When Healing Becomes Learning: A Journey Through Empathy and Productive Failure - Tanuja Jha

 

Productive failure merged pdf.pdf by Manisha Khanna

Student’s journey shows that true learning begins with emotional safety. By honouring her struggle with empathy, gentle guidance, and flexible teaching methods inspired by Productive Failure, her teacher transformed setbacks into stepping stones—revealing that understanding a child’s emotions is often the key to unlocking meaningful academic growth.

Tanuja Jha, Sunbeam School, Varuna

Affection Vs Rejection - Gitika Kapoor

Nurturing the wounded inner child

"Within every adult, there's a child longing to be loved and accepted."

As a grade 2 teacher with over 10 years of experience, I have had the privilege of witnessing countless children navigate the ups and downs of their young lives. One concept that has become increasingly important to me over the years is understanding the inner child.

The inner child is the vulnerable, sensitive part of ourselves that holds onto past experiences and emotions. When our inner child is hurt, it can manifest in various ways, often impacting our behaviour and relationships. 

One powerful example of this was a student I taught a few years ago who struggled with sharing and forming connections with his peers. Through discussions with his parents and observations in the classroom, I realized that his difficulty stemmed from a sense of abandonment and rejection he felt at home. By approaching him with empathy and understanding, I was able to help him gradually open up and build healthier relationships with his classmates.

Reflecting on my own experiences, I can also recall times when my inner child was wounded and affected my relationships at school. I remember feeling ignored by my peers in elementary school and carrying that sense of insecurity with me for years. It wasn't until I acknowledged and addressed that pain within myself that I was able to form deeper connections with others.

As teachers, it is crucial for us to recognize and support the inner child in our students. By creating a safe and nurturing environment, we can help them heal from past hurts and develop healthy coping mechanisms. This may involve offering a listening ear, providing opportunities for self-expression, or simply showing kindness and understanding.

Ultimately, by understanding and addressing our own inner child, we can better connect with our students and create a more compassionate and supportive learning community. As educators, let us continue to prioritize emotional well-being alongside academic growth, recognizing the profound impact it can have on our students' lives.

Gitika Kapoor 

Sunbeam International Varuna

Hope and Friendship - Optimizers BHIS

The Face of Friendship: A True Story of Hope and Transformation

Humans are highly social beings, prone to connect with people who appreciate and are glad to see or hear from one another. Eventually, these people become our lifelines. Lacking that, we may feel alone, abandoned and even hopeless. Living life entirely on our own is unimaginable.

This is an incredible story of hope, healing, transformation, and grace that can teach all of us something about friendship, acceptance, and compassion.

Janvi was a newcomer to the Grade 7. She was a soft-spoken girl. Being obese, she was overly conscious of being the fattest child in the class. Due to her being overweight, she always hesitated to mingle with her classmates, never moved out of the class during break time and was ridiculed by other students while boarding the school bus.

Her classmates too ignored her and did not involve Janvi in any task. Every day, she shared all her worries and issues with her teacher. She found solace in speaking with her class teacher. The teacher was highly disturbed at her class mocking the girl and body-shaming her. Janvi felt that even the teachers ignored her due to her unflattering size. She had lost hope in continuing with school life and it was difficult for her to focus on studies. All these reasons made Janvi feel dejected and were disheartened. She was on the verge of a breakdown.

Friendship is Hope

The teacher was distressed and wanted to rekindle hope in Janvi. She reassured Janvi to hold on to faith. The next day, Janvi was absent. The teacher took this opportunity to discuss the concerns with her class. The responses were varied and unconvincing. She informed them of Janvi’s thoughts and requested the class to work together to bring Janvi out of this melancholy.

The students felt remorseful and wrote an apology letter which the teacher texted to Janvi. Every day, the classmates, after reaching home, called Janvi up and encouraged her to revive herself with new hope and assurances of friendship.

After a week, Janvi resumed school. The class welcomed her warmly, with friendship cards, flowers and songs. Day by day, the positivism exuded by the class brought tremendous change in Janvi. In the ‘Edufest’ the entire class performed a skit and Janvi’s performance was applauded by her friends and teachers.

We can make a difference by providing direction to our learners on how to navigate their relationships with their peers when they face obstacles and make mistakes. Above all, there should be no place for self-pity. The students who are exposed to positive affirmations rather than being on a guilt trip for their shortcomings. Everyone contributes in this path making one most likely to reach one's goal successfully.

The onus of helping students, cultivating hope and friendship lies on both parents and teachers. Not only will it help them improve academically, but will also boost their confidence and self-esteem to pursue their long-term goals in school and life.

Optimizer @ Billabong High International School Thane
- Madhubala Saji, Kalyani Chaudhari, Ajita Bhoir, Kshama Rajgor, Momita Banerjee, Rupal Trivedi, Sanket Patel