Pragathi : Rise, Reach

We have been trying our best to keep our beloved students meaningfully engaged in learning amidst the lockdown through different technology tools

Rightly said, the Corona Pandemic has created a lot of turmoil and turbulence. It has challenged every sector and has put the whole world on a ‘High Alert’ mode. In a situation like this, the schools being shut until further notice, what comes to our rescue is ‘Technology’. Well, undoubtedly, technology has become an indispensable part of our lives. However, we still have schools that depend largely on traditional methods.
Nonetheless, Corona ensured that schools inevitably took to technology. Like many other countries, India is experiencing severe lockdown isolating people in their homes. Along with other uncertainties, the question of how to keep students engaged positively and productively loomed large before all of us. We are aware that kids are bundles of energy. Keeping them indoors without engaging them resourcefully creates depression and desperation, leading to psychological issues. On one hand children cannot be handled and on the other hand, parents also find it hard to deal with child behaviour.
Keeping this in mind, we at Pragathi Central School, Hyderabad got ready to conquer the crisis. Students and teachers were asked to stay home. All teachers were informed to work from home with the available technological platforms and resources. A daily schedule was made for students, equipped with video lessons of physical activity/yoga in the morning to dance classes in the evening, with a fine integration and inclusion of academics, life skills, household chores, nap time, story time for younger kids, followed by worksheets for the completed lessons, etc. The teaching-learning process has been going on despite the lockdown. Therefore, it’s business as usual! A compelling shift towards technology, indeed!
It was a highly organised, step by step way with the aim of creating as much value as possible for the students, to reduce their idle hours, to engage them meaningfully while they could learn and have some organised fun activities. As a school, we had to empathise with parents and children. The towering courage exhibited by teachers to experiment with video lessons to be uploaded on to YouTube kids for the first time paved way to mixed feelings among teachers, though exciting and pleasant in the end.
Not to forget that any schedule without follow-up goes ineffective especially because children don’t always listen to parents. But, they unquestionably will listen to their teachers. So, the icing of the cake is the weekly follow-up calls that my teachers make to parents/children just to ensure that kids stay on task, so all the hard work does not go futile. Our parents are tremendously glad and it is a win-win for all stakeholders.
The children too have been responding brilliantly so that they don’t have to disappoint their beloved teachers. Amidst the lockdown, children are experiencing their teachers teach on screen, loving the voice of their teachers addressing them affectionately and pampering them to complete their assignments. It was a wonderful play of efforts on both sides which charmed and reassured us infinitely. After all, action and reaction are always equal and opposite, isn’t it?
Article by Ms V N Chakravarthy, Principal

A hundred years ago, flu season seemed to be wrapping up without much ado. Most of
those who had fallen ill in the spring had made a speedy recovery, and death rates were
no higher than usual. Global headlines mostly covered the news about the Great War,
not the flu. But it all changed soon. The formerly unexceptional virus reappeared as an
exceedingly virulent strain, tearing through populations in North America and Europe
and often killing its victims in a matter of hours or days. Within four months, the
Spanish Flu, as it came to be known, had spread around the world, making its way to
even the most isolated communities claiming 5% of the world population.
The novel coronavirus appeared in China and within a course of two months spilt over
to many other countries emerging as a global pandemic. Like many other countries,
India also went into a severe lockdown isolating people in their homes. Along with other
uncertainties, the question of how will students carry on with their regular learning
loomed large before us all.
Fortunately for us in Pragathi Central School, we had just completed our academic year
and had even started the fresh academic year when the lockdown was announced. On
the one hand, of course it didn’t allow our students to turn up to schools but we are
enormously lucky to have an extremely dedicated team. Teachers made daily schedule,
video lessons, posted activities to keep the teaching learning process going despite the
lockdown, all thanks to the available technology and their sheer enthusiasm.
Until the announcement by the Prime Minister for a total lockdown, teachers came to
school and helped shoot video lessons, while others developed worksheets posted
online for the students. It was a highly organised, step by step way with only the aim of
creating as much value as possible for the students, to reduce their idle hours, to engage
them meaningfully while they could learn. On the one hand it showed the compassion of
the teachers and on the other hand, their towering courage.
Now, guided by our beloved and compassionate Principal, after posting all the necessary
material on the school website for students to follow, the teachers started calling up the
parents just to ensure that all the hard work does not go waste. Every class teacher
started calling up every student; students for all the grades from III to X, just to ask if
they were following it all up. Their hearts were full of faith that their students will
surely respond.
Action and reaction are always equal and opposite. The children too responded
wonderfully. So that they don’t have to disappoint their beloved teachers, the students
started following every schedule, doing every lesson on time instead of being lazy. Two
to three times a week the teacher called up every student just to encourage them,
address them affectionately and respond positively to their student. It was a wonderful
play of efforts on both sides which charmed and reassured us infinitely.

ISA activity: Seminar with parents on Garbage Control