Honesty & Respect - Indu Mehta

What are the most common instances of dishonest behaviour shown by students in the class?

Dishonest behaviour can vary among students, here are the most common instances of dishonest behaviour shown by students in class:

• One of the most common forms of dishonest behaviour is cheating during tests or exams. This can involve copying answers from another student's paper. 
• Sometimes students submit work that someone else wrote, whether they paid for it or not. They present work or ideas as their own without giving proper credit. This can include copying and pasting text from websites, books, or other sources. They submit someone else's work as their own.
• Some students engage in dishonest behaviour by fabricating data or information in assignments or research projects. This can involve making up experimental results, falsifying survey responses, or manipulating data to support desired outcomes.
• Students lie intentionally providing false information or misleading others. In an academic setting, this can involve lying to teachers or administrators about reasons for missed assignments, falsely claiming to have completed work, or providing misleading information to gain advantages.

It's important to note that these behaviours are not representative of all students and many students exhibit honesty and integrity in their academics.

2. How far is it true that you must show respect to earn respect in the classroom?

The statement "You must show respect to earn respect in the classroom" is generally true. Respect is a two-way street, and students who demonstrate respectful behaviour towards their teachers and peers are more likely to receive respect in return.

In my class, there was a student who consistently interrupted the teacher during lectures, talked back in a disrespectful manner, and disregarded classroom rules. Their behaviour showed a lack of respect towards the teacher and disrupted the learning environment for others.

On the other hand, there was another student who actively listened to the teacher, participated in class discussions, and treated both the teacher and fellow students with respect. The second student’s behaviour demonstrated a respectful attitude and contributed positively to the classroom environment.

In this scenario, it was likely that all the teachers and other students developed a more positive perception of the second student and her respectful conduct. All started listening to her opinions, assisting when needed, and engaging in respectful interactions. Conversely, the first student’s disrespectful behaviour led to strained relationships, lack of support, and potential disciplinary actions.

By showing respect to others, students can foster mutual respect and cooperation in the classroom. It creates a conducive environment for learning, encourages positive interactions, and helps build strong relationships between teachers and students as well as among peers.

Indu Mehta @KNPS Phagwara

Humility and Appreciation- Ashtalakshmi RPKM

Being humble is basically about reflecting maturity. A person who is humble deserves to be the first role model for everyone who wants to evolve into a better individual in the future, and for those who want to sculpt their personalities into something ‘good’.

Humility is the best value a student can imbibe. I, as a teacher, try my best to imbibe; some good values into my students, so as to make them understand the importance of practicing values in their day-to-day lives.

I would like to share an amazing and inspiring incident as I trudge down memory lane. It was a bright day and I could sense that my students were dreading the Monday. So I decided to make things interesting for them. 

It was their English period, and I took them to the school playground. Confusion, laced with fascination flashed through their faces, as they saw some balls scattered all over the ground. I decided to make them learn the synonyms and antonyms of some words; on the balls were written some pairs of the same (antonym on one and synonym on one). They all had to find the other pairs of each word and put the balls together. There was a time limit of 10 minutes under which they had to do the task.

I could hear excited murmurs all around me as they started to perform the task. I couldn’t believe that everyone was calmer than I had imagined them to be, the teamwork and humbleness were at their peak.

Everyone was helping each other find the pairs; if someone found one and the other found another they would shout what they found and put them together. Some students couldn’t find the pairs as they did not know their meaning, the others did not tease them for not knowing the synonyms and antonyms. I felt so proud that my students followed what I told them to, and that they were so humble with each other. The students who could not complete the task even came to me to apologize, that they would learn the topic thoroughly and wouldn’t repeat the mistakes again.

Such sincerity and humility in my students made me feel extremely proud, as I appreciated each and every one of them for the amazing achievement they made in such a small activity like this. 

I would like to share another incident that happened. It was a pleasant day, but not so pleasant for the students as I was going to distribute their answer sheets back so that they could see what mistakes they had made and how they could correct them.

I observed the students as they cross-checked their answer sheets once again, some faces looking satisfied, some disappointed, and some horrified; until one student made her way towards my table. I inquired if she was facing any problems. She told me that I had overmarked her answer sheet and that she wanted me to deduct her marks. I halted, as I looked at her in astonishment. 

I had never encountered a student coming to me to get their ‘marks’ deducted, although I had seen many trying to make them ‘increase’. I deducted the marks, and I then decided to announce what she did to the other students. The student got shy as I asked everyone to clap for her for her honesty; the student rightly deserved that. I appreciated that student once again as she went back to her seat.

I can never forget those days, when I made my students learn that being humble can make us achieve everything that we want to, including gaining love and trust from everybody who gets to encounter the values you possess.

One day I kept a glass jar in my class and asked my students to think of at least three things throughout their day that they are grateful for and the most important step that this will be repeated every day. It can be something as small as a coffee at your favourite place, or as grand as the time you spent with your friend or someone you really care about. I asked them to do this every day, write down what they are grateful for on little slips of paper and fill the jar. I told them that over time, you will find that you have a jar full of different reasons to be thankful for what you have and enjoy the life you are living. It also will cultivate a practice of expressing thanks.

Ashtalakshmi @ RPK School Moradabad
Ritu Goyal, Poonam Sharma, Meenakshi, Sonia Gupta, Tabinda Jabeen, Charu Sharma and Krishangi Sharma.

Honesty - A cherished virtue - Dr Mona Khanna

Amidst trickery and moral turpitude, incidents related to honesty restore our hope in good over evil. So, it did when the manager at Woodland Store in Delhi, Kohat Enclave branch, returned an envelope of INR 48,000 to me that I forgot at the counter while shopping for my son. I was fumbling through my purse to look for the credit card to make the payment, and that is when I accidentally took out the envelope containing the money and left it at the counter. It was only at night when I had to go home to catch the night train to Dehradun, and I wanted to give both the kids money, and I noticed that the packet was missing.

I went back to that area even though I wasn’t very hopeful. Despite the late hour, Woodland was open. I entered the store and asked them if they had found any packet. I could see the relief and smile on their faces. They told me that they had kept the store open anticipating the customer to return looking for the envelope. After asking a few questions regarding the envelope’s details, the manager handed over the envelope. I profusely thanked them and took out some money as a token of appreciation, but the entire staff refused to take any, saying they were only doing what their call of duty expected them to. I understood that their conscience would never let them do anything wrong.

I wrote a note of appreciation and later sent an email to their country head talking about the entire episode of leaving the strain of honesty intact. Honesty and respect are interlinked concepts. The above incident earned so much goodwill and respect for the staff of that store. To date, I never miss a chance to go back and show my gratitude to them.

We, as teachers, should strive to articulate expectations about academic integrity and the consequences of cheating. Explicit norms and expectations stating that dishonesty is not an acceptable trait should be laid down. Let us create a culture that rewards success beyond grades. If students are also rewarded for their honesty, hard work, determination, and respect for teachers and peers, they shall begin to value the process of learning. This kind of culture fosters academic honesty and discourages plagiarism.

As a little child, I was made to do this activity from The Abraham Lincoln Center for Character Development to instill honesty, which has left a lasting impression on my mind.

Activity – The Lie Trap

• Target grade level: till Grade 5

• Character quality: Honesty

1. Head outdoors with the kids and hunt for a spider’s web, watch how a bug becomes entangled in the web, catch a fly, put it in the web to see what happens, or find a video online of that occurrence instead. The more the insect struggles, the more entangled it becomes. If you are fortunate, you might even see the spider come and wind the bug up in a more sticky thread.

2. Ask students what happened every time the insect struggled and what happened because of that struggle. Explain that the same thing happens when we do not tell the truth and become entangled in lies.  Ask students if they think the insect regrets getting trapped in the web (and a lie) and what should have been done instead (tell the truth).

We all make a conscious effort to instil ethical standards and practices in our children. However, they take time to imbibe the same and do tend to falter occasionally (don’t we as adults?!?!). We should forgive their mistakes, resulting in self-realization, and help them take corrective measures. Once they have realized their mistake and borne the consequences, I am of the firm opinion that we should not judge them on their past moral failings. Our intention should be to correct the wrong and not the doer. The intention should be to use dishonest behaviour as a teachable moment. Teach them to be candid with a fault. The students should be taught to introspect, reflect, and learn from their behaviour. We, as teachers, should be instrumental in helping them transform as better human beings. They will turn into young men and women who shall hold their teachers in high regard for placing their trust in them. I vividly remember several students who have become exceptionally ethical, principled gentlemen of high integrity.

I always give the example of Abraham Lincoln as the epitome of honesty. To many kids, and even some adults, Abraham Lincoln remains “Honest Abe.” Lincoln was far from a perfect individual. He possessed human flaws and made many mistakes in his life, as we all do.  However, he learned from his mistakes and learned to compensate for his shortcomings. He honed and practised and developed them daily, and so should we. Powerful innumerable lessons from his life on honesty must be continuously encouraged and integrated into every fabric of society, and into both young and old. And let me pass along Lincoln’s own words on the topic- “Resolve, to be honest at all events; and if, in your own judgment, you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation.”

I want to conclude with a piece of advice I gave to my tutorial group. The boys at the Doon School once asked me about the fine line between honesty and deception and how to ensure that they were treading the right path. I quoted from the famous collection ‘Letters from a Father to his Daughter’- “Let us make friends with the sun and work in the light and do nothing secretly. And if you do so, my dear, you will grow up a child of the light, unafraid and serene and unruffled, whatever may happen.”

- Dr Mona Khanna, Vice Principal at Unison World School, she has joined the PLP Cohort for the Joy Of Learning Program at the John Martyn Memorial School in Salan Gaon near Dehradun, India Dr Khanna's professional profile - linkedin.com/in/mona-khanna-244198175 

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