Unity and Caring - Welham Boys' School

Unity and Caring amongst students are essential for creating a positive learning environment. When

students feel connected and have a sense of belonging, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated in their studies. It also promotes empathy and compassion, which can help reduce bullying and other negative behaviours. Encouraging students to work together and support one another can foster a spirit of cooperation and teamwork. This can be achieved through peer mentoring, group projects, and community service. By prioritizing unity and caring, students can develop strong relationships with their peers, feel valued and supported, and ultimately thrive academically.

Exercise: Human Knot

Ask students to stand in a circle and hold hands with two people not standing next to them. Instruct the students to move around and untangle the knot without letting go of each other's hands. Encourage them to communicate with each other, work together, and be patient until the knot is

untangled.

Observations:

a) Initial Responses: At the start of the exercise, some students may feel hesitant or unsure about holding hands with people they don't know well. They may also need help approaching the problem of untangling the knot.

b) Contribution: As the teacher or facilitator, you can provide guidance and encouragement throughout the exercise. You can remind the students to communicate effectively, work together, and stay patient. You can also offer suggestions and help to keep the movement moving along.

c) Impact on Students: The Human Knot exercise can positively impact students in several ways. Firstly, it promotes teamwork and collaboration, as students need to work together to solve problems. It also encourages communication and trust-building, as students must rely on each other to untangle the knot. Finally, the exercise can help to build a sense of unity and caring as students come together to achieve a common goal.

d)Takeaways: Some possible takeaways from the Human Knot exercise include:

The importance of communication and teamwork in achieving a goal.
The value of patience and perseverance in difficult situations.
The benefits of building trust and working together towards a common purpose.
The idea is that unity and caring can be fostered through shared experiences and challenges.

Incident: An incident took place amongst the students that can be seen as a learning or takeaway

from this exercise.

While playing soccer, one kid (let's call him kid 1) kicked the ball a little too hard, and another kid (let's call him kid 2) ended up hurting his arm. Kid 1 took Kid 2 to the hospital, and the arm was fractured. Kid 2's grandparents had come to take him for medical leave, and kid 1, along with some other friends, helped him pack, change and carry all his stuff for him. The grandparents were overwhelmed to see his peers' caring, united and helpful nature.

- Neelima Parmar, Monika Gupta and Vandana Sahay

Welham Boys’ School

Happiness and Tolerance: Kavitha Devda

Children always grasp things in different ways which may not always be what we would like

to give them. As teachers we are expected to maintain a balance between children's happiness as well as discipline. Happiness and Tolerance are like two sides of the same coin where the children as well as the adults  may face difficulty in applying them in their every-day lives. An  incident  which I  want to share as a short story.

It was  Friday and  Class Three had their Music lesson. The students  lined up outside their respective class waiting for their teacher to escort them . Music Sir was absent.  So  I was given a substitution lesson.  It was very hot inside the classroom, so I took them outside and  made them  sit under the tree.  I thought about having a conversation with children. So I just started with the word “Happiness”. The students were very eager to explore this topic. I just began with simple questions.   What makes you happy?

 The students came up with some very interesting ideas about happiness. Naksh said, “I feel happy when I laugh." Priyanshi said, "Music makes me happy." Surender said, I  am only happy when I eat. Krishna  said, " I feel happy when I play my favourite games." Garv said,  "When I sleep I am very  happy."  Vratika said, "Happiness means when we get something and we are satisfied from the inner side of us."  Abhimanyu said, "When I draw something  and add colours to it, this makes me happy."  Alveera said, "When I see butterflies and birds flying, it makes me happy. Like this everyone shared  what makes them happy.  I  was very happy with their responses. While I was still discussing the same, the bell rang ending the class midway.

On the very same day, I had English  lesson  with grade One  in the last lesson . As I entered the class I said children please get ready. I am going to take up the lesson about "The Animals and their Young Ones' '. The students followed the instructions and were ready to understand the topic. As I was showing the pictures of the animals and their young ones, I noticed that Neeraj and Himanshu were busy scribbling in their notebooks and giggling. I asked both of them to stand up. Then I asked, "Why aren’t you paying attention?’’ They said, "Ma'am,  we are drawing the animals." Neeraj said,'' Ma'am I drew a cub, but Himanshu is telling me that it's a cat." Everyone laughed at them.

 Suddenly I said Himanshu to go and get four charts from the Art room. The students looked surprisingly  at this sudden reaction  by me.  Himanshu  followed my  instruction and brought the charts. I divided the students into four groups and gave them charts and asked them to  draw any two animals with their young ones on each chart and write their names. All the students were so happy to draw as they all loved it. Even I drew some animals on the board as I also liked drawing.  It then dawns upon Himanshu and Neeraj  that they had misinterpreted the true definition of ‘’Happiness,’’ which meant being happy but at the same time expressing happiness in the right way and the right time. Then I said,  "Well children, this is what makes  me happy."  This is a true representation of how intolerance can be handled and also teaching the students what happiness truly means.

Kavitha Devda 

The Fabindia School