LOCKDOWN LEARNINGS.. We Shall Overcome!

March 24th 2020.

Today, the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, as a preventive measure against the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in India. Initially it felt good. Staying at home, with family for such a long time. Difficult times, but we were together!  

March 31st 2020.

The Lockdown has changed the way traditional teaching is done. Schools are going Online. We too attended online training sessions - on How to conduct Online Classes and How to Use Technology for Online Classes.

April 4th 2020.

Our school decided to go online. Though I had been trained, taking online classes seemed a little scary idea. I had a lot of fears! Fear of Trying something new, Fear of Technology, Fear of Failure – of not being able to be as successful a teacher online as I am in class! All these fears kept me awake for nights.

April 10th 2020.

My son (who was observing me) felt the disturbance I was going through. He came to me and asked me what had happened. I couldn’t control the emotions and my fears burst out! He said, “Bas itni si bat! Don’t worry, I will teach you and you will be able to do it!” My child has grown so big, I couldn’t believe! He cheered me up and we began immediately.  First, we created my Skype ID. Then, he taught me how to add people in group. I took class with him to check if it works. I was a bit relieved!

April 13th 2020.

Conducted my first Online class!! Couldn’t believe it was so successful. My head praised me a lot. Thanks to my dear son, who pulled me out of my fears and made me confident! It seemed easy. The first successful class boosted up my morale. I began preparing for the next class, enthusiastically.

April 17th 2020.

The Lockdown extended and I was given the responsibility to teach Math. I tried hard Teaching Math Online but it all seemed so difficult. Never in my life I felt so weak as a teacher. Using technology to help students teach Math seemed impossible. Again, the fears cropped in and again, my son came in as the savior! He practiced with me so that I could be comfortable and confident.  Finally, after three hours of practice, I was!

April 20th 2020.

I conducted my first Online Math class with Grade IV. I had already shared the videos with my class, so, they were ready. I began my class and it went flawless!! The students’ response told me that I was successful. My fear of failure had gone! My class was observed and I was appreciated for my efforts and efficiency.

My little son, whom I used to teach when he was young, had grown so big to be my Teacher now. He was my “Tech-Guru” who introduced me to technology and removed all my fears, making me confident and efficient teacher, Once Again!

This Lockdown taught me that we fear in vain. Even our kids can teach us so much. Each situation teaches us to grow and all opportunities can be captured for our betterment. This too shall pass….and we shall overcome all our fears and this Pandemic too!

Karamjeet Kaur

PRT Science