Parents all over the world are yearning for pre-pandemic normalcy for their children and themselves. The education of their children is of stratospheric concern to them, and understandably so. Many are making an earnest effort to come to terms with online learning for their child. A friend of a friend, nick named “online” due to her constant and vociferous support for everything online seems to have developed clay feet when it came to the online learning of her own children. Quite understandably, when your child’s temple-of-learning begins to show up at 6 feet distance from your child’s bed, it is indeed a new normal for both you and your offspring.
Transition is never easy, yet when it becomes a necessity, put the best foot forward with adaptability. Human evolution is testimony to the fact that it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the smartest, but rather the most adaptable to change. One of the frequently raised questions in the current scenario is on the continuity of learning for the child.
First, let us not lose sight of the fact that when it comes to change; children are far more adaptive than adults. We all were children once, and if we rewind our memory cells to our school life lasting on an average of 12 to 14 years, there would have been a few occasions where we had to miss school for an extended period of time. It could have been an illness, or an emergency at home. The duration might or might not have been this long, but we did spring back to normal. Didn’t we? For a few days we felt lost, but in the process developed or enhanced the qualities of resilience and determination.
Another concern centres around online preparedness. A step in the direction would be ensuring that your child navigates the online interface well-in-advance before logging-in for the actual session. Some schools have already taken a step in this direction. A convincing analogy for navigation-preparedness in children could be that of a driver on a road trip. A skilled driver does not have to look down to change gears, or look at the steering wheel while taking a right or left turn. This leaves him free to focus on the road.
Yet another grievance reported is some of the high school children misusing the mute button to mute the teacher out in the virtual world– a thing unheard of in the chalk-and-board world. Well, for that, the only solace can be found in Zig Ziglar’s quote: “If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”
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