From Center Stage to the Sidelines
The current lockdown is turning out to be a blessing in disguise. I say this in the context of the online classes that are operational at Seth Anandram Jaipuria School Lucknow. It’s been almost a month now, and the pace at which teachers have grown is phenomenal. I couldn’t have anticipated this happening in my wildest dreams.
The strategy for running live online classes has to be very different from that of the physical class. Thorough preparation is of course required in both contexts, but the online platform has to engage with the learners remotely. Teachers could only make this happen, by re-working on so many fronts. Their own online presence, donning a smiling, cheerful expression, the voice inflection which would help them to connect with every child, the pace of delivery which would enable each child to understand. The content would now mostly have to be delivered in extremely creative ways, using various tools, accompanied with well thought out power point presentations and followed by equally engaging recapitulation and evaluation strategies. The creativity of the teachers has been challenged like never before.
It’s been a month of peer learning, peer observations and most of all professional development through a series of webinars they are attending. One webinar that stands out in my memory is “The Power Of PUPPETS.” This inspired a couple of Pre-primary and primary teachers to make their own puppets and use them in the class. The kids are completely hooked! My Hindi teacher has become the star performer, and the grade I children and parents look forward to her class with “Chimpu” the puppet who is currently teaching them four letter words in Hindi.
For me, being an online panelist in two webinars this week was also a first. In fact “the first time” experience is something that has bound us all together and the learning growth has been immensely satisfying.
Some of my teachers are “shining”. They have done brilliant work. My music teacher worked on a collaborative song, involving ten students and three teachers. He worked tirelessly for nearly two weeks to put together this very professionally made video which has garnered over one thousand five hundred likes in just three days.
Another collaboratively done Kathak video with five of our students under the guidance of my dance teacher has also drawn a lot of attention on social media.
In all these remote discussions, deliberations and planning I have completely moved into the sidelines. My teachers have taken the stage. I watch with pride as they hold meetings and chalk out action plans. There are department wise meetings which I’m not a part of. I merely see notifications of the time and group of teachers who intend to meet. They have taken charge of their own learning and they are doing an outstanding job. I have become a facilitator and a mentor.
Isn’t that how our students should be trained to become? Work collaboratively and individually and construct their own knowledge! And shouldn’t the teachers become bystanders, giving that occasional nudge and be ever available to mentor or guide?
I hope the next shift will be in this direction. Until then, I am happy to revel in the achievements of my teachers.
youtube link – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxX9bv2k59sTxa4QOJDOzPg
facebook page link – https://www.facebook.com/SethAnandramJaipuriaSchoolLucknow
Ms. Poonam Kochitty
Principal
Seth Anandram Jaipuria School – Lucknow
