Back to school after a break, especially when the break was full of fun activities, is something which children don’t look forward to. When I was a child going back to school after the long break was always associated with mixed feelings. The smell of new books with fresh brown paper covers and labels on them still bring a soft smile to my face. But the thought of being in school all day and missing out on the fun times during the long vacation would always make me think of excuses to avoid school. It would be a good one week, thanks to friends and amazing teachers, that I would finally settle down and start enjoying school again.
The narrative has not changed much even today. When the students at our Centre for Education come back after long vacations, we usually face diverse emotions and need to be prepared with numerous strategies to ensure minimum tantrums and better engagement. However, this time it was different. As one of our strategies to use various means of engaging our students, we introduced ‘Smart Boards’ in the classrooms from this term. This came as a big surprise for the students and the expressions of joy on their faces were difficult to miss!
No tantrums! No requests from parents to take their child home early! Just engaged students learning to explore the interactive boards, and lively interactions in the classroom.
This was quite a different kind of ‘back from the break’ and a rewarding experience for teachers and parents!