Being a mother of a teenager, I am going through a first hand experience of online schooling. As a Medical professional, I absolutely agree with the closure of schools and need of social distancing in the present Covid 19 pandemic scenario.However, I get really worried of the assumptions that online education is here to stay.
Just about the time that most of us parents had started acknowledging the perils of exposure to gadgets and online gaming and not to forget the issues of "rote" learning: Covid has left us with no choice!
I found a thought provoking article on online schooling which I want to share here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/
Does this mean that online learning is going to replace schools? Difficult times have difficult choices!
Schools take care of the mental,social and physical growth of our children.Schools build characters and societies of tomorrow. In a school routine, the child learns the importance of being on time, discipline, friendship, empathy and so many early lessons of life.
Teachers play an important role in the lives of young children.They take care of each child depending on her or his abilities and interests. Parent teacher meetings are an eye opener for many of us parents who get to know the social interactions and educational interests of our kids.This feedback will be incomplete on an online platform which has limitations on judging overall development of a child.
I found a thought provoking article on online schooling which I want to share here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/
Does this mean that online learning is going to replace schools? Difficult times have difficult choices!
Schools take care of the mental,social and physical growth of our children.Schools build characters and societies of tomorrow. In a school routine, the child learns the importance of being on time, discipline, friendship, empathy and so many early lessons of life.
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| Online also gets boring. |
During an online class, there can be technical difficulties and children may need help from an adult.
There have been reports suggesting that students undergoing online education usually underperform and have poor practical outcomes. Adult online learning has proven this time and again. Online can be additional learning but cannot replace school learning.
For a country like ours, it can also be an extra economic burden on many families and education providers.
I hope our children are not deprived of the wonderful memories of the school environment: the school grounds, science labs, sports days,debates,science exhibition and annual day.These are the occasions which even we parents look forward to.
So,let's pray that happy days will be back soon and schools get back to accomplishing what they are best at: "Citizens of tomorrow".
My faith gets stronger when my 13 year old announces "Mummy, I want to go to school and meet my friends....."
Once a new normal resumes, we will respect our schools and the role of teachers in kids lives even more.
