Like everyone else, we went into the pandemic not knowing how long it was going to last or was this the end of the world or would we grow old and shriveled behind closed doors wearing our Kanchipuram’s and Ramraj lungis.
When in doubt I always turn to food. We jumped on the banana bread bandwagon along with the whole world. I think the amount of banana we ate through the whole of last year we are definitely radioactive. I dislike coffee, actually hate it, but I have learnt that hate is a very strong word to use. Especially around children so let’s settle with dislike. But Dalgona Coffee became a staple. I don’t know what it’s with food in times of crisis that is what we all reach for. For some of us, it was cell nourishing food for others it was food that was nourishing their soul, but who cares we have all been on either side or in between that spectrum, and also we were in no hurry to fit into our outside attire, now pajamas and athleisure were our most forgiving friends. How can we forget Instagram? Ravenous kids or hangry husbands couldn’t stop us from posting pictures before we began eating. Instagram naivedyam was all the craze, and also what happened to our well-behaved evenly mannered children, overnight they turned into Bhakasuras. I knew we burnt a lot of calories when using our eyes, but these were new levels every “rest your eyes break “ between classes as I am hungry for more food break, their stomachs had turned into this constant instant crusher.
The world had changed, from physical books moved to virtual learning. The first hurdle was the scramble for a device that we needed and calling dibs for the best room in the house where the network was the strongest. So we could connect with the outside world. The Google baba’s and the WhatsApp University become our source of misinformation, everyone had an opinion be it in a family group, an extended family group, a core family group never understood groupism. My nightmare has always been my kids swimming in this digital soup and how their young brains will be fried, caught in this dark World Wide Web and it came true. THANKS, COVID. But kids being kids took to devices and online learning like fish takes to water.
During this period a lot of people embarked on their entrepreneurial journeys. We had our own budding entrepreneurs in our house. Our son started his journey by charging money to teach his younger siblings how to look interested on Zoom while doing other things without the teacher noticing. My daughter who hates to clean after herself thought mopping the floors could help her earn her pocket money, we didn’t mind paying. The best part was that mopping kept her engaged for an hour. That was mission accomplished. But on the flip side, she was so good at doing it we could eat off the floor.
Working parents had their own challenges. I teach yoga, so while taking the class I have to stay unmuted at all times. Other than the washroom, this was my hour of peace. The whole household knows that they have to maintain pin-drop silence, so do the kids. But even staying silent, a storm can be brewing between my children, Ankho hi Ankho me dangerous isharrey. My yoga class is the calm before the storm. It’s time for me to leave the OM zone to get into the WAR zone, I am still getting used to it. So I can’t imagine what it must be for working parents with little kids or special needs. Let’s not forget I have an 11-year-old and a 16-year-old. Audiobooks and podcasts were a mother’s blessing during this time and any mundane task became interesting.
But what I think was missing the most was SCHOOL. What you can learn at school nobody can teach you that, not online not parents. The social interaction with their classmates, disagreements with friends, a place to voice their opinion, their first crushes, and a space to make mistakes away from the prying eyes of their parents. This piece would be incomplete without me acknowledging the support extended by teachers and staff of Ekya who adapted quickly to teaching online and also conducting activities to keep the kids engaged even during their holidays. I really appreciate all the efforts that they took which went beyond the school curriculum.
This year and a half have been hard on all age groups be it kids cooped up at home, parents working from home, stay-at-home mothers ( I salute you ), or grandparents having their children and grandchildren at all times. People who retired last year thinking they could travel the world, young adults finding their foothold in their careers or personal life. I can’t think of 1 person who hasn’t been touched by the changes this pandemic has bought to our lives. But what I am grateful for is that my family and friends are safe and healthy, it’s worth all the challenges the last year and a half has been. I am also hopeful that tomorrow will be great again.
By, Archana Alu Parent of Nakshatra & Hruday Alur
Herbert Spencer once said that “The greatest aim of education is not knowledge but action” and to me, independent education is one that enables us to bring our potential to light and drives us to take that action. Our education systems have been designed on an instruction-based school life to suit the needs of the occupations that existed years ago. But today, the world has about 5 billion occupations and it is almost impractical to align ourselves with a process of learning that is common to all. Our education systems cannot be a measure of memorising and retaining with heavy importance towards a mere figure of marks. Learning isn’t memorising for a test and forgetting about it later. Every concept learnt at school should be an asset and embed within us as we grow. With the rate at which the world is changing today, we can never predict what the future will be but we can prepare for it and that’s what India can achieve with the help of independent education. That is what will succour us to be remarkable individuals who are lifted off a large scale of comparison and mainstream teaching methodology.
Our country is working so hard each day to provide the right education facilities to our vast population but apart from infrastructure, we need to respect the occupation of teachers with considerable measures so that the quality of teaching in government schools is enhanced. The idea of lecturing does not appeal to modern ways of teaching because education should mean interaction and not losing focus halfway through hours long of lecturing. Technology is going to be with us all the way and as students, I believe that instead of being able to say the periodic table by heart, we should be taught filing taxes, self-awareness, how to appear in job interviews, career awareness, and most of all-working smarter than working harder. This will help us ensure that our ‘educated’ population is able to meet the expectations of skills required in our future careers.
Are we all still stuck in 2020 and don’t realise that 2022 is just five months away? Well, so much changed in just so little time- The green chalkboards have become slides and my classroom is now my bedroom! I would say that education has transformed so much in the past year and it’s time for online learning to shine. The amount of classes it takes to learn a chapter at an online school is half the number of classes we’d have at an offline school with the help of new learning tools and techniques. And from my experience of online school I’ve begun to believe that it has shown us so many new ways and methods of learning that when we get back to regular classes, everything is bound to change (even if it’s just a little bit). We found new ways to socialise and connect, study and teach that we can save so much of our time. It’s affordable and everything is just a button away. However, at these times it is crucial for students to be educated about cybercrime and security. At times sitting for hours in front of the screen has adverse health effects on many students and they must be encouraged to get out there and stay fit. Educational institutions must take measures to limit screen time with proper planning and involve students in various activities. Socialising and communicating on video calls have been difficult for many students. Many who cannot afford to buy phones and laptops have had a tough time coping up with these classes. Online classes earn my huge respect for all teachers who are making an effort to make classes enjoyable. It takes a while to get comfortable with everything but once you’re in the place you’ll be able to see the sunshine through the storm. Students today have so much time to take up internships involving social work, research, social media management and do remote courses that educate them on subjects crucial to their careers. I’d like to tell each and every student that life is going to throw so many challenges at us but it’s about how we perceive them and what we make of it that counts. Happy learning!
By, Anvita Grade 11 Ekya ITPL
“It is the supreme art of a teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”- Albert Einstein
Good teachers are the reason why ordinary students dream to do extraordinary things! The light of the world, the beacon in the dark, and the hope that gives us strength to survive is our teacher.
In India, Teachers’ day has been celebrated on September 5 every year since 1962, as it is the birth anniversary of the second President of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. This day, the students express their gratitude and love towards the extraordinary contribution and efforts of their teachers.
This year also, we celebrated Teachers’ Day at Ekya Byrathi. Owing to the ongoing pandemic, the celebrations had to be done online. However, the event was very exciting.
The celebration started with grade 9 and 8 students informing us about the significance of Teachers’ Day. It was followed by a student reciting the shloka ‘Guru Brahma’, and the meanings of the words. Many students played videos and scratch projects for the teachers. A few also made special cards. Grade 1 and Montessori Seniors sang a song for their class teachers.
Grade 8 and 9 did something very special. They had organized a video with all our teachers’ pictures, made a quiz on tongue twisters and guess-the-movie-with-the-emoji.
At the end of the session, songs were played and all the teachers and students danced. It was an extremely exciting event, something we look forward to from the beginning of the year.
Here are a few pictures of our day with our teachers and the activities we did to prove our admiration for their tireless effort
By, Aditi Teneja Grade 6 Ekya Byrathi
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