It is well known that we are stepping into a new digital revolution and that we may not always be able to rely on in-person teaching.
Much like everything else in 2020, education too saw dramatic shifts such as high dropout rates, mainstreaming of online education for many, and increased stress both for educators and students. UNESCO tries to foretell how much of this change will be lasting. It states in its report on Education in a post-COVID world – “We cannot return to the world as it was before.”
The report is an apt reminder to us that we must accept and re-learn what the ‘normal’ functioning of a classroom means and draw positively from the changes in the education ecosystem. In fact, we should view this disruption as an opportunity to alter some of the conventions that no longer serve the needs of today’s complex world.
One of the lessons that we can, and should, take to heart is that more than memory-based learning, the need of the hour is to foster an ecosystem that facilitates blended learning and transition to such pedagogical learning models that primarily focus on holistic flourishing. The term ‘holistic’ in education refers to all-rounded learning of not just the mind, but also the heart. The children of today can benefit from imbibing the human skills of kindness, resilience, and compassion to become global citizens of tomorrow. The past year has taught us the importance of these values in dealing with a crisis that affected the world physically and emotionally. In the post-COVID era, hence, we should focus on learning models that prioritize the adoption of such values in addition to theoretical education.
It is well known that we are stepping into a new digital revolution and that we may not always be able to rely on in-person teaching. However, we also cannot expect value-based learning to be fully taught virtually. It is human nature to co-exist in collaborative environments to flourish and learn. Hence, we need to take a step back and consider that what we need for the coming year is initiation and implementation of hybrid teaching models. While a machine might be an instrument to assist us, it the cultivation of the heart that is crucial to teach our children the skills they need to thrive in today’s world.
The transformative 2020 can and must be thought of as a unique opportunity to reform education in India in the years to come. But while we adjust to an online education apparatus, we must also use this chance to usher in fundamental changes in the way children are taught to make it more realistic, more compassionate and more relevant for the world they will inherit.
