Learning during the lockdown

Sudha Mahajan

‘A happy child learns, an unhappy child only hears.’

An unprecedented situation arose in March 2020 when the whole world came under varying degrees of lockdown. Schools were shut too. The teaching fraternity responded quickly and tried to find various means to stay connected and let learning continue for the students. Options like WhatsApp, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams were used to help students learn. At this time the stress levels of the educators, students and parents increased as parents were not used to having their children at home and being in-charge of their education. In addition, many parents were also working from home. Educators panicked about completing the curriculum. I want to ask: does it really matter if we do not cover a few concepts or do not complete the so-called syllabus? My answer is ‘no’. Since it is the skills that are more important, we need to use this time to create a quest in every child ‘to find out.’

Creating a joyful learning environment through real life connect
Now that we are not in a classroom but are either sending work to the students or taking some online classes which are different from normal classroom teaching, the most important thing is to make sure students and parents don’t feel intimidated. You need to first get the attention of the students through an activity which makes them happy and they are ready to participate from their homes. Among the ways of doing this are mindful exercises such as breathing in and out, looking at the thumb for 20 seconds (brain gym exercises) or simply laughing out loud before the teacher starts the lesson. Thereafter, the students can be asked to undertake a scavenger hunt, i.e., if you are teaching the ‘matras’ in Hindi you could ask them to pick up an object whose spellings have a ‘matra’.

In mathematics the child who is learning addition can be asked to go to the kitchen with the parent, count the number of spoons, fork, knives and add them and tell us how many items of cutlery are there, the same can be done for the items of the dinner set or glasses, or even dividing the roti into a number of equal portions to learn fractions. Simple calculations like if a kilogram of mangoes costs INR 110 how much would 3 kg of mangoes cost?

Similarly, they can be asked to write down five words beginning with the first letter of their name or each letter of their name.

Storytelling and reading

‘Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary’…. Jim Rohn

The students can be asked to read stories that are age appropriate or the teacher/parent can read a story to them. Thereafter the student picks up one favourite character and dresses up like the character and explains why the character is a favourite. Students enjoy this activity. We have encouraged students through this activity to listen, read and speak fearlessly. Since the students are missing school and their friends, this kind of activity keeps them busy and they are happy listening and watching each other as the videos of these activities can be shared on class groups. Collaborative learning is happening but in a different way.

Life skills

‘The abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal with demands of everyday life and challenges.’ (WHO)

Through education we aim at developing – thinking skills, social skills and emotional skills in students and now is the opportune time to teach students survival skills such as managing their stress and emotions and learning about compassion and respect for the family. So educators should encourage their students to help at home, whether it is laying the table, sweeping, mopping, dusting or cutting vegetables and cooking food under the guidance of parents.

Remember our children are watching us, they are learning how we handle crisis situations and they are getting prepared to handle situations from us. So, the mantra for elders should be to ‘stay calm.’

‘My mom’s kitchen is a storehouse of knowledge’ is another very interesting and joyful activity. Children can be asked to note the ingredients that their mothers use during cooking, they can ask the parents the reason for the use of particular spices and thereafter they can check through research the nutritional value of each spice. They can also find out how the various spices came to India, were they all native to India or did they come from other countries, then these could be marked on the world map and thus students will understand the trade routes and will get acquainted with the names of various places in the world. Not only can they learn an important survival skill, that is, cooking, but also a host of STEM activities such as classification, quantities, proportions, chemical reactions, hygiene, nutrition, and many more. They will also learn about interdependence, collaboration and joy in community work.

Appreciating nature
Parents can be encouraged to sit with their children and discuss how nature has changed – the reduction in pollution levels, being able to see the blue sky, hear the chirping of the birds, etc. This discussion will lead children to think about conservation and preservation. Parents can encourage children to watch the night sky, talk about stars, galaxies, build stories and a never-ending quest to learn will develop. They will naturally imbibe the most important life skill, that of ‘observation’.

Conclusion
Educators and parents need to use this time as an opportunity to learn new skills, to easily move out of the ‘two covers of the textbook and four walls of the classroom’ and understand that the joy of education is to discover the unknown.

The author has been a teacher, a coordinator and freelance education consultant conducting teacher and student development programmes during her journey as an educator for the last 25 years. She is now the principal at Cambridge International School, Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. She can be reached at mahajansudha@gmail.com.