Tag: Covid-19 Impact On School Education

At Home Impacts Emotional Growth of School Children

‘My Sons Look Forward To Re-join School But I’m A Bit Tense’

By LokMarg

Rakhi Singh, a Delhi-NCR blogger, says being cooped up at home impacts emotional growth of school children and virtual learning can never replace the real

As schools are set to reopen, the troika of students, teachers and parents are about to undergo a transition all over again. Perhaps the shift, the adjustments are going to be similar to the ones we made for online classes at the beginning of the pandemic. Our daily routines will undergo major changes all over again. My two sons, aged 8 and 16, are students of the DLF Public School in Ghaziabad and are looking forward to the reopening of their schools after studying at home for nearly one and a half years.

It would have been reassuring if the government had rather worked on vaccinating the children before going ahead with the decision. I still feel a little scared about sending them to school. We could have waited for three-four months more… at least we would be past the predicted third Covid wave.

Many parents say that kids’ education has been hampered all the while the schools were closed, but I differ. I believe education has been fine; it is the emotional growth of children that has been impacted while they stayed cooped up at home. In schools, children are exposed to varied kinds of emotions, they understand that the same problem can be approached by different people in different manners and their eyes aren’t permanently glued to a screen.

My elder son saw some of his close friends lose either one or both parents to Covid and even though he has been very supportive of his friends, he wants to be there for them every day. This can only happen in a physical school environment.

Rakhi Singh feels it would have been better if the government had waited for a few more months and initiated vaccination for adolescents

While my elder son has grown up emotionally/socially, I feel my younger son has grown up practically amid this situation. Online classes meant he became more self-sufficient at doing classwork, uploading it and being more interactive with other classmates and teachers. I hope the efficiency in tasks spills over to his time in school too.

Both my husband and I contracted Covid during the second wave. And I saw how my sons managed their classes on their own with the support of their teachers, leaving me proud. So I feel once the schools reopen, they will be in a better position to be able to understand and love and respect their teachers better as well. The cohesion, the teamwork between parents, teachers and students is here to stay.

ALSO READ: ‘Won’t Send My Son To School Till He Is Vaccinated’

The most important thing children were losing out on while the schools were closed, was on making new memories. I still remember my school days clearly and most of my emotional bonds are with friends from school time. I want my sons to know that memories are the cushions that support us when we get busy with life as we grow up.

Virtual life can never compare to the real. My elder son scored 96.4% in his Class 10 exams but wasn’t satisfied with the assessment procedure. They feel their achievements to be more solid and the assessment to be fairer in classrooms and campus environment than in online. So I really hope that both the young men feel more free and clear about their own thoughts, opinions and perspectives once they go to school.

During the first wave they watched a lot of news and were struck with the uncertainty of life. But they also saw how strangers can come together to help each other and bring a tiny amount of certainty, a sense of community and togetherness. I am sure once the schools reopen, children will be able to understand both themselves and others better.

‘My Child Is In Class 2; She Is Yet To See Her School’

By LokMarg

Banti Kumari, 32, a homemaker in Ranchi, finds it bizarre that one full academic year has gone for her daughter but she is yet to know what primary school building or a classroom looks like

These are strange times! Because of the virus we are getting used to a life we had never imagined. My eight-year-old daughter Akshita Arya will remember her unusual educational history for sure. A student of Class II at Saint Michael’s, she has never seen her primary school building for a single day. And most probably she never will. Actually the different wings of Saint Michael’s are situated at different locations in Ranchi. So, for her pre-primary she went to one location and for her primary yet another (the current location). And once she passes Class 2, they will be moved to yet another building at a new location.

I feel sad that her foundational years of education are so wobbly; that there is so much confusion and no solution to the Covid crisis in sight. One year and people would have still managed, but two years of this is perhaps a lot.

Last year, after the pandemic was declared, the admission process took a lot of time as everyone was scrambling to put systems in place and make sense of the pandemic. Online classes started in earnest only in May, 2020. The interaction between parents and teachers has gone down drastically.

Earlier, we used to have parent-teacher meetings (PTMs) every month, but now at the most we call teachers for a few minutes if we have any query. I also miss the fact that my child used to feel like part of a huge, diverse team in school and her worldview was getting broader day by day, but now she is just confined to the house. They can’t even go and play outside.

Kumari rues that her daughter Akshita Arya (left) has not witnessed any extra-curricular school activity

Extra curricular activities at school would teach them that there is a world beyond books or in other words that learning in greater books, and we haven’t been able to compensate for that at home or in online classes.

I also miss her Physical Education (PE) Classes. She, like most kids, is a bundle of energy but during perpetually stretching lockdowns, her energy has been confined to the 4 walls of the house. Plus, she used to actively participate in her Annual Day and other important functions. The preparation process, the co-ordinating and bonding with others, gave her memories and a wonderful sense of identity. But for the past two years she hasn’t had any new memories. The virus has taken away two precious years of childhood memories.

ALSO READ: ‘Cancellation Of Board Exams Is A Relief’

I doubt the schools will reopen for kids this year, especially for kids as young as mine. So most probably she will see the face of her school building now only in Class 3. One of the things I used to love the most about her school was that they used to give these home link assignments (basically general knowledge assignments) that we as a family used to help her fill. Helping her prepare for her functions, assignments etc. used to be golden bonding time for us as a family, but the pandemic has changed everything.

From the school being a second home, the home has become the school and all lines have become blurred. However, I hope the air clears soon and we can go back to pre-corona times. My daughter keeps asking me: “Mumma ye corona kab khatm hoga? Main fir se kab school jaungi, kab apne friends se milungi?” I want to be able to give an answer to that to my daughter.

As Told To Yog Maya Singh

Cancellation Of Board Exams

‘Cancellation Of Board Exams Ends Uncertainty, Stress’

By LokMarg

Ehsaas Kant, a Class 12 student of SKD Academy in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, speaks about how the uncertainty over board exams kept children and parents on the edge amid Covid-19

Finally, the government figured out a way to end the stalemate that Class 12 students across the country had found themselves in. To say that I am relieved would be a massive understatement, I am happy. I am not happy because the exams have been cancelled but because the confusion is over. I would have been equally happy if the exams had been held. I am ok with the new objective evaluation process as my academic performance in the past 3 years has been good.

I want to be a doctor when I grow up. I want to be able to contribute in times like these, when the pandemic is raging all around us, and not just be a mute spectator. Doctors are always beacons of hope, but right now it is us aspiring medical students (and all Class 12 students) that need hope and support.

I am a Class 12 student at SKD Academy, Lucknow, which follows the CBSE curriculum. The academic year 2020-21 has been ‘testing’ in every sense of the word. Just as we passed Class 11, we were faced with the pandemic and no one could make any sense of what was going on. I don’t think we have still been able to make much sense. In 2020 our schools were closed from March to October, so you can say that our Class 12 foundation was quite shaky. Between October and February we somehow managed the curriculum, only to see a repeat telecast of 2020 all over again during the second wave.

Ehsaas (left) says the government decision has not come a day too soon

Frankly, I was shocked when the second wave appeared. Thank God we could at least get our lab practicals done in time. I thought our lives were finally going back to normal and that we would for sure be able to give our Board exams unhindered, but that was not to be. But it’s ok that with the cancellation of exams and the new evaluation process we will be able to make some sense of things.

For long, many of us were trying to keep to our daily routine of studies, but after a time you do begin questioning things. Our teachers were available on WhatsApp and video calls if we need them. A little pressure is necessary for performing well, and since for the past many months the goalposts kept shifting with extended lockdowns in place, it was easier to become lax.

ALSO READ: ‘Delay In Holding Exams Got On My Nerves’

But the overall stress gets increased in such situations, one just wants the exams to get over with. Along with Board exams, we also haven’t been able to give any competitive exams (NEET) as well. The road towards medical studies looks riddled with hurdles right now. However now we can at least prepare single-mindedly for our entrance exams or any other competitive exams.

My dad, who is a Computer Engineer kept me motivated all this while and told me to continue studying for the last few months, keeping this fact in mind that no matter even if the school and competitive exam dates are suddenly announced, I should be prepared and not caught off guard. My younger sister, who is in Class 7 keeps me company during lockdown. And my mom’s constant support has seen me through these uncertain times, but I do miss my friends and cousins a lot.

For long I wondered, if Class 10 Board exams could be cancelled, couldn’t something be figured out for us as well? Maybe at least a forum could be created where students could put forward their grievances and queries and support each other. Mental and emotional support of students is as important in these times as is social distancing and wearing masks (as in physical well-being).

Of course I would have needed to go out for my medical studies, but now if at all exams are held and we clear them, we have to take the city or town’s medical infrastructure also into account. So many places have institutes of repute, but the surrounding medical infrastructure isn’t so good.

I hope all the progress we have made towards education for everyone in our country doesn’t get washed away by the pandemic. My cousins who are doing their graduation abroad have had an equally tough year and we keep trying to cheer each other up. Family support is very important in these times and I am glad that my parents understand my situation. Love and laughter in family and vaccines are what will see us through these uncertain times.