An Ode to Virtual Classrooms

Today, the thing that i dreaded most

Happened; no it was not the student

In the class, thankfully;

but a parent who got the virus.

He was just giving his virtual exam,

In the middle of which municipality

Came to sanitize his room; The

e-proctoring software reported a transgression.

He wrote later with proof to his prof

And obviously one did what one should do

But today the thing that he dreaded

The most, happened.

We are all virtual students & teachers

In this pandemic crazed world

Our engagements no longer

In the classrooms of life, with laughter

Or jokes, here and there an astonishment,

Nappy back benchers, or curious first ones.

Gone are the offline conversations

After classes are over.

We hold zombie office hours

Over zoom; try to impress each other

With technological innovations and in faith,

That we shall all overcome,

With our human spirit, the pandemic.

Technology by our side

Substituting centuries of classroom and

Teacher student interactions.

Are we fooling anyone in the end?

The future shall soon say.

A coauthor told me few days back

He enjoys the hybrid mode of teaching

Few students in class, others on device.

No ghosts over WFH platforms,

Even if that comes at a risk to his life;

My other coauthor noted,

perhaps he got the virus home from his hybrid classes,

Now that someone at home is sick.

Then we got back to our mundane tasks.

Discussing research and more research.

And life rolled on.

Teaching virtually, learning virtually.

Researching and consulting virtually.

Everyone is worried what is all this doing to

Education, future impact on human capital

And earnings, nobody seems to remember

What about student-teacher relationships?

Not just in university classrooms,

But also in the classroom of life.

A 6 year old at home, started his standard one

Virtually, he hasn't met his mams yet,

But every morning he is eager to zoom

Be disciplined, keyed to their instructions.

Can zoom, teams, hangout, & the shabang

Recreate the lifelong mentoring

Teachers provide to students?

And what about the oxygen students provide to teachers to live?

Some day tomorrow we will know,

Till then pause a little.

Ponder what this is all doing.

In how we appraise our pandemic's children;

their resilience, adaptability;

Accommodativeness, growing old perhaps

By a few years in just a few months.

Today as the most dreaded thing happened

That he feared all this while.

Helplessness is all he could muster

Standing at the mirror, remembering his student.

He saw in his image a virtual teacher,

For his virtual students,

Their relationship virtual,

Maybe their bonding & learning too. 

Ahmedabad, India, 15th October, 2020.

• By Chirantan Chatterjee