Nobody seemed to get out of the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic unscarred. School-going children got doubly hit, one amidst the family fears and insecurity and the other the closure of schools and the monotony of online teaching.
Educationists and child psychologists suggest a few parents’ responsibilities during this devastating second wave of Covid pandemic in India.
Parents have to discuss the practical problems around online teaching with children: what seems to work and what appears not to benefit them. Negative feedback, if any, it’s your duty to inform the concerned teachers.
Don’t tell them what to do in the online sessions. Instead, see that the children are comfortable with the ongoing process. See that we keep them in their comfort zones and utilize the time for their attention and intellect.
The computer has to be set in a separate room free from distractions and let the things get arranged, taking the child’s opinion and his preference into consideration.
Ensure that the school provides the schedules well in advance, and then the child is allowed in a distraction-free space and well-connected internet facility. And confirm that the arrangements are comfortable and acceptable to the child.
Online classes rob away the child the freedom they enjoy in the physical classrooms and the benefits of friends being together. But when child kept away from these small amenities, and we don’t know for how long! Let the child receive the help and support to accept the chances of uncertainty ahead of him.
As parents, we need to look at how active, alert, and willing the child was to sit for long hours, alone, before a computer and motivate himself to want to learn.
The vital component in this exercise is how the parents balance keeping the child interested and managing a quiet environment at home. It should work well for both the family and the child.
The second wave of the pandemic now ravaging India has created a stressful situation for parents and children. The parents at this juncture need to help their children to stay in a positive environment and emotionally cushion for the complex ways of learning away from the school and all the uncertainty surrounding the current widespread stressful conditions.