THE NEW ERA

The whole world fell silent with the stroke of a virus smaller than 140 nanometers. It changed our lives forever and defined a new normal. SMS – soap, mask, and social distancing have become our mantra. We are scared to step out into the world or even hug our dearest. Life has changed forever.

As of May 2, according to WHO, more than 150 million people have been affected across the globe and more than 3 million have succumbed to the virus. We have stepped into a dystopian reality. Doctors, nurses, EMTs, and the whole medical community have not had a minute to breathe, working in the face of a virus that could take them down. Governments have been disrupted and policies changed. Health sanitation workers, Food suppliers, and Farmers have also been our heroes.

People across the globe have lost their jobs. They have hung on to dear life this past year riding the Covid-19 wave and all of its consequences. A large community, a fraternity of teachers across the globe have held on, and have made life tolerable and educational for the young. Glued to the screens, amid a thousand distractions, anxieties, and worries, Children, and their development are faced with a serious threat to their thought process, their education, and their future.

Once upon a time, armed with chalk, dusters, and charts, teachers had switched to smart classrooms and digital resources. But their learning environment was still the same, the physical four-walled brick classroom. The teachers looked after their students. The teachers looked into their students’ eyes and knew them. They knew their students’ potential, anxieties, strengths, and weaknesses. Teachers aka lighthouses guided these stormy ships to safe harbors.

With the onset of the pandemic and the internet becoming the new School, teachers haven’t given up. They haven’t stopped working. No longer on a 9-5 schedule but a 24*7 one, they work hard to make digital resources more feasible for their students. They have switched to classrooms in Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams. They use quizzes and games to hold down their student’s attention amid the thousand distractions. They make learning possible.

Even in cyberspace, as tiny blips on a screen, they are patient and looking out for their students. Background noises screeching on, eyes sore from too much screen time, possible text neck, a load of lesson plans and engaging activities to prepare, talking with parents sitting along with their kids, and dealing with kids who are possibly roaming the cyberspace playing games and watching YouTube videos, teachers have taken on mountains. They do what they do with the utmost sincerity despite some schools docking half their pay because everything is online.

Even out there, in the digital classroom, they still see their students for who they are, their potential,strengths, and weaknesses. They haven’t given up. They continue to do good and water the trees of tomorrow. Teachers as a fraternity, are one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic putting their heart and soul in to teach embracing the new normal.

SONA MARIA JOHN

TEAM 2