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Online schooling – Behind the screens! A Parent Perspective
Online schooling – Behind the screens! A Parent Perspective

April 9, 2021

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We all are living through unprecedented vagaries which will be called out in history for decades. 2021 started on a relatively positive note with the vaccine news, and the world thought we were finally done with all the chaos! However, it seems it is going to be a long haul before we see some kind of normalcy back - but for now, it’s good to have hope and look for the Beginning of The End of the pandemic.

The view that technology played a critical role in keeping the world sane, seems almost trite now. We all know that businesses across sectors, countries, and even individuals quickly pivoted to adapt to the new normal. Like others too, the Education sector also saw a paradigm shift with online teaching and learning become part of life. In fact, Edtech has been the most funded sector in 2020. As someone quoted - It’s the teacher that makes the difference, and not the classroom, and our educators proved this like never before. We will fondly remember them as frontline warriors. Teachers un-learned, they upskilled and they improvised to keep the students engaged and interested in learning.

While the learning never stopped, there have definitely been some side effects that have now started to show.  Studies around the world are measuring the effects of the pandemic on children and adolescents. Below are a few from first-hand experiences, and discussions with fellow parents, and teachers:

Emotional & Mental Wellbeing

Studies show that 85% of parents across the world have seen a change in their children. A school is a place where children experience emotions like excitement, achievement, challenges, failures, and all of which constitute their growth. With everything going online and amid unpredictability, many children have developed issues like anxiety, sleep, and eating disorders, depression, disillusionment - thus affecting their overall development. Unfortunately, mental health is not given enough weightage as compared to physical health in most parts of the world due to taboos associated with it. This has to lead to further distress for parents and kids. It is imperative to constantly monitor, and counsel them to cope with situations, not in our hands. In a situation like this, parents and teachers need to work in sync with each other to come up with strategies to instill optimism, resilience, and self-awareness. The Wellness Wheel is a simple activity to teach children about various aspects of overall wellness, and the importance of each of them (See image below, click on the source to try this at home).  After all, a happy mind equals a healthy and smiling child! 

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Source: Project School Wellness by Janelle

The Personal touch!

With the pandemic outbreak, schooling went online without any preparation or warning for teachers, parents, and children. Even though everyone adopted new tools to make learning and teaching easier, however, the personal touch, rigor, and energy was missing in online sessions. While Primary and Secondary School teachers face the problem of constant commotion with all the kids talking at the same time, senior school teachers are frustrated in dealing with the teen young adults and their mood swings! Learning today is not just limited to textbooks, nothing can substitute the experience sharing, and face-to-face in-class discussions, and group work in school.

Holistic growth

Sports days, annual cultural days, school fetes, inter-school competitions, and debates – these are all almost synonymous with School life. They contribute to the holistic development of a young mind in a big way. Unfortunately, one of the reasons which have contributed to low emotional esteem in a lot of kids is due to the missing extra-curricular activities in the past year. Extracurricular activities not only contribute to a child’s cognitive skills but also teach them patience, social skills, and teamwork. There is no substitute for this one! This actually adds to the stress and responsibility on the parents, I know a lot of them tried enrolling their children for various online courses to compensate for the missing piece. Thus adding to screen time which comes with its own challenges and does very little towards their development.  

While we talk about the side-affects, the year 2020 also offered a vast opportunity to strengthen the education system towards developing independent learners and thinkers, and opening up a plethora of options for the children via MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses).

The education system especially in India has gone through a huge transformation. A positive outcome of these challenging times may result in a hybrid system of learning – a system that offers a blended learning approach by combining innovative digital tools, along with the personalized attention of classroom teaching!

 

Author

Priya Chawla

Deputy Director

NASSCOM

 


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