On their special day, find out what teachers miss most!

From flowers to chocolates to even pastries, this was what students would give their teachers, on Teachers’ Day. This year with classes moving online,

teachers

will miss the way they were pampered. With no students to cheer them on this special day, teachers have also come to miss a lot of other things this

current school season

.

‘We miss all the activities’
Schools would be bustling with activities. Teacher’s Day would have the students eagerly discussing the various events they would organise. “The students would organise events on Teachers’ Day. Even otherwise, through the school year, there would be various events and activities that we would be a part of along with the students. This year for first time in 25 years that we did not have Dahi Handi for Janmashtami. So this aspect of school life, the team spirit we would see among the students, are some of the things I miss the most,” says

Sangeeta Chakrabarthy

, a computer science professor at SS Dempo College of Commerce and Economics, Bambolim.

‘We miss the chatter in the corridors’
No teacher would have ever imagined that there would be a time they would finally have pin drop silence .“As a teacher, I never imagined this dystopian setting of empty corridors. I miss the chatter of students vying to put across their point as to how the next college event needs to be organised, but we will learn together how to make that happen through exciting online platforms,” says Clarinda Dias, assistant professor of English at Dhempe College, Miramar.
‘Miss taking students for field trips’
Field trips were another fun activity that would spice up a school year and would provide a practical experience of the subject matter they were pursuing. “I miss taking my students out on field work and give them hands on training and a learning experience. Being in a creative field, it is important for students to get maximum exposure by using practical methods of teaching and learning which is currently not happening,” says Nikita Chodankar, Assistant Professor, Don Bosco College, Panaji.

‘We miss the blackboard’
“I love teaching on the blackboard. I have different colored chalk and I loved using them on the blackboard. Now we have to teach students online and I miss the whole experience of teaching in a classroom with the students,” says Alisha Menezes, psychology teacher, at St Michael Higher Secondary School,

Taleigao

.

‘We miss the personal touch and experience’
For some teachers the personal interactions with students “I would have students come to me with their difficulties or maybe just share some anecdotes. Since we are having classes online, it is not possible to keep a track of what each student is thinking or going through,” says Renita Barneto, from Shiroda Higher Secondary School, Shiroda.
‘We miss the bell that would ring after every class’
The bell has always been a ubiquitous part of the school life, either dreaded or eagerly awaited. This year as no lectures are taking place on the premises of educational institutions the bell sits in silence. “There was time when the ringing of the bell would be accompanied by a roar of voices. Today there are no bells ringing in the schools and no voices,” says Neha Masurkar, counsellor at Dhempe College, Miramar.