The ringing of bells, students running around, the loud oration of teachers, and an atmosphere of joy and learning. At the crux of it all is the year 2020 and the COVID-pandemic; quite anti-climactic I suppose!
The pandemic transformed lives, even more so in the education world. The physical presence which is inconspicuous yet so vital in teaching had to be eliminated for safety. However, the rise of EdTechs and the availability of the internet provided a safe passage for learning without losing any precious time. Yet, belonging to the student fraternity myself, I say that education is more than just learning. I believe that education is a phase of a person’s life and not just a mode of empowering young generations to tend to future needs. It is a whole package.
Fast-forwarding to the present day, we can see things coming back to normalcy. Students opting for physical schooling have been slowly but steadily increasing. The importance of socio-psychological presence which in the pandemic stage was almost impossible to have is now very apparent. We all missed our schoolmates, we missed sitting on benches, we missed the reprimand from teachers. Education is about growing: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Life outside textbooks and assignments is education as well. We learn so much from experiencing life.
So, has education changed in the post-pandemic era? Certainly not. The objective of education remains the same and that is to provide students with opportunities to acquire skills and values to be better human beings.
Has the approach to education changed? Most definitely. There is a layer of security and a bigger concern for the health of students than ever and students themselves are self-conscious about this fact. Schooling now means “masking-up” before anything else. There is still quite a long road before life becomes “pre-pandemic” again.
