By Daniel Curry
In today’s world, there is plenty to be concerned about when it comes to our children. We all want the best for them, and we see them doing their best to thrive in these difficult times. Fortunately, we see governments around the world moving toward loosening restrictions and allowing children back to Schools in Gurugram.
That creates yet another new situation for our children. After adjusting to a fully online learning environment for the past two years, our children face another change. It isn’t a return to previous normalcy – it is a new approach for both children and schools. They are in a middle ground of hybrid learning, where some children are physically in school while others are online.
During this transition, some children will feel left out and disconnected from their peers who are joining school from a different format. The best approach is to make the transition as short as possible and have all learners together in school. This will positively impact academic, social and emotional learning.
Each parent has to consider multiple factors when deciding the length of the transition. However, the key to remember is that consistency and stability are important for all children and especially for our young learners. We know that fully online classes do not compare in depth and experience to in-person learning. The confusion and uncertainty of juggling between online and offline are detrimental to children. For their sake, it is recommended that the transition of fully physical attendance in school is made as fast as reasonably possible.
The silver lining here is that our learners have familiarity with the online model. There will always be times when the government closes schools over air quality concerns, for inclement weather, or other external reasons. In the past, these were lost learning days. Now, our schools and children can rapidly adjust to online learning during these times and not lose instructional time. This is the perfect application of technology for remote learning – to compensate for the inability to be together physically.
In these situations, all children will be online. Essentially, all children will be having the same experience: either fully online or fully at school. This will reduce uncertainty and angst and ensure social connections and a sense of belonging. For normal times and normal operations, that sense of belonging is built through being together in school.
If you have specific concerns about how your child will transition, work with your school to identify those concerns and your school should be more than able to suggest a transition plan. Counselors, administrators, and learning leaders stand ready to support an efficient transition.
At Vega, we actively provide counseling individually and in small groups to help our learners as they transition. Nursery school / kindergarten learners have never been in school, some primary school learners don’t remember the last time they were in school, and older secondary school learners are feeling a sense of loss over the time missed. We are sensitive to their needs and closely monitor their social/emotional progress as well as academic progress. We encourage all schools in Gurugram to do the same.
For more information on Vega Schools, please visit, www.vega.edu.in OR write in to us at info@vega.edu.in.