The Other Side of Lockdown

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It is about learning to dance in the rain.”

As we fight against COVID-19, there is a beautiful realization that cannot be ignored. The world has come together in solidarity. All the trade wars, economic and political conflicts, religious differences and community clashes are at a halt. We do have time but absolutely no inclination to invest ourselves in these topics. Life has become slow-paced for the most of us but there is still a significant section of society that is providing its undeterred services in these testing times. Many of us haven’t experienced such a situation ever. But it’s indeed commendable, the way we are dealing with it. With all of us trying to cope up and adjust with the sudden stagnancy, I have observed that parents all over the world are focussed on keeping the academics of their kids on track. Committed to begin the new academic session, when it’s due, many schools have switched to exclusive online platforms. Teachers are busy planning the next session, resolute to continue the teaching learning process, online. This is definitely the need of the hour. The internet is flooded with study material and online courses like never before. Resources available online have slashed down their fee to enroll more students. In India, the 21 days’ lockdown has made us more dependent on technology when it comes to everyday news and academics.

Parents are working from home and it has suddenly dawned upon them that teaching is not just restricted to certain hours. It is a holistic approach that goes beyond imparting subject knowledge. The fact that a teacher is also a counselor, a guide, a patient listener, a conflict resolver, a healer, a therapist and a friend; has now been acknowledged by many parents as they are realizing the efforts put in by the teachers as their kids are spending 24 hours confined to the four walls of their home. At the same time, parents are also realizing the significance of schools in the life of their kids, the holistic development it facilitates and the plethora of skills it imbibes in the kids which the confines of a house cannot completely compensate for. Owing to all this the main focus during the lockdown is how their kids continue their routine and keep focusing on academics.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) secretary Mr. Anurag Tripathi, in a message to school students, has asked them to utilise the lockdown period to hone their skills and use this time as a "golden opportunity". Tripathi wrote that lockdown has brought “golden inconvenience” to the children and teachers. “Everyone has unlimited time, a home-like laboratory and all the resources of the world available on the internet. The entire house can be a learning center for children. E-classes, projects, activities, fun, games, video shoots and many more such activities can be derived.” Suggesting students to start their day with light physical exercises, meditation and yoga, Tripathi also suggested that they help their family with household chores.  (Source: TOI) This letter is so important and relevant in the present time as education should not just be about acquiring subject knowledge but it should focus more on learning outcomes, honing skills, creativity, research and critical thinking.

Keeping the same perspective, Chris @McCannPrincipal has shared an interesting document on Twitter, depicting how learning should look like at the time of lockdown. He suggests that learning should look less like an attempt to recreate school at home, it should not carry teacher-centered instructions and should not levy tasks and assignments to “get through” content. It should rather comprise flexible goals and structures for learning, opportunities for students to explore their interests, opportunities to learn without the use of devices or the internet, encouragement for self-reflection on what students learn and how they learn it, connecting questions and problems to household activities such as cooking, fixing things or gardening etc.

While teachers and parents all over the world are doing their best to keep up the academic progress of kids using various platforms, somewhere down the lane we are missing out on a very important point. Education isn’t just subject knowledge; it isn’t just information or conceptual matter that your child might miss if he doesn’t catch up with studies for the next 15-20 days. The present situation is a boon in disguise. It has given us an opportunity to look at the other side of the picture. Learning should be an ongoing process indeed but what we need to change right now is the approach. Let’s teach something beyond the books. Let’s focus on lessons we have always put away for the next day for they weren’t delivering marks or promotions of any kind. What about indulging in art and music? What about leaning tenderness, empathy and emotional balance?

Let’s revive all the things that were left behind in the rat-race of incessant craving for over achievements and ambitious feats. And most importantly, let our children understand their privileged position. “Lockdown is a privilege: it means you have a home to stay in; Social Distancing is a privilege: it means you don’t live in a crowded slum with a shared toilet; Hand washing is a privilege: it means you have running water; Working from Home is a privilege: it means your income is not threatened; Complaining about groceries is a privilege: it means you have money to buy them and fridge to stock up.” There are underprivileged kids who are struggling for one square meal a day. There are kids in hopeless situation who have no internet access for online classes and those who don’t even have a computer, let alone internet. Let us make our children inculcate empathy towards those who don’t have even the basic necessities in such difficult times. Let us teach our kids to be grateful for what they possess. 

Let’s teach them the power of prayer, faith and hope. “We hope precisely because we are aware that terrible outcomes are always possible and often probable but that the choices we make can impact the outcomes. In that singular fragility breathes our singular resilience as thinking feeling animals capable of foresight and of intelligent, sensitive decision-making along the vectors of that foresight.” Let’s us use this opportunity to prepare our kids for uncertain times. It is time to let them know a little history to frame a better perspective of their future. This time has made us realize the importance of resilience and adaptability and we need to make our kids inculcate the same to be better prepared to face any such situation in future and come out of it, much more grown, experienced and triumphant.

This is the time which can be used to know the challenges faced by us in the past and how did we come out of that. The problems are not permanent and man has always fought back. Let our children know the family tree, your forefathers and the progress made by the family in the last so many years. The hard work put in by the grandparents and their ancestors and difficulties faced by them can also be recounted. You can talk to the children what kind transport was used during that time and how close everyone was to the nature. The stories shared by Nani and Dadi can also be told to the children. Talk about men and women who are role models even today. It isn’t enough to know the chronology of wars fought and won. Let us discuss the impact of such epidemics in the past. How would they deal with such war-like situation in future? Let us not just ask them how much have they learnt. Let us ask how they are using the knowledge acquired in their day to day life. Yes, this is the time. Let us challenge them to bring their theoretical knowledge alive, practically. Involve with them. Experiment with them. Create with them. Talk to them. Laugh with them and without even a tinge of embarrassment; cry your heart out with them.

The daily hustle and bustle has come to a halt. It’s time to make the best of the situation. Isn’t this the free time you always wanted to spend with your family? Make a routine. Make your entire family a part of it. Wake up as you feel comfortable and practice some yoga and meditation. Most of our children do not have an idea how to cook or prepare a cup of tea. Let the mother and father work together and have children learn how to take care of daily personal work like making the bed after waking up, cleaning, washing the clothes which will definitely help us in many ways. One, they will be able to appreciate the help extended by the maid who comes every day leaving her own family. Also, the children will learn to face such unpredictable situation in future. Ask your kids to water the plants. Sit with them in the garden and draw sketches and paint. Discuss sensitive issues with them, seek their suggestions and opinion. Talk about taxes, savings, investments and future plans. Don’t just give them information, there is time, give them an opportunity to frame their perspective.

This time that we have is like a silver lining in the midst of dark clouds. The old TV adaptation of Ramayana and Mahabharata has been available on YouTube for a long time. But never before the lockdown had we ever sat with our families to relish the values imparted by them. Let us use this time to get back to our roots, celebrate our culture and inculcate the long-lost values. This situation has given us an opportunity to lead a simple and modest life. So, let us reflect and emerge as better human beings by being humble, understanding, helpful and better prepared for the next challenge.

At last, with best hopes and wishes for my lovely kids and the parent-teacher community, I would quote a few reassuring lines from ‘The Revolution of Hope’ by Erich Fromm, “As we navigate our own uncertain times together, may a thousand flowers of sanity bloom, each valid so long as it is viable in buoying the human spirit it animates, and may we remember the myriad terrors and uncertainties preceding our own, which have served as unexpected awakenings from some of our most perilous civilizational slumbers.”