The students are huddled in groups, chatting animatedly and ribbing each when the teacher walks in. This triggers a scurry to respective seats and settling down amid giggles. Do you remember this visual from your classroom days when everything was about eye-to-eye contact and making connections through all means but technology. However, in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole dynamics of classroom culture has changed.
The teacher often addresses just alphabets on the screen, mostly cameras are switched off, representing children who have logged in for online classes.
As a step to combat the spread of COVID-19, schools and colleges were ordered shut in March. Since then students have been receiving education online. Not just school studies, even private tutorials and recreational classes shifted online for most. So, what about the teacher-student bonding, the formal and casual interactions that helped educators assess students and their vulnerabilities and strengths?
For 35-year-old Avinash Pandey, a Mathematics teacher from Jharkhand, “the classroom culture had its own spark and that eye-to-eye contact was something that used to make learning more interesting for students.”
“In the time of online classes, we have to stay in touch with parents which is a good thing but I still want the old-time back. It has become more of a burden now because we are not that acquainted with this culture. We are learning slowly and steadily. The main problem is if we scold some students, they start abusing and writing illogical things during classes and we remove the text quickly because then other kids will be demotivated.So that idea of making personal connections with students is missing,” he told Opoyi.
However, he also states that being a Maths teacher, he faces problems in solving questions virtually. “I am a mathematics teacher and it gets really difficult to type questions online. This is one such difficulty and we will overcome this with time because it seems like this is going to be the new normal and we have to adapt this,” he said.
Smita Chaturvedi, Vice Principal of The Scindia School, Gwalior, says that “it is
the spontaneity of communication both verbal and non-verbal which is at the
heart of engagement during classroom transaction which is being missed.”
“Another aspect of learning in
a physical environment is peer-interaction which is quite bleak in an online
class. And of course the teacher’s ability to ensure certain level of
discipline merely by eye contact is missing too!,”
she told Opoyi.
If you remember, there was a viral photo of how an aged teacher was bullied by the students during an online class. The story was shared on social media by the Instagram page ‘tedthestoner’ on July 16. The post clarified that it was completely a fictional story but the message was clear and that “Trolling ≠ bullying.”
Also, there are several videos on Youtube and other social media platforms on how some of the students change their names to display that of adult movie star Mia Khalifa while others played songs with explicit lyrics.
For Anjali Pandey, a 16-year-old class 10th student, taking classes virtually is worrisome especially when she has to appear for one of her main exams in 2021.
“I am a student of 10th boards and my exam will take place in March or April next year. There is no chance of getting back to normal classes anytime soon and this is worrisome for me because I am clueless how I will give my exam. That classroom culture used to give us ample opportunity to ask questions. Some teachers even used to come and solve our queries in our notebook. I miss that personal connectivity of learning.
“Some classmates are very naughty and they don’t take online classes seriously and hence disturb others who are there,” she told Opoyi.
However, there are some students who are finding a silver lining in all this.
“The learning is not stopping. At these times when we can’t meet each other physically and are forced to interact using online platforms, teachers are working incredibly hard to make children understand, and this also gives kids more time for self-study,” Svasti Vats from Heritage Xperiential learning school, Gurgaon, told Opoyi.
She finds some problems too.
“This is very obvious that almost everyone faces internet issues and this disrupts the flow of study! This also becomes a reason for some students to bunk classes as they use internet issues as an excuse for skipping classes. Also, at times students don’t turn their cameras on and it becomes extremely hard for the teacher to see if the child is paying attention or not,” she said.
So why not this Teachers’ day, offer some love to your masters and let them feel special.
