By Br. SOLOMON MORRIS
“We destroy the love of learning in children which is so strong when they are small, by …. compelling them to work for petty…rewards, gold stars, or papers marked 100 and tacked to the wall…
In short, for the ignoble satisfaction of feeling that they are better than someone else.
– John Holt How Children Learn
No! This image does not talk about how the lives of children are turned upside down (though it may be true for most of them).
This article endeavours to look at how this pandemic has drawn out the creative part of us, especially our children. Children have an amazing ability to adapt to changing situations with the minimum of fuss. And we are not surprised, because the moment they arrive on this planet from the safe confines of the mother’s womb, they are thrust into a world of light, noise, air, sound, viruses and bacteria! They are quick to adapt to these alien conditions.
I have reflected on various facets of life during this pandemic and in this article I would like to look at the ‘Flip’ side of our children’s lives and what this pandemic has taught me about education!
While we fret and fume about how much our children are missing the school and the ‘real-life’ lessons, I would like to share with you all, the positive learnings as a result of the pandemic! These are not necessarily in any particular order (in keeping with the chaos that is already bestowed upon us).
#1. More family time at home – as children are advised to stay at home and there is no school.
#2. Kids don’t have to get up early! No morning rush, no scrambling to beat the traffic snarls!
#3. Parents are involved in the teaching-learning process. I heard from some quarters that parents are more eager to be ready for school than their little ones. Flipped roles.
#4. Children, both boys and girls, can experiment with new hairstyles.
#5. Flexible learning is in – structured learning, synchronous with bell timings is out.
#6. Children don’t have to listen to long hours of tedious teaching. They can switch off and blame it on network issues, connectivity and low bandwidth!
#7. Kids and parents are finding innovative ways of keeping themselves occupied – baking, gardening, cooking, crochet-work, music, art, robotics, coding, online courses, hikes, cycling, outdoors trekking, etc. This is real education. Who said education is confined within the four walls of a classroom?
#8. Children are surfing the net to look for stimulating learning resources – YouTube videos, PowerPoints, language courses, Discovery Channels, National Geographic, games and challenges etc. Onus is on independent learning. This is the future.
#9. Children are learning from their peers! Online Unit tests, Google Form tests, MCQs and other forms of assessments are a collaborative exercise where kids are on Conference calls, or busy sharing snapshots of their findings! This is education. They share their wisdom and knowledge with others without the usual, unhealthy competitive spirit, that would otherwise exist in the normal classrooms
#10. There are no more comparisons being made. Parents are not keen on finding out who came first! Everyone is on the same level playing field. Suddenly, children are feeling relieved of the huge expectations that they might have had to fulfil under normal circumstances. Thank goodness for the ‘new normal’.
#11. Children are asked to do the exams at home and most have the liberty of using their text books to find the answers. The Open Book policy is a superb idea. Isn’t this re-“search”?
#12. Time –Management: Children are learning to manage their time the hard way. Parents are helping them to meet the deadlines set by the teachers to hand in their assignments. It is a battle but the rewards are there for all to see and some children are doing very well.
#13. Responsibility: Parents have engaged their children to shoulder certain responsibilities especially in helping out with the household chores.
#14. Teachers are learning to use technology and are getting good day by day! For a change they owe a debt of gratitude to the ‘virus’ while ensuring their computers have the anti-virus installed to tackle the influx of all sorts of digital content coming into their phones and laptops.
#15. Both teachers and students are learning from each other and through effective collaboration.
Having said all of the above, I do believe children do miss their school, especially their friends, the games, the activities, the interactions, the brawls, the teasing, the pranks, the sharing of tiffin, the forgotten homework, the little detentions, the concerts, the Creation Week, the picnics, the Campfire Trails and overnight adventure, the excursions, the Carnivals, the NCC activities, the P.T. classes, the Annual School Sports, the Debates and Quizzes, the Art & Craft Classes, the Aerobics classes….the trip to the parks.
Dear Children of Meghalaya and indeed all over India, I would like to appreciate your amazing resilience and adaptability. You have all adjusted yourselves to the ‘new normal’. You are doing your best in keeping yourselves focussed and trying to learn. It is a daunting task for you and yet you do it without any fuss or complaints. I salute all you children. I would also like us to remember all the children across the World who are caught in wars, famine, natural disasters and dire poverty. We remember and pray for all who live in remote areas where education cannot reach. God bless All.
A Very Happy Children’s Day
(Br. Solomon Morris is Principal, St. Edmund’s School, Shillong. Email: [email protected])