Hope & Friendship - Samriddhi RPKM

A student who has lost all hope 

Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. 

In comparison, a student who has lost all hope is the one with a pessimist frame of mind based on certainty of negative outcomes. It is an alarming situation as it relates to the mental state of a student who is largely considered to be a future society/nation builder. 

In this case, the root cause needs to be identified and worked upon. Help students focus on their strengths and remind them of past successes. Encourage them to take on new challenges and celebrate their progress along the way. By building a positive self-image, students can feel more confident and motivated to reach their goals. 

Teach the students different ways to explain when they are confused or don’t know something. The idea here is to remove “I can’t” or “I don’t know” from their vocabulary and have them identify the progress they are making instead.  

A student with no friends  

Supporting a student with no friends in school can be important for their well-being. Here are  some steps to help: 

Identify the issue: Talk to the student to understand their feelings and concerns. Determine if there are any specific reasons for their social isolation. 

Encourage social skills: Offer guidance on building social skills, like communication, active listening,  and empathy. 

Positive reinforcement: Celebrate small achievements and progress in building friendships to boost the student’s confidence. 

Teach coping strategies: Help the student develop coping strategies for dealing with loneliness and stress. 

Create a safe space: Ensure the school environment is inclusive and safe for all students. 

Remember that each student is unique, and it may take time to see improvements. Patience and ongoing support are the key. 

By Samriddhi RPKM

Seema Kulshreshtha, Rakhi Gupta, Saraswati Singh, Anju Gupta, Gurpreet, Meeta Gulati 

Hope & Friendship - Adhya RPKM

 

Dealing with a student who has lost all hope

In the session of 2022, when I became the class teacher I found a girl who always remained quiet, didn't respond to the teacher's questions and always got scolded. After a few days of the same behaviour, I asked her what is the problem, but she wasn't able to explain. Some of her old classmates told me that she had lost her mother due to a long-term illness last year. 

Since then she seemed to be hopeless in her life. Being a teacher, I wanted to help her, so I encouraged her to participate in different activities first. I also tried talking to her for 15 minutes to learn her ideology every day. 

In the beginning, she hesitated but gradually started talking about different things. She also participated in different activities and started improving. Then, I started giving her tips about rapid improvement and she started following the tips. Slowly, she came out of the phase of hopelessness and passed her grade with flying colours. 

Helping a student make friends

This year when I got to teach Mathematics in a class, I faced an unusual situation with a boy who always stayed alone and sat on the last single seat. I thought it must be his fixed seat, but he was continuously sitting there for two weeks and never talked to any of his classmates. 

When I asked others, they told me that he always used to remain solitary with no friends. But as an educator, I knew the importance of having friends. So one day, I talked to him and told him about the importance of having friends. I also asked some students to break the ice with him. But he did not respond and started to ignore. 

At last, with regular trials, he had to give in, and he talked to some of his classmates. And gradually he started talking a little bit, regularly. The boy who looked boring turned out to be the most amazing with the other students. He became popular and also tried to become friends with other students in the class. 

Impact on Students 

Both students became cheerful and tried to remove their obstacles of hopelessness and loneliness by themselves. Hope and Friendship had a great and powerful impact on their life. 

Advice 

As an educator, I advise that these values are significant for students as they are the future of our planet. To be confident and successful, both qualities should be inculcated in students. We should remember that students are also part of society and these values will help them in improving society.

Adhya RPKM

Deepa Khanna, Rachna Bisht, Asma Ali, Farida  Sushma Paul, Kulmeet Madan, Krishangi Sharma

Courage and Patience - Sharda Pullabhatla

Reflection 1 - A Fearful student 

Where there is fear, there can’t be any learning. This is the philosophy which I strongly believe in. Students who fear going to school, cannot pay full attention to what is being taught in the class and their minds are preoccupied with unknown and imaginary fears which dissuade them from letting their imagination go free. 

I encountered such a student from Grade 6, who was often dropped off at school by her father. She used to wail and used to get literally dragged into the classroom by her father. I never liked this as it made me think about what makes her dislike the school in general and her classroom in particular. 

Then I decided to sit in her classroom and observe what goes on in the class. I observed that she was leaning on her desk and looking out of the window, totally disinterested in the proceedings in the class. I being the coordinator, instructed the teacher to make her read from the textbook. When her name was called out by the teacher, she was trembling. She struggled to read even a line properly.  Further, when she was asked a few questions, she had no clue. I asked the student to follow me to my office. 

When she came to my office, I made her comfortable by offering her a few cookies. Initially, she was a  bit reluctant, but later she took a cookie. I could see that she was a bit comfortable then. I asked her about her interests, hobbies and what she liked to do in her free time. She told me that she was very good at drawing. I gave her a white sheet of paper and asked her to make a sketch of mine. She thought I was joking, but when I pushed her a bit she started sketching. Within a few minutes, she showed me the sketch.

Though it was a bit caricaturish, she did an amazing job. I congratulated her on that and wrote her name below the sketch and went with her and put it up on the Art Wall. She felt proud and I could sense that feeling of achievement in her eyes. I then rewarded her with candy.  I also told her that she should make a drawing and bring it to me every day. She just nodded her head.  I couldn’t decipher what she meant by that, but to my surprise, her father did not have to drag her to her classroom the next day. She hopped out of their car and ran inside the school gate. She had a paper neatly rolled up in her hand and she directly came running to my office to give me her drawing.  This time she drew the school building. I gave her a warm hug and rewarded her with candy. This practice continued and now she is one of the best artists we have got in our school. She has won several awards by participating in various competitions. 

Educators must identify the strengths of the students and work on them, rather than forcing them to learn everything. Results are important, but making the student love the learning environment and develop a sense of belongingness in the school environment is the beginning of the entire learning process.

Reflection 2 - An Impatient Student 

Patience is a virtue, but impatience can be a superpower when it comes to learning. I realised this when I met a student from Grade 8.  

Teachers regularly used to complain about him as he was never seated in one place and used to roam around the class, disrupting the usual proceedings. His impatient nature irked the teachers greatly as he never liked sitting in his place. I then asked the teachers about his academics. They had no complaints about that. In fact, they appreciated his academic performance and further, they added that his work is always complete and he was one of the first students to submit his work. I then got intrigued to figure out the cause of his restless behaviour in class. 

I decided to call him to my office and ask him how he felt in the class, as he was a new admission.  He was in a different school till Grade-7. Then I asked him what was the difference between his previous school and our school. Then he said that in the previous school, the students, who finished the classwork first were allowed to walk around the class and help the other kids. We did not have a similar practice in our school. In fact, I understood that the student’s behaviour was not out of indiscipline or insolence, rather it was a practice which was deeply ingrained within him by the previous school. In fact, this was a good practice. 

I encouraged the student and let him go. In the next teachers' meeting, I shared this best practice with all the teachers and our principal. Everyone liked the idea. We adopted it and we could see that students felt more engaged, responsible, and involved. This made the learning environment much better. 

Things may not be the way we see them. We need to go deeper and do a root-cause analysis. This helps us understand the students' behaviour and connect with them and can make our teaching and learning places more effective and livelier.

Sharda Pullabhatla @KNPS Phagwara

Happiness & Tolerance - Baljit Kaur

This is the story of a student in grade 8 in a Social Science class who was not happy with the system of the Punjab government. I was teaching them about the importance of the Indian Constitution and its features. 

We were discussing equality and how our Constitution followed these ideas. However, one of my students said, "No, Ma'am! There is no equality in the country because our community is facing inequality as many times it did not get justice." So, he said, "I am not happy with the Constitution". 

I tried to make him understand that the Constitution is fair to everyone, but a few people in the government/system take some actions that are not good for everyone. We have the right to ask questions of the government; why are they not implementing the ideas of the Constitution? 

We should not disrespect our Constitution because it protects our interests and rights without discrimination. The child understood what I said. I explained to him that we just need to find the right reason for the problem and also make our parents alert to examine these types of situations so we can avoid communal disputes. 

Another incident is from grade 7 when students were making fun of a student because of his eating habits and also maintaining distance. In our school, students observing Zero period started discussing their favourite food items. 

One of my students said, "I love eating chicken, especially fried and grilled chicken". He was very happy to share this information, but at the same time, most of the students in my class were displeased as he was talking about non-vegetarian food. Actually, the majority of students in my class are vegetarian because of their religion as well. That student felt uncomfortable after the reaction of other students. I observed that students started irritating him. 

That's when I came forward to explain that every person has their eating habits and choices because of their community, religion and culture. We should respect each other’s eating habits. I talked with students and discussed about few non-vegetarian dishes and with others about vegetarian dishes to make them comfortable. In the end, they all were happy and satisfied. Now when we normally discuss these types of dishes they do not react negatively. 

Baljit Kaur @KNPS Phagwara (India)

Hope and Friendship - Preeti Mahajan

“Hope is the power that gives a person the confidence to step out and try.

Once you choose hope, anything is possible.”

Life is a roller coaster ride. We all face ups and downs in the course of life. The only weapon that helps

us to sail through the darkest of times is hope.

My Observation

A girl in class 8, Vibhuti (name changed), lost her parents in a car accident. She was an average student, but post the tragedy, she became utterly hopeless and pessimistic in her approach to life.

The effort from my side.

Vibhuti was given individual attention in class. Many times, counselling and guidance were provided to her. Personalised notes and test papers were given to her. She was made comfortable to ask and discuss her personal problems and challenges. In due course of time, she regained her lost hope and interest. Instead, her academic performance also improved.

Friendship

“True friends are like diamonds bright, beautiful, valuable and always in style.”

My observation

A child named Zoya (name changed) in class 8 was a reserved and quiet girl. No friend circle at all. She occupied the last seat always and often found herself lost in her thoughts only. At times, she was quarrelsome and short-tempered also. This indifferent behaviour made her isolated from her entire class.

Action taken

Zoya was counselled for her indifferent behaviour. She was convinced to sit and mix up with the

students of a class. She was given group tasks like board decoration, copy collection, group projects,

enacting plays and many more to make her converse, interact and talk with her classmates. She was

appreciated for her excellent performance and transformation.

Advice to the educators

Children are like soft clay, ready to be moulded and shaped by us, the sculptors.

Observe the child deeply.

Take the right action at the earliest.

Hold their hands firmly.

Show them the light so that they can traverse even the darkest tunnel in their life smoothly.

Ms Preeti Mahajan

Ahlcon Public School

JOL Cohort 2022

Hope and Friendship - Roopa Bhattacharyya and Mridula Renjit

A child who has lost hope

In Primary classes, there generally are no children who have lost hope. But if there is such a child, the child will feel left out. She will not participate in group activities, which will affect learning outcomes. She will feel demotivated to even come to school. The unhappiness will affect all learning areas like reading, numeracy, awareness, observation and communication.

The intervention on the teacher's side is, first of all, the identification of the child. The child will be made to sit with a vivacious child who will try to rope her into activities. Conscious efforts will be made to engage her in classroom discussions.

One-on-one discussion with the child about why the child feels less hope. If there is a specific incident or incident, it will be discussed and dealt with. All the other subject teachers and activity teachers will be sensitized about the child so that all efforts are synchronized. A lot of encouragement and a rewarding small attempt by the child will help fill the child with hope.

Lastly, the parents and friends will also be part of this project, so everyone is in sync.

A child who has no friends

Friends are what childhood is punctuated with, and a child with no friends is indeed a sad thing which calls for intervention. Such a child will find no interest in coming to school and lag behind in

learning parameters. There was one such child in our class; let us call him X. He hardly ever smiled and showed no interest in work, play, or other class activities. It was observed that the child did not mingle with anyone, not even during the lunch period. So the child was talked to, which revealed the sad reason that the child had been in a coma for the past 2 years.

The child was assigned a buddy to share lunch with him, play with him, and engage him in group games during lunch break. X was encouraged to participate in group recitation and plays, which he slowly started participating in as he felt less threatened in such situations. The other subject and activity teachers were also sensitized about the child so that all efforts were synchronized. By the end of the session, X had made a few friends and started looking happy.

Mridula Renjit

Roopa Bhattacharyya
Ahlcon Public School

Hope and Friendship - Welham Boys' School

1. A student who has lost all hope

Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana

We all have come across this famous quote from Bhagwat Gita. We, even as adults, struggle to remember it in our challenging times. To make a child understand and follow this during his dark hour was one of the memorable events of my life as a teacher. 

Ishan Sharma (name changed), class- 5, 11 years, a bright student, had a sinking feeling after grossly underperforming in his favourite subject – Physics. It was not just once, but twice and the situation had shattered the boy. 

Ambitious students often tend to put their heart and soul into academics, and sometimes it gets challenging to tackle failure, especially for those who haven't tasted much of it before. It seems as if their entire life is pinned on their success as a student, sports person, or anything else their hearts and ambitions might desire. These choices can be either conscious or subconscious because of years of conditioning.

And for a case in point, it was academics for this boy- a science lover. The blow had left him in a state very close to despair. He was on the verge of giving up his dream of being a renowned scientist. 

His teachers and parents were fully confident in his abilities; then, what was going wrong?

After having a few rounds of discussions with him, it turned out that there were a few workable reasons-

1. His writing speed was not up to the mark and needed substantial upgradation.

2. The ability to sit for 2.5 hours and focus on the same topic had receded. 

Now the task was to bring the boy to a state of normalcy and then work on the above. We had to reinstate his confidence that it was not his ability but some technicalities which could be easily corrected. So, I started having daily conversations with him for around 20-30 minutes. Each time I made it a point to narrate an inspiring story of people bouncing back from failure and leaving their indelible mark on the sands of time. I included stories of Edison's 1000 failed experiments before the invention of the light bulb to JK Rowling's 12 rejections to emphasize course correction and orientation to act. Especially during such circumstances, it is essential to check what one sees, hears, and does. 

Finally, after about 2 weeks, we noticed a slight shift from focusing on results to focusing on inputs like hard work and systematic work. We also tried to bring him back to playing sports, as this is one thing which teaches children to deal with rejections and failures.

This might not be a unique experience. An umpteenth number of children face this issue, especially after Covid. The past couple of years has changed the lives of many children for the worse. But we must remind them that we are with them in this, and things can be worked on and improved. 

After all, it's the small things which lead to the big!

            2. A student with no friends in school

"A friend overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden" is often said. 

Childhood memories are wrought with friendships – the mischiefs, fun and frolic and even those innocent fights. However, not all children are privileged to experience this. A small bunch is left out. Such children could have special needs or might have become socially recluse because of specific experiences. 

Learning lasts one's lifetime and has many components to it. Education from friends and peers is an indispensable one. These are intangible yet indispensable. 

I had recently encountered one such child- Karan. He has been an introvert from the time I have known him. However, 2 years of Covid and social distancing had made him socially isolated, even mentally. Digital media has replaced real friends and people. He had lost touch with even his best friend. 

Once back to school, he started finding it difficult to adapt. He would somewhat be confused and sometimes muse over the good old days when he, too, would play with his friends, but now the iPad was more captivating.  

Such situations often go unheeded. However, they have long-term repercussions- like lack of resilience, team spirit, etc.- and must be addressed. 

I sensed similar issues like impatience, lack of ability to discuss, taking feedback, and facing a large group of people, slowly creeping into her life and hampering her growth.

The first step was to talk to him, which didn't help much. So, his best friend and I started planning fun activities aligned with the games he liked, like badminton. Initially, we aimed at 20 mins a day. Once we sensed some improvement, we moved on to more creative group activities like flower arrangement and slowly increased the time to 45 mins a day. This is still an ongoing task.

From experience, we all know about children's challenges in post-Covid times. 

Even if it is not to the extent of being categorized as a red flag, the warning signs should not be ignored. It will take a lot of time, patience and energy to understand and get to the root of the problem. Nevertheless, let's do it and give our children a holistic experience of life, even outside books, which they richly deserve. School friendships are the most cherished ones, and moreover, despite everything, man is a social animal, and having friends go a long way toward making a fulfilling life!

~Vandana Sahay, Neelima Parmar and Monika Gupta.

Hope and Friendship - Jaspreet Kaur

A student who has lost all hope 

If it was a real-life situation, were you successfully helping him/her overcome their problem? 

Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. As an educator, every day comes across several incidents where students lose hope. Here I will tell one real-life incident where a grade V student lost hope and how I motivated her and brought a smile to her face. 

Incident- In Grade V, one new girl student was admitted. When she spoke something, she fumbled a lot. There was some medical health issue. When she joined our school, a group of students laughed at her in class. The next period was mine. I asked that girl, "Why are you crying?" 

She explained everything to me. Firstly, I counselled those students not to make fun of others; they wrote apology letters too. Lat,  I hugged her tightly. Then, I started to appreciate the girl whenever she gave an answer. Whether the answers were not right sometimes, all students still enjoyed her by clapping. Gradually, I observed that girl always had a smile on her face. She is an intelligent girl, and her percentage drastically improved that year. I brought candies on her birthday in Grade V and distributed them in class. I told her that her father had sent those candies for her. When she went back home, she came to know the truth. Now, the girl is on senior campus in Grade VIII, but she still messages me on special occasions and always calls me if she needs help. 

Outcome- I acted as a facilitator and friend and was ultimately successful in helping her to overcome her problem. 

A student with no friends in school 

What is your advice to educators who want to inculcate these values in their students? 

Friendship is a state of enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between two people. In all cultures, friendships are important relationships throughout a person's life span. 

Incident- In the middle of the session, one boy got admission to Grade V. He came from a village. Other students are studying together in Grade Nursery. 

This new admission student boy could not adjust to the new environment in a new place. He is below average student. I have already made a buddy system in my class. I made buddies and seating arrangements for new students with the class monitors. Now he can read all languages with confidence. It's near about three months now. Now all students in my class talk to him in a  friendly way. He shares all his problems with his new friend. He is very delighted to be here in our school.  

Advice- The teacher should appreciate and always try to motivate students for their excellent work. They should also encourage them to develop pro-social behaviour. Students should be taught to help and be kind and honest with others. Values-based education is an essential part of student's lives; it establishes an environment that allows them to grow in their academics, social and expertise. Values help in the formation of positive thinking. It helps in developing understanding and relationships between students and teachers. It also enhances attitudes and ways of looking at situations that allow them to achieve their objectives and success in all the ups and downs. Values-based education is an essential part of students' lives; it establishes an environment that helps them grow in their academics, social and expertise.

Values help in the formation of positive thinking. It helps in developing understanding and relationships between students and teachers. It also enhances attitudes and ways of looking at situations that allow them to achieve their objectives and success in all the ups and downs.

~Jaspreet Kaur

Kamla Nehru Public School