Post-lockdown, schools gear up to usher in a lot of changes

Usually, we teach a lesson and then give a test to our students, but currently, life has given us a test and by the time this ends, we shall have learned many important lessons. The response of the students coming back to school will vary according to their age. While this gap will be very challenging for primary school students, I believe it will be easier to overcome for older children. We, as educators, must prepare to ease them into the process. Providing holistic education and balancing academic lessons with experiential learning and activity-based models could be one approach in ensuring continuity of learning while we support our students who will be going through an internal emotional turmoil as they return to classrooms. We will witness various kinds of emotional responses in children based on their experiences over time away from schools. Educators will need to be vigilant about changes such as withdrawal from social contact, a significant change in weight, angry outbursts, etc. Assessment and expansion of social quotient among students will help us in that endeavour. Whilst dwelling on the pandemic might be counterproductive, we will have to acknowledge the scale of what we have all been through over these past few months. Our traditional understanding of a disciplined classroom will undergo a change. It is going to be imperative that we allow our students to talk. Launching straight back into the usual timetable is likely to be challenging, and they may also have a lot of thoughts and questions about the time away from school. Therefore, the academic regimen will have to be gradually phased in and an equal emphasis on wellness and well being will be required. While online classes have helped a great deal towards keeping students engaged, I believe connections will have to be built once again as students return to classrooms. Clubs and group activities are going to be therapeutic. The students we welcome back to the campus may be different from the students we knew before the lockdown, and their needs for comfort, guidance, and relationships are likely to be greater. In such an environment, schools are not only rebooting education but also bracing themselves to usher in a lot of changes. Some of these changes will emerge from the pandemic while others from the New Education Policy, and we will achieve this with the support of all the stakeholders. (Author Deepika Sharma is a Principal at Grand Columbus International School, Sector 16A, Faridabad. Views expressed here personal.)

The response of the students coming back to school will vary according to their age. While this gap will be very challenging for primary school students, I believe it will be easier to overcome for older children.

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