City schools are going learn online to keep guardians up to date with their wards’ progress and help students learn online lessons they have missed in class.
The stress is on regular interaction between parents and teachers and even the principal. Lakshmipat Singhania Academy (LSA), for instance, is would facilitate the process through their website.
“Each parent will soon have a log-in id for the school’s website. Information on a child’s progress in academics and his extra-curricular feats will be provided on the website. The lessons taught in class on each day will be mentioned,” says Meena Kak, the principal of LSA.
“Teachers will also write about special achievements of a child, such as a painting or a creative writing assignment done well,” she adds.
Amishi Vora, parent of a LSA student, feels that access to such information will be very helpful. “If a parent or a child cannot go to school daily or if the child has not understood the teacher’s instructions clearly, an interactive website can be of immense help.”
Newer schools like Sri Sri Academy and South City International have websites that are updated at least once a week. Among the older ones, Modern High School is redesigning its website with the help of former students.
In some schools, the website has become the gateway to virtual learning. The Heritage School’s e-pathshala is one such project.
Principal Seema Sapru says: “Whatever we teach on the interactive board in the class, including the voice of the teacher, is recorded and uploaded on our website. This helps students who were absent from school to catch up with lessons they have missed and for others to revise their lessons, especially during exams.”
Regular, direct communication between teachers and parents promises benefits.
Clinical psychologist Rajyasree Bandopadhyay cites cases where children were affected because their teachers wrote complaints in their diary so that their parents would see.
“Children these days are very sensitive and we have seen quite a few student suicides in the recent past after parent calls. Interactive websites will allow a teacher to discuss a child’s shortcomings with the parent without the child knowing,” she says.
“We usually make appointments or communicate over email with the principal, but if there is a separate id for each class teacher and each parent, the discussions will be more focussed and useful,” says Tapasi Sarkar, whose son is in Calcutta Boys’ School.
Some are wary about the misuse of the online communication channel.
“I am a bit apprehensive that once virtual communication starts, some parents might cross the limit and start abusing or finding fault with every aspect of a class,” says Malini Bhagat, the principal of Mahadevi Birla Girls’ Higher Secondary School.
She feels parents should only have partial information about what goes on in a classroom and should only be allowed to comment on certain issues.
Joseph Mathew, the principal of Indus Valley World School, also feels that “emailing is enough for the moment”.
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