On the Line

[🌈St Mary’s Middle School]

29 July 2020

[Geeta chamchi Co-ord 

 Dear teachers, Sister will conduct a meeting at 4.00 p.m. on Zoom today. Please download the app and be prepared 😊 💖]

[Aneesa quick gun Hindi

Madam, why?]

[Rita anti-tech Games

 P.E. teachers also? And where is this Zoom?]

[Daniel suave Science

It’s on Play Store]

[Rita anti-tech Games

Play Where!?]

[Niru know- it- all Math

🤣 Play Store! that colourful arrow kind of thing on your mobile]

[Me- fence sitter- English   

Madam, how to join the meeting? 😊]

[Geeta chamchi Co-ord 

Teachers, just now recd call from Sister. All to join the meeting. Be prepared to take notes. A joining link will be shared in the group]

***

[👩‍🏫Middle School Marvels 👨‍🏫]

29 July 2020

[Shalu disgruntled Ex-co-ord 

Girls and boys… What is this new bomb the management is throwing at us🤦‍♀️]

[Sunny always sunny side-up Games 

Must be about online classes. Senior Wing has already started it.]

[Aneesa quick gun Hindi 

Shubh Shubh Bolo!]

[Manju Pragmatic Math 

Let’s practice once among ourselves. We will know what bhoot this Zoom is😜]

[Niru know-it-all Math

Yes. Manju is right. I’ll create a link and share]

[Shalu disgruntled Ex-co-ord     

 K 🤷‍♀️ ]

[All confused Teachers

👍👍]

[Me- fence sitter- English

👍😊]

***

“Good evening teachers. Ms. Geeta, has everyone joined the meeting?”

“I will check Sister. Class co-ordinators, please check if everyone from your group is present.”

Static silence.

“Please speak up!”

Ear-piercing chorus.

“Please teachers. One by one, grade-wise”

“Rita is not here, Sister.”

“Ms. Geeta, please give her a call. By then, before you are trained to take online classes, shall we say a short prayer?”

“O LORD!?”

“Teachers! all of you please mute your mikes. Close your eyes and join your hands. Only Ms. Jamila- Snob- Sr. School Teacher will say the prayer. Ms. Jamila, you can start.”

“Yes, Sister.”

Prayer+ whispers of how to mute the mike+ Rita saying “Sorry I am late sister, no network” + Amen

“Teachers, as you know, our students are missing out on classroom interaction. We don’t know how long it will take before they can start coming to the school. So, we have decided to begin online classes for them.”

“What the Hell!?”

“Ms. Shalu, please mute your mike. Senior Wing has already started a month ago. Ms. Jamila is going to train you.”

“But our children are too young for online classes Sister! We are already sending assignments to them.”

“Ms. Niru, I know we are sending assignments. But that is not enough. Even the government schools are thinking of online classes. How can we be left behind?”

“Sister, sorry to interrupt. Free Zoom calls last only for 40 minutes. We are already 10 minutes into the meeting!”

“Oh sorry Ms. Jamila, you please take over. Teachers, I hope Ms. Geeta has informed you all to take notes.”

“YE..”

Ms. Jamila clicks Mute All and smiles.

“Okay teachers, the first thing you have to learn is how to Mute and Unmute. Notice that grey microphone icon at the lower left corner of your tab? Just press on that…”

Create Profile+ Set security options+ download e-care app

“The free session is going to end soon. Please re-join!”

 create link+ share link through e-care app+ create PPTs for class+ Best of luck!

“Your class schedules will be shared with you by tomorrow morning, teachers. You will be beginning your classes from day after tomorrow!”

Muted gasps.

I unmute myself. “Sister, the first day will be just trials. Right?”

“Forty students with their parents will be watching you. YOU please decide what do you want it to be. Anything else, teachers?”

Unmuted silence.

“Sister, I will share the recording of this session in the group. It will be helpful to them.”

“Wonderful! Ms. Jamila. Teachers, what more can you ask for? Best of luck!”

Sister exits the meeting.

Ms. Jamila exits the meeting.

Teachers keep trying to mute and unmute themselves till the Zoom session ends.

***

Why is that loft showing on my screen? Too late to pick another spot now!

The bells start ringing through my earphones. I keep pressing Admit All + Mute All. But the clanking of the dishes, barking of the dogs, noise of the traffic percolate through the rapidly expanding grid on the screen.

How?!

“Good morning, ma’am…Good Morning ma’am…GOOOD MORNING ma’am”

Mute All.

“Good morning, children.”

I feel a bit relieved to spot Rupa-good samaritan- Science, my assigned co-teacher among the participants.

“Good morning Ms. Rupa, am I audible?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“All right children. I’m Ms.Lolita. I will be teaching you English this session. Since this is our first class, let’s introduce ourselves to each other, Okay?”

“YES MA’AM”

Damn! how are they unmuting themselves? How do these 6^th graders know Zoom better than me?

A few more bells ring through my earphones. 5 more people in the waiting room. I admit them. Did I spot Sr. Teresita among them? My heart is a rat on the wheel. My clammy palms clutch the sides of the laptop.

You speak only when it is your turn+ I will speak anyway+ “Ms. Lolita your voice is too low”+ “Keep the video on children”+ 25^th student introducing herself+ Your Zoom session is going to end in 5 minutes+ End of your free session

Sigh of relief.

31 July 2020

[Sr. Teresita-too young to be VP-Vice Principal

Good afternoon Ms. Lolita. Feedback about today’s class. Your voice was very low. Class control needs improvement. Time management has to improve. You need to practice working on Zoom. Blessings.]

[Me- fence sitter- English  

😭🤦‍♀️ backspace backspace Good afternoon Sister. Thank you for the feedback. Will work on it. Regards.]                                                                                                              

***

I ring up the Fibernet service provider repeatedly. No response.

With 10 minutes left for the class to begin, I turn my mobile hotspot on and place it on the windowsill. And pray it continues to remain at 3G.

I turn on my laptop. Open my PPT for the day’s class. And begin the zoom session.

The shaky network admits the participants hesitantly.

I open the grammar worksheet on the screen and ask Roll number 1 to read the first sentence and pick the adjectives in it.

As her voice reaches me through a tunnel, blades of grass start appearing on the screen. First a stray blade then a rapidly growing bush.

My co-teacher for the day Anna-too bored- Craft teacher chides,

“Whoever is drawing lines on the screen, stop it right now! We can find out who is doing it.”

Can we, Anna!?

I pry open the task bar and rummage through each icon and just by pure luck find the control and lock it. And roar victoriously,

“Now you will not be able to waste your time doing useless things. Please pay attention. Yes dear, what is the adjective in the first sentence?”

The screen freezes and then goes blank. I stare at my mobile. It is at 2G.

I grab my laptop and the mobile and run to the garden. The sun drums on my sweaty back. But the network gets better.

Then, why am I not able to get into the session?

I pick up my mobile and call my co-teacher.

“What is happening? Why am I not able to get in?”

“I don’t know Ms. Lolita. Roll No. 1 has become the host now.”

“What? How? Okay tell her to admit me.”

“But we are all muted.”

“Send a message in chat box.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

I get into the meeting after 10 minutes. I am muted.

I pick up the attendance sheet, flip it and scrawl ‘Please Unmute Me!’ and hold it in front of the screen like a prison board. And mouth the words.

Confusion+ Amusement+ Anger + Class dismissed/Dismissed by the class

12 Aug 2020

[Me-fence sitter-English

Good morning Sister. I was not able to conduct my classes today according to the expected standards because of network issues. I feel very bad backspace backspace backspace am very sorry about it. ]  

[Sr. Teresita- too young to be VP-Vice Principal

Good afternoon Ms. Lolita. It’s okay. We all are doing our best. Send a regret message through e-care to the parents.   Blessings.]

***

“All right children, today, just to practice the basics of creative writing, we are going to do a picture composition exercise. Ready?”

👍× 37

I put up the picture on the screen.

“Okay, yesterday we stopped at roll no 25. So, it’s the turn of Roll No 26 today. Remember to use the five senses technique. Let's start. Roll no. 26 Vani, please unmute yourself and give us the first sentence.”

“It is a rainy day.”

I type the first sentence under the picture.

“Good. Roll no.27 Vinita?”

“There are dark clouds in the sky.”

I add another sentence.

“Very good, Roll no 28 Vivan?”

“A boy is passing through the jungle. Cold wind is blowing.”

I type as he speaks.

“Excellent! Only one sentence please, Roll no 29…”

Excitement+ Participation+ Good network+ Decent paragraph

“Okay, Roll no 37 Zainab, can you give a title to the paragraph?”

“Yes ma’am. Where There Is a Will There Is a Way.”

I type it with an underline.

Lengthy and unoriginal, but okay for a 11-year-old.

“Splendid! You have come up with a great paragraph, class. Please clap for yourselves!”

👏👏👏×37

“Tomorrow, we will be reading the poem -The Dragon Feast. That’s all for today. Take care of yourselves and help your parents at home. Have a good day. Good bye!”

0.56 seconds to go. I end the Zoom session. I am on cloud nine.

31 Aug 2020.

[Sr. Teresita- too young to be VP-Vice Principal

Good morning, Ms. Lolita. The class was very effective today. The way of your explanation was very informative. The way you went about how to write a paragraph was excellent. God bless you. ]

[Me- fence sitter- English

💃🤸‍♀️ backspace backspace Thank you so much sister. Sorry I didn’t realise you were there. I didn’t unmute you. Regards.]                        

[Geeta- Chamchi- Co-Ord

Recd a call from Sister just now. You and Niru will be taking a Zoom training session for grade 2 teachers. Please prepare and coordinate. 😊💖]

[Me- fence sitter-English

🤬🤷‍♀️ backspace backspace It’s such an honour. 👍😊💖    ]