Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?
This is the title of a very interesting and knowledgeable book for children as well as their parents and teachers. Written by Dr. Anupam Sibal, it seeks to convey a critical message to parents and teachers alike - that along with studies, they should strive to inculcate some basic values in their children. As the book rightly demonstrates, this is best done by taking the help of examples from the lives of great people. He writes this book as the father of a teenager and a doctor. As a result, he constantly delves into a child's psychology in order to understand children better.
When I read this book’'s chapter "“Handling Pressure", “I remembered a child in my class whose name is Rohan. He was average in academics.His parents visited the school regularly to keep themselves up to date with his performance. One day when I was teaching in the class, I noticed he was sitting quietly and crying. I went up to him and asked him the reason affectionately. He did not tell me anything and continued to cry. I turned to his friend to inquire further. His friend told me that in the previous day's class test, he had scored very less marks. His mother had scolded him for his poor performance. As a result, the child was frightened and was unable to speak.
I realised that the child was being put under undue pressure from his mother to get a good rank in class. I decided to speak to his mother. She visited me a few days later. I welcomed her nicely and sat her down. I explained to her in a patient manner that the pressure to score well was having a negative impact on the child. He was constantly under fear and overburdened with the expectations of performing well. As a result, he was unable to concentrate on his work and was always sad.
Fortunately, the child's mother realised her mistake and promised to take corrective steps. After a week, I noticed a drastic change in the child's mood and behaviour. He appeared more confident and cheerful.
It is very important to understand that children are just beginning their life's journey. They need support and encouragement at all times to succeed. Overburdening them with expectations and pressurising them will leave them demotivated at a very young age. We must deal with them patiently and hold their hands firmly through the initial phase of life.
~ Aysha Tak is an Educator at The Fabindia School. Her email address is atk4fab@gmail.com