Dad in a towel, mom with fruit tray: It’s all happening in online class

Nagpur: Actor Ranbir Kapoor’s towel gig in movie ‘Saawariyan’ may have looked good on the screen to many, but an almost similar act popping up on screen during an online class in city was outright revolting.
And this was no virtual gatecrasher but father of one of the students who walked into the frame in a towel and glanced at the computer screen. Similar candid camera moments have left other students in splits but teachers and parents and fuming and embarrassed.
A teacher said the father just came up behind the child and tried to see what she was watching on the screen. “And all he had on was a towel around the waist. We know that it wasn’t done on purpose but imagine how the rest of us felt,” she said. After a few seconds and a wide grin, the gentleman ended the towel ramp walk.
Unintentionally, more families are broadcasting such candid moments from their homes to the entire class. Another teacher said that computers are almost always in bedrooms and some have webcams placed in such a manner that either the bathroom door or the wardrobe is visible.
This results in considerable airtime being hogged by parents/siblings who walk in and out of the bathroom in sometimes more than a towel but less than a formal dress. “We get to see parents opening their wardrobe and the father is always the one with lesser part of the body covered,” said a teacher. Sometimes younger siblings appear scurrying to the bathroom door or coming out of it in full glory. All this adds to distraction as other students start giggling and it takes a while to bring things back on track, she added.
Pampering parents are another set of problems. “Every half an hour a glass or a snack or fruit tray is slid on the table. Sometimes you will see the mother peeking into the screen and patting the child on head before walking away,” the teacher said.
Reena Dargan, principal of Ira International, said parents’ concern for their young children leads to these issues. “I would say students of Std V and below are where we see this. Too much intrusion becomes a problem during classes,” she said.
Centre Point School (Katol Road)’s principal Shilpee Ganguly will be issuing guidelines to parents for online classes. “They can use virtual backgrounds or point camera such that entire bedroom is not visible,” said Ganguly.