For students who are feeling "robbed" of their VCE year – both academically and socially – and for parents who share the VCE anxiety, maybe a switch in thinking is required.

In the VCE text The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, the protagonist Gogol ponders life and struggles with his identity, but after the death of his father he realises that events have shaped his life. "They were things for which it was impossible to prepare but which one spent a lifetime looking back at, trying to accept, interpret, comprehend."

It's poignant advice for us all during the current coronavirus current crisis.

Students are grieving the loss of formative experiences such as their last school production or athletics carnival, or the Year 12 Formal – and the special bonding that occurs as they assume their role as leaders of the school cohort in their final year.

Parents worry that their children’s lives will be devoid of these rites of passage, which prepare students for the transition to their lives beyond school.

Although difficult to replicate, students have displayed ingenuity by creating online versions of these events. They might not capture the full experience and heights of excitement, but it shows how the human spirit cannot be repressed; the desire to innovate and create positive moments is strong.

These new experiences are genuine formative moments in the lives of our young people and will assist them to "interpret, comprehend" 2020.

Many students are rising to the challenges

We are living through extraordinary times that offer both challenges and opportunities. There are many challenges to education as we face the COVID-19 crisis: the possible inequities of online learning; the lack of face-to-face teaching; grieving the lack of human connection, are some.

However, there are opportunities in this new classroom construct.

Students will hopefully become independent and self-motivated learners – attributes sorely needed in those who embark on tertiary studies.

Secondary educators who have been delivering online teaching have noticed that the students who are normally quiet, perhaps due to those who are more vocal or dominant in a traditional classroom setting, are thriving due to the one-on-one time with their teacher without the distraction of others.

On a pastoral level, there is a duality of circumstance, where teachers are caring for their students but the students are now concerned for the welfare of their teachers.

It's the perfect time to develop a global vision

On a global scale, everyone is in the same circumstance, so there's the possibility of linking with other virtual classrooms around Australia and the world to share and learn from their experiences.

School tours are an amazing, but expensive, adventure for a limited number of students. With virtual classrooms, teachers and students could participate in both simple and complex academic activities.

Drawing on the existing connections we have with overseas schools would enable students to look beyond their own experiences, to recognise and learn from others in varied cultural contexts. Such intercultural understanding "offers opportunities for [students] to consider their own beliefs and attitudes in a new light, and so gain insight into themselves and others" – a general capability of the Australian Curriculum.

Through my experience as an educator teaching VCE English and history, those who succeed with these studies are those who have a world view – students who engage with current affairs, who make connections with "big ideas" and cultures and apply these to their thinking, learning and living.

Sadly, Year 12s often lack that insight and it is reflected in their writing as they struggle to draw connections with the concepts presented in texts and the world in which they live. But the ability to do so is a springboard for fresh ideas and perceptive writing.

This year, 2020, will equip Year 12s with a unique set of perspectives to shape themselves as resilient, adaptable and innovative; to not only survive but also to engage with "big ideas" and create a new future for Australian and global societies.

When people are fearful and living in uncertain times, racism and prejudice rear their ugly heads and undermine human potential. Now we have a chance to optimise the experience of all students and to refresh our thinking.

The identity of a 2020 Year 12 student will be shaped by these strange times, but we must offer them the tools to "interpret, comprehend" and innovate.

We are all living through a global crisis but there's the chance to develop empathy for our fellow global citizens, to learn from and respect each other’s cultures – to resolve our differences to make a difference.

A version of this article first appeared on ABC Education. 

Feature image: Getty Images