Back to School

posted on Apr 25, 2022

The Heritage School, Noida welcomes all our dear students. We are glad to have the campus beaming with their warm presence.

After having dealt with a two- year long pandemic, the world has already learned to live, laugh & work with it. We no longer feel extremely deprived of our daily course of life. We have made ourselves adapt to the MASK ON & Social distancing drill as the pandemic has become a part of our daily routine. With the virtual mode of education propagating throughout the system, and the children from age 3 years and above adopting it as the new normal , we had completely lost the feel of physical teacher-student interaction.Online education has undoubtedly contributed heavily to the continuum of education during the lockdown.

The two long years have taught the world about the difference between necessity and luxury. We have lived with the bare minimum, met our friends and family via electronic media and have abided by all the preternatural guidelines of the government. After the third wave, the Indian Government instructed all the educational institutions to start with offline classes for all the students. Even though all schools and educational institutes have performed their best with top notch technological advancements during the virtual mode, the physical mode of education still remains the best. One would agree that education is much more than just the lessons in books. The real purpose of education is the wholesome development of the individuals. Online teaching provides a technological backbone to the education system with advanced tech tools, quality, affordability, convenience and reach. However, it lacks the human touch. In schools, students not only interact personally with their teachers but also with fellow students and support staff. This not only allows them to inculcate soft skills which are instrumental for overall personality development, they also learn discipline, teamwork, public interaction, gender sensitivity, empathy and many other such things during their time in school. Without these skills, a child cannot develop into a complete individual. Online education also has limitations in catering to the needs of differently-abled students who need extra attention and care. These children require human touch and one-on-one interaction, which had been missing a great deal due to the online mode. Let us all accept that the virtual mode was or should be nothing but an inevitable and compulsive activity which we were forced to implement in the absence of any other alternative. Also, there have been several reports and researches on the impact of the isolation induced by online education on children’s mental health and well being. As per the reports of India Today, dated September 18, 2021:

Online education has contributed in developing the following concerns in children:

1. Lack of Interest: Many children were switching off the camera and going about their other activities. The lethargy has inculcated the loss of interest in not only the studies but almost in all activities that are assigned to them.
2. Stress and anxiety: The pressure to concentrate and produce the required results has resulted in a great amount of stress and anxiety. Children were seen lagging behind and succumbing to the pressure due to the online system.
3. Zoom fatigue: Zoom fatigue refers to the exhaustion after having attended zoom classes, or video conferences.

Medical body NIMHANS also expressed several concerns about learning through online media. Besides others, it raised concerns about children’s safety,” Children are at a risk to be sexually exploited by online predators”, “online learning requires higher degrees of self regulation and self-management. Increased screen usage may also interfere with sleep.” Isolation and depression among children are also being reported as two major concerns which may lead to long term impact, and a need for management.

Effects of online classes on physical health:

1. Eyesight problems
2. Lack of classroom ethics
3. Bad ergonomics
4. Lack of physical activities
5. Lack of Vitamin D
6. Calcium deficiency

The growing age requires kids to develop various interpersonal skills and acquire other new skills which are only possible when the children are physically available at the school campus to receive education and experiences.

After a long wait, children from all across the world have started going to  schools. With vaccination available to children over 12 years and above, fear and chances of getting infected have reduced a great deal. Schools and other institutions have come up with various student engagement programs to make them more socially active. All sorts of precautions and protocols with regards to COVID-19 have been taken into consideration. For example, fully vaccinated staff, proper and regular sanitization, wearing masks, social distancing and many more. Though most schools are not willing to switch from the current  method of offline education, pertaining to the current situation, all our decisions with regards to the mode of education and work will entirely depend on the moves and future variants of the virus.