“I do not know the word ‘quit’. Either I never did, or I abolished it.”
While for some, such a motivating line is best read in a book, for others this string of words becomes the motto of life. The Goenkan teaching fraternity falls under the latter that have always strived to exterminate all the hurdles which pose or might be a potential obstacle to learning. Corona pandemic is one such case; wherein our own teaching warriors have been at the forefront, ensuring that come what may, the learning should never stop.
Ignoring the naysayers who believed teaching cannot be done online to balancing work-home scales; teachers at G.D.Goenka have been incredible as they leapt with zeal, commitment, and creativity into this new way of digital teaching. Teachers have been producing online curricula, all while dealing with their own quarantined families. Kudos to the educators who instead of being an ostrich and waiting for the crisis to pass away; took the matters in their own hands.
From experimenting with a plethora of online platforms such as the Google Meet, Zoom Sessions, Google Classrooms, the Goenkan educators have moved beyond the brick-and-mortar structure in leaps and bounds. Efforts have been put up to take the teaching-learning process beyond just the textbook information. Inter-school competitions, webinars and online training with respect to skill development have been beautifully blended in by the Goenkan teaching fraternity.
In order to provide a “New Normal” environment to our children attempts have been made to streamline sessions with leading child psychologists as well as teacher-parents sessions. The Goenkan teaching fraternity has been at the vanguard to successfully palliate the widespread concerns of parents by being available at just a click away. Not just academic subjects, even co-curricular activities such as Yoga, Dance, Music, Theatre and Art sessions have ensured that the budding artists continue to strive for the best. One cannot deny that had it not been for teachers we would have been prancing around like headless chicken.
The Goenkan maverick legacy has ensured that the students are empowered to own up their learning and grow into change makers. The world is changing and so is the teaching pedagogy where life skills are being imparted with equal enthusiasm. The assignments have gone online and so has the communication but the essence of learning still remains intact. As a bulwark against the virus, the students are confined to the safety of their homes, but their dreams and curiosities have been given a flight by the Goenkan educators.
In the annals of history, teachers should as well be celebrated as the unsung warriors of a battle that almost ravaged the world.
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