As a parent for the last 13 years, I have experienced that if parents attend a couple of parent-teacher meetings in a term, it will be a great achievement. But somehow for reasons best known to them, many parents shy away from attending such important meetings. Covid-19 that has hit the world as a pandemic has forced countries all over the globe to change over to ‘remote learning’ or what is popularly known as ‘online teaching’.
Due to the pandemic, campus gates are locked and a new online teaching system has emerged mostly with recorded videos and sometimes live sessions. A change that was so unexpected in its entirety and so sudden and so complex in its nature and scope that it demands incredible coordination from the participants such as students, parents and teachers. So, this type of hybrid teaching and learning is a very tough proposal considering the harsh ground realities. A traditional or conventional classroom teaching always provided for social and emotional connection, very different from the atmosphere of a virtual class.
In a digital class or a virtual class, as some teachers have confided in me, it is a huge challenge for the teachers to connect with the students and keep them motivated and engaged unlike in a conventional class with its live discussions. In a digital class, it is nearly impossible to ensure that every voice is heard. Many sensitive parents ask whether it is possible in a digital class to involve students in such critical processes like self-awareness, group or team participation and healthy competition bringing out interpersonal skills that are so essential for success in school first and in life later.
Under such real circumstances, it has been a huge task for all the three categories. There are parents with varying experiences and comfort levels (as they come from different educational backgrounds, different native languages and circumstances) and there are many teachers with no proper exposure and training in new methods of teaching. The transformation to remote teaching is so quick that many teachers in rural areas may not have thought of creating a video; and now, they have to grapple with new technological tools of teaching like One Note and Microsoft Teams or Flipgrid to name a few. Whatever may be the method employed by the parent, it is an illusion to bring in classroom discipline at home. In the new academic situation that is slowly evolving in our cities and villages, our teachers have to coordinate all the technical information (with low or non-availability of internet or power) and deliver the same effectively using the bewildering tools. It is then only that learning will be a meaningful process and the society wholly will benefit.
(The writer works with NSS, CHSE, Odisha. The views expressed are personal. Mob: 9437616497)