Tag: School Teachers Amid Covid

‘Post-Covid, A Teacher’s Work Has Increased Twice As Much’

By LokMarg

Manisha Boriyal, a schoolteacher from Delhi, says educators stood out amid pandemic but instead of appreciation they have been loaded them with more work

It was around the month of January 2022 when the schools in Delhi-NCR started to re-open post the second Covid wave. The teachers were notified that the session 2022-23 will not be online teaching. This was a welcome reboot. However, what ensued was something that the teachers hadn’t imagined in their entire career. It was called Hybrid Mode Schooling.

It meant the parents were free to opt for online or offline classes. Teachers were tasked with handling both virtual as well as physical education. This meant preparing separate notes, handling separate queries and evaluating students’ work in online as well as offline modes. In short, it was the worst of both worlds.

Simple activities like taking attendance, holding discussions, hands-on learning activities and queries have been doubled as some students are attending offline and others online classes. For instance, offline students submitted their work in hard copy while online students uploaded their work. Handling this dual system makes a teacher’s job doubly difficult and extremely stressful.

We have to redo our lesson plans and classes, modifying teaching styles continuously to meet the requirements of students. We are essentially teaching two classes at one time – we have to write lessons that work for in-person instructions and then the ones that suit online learning.

Students present in the classroom are bubbling with energy, which was curtailed for almost two years, whereas children whose parents have still opted for online mode may feel that spark of personal interaction missing along with technical glitches. Hence, ensuring optimum utilisation of class time for constructive learning outcomes becomes a challenge.

ALSO READ: ‘To Avoid Closure, Schools Are Hiding Covid Figures’

During the pandemic, teachers got IT exposure which widened their learning horizons and gave a new dimension to teaching and learning. It helped teachers advance their skills in the curriculum implementation, policy, education systems, and leadership with the support of their institutions. However, it’s high time that the administration should give teachers a bit more importance as they are the ones who are working really hard in shaping the future of this country.

I see many teachers are feeling undervalued and belittled. During the pandemic there was hardly any school which talked about the medical insurance of their teachers, hospitalisation; if a teacher fell sick, the schools treated it as leave without pay. There never was a note of appreciation for the community which soldiered on with new education challenges during that time. On the contrary, they have been loaded with more work now.

High time that teachers association now talked about our work hours, additional wages for online teaching, medical insurance, leave policy etc.

As much as I love my students, I’m not going to kill myself over this. I don’t mean death by infection; I mean they’re working me to death. Frankly, I would rather work at a café than a classroom, because at some point I could wrap my work and call it a day.

As told to Deepti Sharma

‘As Schools Reopen, Teachers Are Happy But Also Scared’

By LokMarg

Nisha Prasad, a teacher at St. John’s School in Gr Noida West, says the return to physical schooling is full of challenges for both students and teachers

When after two years, we returned to ‘normal’ schooling, the classrooms were adorned with posters, balloons and flowers. It was surely a welcome change as students trickled into classrooms after studying online for two academic years. However for parents and teachers it’s a mixed bag of emotions of cheer, relief and fear.

School teachers have done admirable work during the pandemic: adapting to online teaching; learning how to use software tools; finding new ways of teaching students; coping up with the changes in the exam pattern; presenting teaching materials and simultaneously managing their families at home. Yet, most teachers faced a 25 percent deduction (in some cases, more) in salary during Covid times.

Covid-19 did scare the hell out of us. All the time I worked during the surge, I was scared of getting sick myself and scared of bringing the virus home to my family. It was thus not without a sense of fear that we returned to physical classrooms a few weeks back.

In the ‘new normal’, the schooling has changed a lot. Children too are getting re-integrated into the system. Most children think ‘it’s a relief to be back in school’ instead of interacting with teachers and classmates through a screen. However, everyone is worried about a resurgence also.

Prasad feels children will need some time to readust into ‘new normal’

For the teachers, the challenges with regards to getting children back to physical schooling are endless. Post-pandemic students do not like being in school for long hours; handwriting and written work have taken a backseat; students are comfortable sitting alone rather than making friends; outdoor activities and physical games do not excite them; their sleeping, studying, eating, interacting patterns have changed; making the usual teaching and learning style are a little difficult to maintain.

ALSO READ: ‘School Environment Provides Holistic Learning’

I guess we should give children some time to adjust and let them be. Keeping students calm and helping them ease back into the everyday routine is key at this point.

Students who come from the families of low income groups were the most affected by school closure as many of them did not have access to devices for attending online classes. However, they are also struggling with the transition back to the classroom.

Their challenges are different and in some cases more serious. Many lost their jobs during the pandemic. It is traumatic for their children to think about stationery or uniform expenses. This is not something that students should be bothered about. There is a drastic number of dropouts too in case of female children as these parents need more helping hands at home and can’t afford education at this cost.

Thankfully, the school management is taking all necessary precautions. Yet, if you notice, the cases in schools are rising once again. We are seeing an average of 65 percent attendance in classrooms from the past two weeks. As of now any student showing symptoms of cough, cold or fever is asked to refrain from physically coming to school. We as teachers are really worried and scared for our students. Many teachers are ready to quit rather than putting their lives at risk.

However, it appears that the dilemma among school, teachers, parents and the governments is likely to continue until the world sees a way out of the impasse, which could only be through the much-awaited vaccine for across all age groups.

As told to Deepti Sharma