It’s surreal to experience something we perceived as medieval within our lifetime. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the state of rest, the ‘normal’ that all of us took for granted, including myself.
People across countries had to put a break to their normal lives and shift gears to adjust to the new normal. For professionals, it meant working out of homes, and at homes like mine, families had to step in to support schools and teachers to ensure the learning journey for students continues. The long pandemic and the subsequent loss of lives and livelihoods in many cases also led to challenges related to mental and emotional well-being.
As a teacher, I haven’t been insulated from any of the above. However, my peers and I have also been mindful of the responsibility we have towards our students and parents and the need to keep on going, no matter what. Of course, support from the school administration to make this effort as comfortable as possible has been the key over the past 18-odd months.
I still vividly remember the day, March 14, 2020, the first positive case was reported in Gurugram. Our students were taking their exams; however, the school had already been planning for a possible closure and what that may mean for classes. While exams wrapped up on March 16, the school announced precautionary closure for the next seven days.
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I think the reality of what was going to come our way did not dawn on me then. Students were just happy to get the break and teachers looked forward to utilizing the time to review exam papers. It would be several months before we could go back to school, that too in a staggered, experimental manner. Now that we are closer to opening schools again, I am quite looking forward to meeting my students and fellow teachers.
While that happens, it’s also important to sit back and look at how the pandemic affected me, our school and our students and what are some learnings that we will hopefully continue to keep with us as we move forward.
Unlearning and Learning, Quickly
In the past, all schools dealt with sudden unplanned school closures due to pollution, etc., which always meant missing classes. But, this time was different. In a matter of a few hours, our whole institution was up and running with classes being conducted through Zoom, Google Meet and MS Teams. I went through multiple sessions organized by our school to get comfortable with online classes, learn how to keep students engaged, and use tools that can help make learning fun and participatory. There was no time to waste, I was a student once again to become a better teacher!
Between Professional and Personal
Most professionals witnessed this. A nationwide lockdown meant being locked in our houses, working from home without house helps. Managing everyday house chores and kids while also giving 100 per cent to the online school was not an easy task. Being on screen constantly also meant exposing my personal space to everybody and of course intruding into my students’ space. This was evident with the initial gentle and later repeated reminders I had to give to students to keep their cameras on.
Things got into a rhythm eventually, I am today as comfortable with online school as one could possibly be and my students also see me as a person beyond just their teacher. We have probably been able to connect at a deeper level now that we see each other in our personal spaces. Of course, I miss the physical classroom, but I think we have been able to replicate the interaction in the online space too.
Focusing on Mental and Emotional Well-being
The second wave of the pandemic was traumatic for a large number of people with families losing loved ones. Our students experienced this loss within their homes or were privy to conversations around it; teachers too dealt with loss of family, friends and even colleagues. It affected mental and emotional well-being of our students, and as their guides, we tried our best to support them through this difficult time. However, it was also important to focus on our own well-being and our school ensured that we were supported in this journey through several compassionate measures. These included offs, well-being sessions and support, creating an open culture for conversations around mental health, regular check-ins to ensure no one was left behind, wellness breaks or making arrangements in cases of emergencies. This and much more has truly helped in dealing with the pandemic.
The pandemic has been a teacher in many ways. It has made all of us reassess our priorities, putting our collective well-being at the centre of everything we do. Ultimately, life is most precious. I live today with immense gratitude towards all—my school, my students, and my friends and family.
The author is Teaching and Learning Lead – Middle and Senior Years at Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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