The absurdities of remote learning in art schools in the narratives of teachers, parents and students – reflections from pilot research

Abstract

The article presents the issue of remote teaching in art schools (music and ballet) during the COVID-19 pandemic from the biographical perspective of students, their parents and teachers of the main instrument. The cited stories focus on the unexpected difficulties they faced after the introduction of online education. Subjects closely related to artistic development (such as main instrument lessons, orchestra, choir, ear training, chamber ensembles – in music schools, or classical dance lessons – in the case of ballet schools) have caused many organisational and technical problems. Their effectiveness, in many cases, is unable to meet the needs of either students or teachers, leaving behind a feeling of meaninglessness, grief of loss, and, in borderline situations, physical harm.The article presents the results of pilot research (2022–2023) conducted as part of biographical research among teachers, parents and students of music and ballet schools. In-depth narrative interviews (and excerpts from them included in the text) paint a picture of the complicated everyday life of the pandemic, the strategies for coping with the encountered problems and the emotions associated with remote teaching of arts subjects in each studied group. The result of the pilot research is a record of the initial analysis and opens the research path for full-scale research planned for 2023–2024.The personal stories presented in the article have a dual purpose. On the one hand, they intend to outline their common experiences during the pandemic, outline the scale of the problem, and, as it were, confirm the validity of undertaking such a research topic. On the other hand, they invite readers to reflect on the reality of art schools that may be unknown to them.