The playgrounds are deserted.

Children who were meant to be in school this week are staying home. But that was never the plan. Teachers were ready to teach after the holiday. Children, many of them tired of staying indoors, believe it or not, were looking forward to meeting their friends in school. Parents were looking forward to their children heading out to learn some more so they can win in life. And nannies were looking forward to some hours of peace. Not to mention the school bus drivers! They too were looking forward to the trips.

All this is not to be, though. The playgrounds have to stay deserted.

For their safety. For our safety.

Learning must continue though.

Now imagine a kindergarten teacher teaching 5-year-olds “movement” behind a screen? How is that even manageable?

“Ethan! Monica! Mary! Do it! Good! Stretch! Jason! Paul! You can do it!”

She encourages each child, looking at different screens, and there are no communal giggles to answer her back. At least not to our hearing. Because the children have to mute themselves to avoid having a noisy Zoom room.

In less than 15 minutes, she has to say goodbye. No high-fives, no lost shoes, no grazes to go clean and cover with a kiddy band-aid. Just bye bye – with a wave to the screen.

This is because children do not connect well on-screen with a person they have previously touched and felt. They will go back to watching endless cartoons with fruits’ names and with characters sporting colours’ names. And only get to see playgrounds on the screen.

Until further notice.

The playgrounds are deserted. This is not normal.

The playgrounds are deserted. May they soon ring with children’s giggles.