What Sri Lankan Teachers are Going Through While Running Their Online Classes

Shashith Randima works here in Colombo, he went on leave last month and got stuck in his home town due to the travel ban imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka due to prevailing covid-19 pandemic. So his current role is to provide technical support to his mother who runs online classes for Grade 3 (8 years old) students in deep rural school in southern Sri Lanka.

Following is his experience what he posted on social media, but I have personally spoken him to verify the same before publishing it here;

Shashith Randima's Mother who is a Government Teacher Conducting a Online Class for Grade 3 Students

Photo courtesy of Shashith Randima

"I have become the official technician of my mother's online class.

1. The Zoom link must be posted the night before the class starts, otherwise you will be scolded by the mother.
2. I should stay close to her until the class is over. If the zoom session get disconnected then, I have to reconnect.
3. When children are shouting that they can't see the teacher, then I should attend to that and give immediate solutions.
4. My phone stand has been given to her, (It is not allowed to remove even after the class is over 🤦)
5. WhatsApp group should be handled by myself, and the meaning of the stickers sent by the students should be explained to her
6. Links of videos sent to children on YouTube should also be posted on that group.
7. The messages given to children should also be type in Sinhala language.
8. Whenever she asks to show a particular photo to the students, I should be ready to share the screen. 
9. When kids start shouting, everyone's mics should be turned off by me.
10. Even though I schedule the meeting, I have to teach my mother all the details of the zoom app, how to do it.
11. Stripes should also be drawn with a permanent marker on the white board.
12. Before taking classes everyday, check the data balance of the phone and reload if the data package is over.
13. On top of all those, before the class start I am supposed to tell my mom whether her dress is beautiful and he hair is tidy.
14. Everything is fine. biggest challenge is I have to listen to Grade 3 lecture everyday for two and half hours 😂
15. (When teaching Sinhalese, my little brother does makeup to pretend as a scarecrow or sometimes a grandfather, if he wasn't there, I would have to do that too 😂)
16. Whatever it is, I think the hardest thing is my mom's teaching. I think it's harder than anything written above. The fact that they are teaching online by while handling some kids ❤ 
17. My mother is very proud of her online classes, she proudly talk about it, whenever she talks to anyone. So being a part of that class is a pride for me too ❤🙏"

Note: base on true experience of Shashith Randima 

Sameera.