has become one of our core assets and a fundamental part of our long-term strategy.
Love and Education
We are working towards a learning program to be deployed on-site and online (interchangeably). Online brought massive benefits such as parental involvement, scheduling flexibility, and providing a safe environment to our students (in the middle of a global pandemic). Furthermore, we realized our students are digital natives and were eager to use the online tools. On the other hand, online learning made us face challenges like technical issues (poor wi-fi and device scarcity) or the lack of the immersive experience only a closed doors classroom can provide.
2021 made us redefine our role as teachers. Most kids stayed at home for months. We became their window to the world, just as they became ours. The role of a teacher is more significant than merely imparting lessons; it is found in providing motivation and showing commitment to helping others. We wanted to show kids the weight of resilience and motivation.
In conclusion: it's impossible to accurately forecast 2022. We believe it is time to consider online/offline blended lesson programs as an approach that merges the best of two worlds. The future is unwritten, and the way we do things today will vary from the way of tomorrow. Our commitment, however, will remain unchanged.
Our weekly English Class 2021
