Now that we’re halfway through the year, we’re slowly seeing one of our biggest fears (aside from the pandemic) come to life: Students becoming lab rats.
Online classes have already started for some schools, while the rest are gearing up for a brand new school year following the setup—scenes that disappoint the month-long #NoStudentLeftBehind movement. If you’re still not convinced that we need an academic freeze, how about we hear it from the kids themselves?
Directed and written by Al-Zir Georges Malaga, “Excuse Us” tells the story of a group of students trying to participate in an online class. But the horrors of this alternative creeps in not during class itself, but as early as the roll call for attendance. Slowly, this short film fleshes out the reasons why online classes aren’t for everyone: lack of money, equipment, conducive learning space, electricity and more.
“Education is not a privilege. If you’re watching this, then you have access to the internet. It is our responsibility to speak up for those who are struggling to attend online classes during this pandemic,” states the film’s description on YouTube.
On Facebook, the director paired the film with links to petition forms, particularly for 5 PUP Demands, which aim to aid students to survive this pandemic, from grade consideration to financial assistance.
For a two-minute film, this Zoom call-based “Excuse Us” transforms us into flies on the wall in students’ houses during the pandemic—but we should know it could be worse than this. In the end, we also realize how not only students but also teachers have to suffer under this protocol.
Watch “Excuse Us” here:
Still from “Excuse Us”