Anunidhi Sharma
Faculty, Jain Heritage A Cambridge School, Kondapur
She has 11 plus years of experience in the field of education. In her current role she has grown from being an educator and an individual contributor to Times of India NiE Coordinator. She received IIHM Teachers day Award for 2019.
The year 2020 is the year when the teachers evolved and a new version of them came into being – “GURU 2.0”. It is the year when a new way of education became mainstream. Digital platforms of education have existed for some time but their reach especially in India remains a big question mark.
The pandemic threw life in general and the functioning of schools into a turmoil. School premises had to stay closed since the lockdown was first announced. School is a temple where the students interact with each other, where the moral values are inculcated, where the students develop social skills, develop communication skills, and the spirit of teamwork is developed. Students develop their personality and their character under the guidance and supervision of teachers, which leads to the holistic development of students. This temple is closed and the whole world is eagerly, anxiously waiting for it to reopen. Do students miss the temple? Do students feel the absence of personal touch of their teachers? Does our society miss the immeasureable contribution of teachers towards the students? The young students are bored of studying at home all the time. The parents are exhausted from meeting their children’s demands. In the past, many parents were not clear about the critical role played by a teacher but this pandemic and isolation of the family at home has taught them the unmatchable role played by a guru in their ward’s life.
There is only one profession that shapes all other professions i.e., the teaching profession. Covid has not turned the life of a teacher on its head. Teach from home was deemed far fetched and impossible but Teachers have learned a lot during the pandemic and evolved into their next version – GURU 2.0. They have become tech-savvy and spent hours learning the digital means of imparting education. This was done with the primary objective of continuing the education of children who would otherwise miss an entire year of their studies. They equipped themselves with the latest technology, learned skills like making presentations, scheduling meetings, maintain excel sheets for results, correcting the answer sheets on the platforms like Google forms, sending feedback for each answer sheet received. And even troubleshooting the hurdles faced by the parent and students in attending the classes. Working with a microphone, laptop, and the mouse was once the work of only computer teacher, but now even the language teachers use it.
Parents have understood the pivotal role played by teachers in the life of the students. Also that it is not easy to spend the entire day with their children. Even the students have realised the importance of GURU. Psychology says that even the students need to talk about their issues with nonparental adults who give them a different perspective. Covid has transformed the thinking pattern of the students, teachers, and even the parents in a positive direction. This year has been truly revolutionary in making education digital for a large number of students and taught teachers technical skills they never had. Teachers this year while taking virtual classes have done pathbreaking work that has brought meaning to students' life in this restrictive environment, which has isolated them beyond any measure. They have dealt with students with more empathy, treating them with leniency, understanding various technical issues they face while taking virtual classes. Teachers could have very well thrown up their hands saying they were never trained to impart digital training, instead they chose to learn themselves to ensure learning continues for students. They stretched themselves to create digital content using Applications which they had not used in past. The teachers kept students’ best interests in mind and went the extra mile with a sense of personal responsibility. We should salute their relentless devotion to the profession of education. A new hero has arrived – GURU 2.0.