Honesty and Respect- Visionary JMMS

1. Honesty and Respect                   

                                                                                   

Usually, it is seen that children make excuses when they are afraid of being scolded or insulted in front of the class. Children usually tell a lie when they do not do their homework and the other day they make an excuse that they have not brought their notebook to the school, when asked the reason most common replies are “ ma’am I was doing my homework and I forgot to keep it in the bag”. In such cases, the child needs counselling and believes that he will not be insulted if he tells the truth and in return, he will approach the teacher with respect. 

2. Please adults around                 

There was a boy in kindergarten who would love to tell stories. One day the class was asked to complete the worksheet. The boy left half of the worksheet and submitted it to the teacher, by saying “I have completed my work”. The teacher witnessed he leaves half of his worksheet just to get full time to play with his friends and get praised by the teacher. As students love to be appreciated and praised in front of everyone and they too love to please the teacher. It’s important not to overreact to these kinds of behaviour. Just accepting that this is one way of the child to express them, sometimes that’s what they really want from us. Here the child becomes dishonest. The teacher focuses to help the child by conveying the value of honesty, through stories and role-plays in the class. We should always solve our student’s problems by finding the solution through our thoughts of how can we make the situation better. 

3. Gain attention of others             

  

The child was famous for his misbehaviour and rough attitude towards his classmates, although the child was studious and responsible. He had no friends and would spoil the games of other children too. It was found out by the teacher that the child needs attention as his parents couldn’t spend time with him and he was the only child of the family, so he wanted to gain attention in the school. The teachers gave him different responsibilities and appreciated for his efforts. This changed the behaviour of the child.

Respect is earned not given. These are the words rightly said. Grownups have a misconception that the younger ones should always respect them as it is their duty to do so, but they forget that one must give respect to earn respect. The concept of respect is different for different people belonging to different age, culture and social backgrounds. For a six or seven-year-old child the concept of respect is not clear because we can teach them manners but not respect which grows with the course of time. To be a role model for students it has a lasting impact on the students. Teachers can inspire students with their actions and thoughts.

When the child wishes the teacher, he or she should respond generously with a smile and showing respect to the child. This will develop a respect for the teacher in the heart of a child.

Many times when we ask for any help from a child we should always request the child, showing respect towards him and when the work is done we should be thankful to him. Using the magic words like please and thank you by the teacher will automatically add to the child’s dictionary. 

- Visionary JMMS @ John Martyn Memorial School, Salan Gaon, Dehradun -  Ambika Gurung, Parineeta Negi, Manmohan Kaur and Bharti Dangwal

Honesty and Respect - Dynamic DGS

According to ‘Science of Honesty’ psychology study, telling the truth in a situation where one is tempted to lie, can significantly improve a person’s mental and physical health.

Honesty is not just about telling the truth. It’s about being real with yourself and others about who you are. It’s the easiest thing you can practise to be happy and get respect.

Respect is not a gift. It has to be earned! It is also reciprocal. What we give is what we get. When we respect humanity, we automatically respect humans.

While all of this is true, both these values hold different meanings for different people in varied situations.

As part of one of the school’s inter-class competitions, we change the class display board every month to increase general awareness and encourage creativity. Students participate actively and work hard to make their class boards attractive. A few years ago during one such competition, a teacher reached the school early morning and was shocked to see that the display board had been tampered with. The damage was huge! The items were torn and thrown on the ground. The same incident repeated itself the following day. This upset her a lot. That’s when she thought as to who could be behind all of this and why? She had a word with all the classes and asked them to confess. Nobody admitted anything; instead, the children started accusing each other. Once again, she discussed the matter and promised them that whosoever admitted the truth, would not be punished. Later that day, one student came and confessed. He felt that this board made by the other class was better. He wanted his class to win as they had never won before. She asked him why he had not spoken the truth earlier? He replied that he was naturally afraid of being punished. But when he was honest about it with her, he realized his mistake. The teacher respected the child for revealing the truth, and he too felt better.

 

In a similar incident, a student spoke bad words about a teacher as the latter was stern with her. Instead of scolding, the teacher had a relaxed conversation with the child about the situation and tried to understand her emotions. It was this respect for another person’s views that the child finally apologized and could trust the teacher even better.

As adults, we do not give a chance to the children, to be honest. We react, not respond!

 

Another teacher’s experience with RESPECT was wonderful. At her workplace, the seniors respect everyone’s opinions, are approachable at any time of the day, and are open to changes. This has changed her approach to work in a positive way. The way humans speak, listen, and react, determines the respect quotient from the opposite side.

 

Respect can be taught to children by being good role models. When adults respect their choices, sit with them, and explain things, good things can happen. This is how the child’s abilities to do better can be improved. The elders can magically change their mindsets and let them blossom into beautiful humans. Age is never a factor as far as respect is concerned. It is for all, and it’s unbiased. Respect is an echo.

 

Dynamic DGS @ The Doon Girls’ School, Dehradun - Shilpika Pandey, Reena Gusain, Rachna Bharrdwaj, Meenakshi Panwar, Reah Sikand & Sumali Devgan.

Tribute to all mother like teachers on Mother’s Day during Lockdown - Dr Vasudha Neel Mani

Born in the family of academicians and teachers and then getting married into one, being a teacher was always my first choice and childhood dream too. I always take pride in being a teacher and inspiring so many young minds. I always believed in: “Teaching is the one profession that creates other professions.”

As a child and a student, l looked up to my teachers as mentors and guide and I m sure my classmates of my school time, share the same sentiment. One thing my parents always taught me was to respect the teachers and abide by what they say. For them the teachers were same as God and their word was the last word. 

Today is Mother’s Day and all over the world we pay gratitude to all the mothers. A thought came to my mind, during these tough and challenging times, all the female teachers are taking care of their students as their children. Today is a precious opportunity for everyone to thank and show their appreciation towards mothers and Mother figures worldwide.

Teachers are an inspiration, mentors , second parents and for the rest of students’ lives, an eternal guide.

Let me take you to a teacher’s house setting early morning during these COVID 19 times. With no house help coming, her day starts very early as she has to do mopping, cleaning, cooking ,washing and all other house hold chores, before taking her online classes. She works for home and from home. Once she logs on to her classes, she  has her beautiful smile on and she will connect to all her students focusing on their emotional  well being and teaching them.  Once her classes get over, while multitasking between home and school responsibility, she ll cook and at the same time prepare for her next day lessons in the form of video, assignments and worksheets.

And most of the time when she is taking classes, her students’ parents are observing her virtually to find faults in her. No one is trying to understand her plight and what she is going through. The expectations are high and so are the teachers’ stress levels with no empathy and compassion. On one hand she is judged by parents and on the other hand, her own child feels that she is giving more attention to her students.

 Students who are loved at home, come to school to learn, and students who aren't, come to school to be loved.

But it takes a lot to be a teacher. The children look up to her as role models. Whatever the teachers say is a gospel’s truth for the students. . This blog is also a tribute to all the teachers I know, who work so passionately and diligently for our students; guiding them in their hours of need, holding them tight when they are feeling low, scolding them when they are wrong. They wear so many hats of being a teacher, parent, friend and guide.

For me, she is an unsung Corona Warrior at this time and we all need to be appreciating her efforts with compassion and affection. Her mental and emotional wellbeing must be our priority.

Today I m grateful to all the  teachers  who have been a guiding light to many students during these tough times  who have been working tirelessly and all the teachers around the world. I wish and pray that all your days are as bright as sunshine and you are always happy, peaceful and joyous.

A very Happy Mother’s Day to all the second mothers of our children…

---

Dr Vasudha Neel Mani
Vice-Chairperson Learning Forward India
Principal Rockwoods International School Udaipur, Consultant and International Certified Career Coach for over 27 years of experience spanning across teaching, administration, mentoring and advisory roles with 16 years in Cambridge Education and 10 years in leadership roles.