Finding happiness and hope

Kavitha Madhuri Reddy

C. JoyBell C rightly stated, “The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.”

Change is extremely demanding; it scares us, threatens us, even challenges our very existence. We crave for things to stop changing. But regardless, we all know deep within that to progress we need to embrace change. We need to be open to new possibilities, new beginnings, new adventures not only to advance but also to find ourselves. COVID-19 has been the best example of this.

I have been teaching for seven years now and every year has been unique in its own way. But the last year made me and many others, come out of our comfort zones. We faced fear, uncertainty, randomness and chaos of all kinds. As a math educator for grades 6 and 7, it was an out-of-the-box year for me. I had to redefine myself and adapt to the situation we were in. Though the shift to the online mode was sudden, it wasn’t as stressful for me as it was for some others as I was never into the conventional mode of teaching or lecturing, all the same it did make me think and act differently.

My day usually starts with checking emails and logging into Microsoft Teams by 8:15 am; I take attendance during every class and if someone doesn’t respond to the roll call, I call their home to check in. I have 3-4 classes everyday with 15-20 learners in each class. I get a 10 minute break between classes, which I use to stretch or walk around instead of simply sitting in front of the system.

I definitely couldn’t replicate my offline practices in this new set up and hence tried to make my classes interesting using the flipped classroom method and other self-directed learning strategies. I used platforms like Padlet for feedback and Quizziz and Kahoot for a quick recap of the lesson taught. Children enjoyed working and engaging themselves with these platforms. I assigned group talks through breakout sessions. I had my fair share of challenges as well when students would turn their cameras off, mute themselves and not respond. But never did I expect my children to be so tech-savvy. Within no time they were comfortable using assessment and teaching aid platforms like ManageBac, Canva, Assesprep and others. It is unrealistic for a child to be online for an entire school day. Their brains need a break. So we let our children take brain breaks throughout the day. As an educator who is online all day, I know how tiring and overwhelming it is for both our eyes and brain to be staring at a screen all day.

Even in an online setting, every day would be a new day. As educators, my colleagues and I were wearing more hats than usual. We had to provide emotional support not just to our students but their parents as well. Teaching remotely has taught me flexibility. It has taught me to read between the lines and listen for when parents are stressed, it has reminded me that every family and child has unique needs. My classes would end at 3 pm, but I would still be on the laptop creating assessments, worksheets, attending school meetings, calls from parents or preparing for the next day’s class.

On the whole, this year made me reflect about the role of an educator in this era where all information is available anytime and anywhere. As educators, I strongly feel we need to teach the heart and mind and not just the head. If there’s one thing students and educators are gaining at home right now that they couldn’t at school, it is an appreciation for what we are all missing. I miss the physical space, resources, environment and the informal conversations during breaks with my students.

We are not the same person that we were yesterday, we continuously adapt and as we are changing, why not be a better version of what we were yesterday, why not be a better self, to improve our ability to reason at our highest human potential every day? Not because we must, but because we CAN.

The author is a (MYP) math educator at Indus International School Hyderabad. A liberal arts student from FLAME, Pune with an MA in Education from Azim Premji University, Bangalore, she believes that a teacher is also a learner. She loves to instil curiosity and a passion for learning in children and has a special love for badminton. She can be reached at kavitha.reddy@apu.edu.in.