Teachers on a learning curve

Educators at Ganapathy Iyer Girls High School stretch themselves to pre-record lessons in WhatsApp, as students from one-smartphone households cannot afford to attend live online sessions

There is an echo of John Steinback’s The Moon Is Down in Ganapathy Iyer Girls High School’s pandemic experience. In Steinbeck’s novel, when thrust into a war, a small nation of unarmed, peace-loving people flounder their way to resistance, slowly becoming firm-footed in their mission. Signalling the early stage of the shift from “peace-loving” to “combative”, the pickaxe turns into a weapon of destruction. In the Gopalapuram school, when thrust into online classes, a clutch of digital-immigrant, textbook-loving teachers bumble their way to digital literacy, slowly becoming comfortable in front of the screen. The first sign of the shift from “bewilderment” to “poise” is a fridge glass tray that morphs into a makeshift stand cum see-through screen.