The Arduous Road of Teacher-Student Relationships
Apart from our doctors and nurses, I feel the only other profession to get hit the hardest due to Covid-19, was teaching. Our teachers were flung into an almost alternate world — planning lessons and teaching them online with absolutely no notice or training. Whoever saw this coming? To have to do this for a day or a week is understandable. But to do it two years in a row is rather inconceivable. And yet our teachers did it. They dug deep as they always do, and delivered perfectly.
A teacher who was modern, open-minded, with a social media presence, for example, was more proficient in having an online classroom. He/she adapted faster. A teacher who was shy and avoided the camera his/her entire life, felt awkward and put on the spot.
And the children went through the same thing. A shy child versus an outgoing one, a reserved one versus a confident one, an awkward one versus a sure-of-himself/herself one. You might argue that this was the case in physical school too, and you’d be right. But it came more to light during online school.
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Nalini Sorensen is an award-winning author of children’s books. She has contributed to anthologies, children’s magazines, and has written readers for schools in India. She is a TEDx speaker and has presented at literary events across India.
