Kids dodge teachers’ calls, play video games : The Tribune India

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Kids dodge teachers’ calls, play video games

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 25

Online teaching has changed the scenario of education amid the pandemic. For students, smartphones have become the only means to stay in touch with teachers these days. While several are still struggling to get one, there are others who are giving a tough time to parents as well as teachers.

The teachers have been sharing that students were either spending their time in playing games or surfing on social media sites or apps. They shared that many students don’t answer the phone calls and take hours to complete their home work assignments.

Psychiatrist speak

Dr Nirdosh Goel, head (retd), Department of Psychiatry, Civil Hospital, said students these days were left with no choice, thus they were resorting to playing games and doing other stuff on their phones. “They can't go out or do anything else. This is the first time that they have to study like this. The absence of face-to-face interaction is a major problem,” Goel said.

He further shared, “Students have now got a hold of phones hitherto unavailable so easily. This has made them curious. I would suggest that parents should deal with the situation calmly. They should not be strict on the child as it affects their psychology.”

Ravinder Kang, head teacher of a government school, said recently a teacher called a student several times, but he didn’t answer. When Kang contacted the parents, they were also expressed unawareness about the issue. “When I asked the parents about him, they said that he had given his phone to the child so that he could complete his homework. Later, it was found out that his son had not completed the work and was instead playing video games. Teachers have to face these kind of problems in online teaching,” he said.

Sukhdev Lal, president, Government Lecturer Union, said students either don’t answer the calls or can’t be approached easily as their parents keep the phone with themselves.

“A teacher’s job has become very difficult because of online teaching, but then we don’t have any other option also. Also, parents cannot sit all day with their kids. However, the sad part is that students are spending too much time in playing games and checking content,” he said.

Kulwinder Singh, a teacher at government school in Lohian block, said several complaints from the parents had been received in this regard. “Students are also having eyesight-related problems. Parents tell me that instead of studying, their wards were giving more attention to other things on the phone. Some parents have now started to sit with their children to keep a check on them,” he said.