Teachers became Techies !!
She is Manju Gugnani, a mathematics teacher, and my dearest mom.
When this lockdown happens amid COVID-19, one of the primary things shutting their doors all over the world is the schools, leaving millions of children with no formal access to learning. She used to work in one of the eminent schools of the city, yet now she is among the millions of people stuck at home each day with nowhere to go, and finding it almost impossible to concentrate.
It began from learning to work with meeting invites, joining them, figuring out its functionalities, and then in a week switching to altogether another meeting app and then starting again. I have seen her struggling with simply joining the meeting, shouting for me from another room why is it not audible? why others can’t see me? why is it asking to rejoin? to single-handedly taking an online class of almost 60 students. I am a software developer working from home having the same office hours as her class timings.
I used to sit with her every day in the evening, helping her with presentations, assignments, monthly planners. Even taking a screenshot using the snipping tool was a task, she earlier faced problems with. I remember her telling me “Just like the cat didn't teach lion to climb the tree, you haven’t shown me how to use the snipping tool”. Hahaha… I couldn’t stop snickering. The very same day we worked on it and she perceives it quickly. It follows with her learning a series of new apps, watching their YouTube tutorials, asking questions with me and other colleagues and in simply these couple of months, she started working like a pro.
And then one fine day, I woke up and saw her taking an online class of students with this impressive jugaad using a heap of books and a wooden plank as a stand and working out on maths problems and sharing it on-screen on a PC using an app I haven’t even heard of. WOW, I was astonished to see her and realized she’s come a long way.
After her class got over she told me how she set it up using an app named IP webcam, watched its tutorial, and tried it with a google meet with my dad. It just gives you a URL in the app that you have to enter in the browser, and the phone’s screen will get sync up with what is showing in the browser tab, and then you can simply share the screen in the meeting, and Bullseye! it was working. Then my dad helped her with the set up by bringing a wooden plank from the storeroom and mom setting it in between a heap of her hefty mathematics books. And afterward, she found an old cover of her phone and glued it on the plank to just adjust the phone when needed. I was just awe-struck. In this time of the pandemic, she is a real-life example for “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”.
From embracing remote learning opportunities to providing emergency childcare, our teachers have stepped up to the plate. When we all were whining about this whole work from home stuff, our teachers were becoming techies #NoPlaceForExcuses They are the next level of COVID warriors, fighting for the nation and forming the future of tomorrow.
Teacher’s day is around and on their special day, I want to thank all the teachers out there for the fabulous job you do!! You are an inspiration for many of us.
Liked this article? Please 👏 and follow me Disha Gugnani on Medium and check out my other popular articles! And don’t forget to share your experience in the response section below :)
