They say, learning is a lifelong process as there is always one more thing to learn.
Most of us, knowingly or otherwise, subscribe to this philosophy. We encounter different challenges and learning opportunities everyday. However, we do it at our own pace, per our liking.
Until, life throws us a curveball that soon becomes a blessing in disguise.
Speaking from my experience as a teacher, I can share one such incident where I was made to plunge, head first into completely revamping everything I knew about my profession within a short span of time.
Yes, I am talking about the ‘online teaching’ mechanism that the COVID-19 lockdown brought with it.
I, like any other person, had my initial learning stages. We are all hardwired to be cautious of and resistant to change. And this was as topsy-turvy as it could get! The need of the hour was to prioritise safety and stay inside, but we at DPSSL knew that learning could definitely not take a backseat.
The entire DPSSL community dived deep into making the technology and the pedagogy online friendly.
The challenge was as follows-
I had always been (and still very much am) a teacher who thrives on classroom interaction. My students and I always managed to make the classroom exchange enriching and productive not only from an academic standpoint, but from a very personal one as well. Interpersonal learning that includes teacher to peer, peer to peer and vice-versa is a core part of the fabric of school life. As you can understand, the very meaning of what teaching and learning was to us, changed!
Now, as the main coordinator of the department, I had a lot on my plate other than my subject matter (English). Everything from attendance, to fee payments, to club allotments, to correcting assignments and conducting activities had moved to the online mode!
However, what earlier seemed to me a task so daunting, eventually made me realise it had changed me for the better.
Changes don’t happen overnight they say- but my mental readiness, physical preparedness and material accessibility were all changes that had to (and did!) happen overnight.
The light-speed with which the teaching community adapted to this new reality was commendable. Chalk and blackboards were replaced by mouse and monitors, papers with word documents, classrooms with screens; personal connectivity with internet connectivity; but most importantly students physical presence with just tiny windows on screen with faces sometimes live and sometimes just an image.
But, we found a way to make all this work. Make it just as enriching and holistic as the old way. Power point presentations were gamified, the various gestures on Zoom replaced raising hands in the classroom, even the humble Microsoft word had so many features to offer (some that were never explored earlier!)
Students did quizzes on google forms, attended online art and dance classes. Not only that, we even conducted assemblies online – complete with drama and song.
We as a community became much more digital savvy.
This is what responsibility and onus does to a person I suppose! We realised that we were responsible for the future of the students under our care and the onus of ensuring that teaching and learning does not get impacted was on us too. So, adapting and owning this new methodology started coming naturally to us. We knew our role as teachers could not suffer.
I for one, look back at this change from a positive lens. Things are back to normal, but I am much more equipped as a teacher. The two years gave someone with 20+ years of teaching, a brand new experience.
And the best part of all this- on many occasions I found my hand being held by my students to see me through this journey safely!