‘The Leap’ By Priyanka Barara, Delhi International School
The session was about to close when the coronavirus was pandemic hit us. The schools got closed in mid-March. We started taking extra classes for Grade 10 and 12, where teachers were coming to school and taking classes online.
We also started evaluating platforms, as we were not sure how long this could take. When the government announced that we have to close the schools altogether, we had already made up our mind of going ahead with Zoom after trying Google and Teams too. It was user friendly and interactive. It could be used on a phone if the students did not have devices.
Our technology and savvy teachers took the lead and helped in training for the rest of the teachers. Then we prepared the online classes time table. it had to have things like minimum screen time, availability of devices of parents, siblings because most families have shared devices. We launched everything by April 2. But we did not stop there and we took feedback from parents and factored their inputs into timetables and lectures.
We did face some resistance from parents, as screen time was going to the increase. Parents did not have books and notebooks, So we made workarounds to accommodate the lack of resources. Over a period of time, parents accepted. We did creative classes, happiness classes, as the content is not the only thing that child learns. Parents need to have more faith in school and more conviction, as we mean well for children.
The primary students are really easy to handle. However, middle to senior students need an outlet and friends and interactions. Their content is more, time is less, so it is very hard to engage them. There is an ‘online bunking’ of classes, which requires attention. In fact, the syllabus-cut is useful, it allows reinforcement and takes away the pressure too. Students have adapted well, but they miss school, in fact, we all miss school.
My bigger fear is the mental wellbeing of children. Just in case there is happiness at home, they are blessed, but if there is no happiness at home and they are in that environment and not getting an outlet, it can be detrimental to their mental well being.
I am coming to school. We need to ensure the upkeep of the school. The government may just give us 10 days notice to re-open schools. We need to have SOPs and processes ready for that.
These 6-8 months have prepared us for anything unusual. The leap that we have taken will go a long way. Teachers have built a plethora of resources. We have learned so much in this period, which we would like us ourselves to continue.
In a busy vicinity, a PTM is a real task for the school, parents and for the community around. It can be done online, at a time convenient for the parents in complete privacy where other parents are not around.
Another change we can bring is that instead of carrying a big school bag, each child can carry her all her textbooks, e-library and reference books in a tab. Similarly for teachers. Now we use Google Forms for so many activities not just assessments. These can continue.
If the government can provide us certain sanctions and relaxation in certain payments, we can use our funds to support the hygiene and sanitation, which would be required after students are back to school.
Watch her interview here:
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