A lot has been written about the people in the frontlines of this pandemic. As it should be. They literally are the first line of defence and often end up in hazardous situations themselves in the process of trying to cure or keep the populace safe.
But I don’t think enough has been written about the people who’re trying to make sure the little monkeys we brought into this world, remain educated, remain interested in education and actually learn something during these times where the only certainty is that it’s all still very uncertain!
Case in point: a teacher spends a good amount of time explaining things in fairly minute detail to middle schoolers and then asks if there are any questions. These are the inputs which come in from the kids-
- Student#1 Ma’am you didn’t mark me present.
- Student#2 Ma’am we have only 3 minutes left for the class to end.
- Student#3 Ma’am can I go to the washroom.
- Student#4 Ma’am you said XYZ’s name wrong…
- Student#5 *umm…hmmm…erm*
- Student#6 yawns loudly
- Student#7 *humms*
- Student#8 Ma’am it’s time, can we leave?
Teacher: sighs DEEPLY and says, “Ok children, anyone have any questions about what we’re discussing right now? For the things which were due 2 days ago? Any questions at all?” There’s pin drop silence. You can hear the clock tick, the birds chirp outside and the leaves of the tree rustle softly. Teache: No one? Nothing to ask?…sighs DEEPLY once more and says, “Ok children, you can leave the meeting.”
Students as ONE: BYEEEE MA’AAAAM!!!
It may have taken a village in the past to raise a child, but it takes waaay more to teach one!
To the teachers- we salute you!
Random. Structured. Haphazard. All Me. 