Covid-19 and My School

Covid-19 and My School

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By: Jugal Kishore,Principal

This is the time when invisible becomes so visible, so horrifying that we even dread going near to our dear ones. We ostensibly doubt every other person to be the carrier of deadly Corona Virus. We fear to touch the surfaces which we involuntarily used to touch. Lifts and  table tops, latches of washrooms, mouse of your laptop and handles of  doors appear to be one’s deadly enemies.

Sometimes when I see doctors and nurses in their PPEs, I feel as if some biological warfare is going on. This sends shivers down to the spine. What if you turn out to be Covid positive? Low death rate in India is the only relief one could get. The world, indeed, is passing through an unprecedented testing time. Villages appear to be safe havens whereas   cities appear to be unsafe. Though the skies appear to be more cleaner and rivers more transparent yet the fear of the unknown looms conspicuously large in every one’s mind. Like God this virus does not discriminate between the rich and the poor, the black and the white, the lean and the fat. All are equal before it.

Most of the common  people  do not know much about this virus. They even do not know how to wear a mask. Two months back I got the front wheels of my car changed. In the shop-cum –workshop I saw one boy (who was sitting in front of me) was engrossed  viewing something on his mobile. He had mask on his face.  An other person who appeared to be a supervisor had not worn mask, he bent down and started seeing the screen of the mobile of the former. It was a flagrant violation of self protection and  social distancing. I could not hold my self back. I asked him why he had not worn the mask. He said he had tied his handkerchief but had removed only a couple of seconds ago. I said that the virus was so minuscule that the tip of a hair could accommodate thousands of corona viruses. He blurted that on TV screen they show it very big.I was speechless!

After lockdown, I visited my school after a gap of  almost two months. When I left my home after getting online curfew passes, my better-half ,who appeared apparently worried , counselled me for a couple of seconds as to how I should protect myself against Covid-19. She handed over a sanitizer and a mask as a  queen would handover sword and protective gear to the king before he would proceed on war.There was nothing new which she told me but  it signalled a strong message of her  love and care.

After having driven for an hour, passing through various checks and searches, I entered my school campus. Playgrounds had almost become wilderness. Floors were full of dust. So many window panes had fallen apart. Wasps had their hives in all classrooms, corridors, toilets, labs and even behind the curtains of my office. When I entered my washroom, a wasp darted towards me like a bullet. There was a big wasp-hive near exhaust fan. Had I not shown patience and presence of mind I would have certainly felt the taste of being stung.

School is a medley of noises but today the silence was pinching. You know, a  school  without students is  a body without its soul. There were no teachers. I had to attend my school along with three  non- vacational  staff members to carry out routine administrative work and to supervise online classes.

The schools had to be closed on 20^th March 2020 before the declaration of results and  the new session had to commence from 1^st April 2020.Examinations in a couple of subjects were pending.Luckily all class teachers had made WhatsApp groups of their respective classes .So it became very easy to share the results of students with their  parents. Technology appeared like an oasis in the desert.

I normally would address an assembly of students and parents on the day of declaration of result. But this time it was impossible. I recorded my address to students, parents  and staff in a short video clip of 6 to 7 minutes and shared it on staff WhatsApp  group which was further shared with the students and their parents by their respective class teachers.

 As per   instructions teachers  started engaging students through  synchronous as well as asynchronous online teaching. Though it is not a viable  substitute to regular classroom teaching especially in junior classes,yet something is better than nothing. I am fortunately working in a school system where almost all parents have at least one mobile phone at their disposal. There are some who have laptops and computers too. But if you look at the scenario of all schools in our country especially in the rural areas then parents and students still face challenges of connectivity and availability of smartphones. Students in the rural areas are getting marginalised in this aspect. The situation becomes grim in these homes where one phone is to be used by more than one child besides the same being used by parents for their phone calls and for viewing/ sending messages on social groups to their friends and relatives.

 It has been observed that senior students in classes 11 and 12 have started participating in online classes with a lot of enthusiasm. I also joined a couple of classes and observed curricular transactions.These students are being engaged by the respective teachers through  various applications like Google Class, Google Hangout, Zoom, Google Meet etc. The participation of students is also encouraging. But at the same time,  the participation of students in primary and upper primary classes is not up to the mark.

What should parents do?

1.If possible parents should become co learners  along with their wards.  They may spare some time to sit with their children to know about the  things being discussed by teachers. They should also ensure  that their children complete worksheets/ assignments/projects  on time.

2. Secondly parents need to to provide some playing time to their wards at homes. If it's not possible to take them out they need to be engaged in some yogic exercises and  pranayamas. We don't require much space to do yoga. If you also join your ward to do Yoga, this will not only keep your wards fit and healthy but will also help you keep good health.

3.Thirdly  students used to  chat informally with their class fellows in regular schools. And that is missing now. Parents need to act as substitutes to their school friends. They should spend some quality time with their awards in which  some  stories are narrated and  anecdotes from your own lives are shared with children at home.

4.Fourthly  they need to provide sometime to their words in which they spend some time in expressing their creativity by writing poems, essays, by drawing cartoons and sketches, by making paintings ,by singing songs, by playing on some musical instruments etc.

If parents  follow the above mention ideas I am sure the screen time of their wards will definitely be reduced and they will be engaged meaningfully during these testing Times.

What should teachers do?

1.They need to be techno-savy ,otherwise they get outdated. If you do not know something as to how electronic gadgets are to be handled, talk to the expert colleague to seek her/his guidance.

2.While  teaching through online mode-issue proper instructions to students and keep all of them  properly engaged.

3.Teacher  should ensure that all students exit the online class before she/he exists. Otherwise they may start doing  unnecessary  chatting/conversations .

4.The pitch of voice is to be adequately audible. Further the camera of the mobile is to be properly adjusted so that whatever is written becomes clearly visible on screen.

5.Students are not to be overburdened with assignments/projects etc.

6.The scores of online tests need to be shared with the students/parents.

7.Formal dress is to be worn while doing online teaching.

8.Other members in the family should not appear on camera.

9.Students need to be informed about other useful open resources available on internet.

Conclusion: Covid 19 has thrown unprecedented challenges before everyone including teachers. I am happy to say that all teachers of KVS in general and teachers of my school in particular are taking the challenge head-on. Teachers, parents and students need to work in sync.