It looks like I am gradually forgetting my books, library, newspaper, magazine, etc. When the announcement of colleges and schools having online classes was made, I was thrilled beyond measure. I imagined how I’m going to attend online courses, lying down on my bed, having breakfast, and doing some multi-tasking during the class. But, on the very first day, I was disappointed. I faced network issues. I ran around my house looking for just one corner where I could get functional connectivity.
Finally, I had to step out of my house for the network. Isn’t it funny? Whatever I planned went in vain. I wanted to lie down and have a cozy study affair, and here I was, wandering desperately for network.
About a week later, I was still struggling to cope with the network that would crash, and I was left with not being able to understand a single sentence fully. Thanks to my family, who got me a Wi-Fi connection, after that I was able to attend the online classes peacefully.
This whole experience intrigued me. I spoke to a fifth class student and asked some questions. What was the experience of the kids with online classes? How are school children keeping up with these online classes, and how do they feel about this? And pat came her reply, “I am very happy with this, my teacher gives me five days of homework altogether. I finish all my work in just two days, and I play the rest of the time”.
Well, different age groups have different experiences. However, I am still left with questions. Do online classes do justice? Do teachers put in the same effort while teaching online? Does online teaching really help senior students really help, especially when there is a lack of connectivity?
Well, if the government can open liquor shops to help the economy due to the bludgeoning expenses, what is it doing to help the students to provide better space and forum for online studies during this period of lockdown?
I continue to ponder. What are our priorities?