For scores of teachers across Tamil Nadu, this Teachers Day was admittedly a bit odd. Many of them miss real-time contact with their students.
“Be it birthday celebrations or being sought out to help them with their problems, we were an integral part of the everyday lives of our students. We are missing that,” said G. Shanthi, a teacher from Chennai.
For teachers like her across the State, the last six months have been unprecedented, with schools shut down owing to COVID-19 and the need to adapt themselves to the changes that the pandemic has brought about.
“After 25 years of teaching, I began to handle classes online for the first time. As an accountancy teacher, I initially struggled without a blackboard, but soon took to writing down sums in a notebook and holding it up to the camera,” said the senior teacher from Chennai Higher Secondary School, Maduvinkarai, who initially sought out her sons to help her conduct online classes.
Addressing the inequity
Online classes may have caught on but several teachers, as Ms. Shanthi recounted, found it tough to contact and reach out to their students, given the lack of infrastructure. Stories have emerged from smaller districts and villages about teachers literally going the extra mile and visiting their students to ensure that learning continues.
Nisha Subramaniam, co-founder, Kanavu, which works with Assefa Foundation’s schools in rural Cuddalore, sums up the last six months as a mix of challenges and new, exciting things.
“Initially, the idea of some of our teachers owning a phone was met with resistance from their families, and they had to negotiate with them. Once this hurdle was crossed, our teachers have found innovative ways to replicate what we do in classrooms and keep the children motivated,” she said. “They are now even using emojis on worksheets submitted by the students and it is a delight to see how they have adapted to this.”
Ms. Subramaniam said that for teachers, addressing the inequity that this new normal has brought in has also been of paramount importance. “The time for our teachers is split between their own learning as well as engaging with the children and parents. It has not been an easy transition for parents as well, with regard to investing in infrastructure to support their children,” she noted.
At a time like this, most teachers like those at Kanavu are attempting to keep the focus on engaging with the students over the pressures of learning and exams.
Learning curve
The biggest learning from COVID-19 for S. Mohamed Ayub was how to innovate and utilise the available resources to reach out to the students. “Of the 55 students in my class, only 33 have access to the Internet. Others have basic mobile phones without the Internet. We had to rely on phone calls and on other students who are residing nearby to assist them,” said the teacher at the Government High School at 63 Velampalayam, Coimbatore district.
The classroom and the instant feedback from the students was a large motivator and the absence of this experience is being missed in online classrooms, he said. “The attention span of students in online classrooms is short. We are on our toes to find creative ways to keep them engaged.”
Teachers Day on September 5 in most schools is marked by a host of activities every year. This year however, most teachers will continue with their schedule of online classes.
“The last few months have given us newer ways to engage with students. While we can’t wait for the situation to improve and get back to classrooms, we will definitely take what we have learnt forward,” said S. Ravanan, headmaster of Government Higher Secondary School, Melur, Madurai district.
( With inputs from Pon Vasanth B.A. )
