Teachers’ Day: Transitioning Into the World of #ConnectedLearning

Rajshree Pant has been in the teaching profession for 30 years now

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They say to be a great teacher you always have to be open to learning new things, no matter at what stage of your life you are. And that’s exactly what teachers across India have done this year.

With schools staying shut owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, they made every effort possible to familiarise themselves with online teaching.

They unlearned what they knew and relearned newer things only so that their students’ education doesn’t suffer. This time, Teachers’ Day is special in more ways than one and on this occasion, we bring you a story that’s as endearing as it is inspirational.

Meet Rajshree Pant, who has been in the teaching profession for 30 years now. Over the years, she has taught in many different schools and is now the principal of The Brook Dale Residential School, situated in the small town of Bhowali in Nainital.

She absolutely loves the energy, enthusiasm and ideas that children bring with them and that’s what motivates her every single day.

When the lockdown was announced, she was caught completely off-guard. All of a sudden, she was confronted with a question that she had never faced in her entire teaching career so far - with the school staying closed, how will her children continue their studies now? The only way ahead was online classes. For someone that has only taught only in classrooms all these years, the prospect of online education seemed daunting. However, she was determined to not let anything come in the way of her children’s studies.

Transitioning into the digital world wasn’t easy for her, but she took it as a challenge.

But there was yet another hurdle - the place where she lives has poor connectivity. When you have to conduct all your classes online, you obviously need reliable internet. She had heard about Airtel’s great service, so she decided to get a connection at home. Once this was in place, there was no stopping her. She gradually adjusted to the new normal and made the shift to online teaching.

Today, she’s a lot more confident and hands-on. She knows she can always count on her internet connection.

All her classes go on uninterrupted and she’s in constant touch with her students and teachers over video calls.

To know how Rajshree embraced the world of online education, watch this video right away.

It is Rajshree and teachers like her that embody the true spirit of teaching. They defied all odds only so that children could continue to study during the lockdown. Here’s wishing them a very happy Teachers’ Day.