Saluting our teachers for uninterrupted learning for our kids

They say that “a good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.” From time immemorial, we have paid homage to our teachers, who have educated us, shaped our character and our world. This year, Teacher’s Day assumes greater significance than ever before. Around 6 months ago, a virus closed schools and colleges and students were left in the lurch. Today, I want to thank the teachers who refused to let students suffer, and made sure education continued. For we are at a juncture where we are witnessing a paradigm shift in how education is imparted and championing that shift are our teachers.

Crisis, like, necessity is the mother of invention. Some of the best innovations have come up during or as an impact of pandemics and crises, be it the electric bulb or ampicillin or computers. Crises forces people to think differently, to adapt, and to evolve. In a similar vein, the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed teachers and students into the deep end of the pool, forcing both sets to cope with working, learning, and studying online.

The COVID 19 lockdown has necessitated schools and colleges in India to remain shut since March 2020, posing huge challenges for educators, teachers, and students. The pressure to cope with this sudden change has been nothing short of stressful. Schooling and learning structures, including teaching and assessment methods, were the first to be impacted by the lockdown.

The pandemic has transformed teaching; blackboards (or green) and classrooms have been replaced and technology is delivering education. They say when the going gets tough, the tough adapt. The lockdown emerged as an eye-opener for educators; they had to upskill themselves to teach online. The challenge lay in accessing and optimizing the tools available online to assist them given that they had little to none training. While lectures in some subjects may be relatively easy to deliver online, teachers of physics, chemistry, art, or sports are likely to themselves hamstrung online. How would they demonstrate a tricky lever experiment? Or expect students to carry out a test for sulfuric acid from the confines of their home? Or correct the shading of a sketch as part of art class?

But it’s not been easy for teachers. Some of the biggest challenges’ teachers are facing include keeping students engaged and away from distractions of social networking sites, general connectivity issues, device security & privacy. There is then the challenge of quickly turning teaching materials into digital format; not many have strong digital and ICT skills. Also, many face hardware resource crunch – not all households have multiple laptops or computers for individual use, making it tough to share resource and balance work.

Teachers have risen to this digital challenge to ensure children do not lose valuable time online or offline. Knowing their wards well is half the battle won. They understand that students are also not used to digital learning. Ensuring a child’s attention, checking each child’s work, and giving feedback remains a consistent challenge for teachers. Which is why they put in a lot of effort in preparing and delivering a lecture.

A friend’s high schooler daughter told me her teachers record the lectures for students who wish to access them later. They mail their students power point presentations and notes and take online sessions for questions and feedback. When other platforms fail, they resort to messenger apps to send out notes. They even prepare them for exams by sharing with them details of how to upload their answer sheets. And god forbid if any child plays hooky; my friends were taken to task when their daughter zoned out of a lecture to watch favorite series on OTT platform!

Recently I was told by a teacher friend how it is even more difficult to teach primary classes online; while one can still deliver lectures and send assignments to senior students, how do you hold down the attention of little boys and girls online? They would much rather be running around or watching cartoons than learning anything online or offline. 

The bottom line of the success of online teaching is the successful engagement of students by teachers.  One can never overemphasize the role teachers play in the growth and evolution of a nation. They form the backbone of our society as they nurture our future in more ways that we can imagine. Teachers are paving the way for the education of tomorrow – even when schools open – digital education will be the future and teachers will lead the change.

HP is proud to have worked alongside Indian educators by providing them solutions that enable remote teaching and learning. From complete virtual classroom solutions, to teacher training, from always connected 4G enabled Laptops to easy printing solutions that enable more experimental learning, HP has been a long-standing partner in the country’s efforts to impart top quality education to at every level.

Having said that, technology is only a tool to enable better learning. In the wise wise words of George Couros: “Technology will never replace great teachers, but in the hands of great teachers, it’s transformational.”