Key COVID players

Therefore, to all those unsung heroes
this poem is just for you.
For all the lives that you save
each and every day.

David Harris
During these times while COVID 19 reigns, besides doctors, nurses, essential service providers across the country and the world, one section of the society which has been working nonstop and providing a huge strength and support to parents at home and yet catering to the intellectual growth of the youth has been the teacher community. Very rarely do channels talk about their services or do the teachers come forward to talk about themselves, but the day the WHO declared COVID 19 as a pandemic, the first sector to react was the education sector. Responsible for the safety of the children who are vulnerable, the youth are also susceptible to this pandemic. Education institutions are an ecosystem by themselves, communities that work in close proximity, network and interface on a day to day basis and where learning goes on actively. To bring this whirring minds of the youth to a grinding halt is perhaps the cruelest stroke that this pandemic has struck on the world. In the midst of this chaos, one section of society has been going on in their own way to support the mental growth of the learner, whether the world sustains COVID 19 or not. Education is to be respected and this is what our scriptures taught us too. Even as Rama saw a dying Ravana, his first advice to his brother was to learn from Ravana whatever knowledge he could share. When Ravana refused to share it with Lakshmana, it was Rama who goes and kneels at the feet of Ravana as he shares his wisdom with him. With death very close to him, Ravana did not hesitate to share his wisdom with Rama, for knowledge has to be passed on. Looking back at the Mahabharata has instances of how Krishna preached to Arjuna even in the midst of the Kurukshetra War and this day we are blessed with the Bhagavad Gita. Despite the uncertainty, these teachers have been devising ways of reaching out to their students to support them with lessons. Digital and online education and to stream classes across to students take additional hours from teachers for their profession and have bound them in teaching within the classrooms. Yet they show their solidarity, as they continue to keep children engaged, check assignments, accelerate their reading time and in between all the household chores that are now upon them, continue to reach the student community. The disciplining continues as they assess the learning and teaching is made all the more interesting to sustain the interest levels of the learners. From the parent to the guardian to the mentor to the key sustainer of hope…their efforts go on! Salutations to this tribe of good souls!!