The world has come to a halt with the Coronavirus pandemic and unlike anything ever before, we have united in the fight against it. Since it is affecting everyone across the globe the field of education has to navigate their way around this. But the sudden impact that has taken over every field is overwhelming. There is a growing concern about managing education in this unpredictable time. Even though we are lucky to live in a time where technology has achieved many feats and has made it easier for communication to take place among all of us. But even then this is an unusual situation and it is difficult to cope with in terms of students needing teachers and constant care. Our best friend during this time has been the internet, with whose help we have organised groups on social media to help kids and their parents receive help and direct their kids according to teachers’ instructions. Now more than ever, we need to come together and use our time wisely and make sure that we come out of this using positive energy. This is the time parents can use to get to know their children and the progress their children might have made, along with helping them study. Parents and children can use this time to bond and understand how they can do better, not only as students and teachers but as human beings. Good education begins at home, and seeing as there is enough time for us to use it as best as we can? We should be positive and work towards becoming better at the things we love and the things that matter. If we keep up the good positive energy, we will come out of this stronger and happier and more excited about our future than worried about our past! The future is full of possibility and we are all capable of achieving great things. The recovery from this pandemic should be undertaken slowly and steadily to ensure that parents and students are not overwhelmed with everything that has happened. Schools should be well aware of measures to be taken to ensure that parents and children are made to feel comfortable and safe and not worried about what will happen. This is a difficult time for everyone and we should remember that it is just as difficult on students as it is on parents. There should be relief sessions to organise awareness programs and counselling sessions for students and parents alike to ensure that they feel good when they come to the school. Educational institutes should have facilities for the counselling of parents and children for specific ways to include healthier diets and nutrition to improve the health. Students should also be reassured about the conduction of exams and boards and should not feel too stressed as this is an extremely unpredictable situation for everyone. In this difficult time, we should remember to take our mental health as importantly as our physical health. Measures should be taken for the relief of stress about any upcoming events and the parents, and students, should remember to be patient, kind and cooperative with the school staff and administration. We need to treat everyone with kindness because this is a trying time for every individual and every family. Students should especially be kind and understanding when it comes to their teachers and should maintain decorum and deal with online classes respectfully. Even though teachers might not be present in these situations, students should maintain a clear line of respect for the effort teachers and the school staff are making in this trying time.
Let us not lose hope, and instead focus on preparing for the future, a very unique and different future to the one we were hoping to meet before this! We should know that our survival will become a lesson of inspiration for the generations to come, and we cannot disappoint our future.
Writer
Dr. Arjumand Zaidi
Director- St. Xavier’s Convent School
National President- Youth For Human Rights India