HYDERABAD: In two weeks, children will get back to school after their summer vacation. This would be a huge change, given two years of online-offline and hybrid classes. But teachers in the city are all set to face this with open arms. They open up to CE about how they’re prepping for the pandemic babies by prioritising comfort and fun over rote learning.
Sai Nandeesh, founder and director of The Eleve International School in Old Bowenpally says children will need extra care this academic as they get back to schools after a long gap. “Hence the need to go out of our way to ensure kids have the best of everything — from learning to having fun and growing not just intellect-wise but also in the area of creativity.
One of the ways we plan to achieve that is through the marriage of the Montessori method and the guidelines from the recently devised National Education Policy,” Nandeesh says. He says that different children have different learning abilities “For some, verbal explanation of concepts work, but for most other kids, activity-based learning, visual aids and practicals help a great deal. This is what we’re looking at incorporating in the coming academic year,” he tells CE.
Clinical psychologist Baijesh Ramesh points out that not all children would be excited about returning to school. “In fact, most children would be anxious and frightened, especially since they grew comfortable interacting with their peers and teachers over a computer screen. This can be extremely challenging, especially for kids belonging to kindergarten and primary school. While it’s important that they build real-world friendships, a sudden change can leave them worried,” he shares. He adds that most kids can actually feel like they missed a milestone and teachers who approached him shared that students, due to a lack of exposure, showed low levels of social and emotional maturity.
Amala Vilasini, a teacher at Sri Sai Public School in Habsiguda, says that the best way to ensure a child feels welcomed is to for teachers to be well prepared and keenly observe each kid, individually, to understand their specific needs. “Their behaviour is a clear indication of what they’re feeling — right from their interest, attention span, energy levels and appetite. For the first few weeks, teachers must focus on making them feel welcome, then they, work on increasing their attention span (given that computer and mobile screens have ruined it all). Next, they can be taught good manners and social skills and finally work their way to talking about a specific subject,” Amala says.
Baijesh concludes saying that one of the easiest ways to achieve a smooth transition for the child is better parent-teacher coordination that goes beyond mere exchange of information. “Parents and teachers must encourage the child to open up and work towards engaging them in activities they enjoy,” he says.