Learning From The Year Gone By

 Greetings to all my respected readers. My apologies for a long gap in sharing my thoughts with all of you. This was due to some personal reason, though I was very excited share this with you, for this one being my `Article 350`. Before writing my thoughts on the topic mentioned I would like to remember Mr Varun Gupta, alumni of Delhi Public School Jodhpur, who made me to write my thoughts and share the same with all of you in the form of Blog. This Journey started almost ten years back. I would also like to thank all of you for reading and commenting on different articles. Here I would like to specially mention Sh. Arvind Bhatt Ji, who himself is an institution, for making me feel worth writing on few topics.  Let me take you all through the past year and learning from the same.  

“Our children of classes 3 and 4 were able to read and write, but now half of them have forgotten how to read. Writing is worse, children are unable to write even two or three sentences in the workbook.” reported a teacher from Rajasthan.

Data released by UNICEF earlier this month is rather worrisome. It points out that as many as 24.7 crore children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools have been impacted due to the closure of around 15 lakh schools across our nation as a result of the pandemic. Further if the findings of a recent field study by Azim Premji University on ‘Loss of Learning during the Pandemic’ are to be believed, 92% and 82% of primary school students have lost at least one specific foundational ability vis-à-vis previous year for language and mathematics respectively. Although the field study was conducted in five states only, namely Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, the trends of findings stand valid across the nation, the university said.

‘The extended school closures induced by COVID-19 pandemic will have serious long term repercussions on children and their learnings’ is a bitter truth the entire teaching fraternity knows they need to accept and deal with. The process of transitioning back to normal, from the ‘new ways’ to our ‘old track’ will certainly not be as organic or effortless as we wish it would be. Especially with, probably a plethora of challenges yet to be uncovered, it would only be safe to say that the situation as it seems, will not be able to heal itself, not any time soon evidently. But the resilient selves that we are, any alternative short of taking challenges head-on is not an option we give ourselves. So, with the current academic year nearing its conclusion, children preparing to appear for their board exams, offline and the planning for upcoming session (2021 – 22) in full swing giving us hope and vibes of normalcy, it would not be a bad idea to revisit our memories, learnings and a few research findings from the most unusual year that went by also to better understand where we truly stand.             

It was late January 2020 when the first case of coronavirus got detected in India in Kerela. Back then it seemed like one odd case that did not warrant much attention. But the infection spread in no time and by mid-March 2020, Jodhpur reported its first case. The situation till then, as I may call it, seemed more skeptical than daunting and most of us were in a ‘preventive actions’ mode. With the announcement of Janata Curfew on Sunday, March, 22^nd 2020 followed by a 21-day strict nationwide lockdown from March 25^th, the uneasiness though beginning to tick in, was majorly manageable. Most of us, still unaffected by the virus, saw the lockdown as a blessing in disguise, giving us the much needed respite from our busy lives. While staying indoors for three weeks straight had become a communal responsibility (without a choice), we saw it as an opportunity to rejuvenate, to spend time with our families and pursue our hobbies. The temporary closure of education institutions was seen, by both parents and children, as an early additional summer break, domiciliary confinement for a few weeks being the only visible drawback. Things changed, when this restriction on classroom teaching prolonged and eventually became the most significant salient feature characterizing nearly the entire academic session.

The memories of hiccups and panic we faced will be hard to wipe away. To state it simply, we weren’t and wouldn’t have, in a hundred lifetimes, been ready for an unprecedented situation like this. Neither did we have the necessary technological preparation nor the psychological bandwidth. Schools and families had to resort rapidly to a new teaching - learning scenario without the benefit of previous planning or sufficient guidelines. We tried, as teachers and equally as parents, to innovate and make the best of situation at hand. The challenges and obstacles we faced need no testimony. Moreover, the adoption of various emergency techniques like online teaching or remote learning as the best available option to salvage the situation, its pros and cons, difficulties and efficacies are topics been discussed and debated at length and probably need no more deliberation. But, what should not go overlooked are the long term adverse consequences this extended forceful staying away from school, has subconsciously had on the psyche of our children.

The importance of school in a child’s life cannot be limited to academic achievements. It is, for most, the social platform of their first ever independent interaction with the world outside their own families. A place where they meet new people, both peers and adults, build their own friendships and relationships, understand the nuances of social behavior, learn team work, tolerance, patience and other interpersonal skills which eventually shape their habits, conduct and very personalities. And (almost) an entire year of limited socialization is bound to have left gaps in their behavioral, cognitive and motor skills.

This isn’t something that is merely my belief; there are numerous studies to confirm it. The extended isolation of children from their peers and social circle has had serious psychological impacts. The pandemic had created an indescribable situation of anguish and pain for the whole of humanity. It had created severe mass distress, anxiety, uncertainty, panic and challenges to the life outcomes of both children and adults. But, as per United Nations Organization (2020) children have been observed as one of the biggest sufferers, the negative influences significantly shaped by the economic and social conditions of families. Children have been found in acute need of social support to help them bear the pain of neglect caused all of a sudden, without any warning. What various studies also point towards is that such cases were prominent among children from nuclear families, especially where both parents were working. These findings for me resurface the age old debate of Nuclear Family Vs Joint Family.

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines joint family as a consanguineal unit that includes two or more generations of kindred related through either paternal or maternal line who maintain a common residence and are subject to common social, economic and religious regulations. The idea of joint families is not unfamiliar to us Indians. Characterized by collective values, guided by shared identity, deep attachments, unique socialization, emotionality, concern for others, interdependence and relatively permanent relationships, the joint family system was the only societal setup our forefathers conformed with. But with an increase in migration to urban areas and the growing desire for economic independence and personal space, the popularity of nuclear families has been on a rise during the last couple of decades. It was probably during home confinement, that the pangs of solitude were felt to a higher degree and by a larger number of people and the importance of joint families became a topic of consideration again.

Talking about bringing up children and family setups under the backdrop of the pandemic, I am reminded of an article published in the Tribune. The writer, Shaira Mohan, talked about why the year 2020 had been difficult for her. Hailing from Chandigarh, and settled in Kuala Lumpur, she would remember the pandemic as a time that fractured her ability to travel back home for the delivery of her second child. Reminiscing the birth of her first born, she considers the child privileged to have born in a pre - pandemic world amidst the hustle – bustle of a house teeming with family – great grandmother, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and pets. She goes on to say, “Raising a child without the access to the invaluable support of ‘the village’ and made her feel paralysed.”

Studies show that members of joint family felt more relaxed in general than members of nuclear families during the lockdown. A survey conducted on sixteen full time mothers of children aged 9-12 years (8 each from joint and nuclear families) analysed five major themes viz., negative impacts of COVID 19, differences in positive engagement, emotional protective roles, promotion of positive health habits and activity management. Findings suggest that joint families carry more resources to positively engage their children in creativity, studies, exercise and entertainment as compared to nuclear families. Contrary to nuclear families, joint families fared better in resolving emotional grievances and also in providing economic support to each other. The two also differed in attending to food habits, health grievances and physical exercise of children and the joint families again emerged better in managing behaviours, sleep habits, television watching and other activities of children compared to nuclear families. In joint families, the responsibility of bringing up a child got divided by a larger number. The greater the denominator, the lesser was the pressure felt. As a result, children felt safer, more loved and protected.

For those of my readers, who might be wondering why a sudden shift in the topic from schooling to joint vs nuclear families, I would like to state, that the concept of ‘character building of children’ is immensely close to my heart; and I firmly believe in its importance in shaping a healthier society and the roles played by teachers, parents and most importantly the elderly family members in that area. Conscientious character building cannot and should not be separated from parenting or a teacher’s responsibility. What pains and worries me is how, because of the pandemic, a major quantum of our children were deprived of this essential connect due to either economic (inaccessibility to online classes) or social (living in nuclear families and what long term impacts this might have. Those, handful ones, living in joint families and also with access to online classes should, whether they agree or not, trust me, should consider themselves very lucky. Talking particularly about the academic enhancement during these testing times, our present day society would without fail put the onus of cognitive if not behavioral nurturing on teachers, but the acknowledgement of any efforts is rather shabby and uncompensated for. To all those teachers, who worked day and night to minimize the impact of this pandemic on children’s learning; who, in ample cases, did not let the receipt of their salary (due to reasons known to all but ignored by many) come in the way of fulfilling their responsibilities and continued to stand by their students to the very best of their abilities, I, a proud member of this community take this opportunity to convey my heartfelt gratitude and thank them. Further, I shall fail in my duty if I do not thank those parents who readily helped the teachers and acknowledged their contributions.

And now, as we gear up to step into the forthcoming academic session (2021 – 22), it is important that we, as teachers, parents and policy makers, indulge in thorough contemplation. Children of different age groups will need to be dealt with in different ways. The challenge, as Ms. Rukmini Banerji rightly points out in her various articles, class I and II students will face is to be acquainted with the basic disciplinary school set up. These are students who have not experienced formal classroom teaching and burdening them with course curriculum will probably be unfair. Similarly, as the Azim Premji University Study points out, the problem with students in class III and above is not just the huge loss of foundational learning, but more importantly regression, i.e. children forgetting the skills and abilities learnt in previous classes. And this phenomenon, in my opinion, is valid not just for Languages and Mathematics, but extend to Sciences and Social Sciences as well.  

To conclude I would say, 2020 was traumatic. A year that we wish to but will never be able to erase from our memories. So instead of letting it go absolutely wasted, why not try and pick up learnings and integrate them in our lifestyles. As for on the education front, a decreased allocation on funds in our annual budget will probably sharpen the disparity. But a gradual step towards close knit communities and a healthier way of life would help us tackle things better. Thus in my opinion, this year let us celebrate the reopening of schools, by welcoming our children to a garden of happy experiences where they feel loved and in sync with the real world again. In no way am I suggesting that we do not give due importance to the literacy and numeracy instruction part of schooling, but probably paying added attention to their psychological wellbeing is the need of the hour. Let us remember, what we do today will determine the direction of our children’s future. And what is education, if not learning to learn.