The ‘Overlooked Heroes’ Vortex

Life during these unfamiliar circumstances is, without a doubt, challenging. With no warning, everybody had to adapt to this brand-new environment that had encapsulated us instantly. Life as we knew it, had officially been limited to the four walls of our houses.

But technology is that ray of light that has kept us sane through these difficult times. Video calls, text messages, social media and television are the only things that connect us to the outer world. Today, I am going to be talking about one specific aspect of the digital world—Online classes.

A few days ago, I was reading an article and came across one such comment which got me thinking.
“Online learning is so much more stressful since it lacks any sort of guidance from teachers.”

However, going through the ninth grade under these circumstances has me thinking otherwise. I have read quite a few negative comments on the style of online teaching over the past few weeks and thought that it would be best to address it.

With tenth grade hovering over our heads, there was no scope to waste time. Our school had to commence with online learning almost instantly. We spend nearly eight hours of our day in front of the laptop, just focused on finishing our portion. There has been a significant rise in our workload, with online exams around the corner. The instinct would be to complain, and many people have, but nobody is looking at the other end of our online calls.
The perspective of the teacher and school administration.

Within the week, every teacher had themselves familiarized with the online platform, something that nobody was familiar with before. They prepare each class down to the last minute with a mixture of presentations, worksheets, videos to keep student involvement, and morale high during each subject. Teachers are trained to address a classroom of bright and beaming children, who are in front of them. They are trained to read expressions of student’s faces, trained to throw chalk across the class if someone isn’t paying attention. None of that is possible virtually. But not once have we heard them complain.

I want to reach out to everyone who said something negative about their way of teaching virtually and let them know that teachers too are humans. They also have a family they would rather spend time with. But instead, more than a third of their day goes in teaching us and preparing classes for us. So, in the future, if you get your feedback on your assignment a little late, it’s ok. If you think there is a little disturbance on their end, which doesn’t let you understand them, it’s ok. It’s all part of the world that we are living in today.

This topic also hits close to home. Literally. This is a little tribute to brilliant educators in my family. My mother is a kindergarten teacher, and she has the responsibility of planning and conducting classes every day while simultaneously carrying out other household chores. But there is never a look of exhaustion on her face. My aunts are a primary teacher and administrator, respectively. They too have to balance school work and household work, and they carry it out without a single complaint.

I also want to take a moment to thank every teacher out there, who dedicate their lives into fulfilling little children’s dreams. It is you who encourage us to become something, and are the guiding light in the path of our success.
Finally, every single teacher who has ever taught me something. Thank you for making me who I am today. I completely acknowledge the hardships you are going through and sincerely empathize. But remember, this too shall pass. Before we know it, life will be back to normal. Every passing student in the hallways will wish you ‘Good Morning,’ and you will be able to see which student is paying attention in class.

In times like this, our mind is seeking asylum under the protection of doctors, nurses, police officers, the government. But there is one profession that has not been given enough credit.

Our teachers.
I want to end with something a virtual biology lesson taught me recently, related to the vertebral column. Something that isn’t said enough.

It’s that if education is the backbone of society, then teachers are the calcium that gives the backbone its structure.

Vivaan Turakhia