EdTech Startup LIDO Learning Hires Senior Citizens to Augment Learning for Middle-School Children
Mumbai: Lido Learning, an Indian EdTech start-up, is all set to rope in the expertise of senior citizens in Science, Maths and English as it expands its small group face-to-face online tutoring classes. The online learning platform that focuses on Maths, Science, and English for Grades 4-9 has seen a significant increase in enrollments since the pandemic began and is increasing its 500+ tutor pool in an industry-first move of hiring senior citizens and retired professionals as teachers.
“I have 17 years of rich experience in teaching Math in schools. I decided to spend my retired life using my teaching skills with the combination of technology, so I joined Lido in September 2019. I am enjoying the work here as teaching is my passion. I am grateful that I can work from home and, at the same time, stay connected with my profession,” says Lakshmi Venkatesh, a senior Math & Science Lido Tutor, Grade 6, who has retired from active teaching in schools.
Presently, Lido has several teachers with 20+ years of experience on board, and has seen a great response from students and parents, who appreciate the expertise, maturity and teaching style of these teachers. The EdTech plans ramp up hiring teachers with this profile in a big way.
In the current social distancing scenario, when many senior citizens feel cut out and lost, gainful employment from home in the form of online classes will keep them mentally occupied and help them earn money to supplement their retirement funds. Lido is a very flexible and convenient option as they can set their own hours and work from the comfort of their own homes. Lido is also offering 5-day training on online teaching to all senior citizens who have the potential to become passionate teachers.
Krishnan Vishwanathan, Math & Science Lido Tutor, possesses a Masters in Computer Science and has been associated with the corporate world for 30+ years. Since the past 3 years, he has been teaching middle school kids, who have benefited immensely from his rich experience. “I Joined LIDO to explore my passion of teaching kids from the comfort of my house,” explains Krishnan.
He adds that LIDO does a lot of research to simplify complex topics and present them in a child friendly manner, making it possible for teachers to conduct engaging lessons that are fun and easy to understand. “Training helped a lot in removing the initial concerns that I had. The training, along with the friendly student-teacher role-playing helped me refine my online teaching skills. Also, the frequent interactions and the feedback provided by LIDO helps in constantly improving our teaching methodology.” Already an expert, Krishnan looks forward to spending his time mentoring students on Lido as a retired professional.
The founder and CEO, Sahil Sheth, believes that retirees with 20+ years of experience will add a lot of diversity to Lido’s teaching base. “Having interacted with thousands of students, including their kids and grandkids, senior teachers are full of wisdom and patience – traits that will lead to better learning outcomes for the children in Lido’s online tutoring groups,” says Sheth. He further adds that “anybody who has ever made a Skype call, which includes almost every senior citizen during the present lockdown, can teach online comfortably after a short 5-day training from the comfort of their home. Our senior teachers can also choose their slots and take up to 50 one-hour classes in a month to earn a handsome sum from the comfort of their homes.”
Lido Learning aims to hire over 500 senior citizens as teachers in the next few months. The selected teachers would undergo a free 5-day training to deepen their knowledge and have them ready to teach online.