By Jasmine Chyne
The lockdown has changed the natural course of life. The usual social mingling, fast pace and variety are lost and people are coming to terms with the new normal. Interactions are more virtual today thanks to social distancing. In the process, education, both at school and college levels, has been largely affected and uncertainty about the academic session is worrying guardians and their wards alike.
At this juncture, technology has come as a saviour. Many schools have resorted to online classes and WhatsApp lessons to make up for the lost time as well as to help children overcome monotony. Kindergartens and primary schools have also started virtual classes because the tiny tots are being forced to remain locked up in their houses. With no friends or playmates around, they are “bored” and “restless” and it becomes a challenge for both teachers and parents to keep the children focused.
“It is an enormous pressure on parents who have to juggle their activities like household chores, jobs and taking care of children’s education. It is difficult to convince them to study, and that too virtually when there is no teacher to discipline them. Also, they lose interest in a certain thing too fast and one has to watch them all the time. I have two children and a job and I struggle to keep a balance now,” says a single mother who did not want to give her name.
Five-year-old Annelise Elsa Nongkhlaw is a student of Tiny Tots School in Laitumkhrah. She loves the drawing assignments sent by her teacher on WhatsApp. Her mother Ruhi Nongkhlaw, who is a housewife, says her husband shares the responsibility to help the child complete her homework. Other family members chip in too. “It is challenging because Annelise has a younger brother and I have to make time from the day’s busy schedule to teach her,” she adds.
Ansh Singha, another student of Tiny Tots, diligently completes his assignments sent in a WhatsApp group. His favourite subject is mathematics. “Both my wife and I help him with the homework but at times he gets bored, which is natural, and wants to go out and play,” says father Kunjamani Singha.
The class teacher, Julian Kharkongor, sends assignments to the WhatsApp group of parents and teachers. Assignments include maths, hand-writing, drawing and other fun projects and a week’s time is allotted for completing the task. At times, Kharkongor calls up students to check on their progress.
Nongkhlaw says her daughter’s class teacher is doing a laudable job and “in fact, all the teachers are just a phone call away if parents have any doubt about the day’s assignment”.
Both Annelise and Ansh miss school and meeting their friends. “But I am really sceptical about sending her to school even if it reopens. If the situation does not improve, I won’t be comfortable,” she said.
The usual environment of school, the playgrounds and friends have been replaced by home-school, toys and lonely games. Children are definitely not liking this change. Iarisa Dorphang says her four-year-old daughter, Ridaker Glorianna M Dorphang, has started dreaming about her friends in school (Loreto Convent).
“Almost every day she asks me when she can go back to school. I explained to her about COVID-19 and she is aware of how the whole world is coping with the pandemic,” says Dorphang, who is an assistant professor at St Edmund’s College.
Ridaker likes writing numbers and is prompt in finishing assignments. Both her parents and other family members help her with the tasks.
Dorphang has to balance her role as a mother and teacher. “I have to send assignments to my students too. There are times when Ridaker gets tired of writing and I do not force her. But I ensure that she makes up for it the next day. She is still very young and I do not want to put pressure on her,” says the mother.
The mother of a six-year-old child says her daughter does not like studying at home and needs a lot of encouragement to finish a task. Assignments are given three or four times a week. “At times she throws tantrums but eventually she finishes her home-work. I have to keep nudging her,” says the mother, who is a government employee.
Things were easier when government offices had allowed attendance of half the staff. “But it has gone back to normal and we (her husband is a government employee too) have to attend offices. So it becomes difficult to help my daughter with her lessons. But I get help from my college-going sister. My daughter loves drawing and spelling lessons but again, it all depends on her mood,” the mother sighs, adding, “the teachers are responsive… I don’t mind sending her to school provided the threat of the virus has completely gone. Otherwise it is better she learns her lessons at home even if it is difficult for us.”
Besides the conventional lessons, teachers also send videos on life skills, music and exercises from PE teachers. Ridaker enjoys the life skill lessons like tying shoe laces and folding socks. Her mom says these small things make the online classes more fun and less stressful for the child.
“Assignments are sent through WhatsApp. Children are also monitored through parents and questionnaires are sent to them for evaluation,” adds Dorphang.
For Naysa Sansara Mawlong, a nursery student of Springfield in Malki, the assignments come twice a week. The four-year-old student enjoys being home-schooled and loves learning alphabets and drawing.
“I am a government official working in Ri Bhoi. Now that inter-district transportation is closed, I have enough time to take care of her studies. I am apprehensive about sending her to school if it reopens unless a vaccine is developed for COVID-19,” says mother Ruth Mawlong.
Sr Lydia Pala, principal of Sacred Heart Girls’ Higher Secondary School, raises a pertinent problem — poor internet connectivity. The school has started WhatsApp classes and online interactions but “30 per cent of our students from all classes are missing the lessons as they do not have good connectivity at home”.
“Many of our students come from poor families and they do not have smartphones. They too are missing on the online classes and we cannot do much about it. Our nursery section was supposed to start but the lockdown was imposed and we have not yet met the students. Online classes have started for the primary section too,” says Pala.
About online classes for toddlers, Pala says it is a humongous task. “Managing children in the class becomes difficult and how can someone do it virtually? At the end of the day, classroom teaching is always better, especially for toddlers,” she adds.
In such a scenario, parents need to share a bigger responsibility.
Samita Chakravarty, who runs a kindergarten school in the city, has also started online lessons. As a teacher, she faces problems in running the virtual classes smoothly and shares Pala’s concerns about poor internet connection. “Also, sometimes parents do not understand the technology or children cannot understand the lessons properly.”
“Due to COVID-19 there is a lot of pressure and children are not spared. Teachers are under pressure to finish the course and prepare the lessons, design the assignments and make their students understand their lessons, among other things. Now the only aim is to finish the course so that the academic year is not wasted. So you can imagine the burden on the children,” says Chakravarty.
This burden is causing anxiety among many children. The stress increases when they do not understand a lesson. With the new system, “they are lost in the virtual world but what can be done”, points out Chakravarty. Some of her students are already suffering from indigestion, headache and irritation. So her team of teachers are opting for the essential lessons and trying hard not to make the virtual classes complicated.
Schools are unlikely to open anytime soon and online lessons are going to be the norm. So parents have to take care not only of their wards’ lessons but also their health.
Sitting in front of a laptop or phone may cause physical irritation like neck or shoulder pain, temple and eye problems. Proper exercise and yoga can help. Breathing exercises and meditation will help reduce stress and anxiety and make children feel fresh, both physically and mentally, advises Chakravarty.
But the important message is for the guardians who are being stricter than usual with their children. Chakravarty says there is no harm if a child misses a lesson or a subject and parents should not be too strict or harsh. “Let us also give them time and space to live and breathe.”
(With inputs from NM)