Pandemic Challenges for Professional Women in Teaching

 

https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/students-classroom-flat-vector-illustration_9176840.htm

'Challenges are what make life interesting, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful'.  Are you sure?

As I was going through this quote, I was wondering are we emphasizing the same through our education policies.  Every day is a challenge, is understood, but the mindset to face it and overcome is with few.  Today, we are in dearth of quality manpower.  In India, we are well aware quality of teachers is an area that we seriously need to focus on. Major cities still do not have much issues, however the other cities are facing this issue to the greatest level, now more than ever.  Is education going to be restricted to cities and are we going to go through a phase where we have a situation where our future generations lack quality education just because they cannot afford to live in capital cities?

Teaching has already become a profession of 'chance' rather than 'by choice'.  I had personally, once faced a fresh MBA candidate submitting the resume for 'Principal's' post.  When questioned about experience the answer was simple 'running a school does not require any separate experience, I have my MBA'.  Teaching profession has become even more easy choice as a transition job for graduates.  With acute scarcity of people, schools are forced to recruit candidates without exposure or an idea about pedagogy.  This situation is become more predominant during the pandemic.  Other jobs have a good graded scale of pay which builds the person bottom-up clearly.  Teaching has become more open with the judgmental eyes of parent from the day one during COVID times.  The period of  'in-profession training' has become nil or '0'. The very first day onwards parents start sending emails about the teacher's attire, speech, delivery and also subject proficiency.  In-fact, guidance is free  from the very first day of school in online scenario.  The schools have had their own experienced teachers before the pandemic.  What do you think has happened to them?

The new challenges of the pandemic are even more crucial to maintain the quality in education.  The orthodoxy feeling and practice that the salary of women is a secondary source of income and is not a major contributor is major culprit for this thought process.  Many a women who are successful professionals not only in teaching but in other areas too are restricted to their homes due to this dogma that is prevalent from times, more specifically during pandemic.  Teaching is the area that is most affected under this belief.  Women are asked take are of home and temporarily stop their profession as the 'home demands their services'.  Consequence lack of experienced teaching staff within schools. With men also working from home the family needs more attention.  Online classes of children has also added an extra burden on these women to monitor them when at home. Definitely, the pandemic has caused both job loss and job opportunities. Unfortunately, it is our reluctance to accept this change and allow balance at home that has created this artificial pressure in institutions.  

Countries like Finland, NewZealand have already set examples of parental partnership in child growth.  This partnership is on the basis that both parents are equally responsible for their kids growth.  Taking care is not a limited forte of the mother.  This attitude is though new to this part of Asia, needs to be promoted and emphasized as the society and economies of countries grow.  The thought process that a women also has passion in her work and would like to succeed should be rooted from the school education.  However, though we have accepted higher education for women but still the practices of homecare taking predominance is still highly prevalent in our society.  

Home ground becomes a field of trust and balance after marriages.  It is very important that outlook of our society changes in bringing both equality and equity among relations.  Until this is sorted, we may not be developed or open-minded to approach solutions of problems that are prevalent today.   'We don't grow when things are easy, we grow only when we face challenges'.  Till our society is ready to change their mindset, pandemic challenges can handicap us. Leaving with a thought into an alternatives as pandemic in our society should not become an economic endemic in our lives.

Online Prodigies -Beware!!! YouTubing Puts Your Reading At Stake.

" I prefer to watch YouTube rather than reading the same as text".  Who has the time and patience to read, listening is easy.  This was my opinion till I started analysing the consequences.

1. Do you find it difficult to hold the book and sit?

2. Do you feel that nothing is entering your head?

3. Do you start searching for images?

Welcome to the aftermath of 'YouTubing'. 

Videos quickly capture our attention, moving images and intense speech captivates our senses. True, books do not but remember we are naturally bound to the thought process of the Video maker rather than independent thinking.  

In my own experience, I feel the inclination to watch a detective series than read the same as a book.  This serious, all of sudden behaviour, prompted me to think where I lack my attention.  After a lot of curious brainstorming within me, I came to this conclusion. I am not aware if anyone else suffers with similar symptoms. The similarity to an ADD(attention deficit disorder) is much visible in my way of reading.

In-depth thought into my lacking has led to the discovery of the following facts between book reading and a video of the same content.

1. Connecting words without expression 

2. Distraction during reading 

3. Concentration towards the subject in the text 

Reading is a habit that develops not only thinking  but also expand creative thoughts and imagination.  It does not fix a character to the story but empowers the reader to stretch the notion beyond the boundaries of the context.  

Challenges are opportunities to excel has always been my motto and I believe that reading is a challenge.  Being an educator, myself, I understand the difficulty in developing this skill among learners.  It is a step wise progression, of the ability that is considered in education as the child grows into an adult.  The advent of Videos is now striving to abolish the practice of reading which thrives in the young minds.  So, Should we provide  videos in the learning process?

The answer is debatable but my consideration would be to limit Videos in areas of hard core concepts like grammar, experimental set ups etc.  While teaching stories, problems-solutions YouTube should be strictly avoided to so that conclusions can be brought through insight and in-depth reading. 

My encounter in this arena has taught me not to browse for books or stories in the YouTube or Vimeo.  As I look into the new area of audio books also, I feel there is only lack of images, but the effect is same. When we are blessed with a wonderful eyesight, reading allows us to have focus with all our senses.  Reading a good book is worth more than watching ten videos on the same subject.  Today's Online world has proven it easy to search everything in Google.  However, if we could pause, take a step back and look at 'how to read to find better solutions' we will be definitely ten times more successful than a 'YouTubing' reader. 

https://www.creativebloq.com/news/youtube-launches-a-new-logo-design

 

Happy Reading!!!

Reading promotes innate peace and immense understanding of lot many versions of the same text.  It does brings us to a trans when the focus is priortised and visual thinking happens at the background.  Language and its use develops among young when reading happens.  We need to understand that our process that is imbibed in our genes is what we have to expand.  Reading has been an internal process for generation and the trait of the intellect, following this brings us close to liberation of challenges which also guides us to a better future.   Eternal readers, read, bask and glow in the wider arena of books.

Are we looking beyond traditional classrooms now?

 

Teaching with the pandemic tuned teachers to master learners.  Equipment's and technology are play things to experiment.  As we step out of the post-COVID era, we need to look at the possibilities of incorporating what was learned and adapted to during the COVID times. Preluding of the new learning strategy has been fast and without a preamble.  Erasing almost a year of online work and the process change is not worth neglecting. Adapting this into the new classrooms will be definitely wise.   

National's goal to a new education policy, NEP 2020, has been in discussion before, during and now after the pandemic.  Setting its goal with clear indication on 'skill development', which is very different from yesteryears, needs thinking and planning in new dimension. 

Ref: https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf

The clear focus on developing appropriate skills from the age 3 upwards is specific with the educational policy.  Narrowing down the funnel to the schools the ideology stands with the approach with which schools focus on building such an approach in their delivery of the curriculum.  Short term goals to long term goals change is to be incorporated into the learning philosophy.  Pandemic being a blessing in disguise has readied our teachers to approach the new curriculum with the Web 3.0 tools.  

The potential skill level to approach the curriculum stands with

• Creativity
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Conflict resolution and
• Communication

Steering schools into this direction is where the look beyond traditional classrooms is required. Pandemic gave us the opportunity of working from homes.  Though converting homes to office spaces was quite a cumbersome task.  Looking beyond the walls with the open space of internet was well within our reach.  When schools reopen and regular work starts the repository of our experiences should enable build better classrooms using both physical as well as virtual spaces.  Skill building is not on a one time creativity but on repeating the same level at every juncture of learning and teaching. 

Clear and structured approach from schools through their implementation of their curriculum can develop skills for the future.  Traditional classrooms were set for the era of industrialization, however, today the look-out is for people who can think differently within short spans and come out with solution.  Covid vaccine is one such example, it is a race out there to develop within the set time frame.  Teaching and learning also needs to be converted to such scales to stump upon individual abilities which cater to upscaling inherent abilities and fostering new practices which are adaptable.  Curiosity spices up creativity. Nurturing such beautiful congenital abilities should become the prima facie of  post-COVID schools. 

Hybrid schools – New Challenges and new outlook

 

A true blended approach.  Part of the teaching going online and part offline(in-person), Covid has prepared us for the new normal.  A year passed away without much individual significance.  Locked doors and stay home showed us the importance of greeting and meeting children every day. Today, we are approaching a post-Covid time where we need to think on how to proceed further into education with the uncertainty always looming around us. Flipped and blended classrooms provided the idea of using technology in classrooms but the change was drastic for many Practioner’ s.    Hybrid classrooms plan on having classes online few days and offline the other days. Hybrid is meant to bring more thought process into classrooms and promote independent working among students.  Research suggests that such classrooms are beneficial for students.

Covid not completely out of our lives parents are still hesitant to send kids to school.  The situation looms over the educational institutions to start both offline and online together.  It seems simple as we have handled online, the new norm with ease, but is it truly simple?  Well! Those who have had the classes can tell the difference.  Keeping the teacher live and online and concentrate on the student has become a tremendous task for the teaching community.  Until the fear of Covid is eradicated and parents start sending their kids, the offline and online teaching process will continue.

The new challenges the teaching scenario faces are

• Versatility of students in class
• Parental monitoring online for teachers as the student are present in class
• Mask and other Covid mandatory essentials monitoring by online parental community
• Differentiating activities for both online and offline students based on their interest
• Collaborating groups scattered both online and offline
• Continuing parental apprehensions on Online classes

The concept of BYOD, brings results, but again the teacher in class, monitoring every child with their device is another challenge we need to think about.  New age classrooms ought to build responsibility and accountability among students.  As the era changes, new versions and new outlook brings not only new challenges but also scope to overcome situational crisis through new technologies.

Teachers who are now more facilitators are to think and bring diversity into the classroom space.  Hybrid classrooms will be a success only when facilitators and stakeholders recognise diversity and plan their lessons accordingly.  With technology, as backbone and theories of flipped and blended classrooms, it is true we may not involve 100% of our student community.  However, when we design classroom functionalities based on the behaviour patterns of our students, we can overcome these challenges. 

Parental apprehensions have led to the consideration for ‘Home-schooling’ in many cases. In the long run, such parents have to realise that this new normal is here to stay and focus on the minimalistic effort in bringing education to their children.  Avoiding technology, in learning may not fetch results for the students as today schooling is not about unidimensional subject preferences, it is more about multidimensional subject analysis. Technology is the framework through which the thought process can be revoked and kindled.  Though challenging this brings new beginning for the 21^st century educational framework.  With more ahead, let us hope technology only offers solution rather than pollution. Moving forward to the 22^nd century should not be to ‘going back to ages’, sustainability and self-regulation should go ahead and make the new paradigm shift.

My thanks to…

1. https://www.codlearningtech.org/PDF/hybridteachingworkbook.pdf
2. https://sites.psu.edu/hybridlearning/what-is-hybrid/
3. https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/updated-e-learning-definitions-2/
4. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/how-to-plan-for-hybrid-teaching-and-learning