“Ma’am, I didn’t understand”
Today, my fourth grader was attending school online since physical classes were cancelled due to heavy rains in the city. Suddenly in the middle of his class, he unmuted himself and said this, “Ma’am, I didn’t understand”
He said the above words with full confidence, no hesitation and without any doubt. As a parent, I was very happy to hear this.
You may think what is so great about my child not understanding the teacher in class. Yes, in all my years of education, I have never myself said those words. Not because I was a brilliant student who understood everything that was taught in class. Far from it, the reason I never said those words were because I never felt comfortable expressing my lack of understanding to the teacher and that too in front of my whole class. Also, this was not something to do with me. I never remember anybody in my class in all my years of study ever speaking up in class and mentioning to the teacher that they didn’t understand what was being taught.
Sometimes, our teachers would ask the class a routine “Understood children?”, but this was more of a rhetorical question. The expected answer was a chorus of “Yes Ma’am!”, whether the students understood or not. If the teacher did pick on an unfortunate student to explain what he or she had understood, the student would inevitably fumble, leading to snickers and giggles from the rest of class, along with a generous helping of shaming from the teacher as an added insult. Subsequently, the teacher would pick the brightest student in class to explain the topic, who would generally do a good enough job.
These were supposed to be the “better” teachers who would actually encourage some feedback. Many others would drone on after the chorus of “Yes, Ma’am” and “Yes, Sir” believing that they had done their job.
You be the judge.
I was glad today, that at Aurinko Academy, my child could confidently express his lack of understanding to the teacher and felt reassured that the teacher in turn helped him bridge that gap in learning patiently.
I hope he continues to say “Ma’am, I didn’t understand” for many years to come!
Anand Bharadwaj
An Aurinko Academy Parent
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