It was my first year as a preschool
teacher. Preschool classes bubble with energy and varied developmental skills. A teacher has to balance them all without
hurting any child’s emotions. The role of a preschool teacher is challenging;
to get children to understand the importance of valuing each other’s emotions.
I had a learner named Darsh. He was
an autistic child. During the concept time, he used to feel restless and run about
in the classroom and sometimes even used to throw objects at his
classmates. This behaviour distracted other children and they started behaving
rudely with him. His aggression increased as other children retaliated.
I had a learner named Darsh. He was
an autistic child. During the concept time, he used to feel restless and run about
in the classroom and sometimes even used to throw objects at his
classmates. This behaviour distracted other children and they started behaving
rudely with him. His aggression increased as other children retaliated.
On the one hand, it was necessary for me
not to react at Darsh’s behaviour negatively and on the other, guide the
remaining class to accept him as he was. I explained and made children
understand how Darsh was special than all of us. I had to tell them
that each member of a family is different yet we love them and don’t
misbehave with them, in the same way, our
classroom is our second home. Each and every child is an important member of
us in spite of their differences.
The children realised their mistake and whenever
Darsh reacted inappropriately, children calmed him down by showering love
and care. This change in the children’s behaviour towards him reduced his
aggression and we were all a happy family for the rest of the year.
Tolerance is to have faith and maintain an
objective attitude towards others whose lifestyle and behaviour differs from
our thought process. The moment we
accept people the way they are, the
happier we feel.
Optimizers @ Billabong High International School Thane
- Sanket Patel, Kalyani Chaudhuri, Ajita Bhoir, Momita Banerjee, Madhubala Saji, Rupal Trivedi, Kshama Rajgor