Several city schools have been telling teachers to be more accommodating and to ignore background distractions at the students’ end during online classes.
More than four months have passed and there is no clear end to the restrictions in sight. People are losing patience and it is not always possible for family members to vacate a portion of the house for the child’s class, at least two school heads said.
Teachers should know they are “intruders” in the private space of families and they should not expect parents or other members to be always in perfect attire and not cause any disturbance, the principal of a city school said.
For years, parents had to leave after dropping children off at the school gate but the tables have turned and teachers can no longer tell parents to “stay out”. It is the teachers’ turn to learn to ignore things they cannot control, a principal said.
At times, there is background noise over which the child has no control. It can be embarrassing for the child if they are pulled up for no fault of theirs, an administrative head who also teaches said.
“We have some guidelines for parents… we tell them to create an environment conducive to an online class but we cannot be rigid about it always because we are aware that not all of them have a dedicated space... there can be some distractions and teachers have to ignore and take it in their stride,” Meena Kak, director of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, said.
Teachers now enter the houses early in the morning; they should not expect parents to be dressed up in their formals for their child’s class, John Bagul, the principal of South City International School, said.
“Classrooms have shifted to breakfast tables or bedrooms and teachers have become intruders… they need to understand that there are certain challenges in homes. It can be inconvenient for parents to dress up and teachers have to be realistic; accept the situation and move on,” Bagul said.
“In some homes parents have to leave for work in the morning and in some they have to get the household work going… all from the same space. They cannot stay away as long as online classes continue.”
The school recently had a meeting with its 150 teachers to tell them to be more accommodating and to ignore background distractions during online classes.
At Mahadevi Birla World Academy, teachers in the junior section have been told to be more “empathetic and humane”.
At St James’ School, teachers have been asked to be more considerate and understanding of a child’s home environment. “There will be disturbances like servants walking in, doorbells ringing, dogs barking or anything else, all of which can interfere with the child’s concentration,” Terence Ireland, principal of St James’, said.
“But we have told teachers to be more considerate and to allow students the freedom to get up and then come back rather than expect them to sit in front of the device throughout the class. One has to understand that classes from home and at school are not the same.”
There are homes where siblings or grandparents share the room and it is not possible for them to be always quiet and alert because classes are on. “Just as children, often parents have no control over all that happens in the house. There are occasions when toddlers or younger siblings enter the class… though the student tells the child to move he or she doesn’t,” Nupur Ghosh, the vice-principal at Mahadevi Birla World Academy, said.
“We cannot discount the fact that the mother is busy and it is easier said than done to tell parents to always keep the home in order. We tell our teachers to be more sensible, sensitive and mature and not to make a hue and cry about everything. Of course if it becomes a recurring issue we speak to parents individually.”
For a teacher, the challenges are much more in an online class than in the classroom. They have to constantly innovate to keep students engaged, a school head said.
