Headache and FOMO

Last Thursday school WhatsApp groups were buzzing with emotions ranging from rage and anxiety to confusion and in some cases like this writerrsquos a secret relief At the State Cabinet meeting the Maharashtra government announced that schools for classes I to IV in rural areas and classes I to VII in urban areas will restart from December 1Development paediatrician Samir Dalwai thinks the decision is perfectly timed backed by science ldquoThe government has looked into an analysis report presented by the paediatric state COVID task force and hence this is a welcome decision Higher classes have been running smoothly and we have seen no spike in cases linked to the restarting Fortunately even postDiwali the infection case numbers havenrsquot gone up Now it is up to the schools and parents to work in tandem to ensure that the back to school move is a success for allrdquoAt Chemburrsquos The Green Acres Academy class IX has seen 379 per cent students attend offline classes while for class X the number is 3218 per cent Principal Bonny Bhansali says the reason cited by parents is that the children are not vaccinated PicSameer MarkandeFor classes IX X XI and XII Maharashtrarsquos schools reopened in October and yet some parents continue to remain apprehensive to send their kids to school Most schools are following a hybrid model where online and offline classes are conducted simultaneously thus offering parents and children a choice The number of students attending offline classes in Mumbai continues however to be low At Chemburrsquos The Green Acres Academy class IX has seen only 379 per cent of students attending offline classes while for class X the number is 3218 per centPrincipal Bonny Bhansali tells midday that the reason cited by parents is that the children are not vaccinated Some also state that the kids are yet to return from their hometowns She explains ldquoThe school has been following all safety protocols as per government guidelines including wearing of masks social distancing and sanitising the premises twice daily We conduct temperature checks of all staff members and students This along with the academic plan and schedules have been shared with the parents So far the response from those attending physical classes has been extremely positive We also invited the PTA members for a school tour before the students returned to school Daytoday queries can always be addressed via Google ClassroomrdquoPranshu Dhotre 14 returned to offline school on October 12 His mother Sheetal says she was keen to see how hersquod adapt to afterCOVID lifePranshu Dhotre 14 a class IX student of Orion ICSE in Vile Parle East returned to offline school from October 12 In his class of 33 only 16 come to class the remaining continue to learn online His mother a preprimary teacher decided to send him to school since everyone at home was fully vaccinated ldquoTaking into account the loss of the experience of the physical environment of a school and normal life interaction with peers I grabbed the first opportunity to send him to school Unless as a parent I donrsquot expose him to afterCOVID life how will I know whether he has the immunity and strength to cope both physically or emotionally With online school more than permissible levels of screen time was allowed and we all know how that led to addictionrdquo she saysJuhu resident Shreedevi Sunil admits that she was reluctant to send Vedant her older son to offline school ldquoI feared that theyrsquod contract the infection How strictly will kids adhere to protocols However after giving it some time and thought we the family realised that all adults in our family had contracted COVID at some point since the first lockdown despite being so careful Data shows that children arenrsquot getting as affected so we decided to send them to school last week The attention span in online class was dwindling and being an educationist myself I understood that not everyone has the skill set to teach children It was in their best interest to return to school I thought it best to adapt instead of resistrdquo she addsA teacher holds a full class at a BMC school in Shastri Nagar Most kids here canrsquot afford a mobile or data billsSwapnaja Mathurersquos daughter Saana who is in class X is glad that the school hasnrsquot made it mandatory for all However she feels that since the board exam finals are just a few months away it would have been better if she was attending offline school ldquoDoubts are best covered in person Having said that I am also scared to send her to school lest there is another waverdquo says the Thane resident Natasha Vaidya Karkhanis a class nine teacher at Universal High School in Thane says that most parents are continuing to exercise caution In a class of 33 only about eight students are attending offline school ldquoThe most common and legitimate reason cited by parents is absence of school transport andor vaccine for children Some want to wait till January and take an informed decision While the hybrid model works for higher classes as more and more students join offline class it may get cumbersome for the teacher to focus on offline as well as online students simultaneouslyrdquo Universal has invested considerable time and energy to train the teachers on ensuring safety protocols and managing to teach via the hybrid model Every teacher has to personally inspect the sanitisation process in each class to avoid a lapseIn civicrun schools things are different While offline attendance isnrsquot mandatory more than 90 per cent of students have joined physical class Swapnil Jagtap Acting HM of Shastri Nagar BMC school tells midday that most parents agree that if kids are now going to parks and public places why not school ldquoThey trust the school to follow protocol We conduct spot checks reducing the chance of lapses These students come from homes that can barely afford a mobile phone or pay data bills Only those who have gone to their hometown during the lockdown or have an unwell member at home arenrsquot attending class Our teachers conduct special online classes for them In some exceptions they even go to their homes to teach Besides the Statelevel lectures available on YouTube are making understanding difficult concepts easier The idea is to make education accessible and convenient for allrdquo he addsWhile most private schools are following the hybrid model which hinges on choice and consent observers say that a downside is that kids who have opted for online class are feeling left out ldquoIt can be hard for parents to explain why they arenrsquot attending school while their classmates arerdquo Dhotre says Bhansali adds that it is important to recognise that educators around the world have expressed the fact that hybrid education has been very challenging for both teachers and students ldquoWe feel that the government should extend teaching hours for physical school and vaccination should be provided to students at the earliest especially high school kids if it is now safe to do sordquoHaving said that when children are denied access to daily interaction with their classmates and recreational activities their mental health can take a hit In preschoolers peer interaction helps them learn the social skills required for social connections Isolated gradeschoolers are more likely to turn to their devices risking screen addiction instead of healthy peer relationships Increased screen time leads to poor sleep habits a rise in anxiety and overexposure to social media all of which could make a chld depressiveMany like Dhotre believe that vaccination for children is the only solution to restore complete normalcy ldquoYou canrsquot trust small children to follow safety norms But making physical attendance compulsory will only make the parents more anxious Instead assurance from the institution to promote standard operating procedures for COVID access to medical COVIDtrained medicals on the premises and sanitisation will encourage them to send their children to school Also institutions must take up free inoculation drives for their studentsrdquoDalwai warns that once school starts for all classes teachers and parents may notice social anxiety among children similar to what was observed in some adults when they returned to office after 20 months ldquoFor close to two years they have been subject to increased screen time and we will see the repercussions when they are out in the real world Grade 1 students may need more time to adjust to a full dayrsquos school and some may be reluctant to mix or participate Some may cry even But remember that children are a resilient lot They learn quickly Give them two weeksrsquo time however if you notice a repeated pattern consult a professional This is the time for parents and teachers to support each other and make sure that lsquomarksrsquo and lsquorankrsquo are not stressed on You cannot expect learning worth two years to be completed in two months Work on building their confidence instead Show them love and let them blossomrdquo3590 per centApproximate ratio of kids in private schools Vs public schools whorsquove opted to return to physical class