We had only heard of a pandemic from our ancestors yet but this is the first time we have been facing it ourselves since last seven months. Our life shows us a new path every day. Till few months back life was smooth and we used to take everything for granted. The sudden arrival of Corona has paralyzed our life and the world has come to a screeching halt. To avoid Corona virus spread, the government announced a lockdown and people got imprisoned in their homes.
There is always a silver lining in the darkest of clouds. This crisis is showing us the path from darkness to light. Online technology proved to be a blessing in disguise. Through Laptops and smartphones, we can keep in touch with each other and see each other on screen.
I am a special educator and I also benefited from these online sessions. At Aadhaar Centre, staff and children have over a period of time become more of a family. And because of Coronavirus, we were separated from each other. In this time of lockdown, the children were missing us and we were missing them too. But the online classes were beneficial for our students. In online sessions, we teach five to six children every day. The level of every child is different and it is important to structure every activity and plan in accordance with it, leading to an overall development of the child. When the child learns in the home ambience and the things at home are familiar to him, it is easier for him/ her to perform daily activities. This has also led to greater interaction between the child and parents which benefits the child and the parents also get to know the children in a better manner.
In online sessions, we trained children in activities with respect to daily living, social activities as well as academic activities by using household items as TLM (Teaching Learning Material) which wouldn’t have been at the Centre. By way of one on one interaction in online sessions it was easier for them to learn wearing clothes, folding clothes, identification of utensils, traffic signal identification, arranging school bag, money concept etc. Online classes proved to be a very fruitful exercise for children, teachers as well as parents.
Corona crisis is not over yet. It has been rapidly increasing for the last seven months and has made life difficult for people. We hope and pray to God that the pandemic ends soon. And we meet our children everyday on a daily basis. Hopefully, the new dawn will bring happiness for all of us.
