Education is that stepping stone that molds and builds an individual. No wonder, all parents stress on giving their children the best education possible. The idea is to look for a school where teachers can attend to every child and help them cope better.
However, with sudden unexpected blows such as the COVID-19 pandemic, education had to be moved from the offline to the online platform. Even though teachers were taking lessons online, there was a loss of one-to-one interaction. Moreover, it was difficult to ascertain whether the child was attentive or not.
For older children, pre-recorded sessions were used as a medium of education. Amidst all this, one question doing the rounds is whether technology can replace teachers? However, if you see, one aspect that has clearly come out during the pandemic is that no amount of technology can replace or even sideline human and interactive learning!
In fact, we, at The Tribhuvan School, counted among the top 10 schools in Patna, believe that technology and teachers are two independent contributors to learning. Technology can’t survive without the support of teachers. Thus, even though the technology is the need of the hour, nothing can ever replace the ability of a teacher who goes out of the way to educate the students.
What do students see in a teacher that they cannot in technology?
- A human
Technology is no doubt a frontrunner not just in the education sector but in every other industry out there. But just like most industries, even in the education sector, technology cannot function independently. Teachers need to be around, come what may!
Now looking from the perspective of the students, they definitely enjoy exploring the online world. After all, learning is an ongoing process, which is where technology acts as a major contributor. However, with a teacher around, a human is right in front to impart knowledge. Even though children would, at first, be happy to learn using one or more technologically backed mediums, in the end, they yearn presence of a teacher. Technology cannot strike conversations with students, which a teacher can most certainly do!
This is the key reason why we, at The Tribhuvan School, make sure that our pupils are exposed to an apt mix of technology and teacher-backed learning so that they do not miss out on any. Neither technology can replace teachers, nor can teachers function to their optimum in the absence of technology. The latter is particularly true in the case of unanticipated instances such as the ongoing pandemic.
- Ease of approach
Children always have their learning channels open. However, they do not prefer monologues. If you make them sit before a pre-recorded video, they are likely to focus on all the other things around except the video that is playing before their eyes.
One of the reasons for the same is that children are inquisitive beings. If you ever interact with a child, you will be surprised by the kind of questions that come to their minds. Moreover, they seek immediate answers.
When learning from a video, this can get a little challenging. If a question comes to your child’s mind, he or she will have to wait for someone to come back to them with an answer. This hurdle is done away with, in the case of a teacher-student relationship. Here, the student does not experience any hesitance in approaching the teacher. On the other hand, teachers encourage questions from students and are more than happy to help them out. Easy accessibility with the teacher makes children prefer a teacher to technology on any given day.
- A patient ear
When your child is dependent completely on a tech-based learning medium, he or she is likely to feel out of place in case the session is not interesting or difficult to grasp. Moreover, the technological channel will not realize that your child is lagging and will continue to pace up until the session ends.
This is a big gap that is eliminated in the case of a teacher-student relationship. When a teacher is addressing the students, there comes a point wherein it becomes easier for the teacher to understand whether all children are on the same page. In case it is found that one or more children are unable to keep up with the pace, the teacher goes out of the way to give them a feeling of inclusion.
At The Tribhuvan School, one of the top 10 schools in Patna, our faculty members focus on ensuring that every child can learn well. Even if a child is unable to gather courage and stand up in class to ask his question, the teachers are always open to attending to the students beyond the lecture timings. This is possibly one of the major reasons behind our students choosing our teachers over or along with technology.
- Open field to open up about limitations
When children are young, apart from their parents and family members, they find comfort in opening up to a teacher. And this not just pertains to their academics but to any good or bad emotion or incident that is a part of their lives.
For instance, a child may be living in a small house and might be facing difficulty in focusing on his or her studies, which may further impact his/her educational performance. This is something children can open up with a teacher who would then offer a real-time solution to cope with the problem. A solution along the lines of extra classes after school so that the student can stay back and finish his homework can also prove fruitful. This is something technology cannot help with.
Technology might help children with the learning aspect, but real-life problems cannot be discussed on a one-to-one basis. This only means that even if technology can offer the best of education to students, it can never replace the difference a teacher brings out in a student’s life. Thus, technology and teachers need to function in unison for the former to stand viable in the world of education.
- Coming back on doubts multiple times
Technology-aided sessions are usually the ones that are timed in advance. Let us quickly refer to online learning in the case of older children. For such students, live or recorded sessions are conducted online. This is what we know as e-education.
When teaching online, the learning channel is mostly timed. The objective of the tutor is to complete the session in the set time frame so that the next online tutor can come over and take the class forward. Amidst this, if a question comes to a child’s mind, he can either raise his hand online and shoot his question or type it out in the chatbox. At times, the answers are given immediately, while in certain cases, the tutor comes back with the answer in the following session.
Here, if the student is not convinced with the answer or has some additional questions, he or she needs to wait until the next session for the tutor to show up. At times, the tutor may not be interested in addressing questions related to the past sessions. The tutor need not be a teacher or human but a graphical representation with pre-recorded audio. Such hurdles can be avoided concerning a teacher who may be tutoring you at school. You are free to approach the teacher multiple times and come up with whatever questions that are creating havoc in your head.
- Seeking guidance
Education isn’t really about completing the syllabus, conducting examinations, and grading students. At times, children look for much more than just theoretical knowledge.
For instance, your child may be good at art but may be confused about the academy where he or she should take further coaching to improve on the artistic bend. This is something technology may not be able to assist you with. In the case of a teacher, you approach your art teacher, ask your question, and wait for an appropriate answer to come out, which you can blindly trust.
You may say that there is always a possibility to read reviews and make one’s decision. This is definitely true! However, can a review by a stranger be held as equivalent to the guidance offered by a teacher from whom you are learning one-to-one?
We, at The Tribhuvan School, do witness the amount of faith that both parents and children have in our school and teachers, which is why our faculty members are always on their toes to assist both parents and students in whatever big or small way possible.
- Support beyond education
We have often heard about stories where children were experiencing loneliness or going through trauma because of grave reasons such as the loss of a loved one or parents undergoing a divorce. When children experience extremes like this at a young age, it is necessary to offer them support. It is vital for them to know that there is always someone there to stand by them. In such scenarios, it becomes necessary to support them and be available to lend them a shoulder whenever they need one.
This is a crucial area where teachers have been doing wonders for students. Having worked in the education sector for a long stretch, it becomes easier for teachers to spot anything that seems amiss among children. Whenever they feel that a student is a little off, they can approach the child and talk him out of his situation.
Since children share a great bond with their teachers, they do not hesitate to open up. Once they share whatever it is that is going on in their mind and heart, teachers become better equipped to help them out. It is difficult for technology to match up with teachers in this area. Thus, it is clear that nothing can ever replace the power and competence that teachers hold.
- Lifelong mentorship
If there is one thing that you earn in life, it is your teachers. Even today, if you were to converse with anyone at large, the best memories that you would like to share would be of the school and your favorite teacher. Oh yes, everyone has a favorite teacher!
What makes them a favorite? Their ability to teach well, be available for the students at all times and be easily approachable so that no child experiences hesitance to go and talk with the teacher, irrespective of the subject of discussion.
Moreover, teachers step into the shoes of lifelong mentors. They teach us some of the best life lessons, which become useful in the journey of life. No wonder, some of the most successful people credit their teachers for the success that they have tasted in life!
As mentors, teachers do not fail to encourage students. Even if a child is weak in a subject or is having trouble coping with a concept, the teacher always finds out alternate ways to better explain things to the student. This is something technology can never achieve. On growing up, technology will continue to remain a part of your life. Moreover, it will be useful on more than one occasion. However, you cannot ever regard technology as a lifelong mentor.
We, at The Tribhuvan School, recognized among the top 10 schools in Patna, have trained our teachers in such a manner that they are able to groom children in the best way possible. This, in turn, helps our students to take on the world and continue to perform well. However, they do not hesitate to credit their teachers for the place they have reached and will continue to reach in the future.
- Assistance with making choices
In life, one thing that we have in plenty is choices. Even as grown-ups, it is very difficult to make choices. Today, you feel like taking up one thing, while tomorrow, you start questioning your own choices. However, decision-making becomes a little easier when you have someone to validate your decision.
Validation is the word here! Teachers play a pivotal role in validating decisions made by their students. In certain cases, teachers explain the pros and cons of every decision, in turn making it easier for the students to go ahead with the right decision.
This is something technology cannot really assist with. Moreover, in the absence of a teacher, you are likely to get caught in a rut with no clear direction to progress. This is enough reason to choose teachers over technology, or even better, teachers with the backing of technology.
- A friend cum family member away from home
Our friends and family mean the world to us. However, there comes a situation in each of our lives wherein it becomes important to speak to someone other than our immediate circle. The person we seek is someone who can be trusted and looked upon. This is exactly where a teacher steps into the picture!
Whether you are feeling low, happy, uncertain, or unclear, in either case, you can get in touch with the teacher. There is no surprise that students continue to keep in touch with their teachers and celebrate the relationship even long after quitting school. This is another area where technology cannot replace a teacher.
After going through the above points of differentiation, we can easily conclude that while technology is necessary, it can never replace human interaction, in this case, a teacher. Technology can always support, back, and complement a teacher’s efforts, which is why it can be considered for all the right reasons.
COVID-19 – Did technology act as a savior?
COVID-19 was a sudden shock, not just to India but to the entire world. In India, we were only hearing about the Coronavirus spreading across other countries. And then suddenly, one day, the Prime Minister of India declared a one-day lockdown.
From one-day, the lockdown got extended to one week. And from one week to a few months. Even today, the COVID scare has not totally vanished. There is still fear in the minds of people. There are still cases being reported worldwide.
The pandemic was so sudden that there was no time to prepare or act. Businesses got shut, people lost their jobs, necessities were hard to find, and the entire country came to a standstill. The education system was no exception. Schools were shut, children were cut-off from their friends, examinations were canceled, and everything as a whole was a huge mess!
Initially, it was assumed that the pandemic would last only for a few days, and everything would soon go back to normal. However, in the real world, things only worsened. There was not even the slightest sign of things going back to normal. That is exactly when the need was felt to bring about modifications in the way learning was delivered.
Firstly, schools went online. Children had to now dress up and sit in their homes before a desktop with teachers sitting in their respective homes to deliver lessons. While most of the examinations were canceled, some were conducted online. Even though all of this sounds quite easy and doable, it all became possible only by utilizing technology to the fullest!
No doubt, technology helped, but it was possible for children to learn because teachers were sitting on the other side to deliver lessons. Thus, all we can conclude is that for technology to assist the education sector, support from the teachers is rather necessary!
Technology is future-oriented, isn’t it?
Gone are the days when schools used to run around the idea of hurriedly completing the syllabus, mugging up information from the textbooks, appearing for examinations, and eventually scoring good grades. Schools today are much more than this!
Schools these days focus on grooming children into becoming well-informed individuals. They sow the seeds of responsibility, accountability, and the ability to become future leaders in children. With such an objective in mind, it is impossible to rely completely on theoretical knowledge.
Even though teachers try their best, it is possible that there is more to a concept that is not covered in the textbook. In such a case, if the student wants to know and learn more, technology can come to his rescue. Say a concept of physics is unclear, or the child is interested in exploring it further. What can be done is to take help from technology and look up a video that explains the concept in further depth. By adopting this approach, the basics are cleared by the teacher while the complexities are self-learned by turning to a tool or channel that is capable of better explaining the concept.
An alignment in human-led teaching & technology is necessary!
You may pass out with flying colors and join an organization of your choice. But on joining the organization, you will be expected to work more on the practical front and less on the theoretical end.
Now, if you have learned well from your teachers, the theoretical part is under control. However, if you have no exposure to practical experience and corresponding use of technology, you will be in a major mess. This is exactly what we, at The Tribhuvan School, ranked among the top 10 schools in Patna, are trying to tackle well in advance!
We want our students to be recruited into some of the world’s top organizations. Having said that, we do not just want them to get in, but also to put up a good performance. With this at the back of our mind, we have designed a learning pedagogy that makes use of a rightful mix of theory through teachers and practical knowledge through technology.
Teachers help build the base while technology provides an edge over others
In today’s market, no doubt success is important. However, what is even more important is survival. Why so? The answer is simple. Purely because success comes to those who are able to survive.
When children complete their education and join an organization of their choice, they are likely to be compared and asked to compete against other joiners. Now, if the other joiners have had the opportunity of learning not just from teachers but also with enough exposure to technology, they are likely to shine and stand out in their respective roles.
To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to stay prepared for the future. It is vital to establish an edge over the competition. This can be done right from the school level by widening children’s horizons. They need to be made to understand that learning is a multi-dimensional concept, which only means that you need to utilize every channel to its fullest capacity.
Human mentorship with technological intervention is the way to go!
Change is the only constant in life. Whether you want it or not, you need to adapt to change. The more you run away from accepting change, the more you will end up complicating your life.
To make change a part of your life, it is necessary that you adopt a flexible approach. You need to get rid of rigidity right away. This, again, is not something you can learn or accustom yourself to overnight. To achieve success in this area, it is necessary that you start early. Early means right from your school days.
Learning flexibility cannot be compromised. For instance, as grown-ups, nobody is really going to sit down with you and teach you things. You either do it yourself or not do it at all. If you fall in the second group, sailing through your life, both professionally and personally, would become very difficult for you. Thus, you have no option but fall back on self-teachings.
If you wish to be a self-taught individual who is flexible and open to change, then technology will support you to the fullest. You can utilize different channels to pull up your learning graph and seek the help of a human mentor to help you with your decision-making. All in all, with human assistance coupled with technological support, your life is sure to become much easier.
Teacher with Technology and not Teacher v/s Technology – Let’s Redefine
For the longest time, we have witnessed people raising their voices against the use of technology, primarily because of the fear that machines can fast replace men. However, if you go deeper into this, you will understand that it is not even remotely possible!
Technology can fasten processes and ensure ease of working, but human intervention cannot be gotten rid of.
Just imagine you buy a fancy light for your house. The light lightens up your home. It makes your space look much better and gives you a sense of happiness. However, for the light to blow, it is important that you switch on the button. The best of light can do no good if you fail to switch it on. Here, once again, what you can see is that technology is certainly beneficial, but 100% advantage comes from a human being involved with the same.
We, at The Tribhuvan School, one of the top 10 schools in Patna, strongly believe that our teachers are the foundation of our institution. Thus, we make sure that we don’t just rope in the best of the mentors but also train each of them to our standard so that by no means our pupils’ education can suffer. At the same time, we make sure that we invest in all the latest technological upgrades so that when our students grow up and work in the outside world, the competition in the market does not impact them.
On a concluding note, we can confidently state that the use of technology is vital in the education sector, but not without the support and contribution of the teachers. These are two independent aspects, which by all means go hand-in-hand and not against one another!