THE IMPACT OF THE COVID SLIDE ON ENGLISH STUDIES

Robbie Baird, English, Politics, Philosophy and History tutor 

Within two weeks of arriving at university, I received feedback on an essay which, at the time, I was sure was the best I’d ever produced. Written at the bottom of the page were three words: ‘Horrible. Just horrible’. With shocking bluntness, I had been shown just how woefully unprepared I was for the expectations of higher education. It took a good few months for me to get back on track, least of all because I had to recover from that enormous hit to my academic confidence. Worst of all, it had all seemed remarkably familiar. In the first term of my A-Levels too, my hitherto good grades had taken a sharp turn for the worse. 

I know now, as a private educator, that these experiences are all too common. The chasm between each stage of education is vast, and is rarely pointed out to the students attempting to cross it. Worse still, all this is compounded by the so-called ‘Summer-Slide’ – those months of hard-earned relaxation in which students’ academic rigour inevitably wanes. I have yet to see a student who, upon their return to school after GCSEs, is not disheartened to see their struggles renewed. 

It worries me, now, to think of what is going to happen for the students who have to add the ‘COVID-Slide’ to their already lengthy list of challenges. In any normal year, the teaching of the curriculum should be done by now. Teachers would be able to lean back from the syllabus, and focus on real, transferable skills: form, expression, argument. 

Instead I see student after student buried under piles of worksheets that they’re expected to read, understand and internalise almost entirely without their teachers’ assistance. Even those receiving a good amount of online teaching hours have been robbed of the personal attention their teachers might normally be able to give them. The virtual classroom makes it practically impossible for students to be shown much more than what needs to be learnt by rote. When the standard expected of them changes, they’re going to be in for a short sharp shock. 

It is no wonder then that the demand for private tuition is increasing so dramatically. Children just can’t be left in the lurch at a time like this. Indeed, the nature of private tuition has also been changed. No longer is it a tool reserved for scholarship training or remedial support, it is now the sole access point for a key part of a student’s journey: the development of their academic individuality. 

At both A-level and university level, students are going to be expected to show not only what they know, but also who they are. They will be expected to ask their own questions, as well as to formulate their own answers. They will be expected to argue, and, when they argue, to win. None of these are skills that fact-sheets or revision cards can develop, and we cannot expect our children to solve this problem on their own. 

When I went back to my room after receiving that biting response to my essay I doubted my ability to weather university at all. I had been so absolutely sure I was ready, and I was wrong. All that, at a time without a global pandemic to undermine the last, crucial stages of my secondary 

school education. The burden to adapt and overcome, placed on students this academic year, is far heavier. 

The Covid Slide and the impact on other subjects 

The Covid Slide is not unique to English. To find out the impact on Maths, The Sciences and Languages please read our other blogs at https://mykidstutor.co.uk/blog/ 

Overcoming The Covid Slide 

Please contact Nicola at learning@mykidstutor.co.uk or call on 07887634779 to discuss how My Kids Tutor can help give your child the academic boost they need this summer.