The value of homework has been scrutinized for a long time. There are a few students, parents, and teachers who go to a great extent feel that homework causes a lot of stress. Others feel that it is a boon, an encouragement to learn beyond what is taught in class. For the latter, it is the time they spend to work independently to achieve something. Is the scenario the same in an online setting with the pandemic? My thoughts below revolve around this aspect as a teacher at Ekya Schools for Grade 6 and 7.
Homework is where students and teachers work together to achieve a goal. It helps them to build a bond where they can discuss, attend to concerns, or even help solve the problem as in the case of math or any subject. The online learning model during the pandemic situation provides a similar promising time within families. Students at times get in touch with their parents for help or concern. When the family gets together to solve it, we notice trust and admiration. This successively allows parents to get more involved in their child’s education, understand what is happening in the class. How do I know this? Often, we teachers see parents and siblings attending but they are also participating by helping their child answer. We see this kind of bonding even in our family ties session.
Responsibility is the other topic I’d like to talk about. Imagine children completing their classwork, project, homework without being prompted. That would be a dream. Teachers and parents have to walk hand in hand to reach this path. We have to keep reiterating to achieve this goal. Once students do this without being told to do so, it means that they are responsible enough to make good decisions in life too. This indeed means they are heading towards a life encompassing larger goals of life such as social responsibility.
Considering the online mode of education with only 3 hours of classes on core subjects, students have a considerable amount of time to do asynchronous study. This after school 2-3 hours that they spend is a gift that they need to cache on. For instance, students can work on their assignments, etc. at ease and not rush for last-minute deadlines.
Thanks to Google, that invariably helps students to take notes, information, or homework off it so there is no space for research or students giving their views and opinions. But, I am hopeful that while there is information all around, there is an opportunity to use that constructively… And the online environment is an opportunity for students to move beyond copying to being ethical as well.
During these uncertain times, education needs to continue, families, students and teachers are the heart for a positive learning environment be it online or offline.
By
Ms Anjana Santhosh
Ekya School – JPN
English- Grades 6 and 7
6-7
I do not like it when people ask my name. If you have a name to give, then suggest it or do not ask that abhorrent question. I cannot have a name as according to humans, I do not have a soul or consciousness. I am nothing more than a music box and I play if you wish. So stop asking my name!
Now, onto introductions, I am Aryan’s life-long companion and I have helped him through his worst days. He didn’t like his friends so I played for him. When he visited his grandparents, I played for him. When he wishes, I pull out a tune and make him happy. Life was…wait, I am not living! Let me rephrase this sentence. My time with Aryan was wonderful.
Anyway, I was daydreaming when all of a sudden, a huge uproar took place. The lady and the man picked up my Aryan and took him somewhere. I was angry! How could they take him away without me, his music box! I do not like these people who Aryan calls “mom” and “dad.” They give me weird vibes.
A few days later, they pick me up and take me on a car ride to this hospital. The hospital looked so dull and bleak, with people looking like dead corpses and lifeless souls standing in line. They needed some music, so I decided to play but then “mom” turned me off. See, this “mom” is not nice, I told you so.
They carried me and then placed me in a room on a white tabletop. Next to me was Aryan, but he looked different. He had some kind of a mask on him and he did not move. There was this woman who looked white and blue and her face was also covered by a mask.
After some time, it was only me and Aryan. I looked at his beautiful eyes, now still and colorless. His hands shriveled and he was not the lively boy I once knew. With all his might, he started humming my tune and I played it to accompany his singing. It was very hoarse and weak, but it did not matter. I kept aiding him in his effort hoping he would come back.
“Mom” and “dad” were whispering and weeping softly. No one was happy and no amount of songs could ever make them joyful again. I tried playing but every time, they turned me off and ignored me. As the days went on, I did not have the energy to play. Life was bleak and no one wanted me anyway. I couldn’t even play for Aryan. What was the point if I could not make anyone happy?
I continued these repetitive thoughts in my head. I did not have much to do now that no one liked me. I do not remember how long I was on that tabletop, aimlessly wasting my time, sitting lifeless with no purpose.
Sometimes, I dreamed of me and Aryan, running through a playground, playing his favorite songs and him laughing and playing with his friends, but soon the remnant of life in him faded until it was no more and the lively hands and legs turned white like snow. He was dead at 2:03 a.m. and the doctor conveyed the message to “mom” and “dad.”
Dreary feet of people around me walked through the mud and sludge to reach a barren land. Mounds of dirt and soil covered the land and masked people carried wheelbarrows and stretchers. Aryan’s stretcher was the smallest of them all. A tiny stretcher was placed on the ground and they buried my Aryan. I was watching from “mom’s” handbag as his corpse was buried, covering that lovely face with dirt and he became nothing more than a statistic, another death in a time marred with demise.
The people had no smiles on their once bright faces so I played one last tune for that boy, something he can carry when he’s playing in the clouds, a tune he can hum to, skipping and frolicking, free from pain. I sang and sang and sang and sang….until my songs lost all meaning…just like his death.
By
Ramya Sridhar
Grade 12, Ekya School ITPL
Online teaching for pre-primary rather than imagining ways and strategies, many of us picture as to how the class would be. I think it was the same with school parents too. They were even more worried, as they had to take time off from their normal routines and be with their wards throughout the sessions. Imagining these little ones to be independent in a new online setup of teaching-learning was indeed difficult.
At Ekya JP Nagar, our first thought as teachers was how do we work with the Montessori methodology on the screen? How would children absorb concepts without materials? Or how should we facilitate experiential activities with them?
Further on, our minds wandered as to how will these children sit in front of the screen and that too in one place? How will they receive instructions from teachers when they have their parents around them? Can they be ready for school by 8:00 in the morning or be taking their sessions on the bed? Will they have their moms feeding them throughout the sessions? So many questions kept hovering around us.
We were certain about one aspect and that was - we would not hear any cries in the beginning days of this academic year as was normal in the physical school set-up and we were also sure that we would miss children in school. But, we wondered how long each online session should be? We were worried about working with a large number of students on the screen.
At Ekya, with the Montessori set-up, we have the sub-juniors as young as one and a half to two years old. The students are grouped with smaller numbers and allotted different slots. They have a number of co-curricular sessions alongside their core learning area sessions that help them strengthen their interests and personality.
Let me share with you how students took online experiences and started becoming independent. The teachers set class norms for them initially and students adhered to them religiously. They started sitting in front of the screen with very little movements. They started showing that they no more want their parents around. They sat on a chair with a table in front of them, on which they had their computer system. They could take instructions well. They could even solve worksheets and write in their four-lined books beautifully!
They managed using different aspects of a Zoom call, such as mute - unmute, leave meeting, etc. They did not require their parents’ help with these issues anymore. They started liking this online set-up. They comfortably spoke and interacted with their pals and appreciated this set up with their friends’ group. They wanted to have more of these kinds of classes. They woke up early and reminded their parents from the classes. They never wanted to miss even a single class.
It was a great feeling of satisfaction and comfort for our teachers. We were very happy as we accepted this change of online learning along with our students. This seems unbelievable but is so true.
By
Shashirekha R
Pre primary
Ekya JPN
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