Humility & Appreciation: Harmony BHIS

-A Great Awakening

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." - C. S. Lewis

The subtle sunshine of the winter appears to be singing soothing lullabies, spreading its sweet warmth through your senses, lulling you to sleep. Yash stands at the window of his room enjoying the hue that the sun spreads equanimously. The cold wind blows across his face and makes him thoughtful about the incident that had taken place in the first period today. He is really ashamed of his conduct. He doesn’t know why he is so insolent sometimes. The situation always gets out of control due to his transgressions.

“Will she forgive me for my misdeeds? How do I approach her? What does she think of me? Why did I annoy her?” All these thoughts are eating him up at this moment. He closes his eyes for a while wanting to breathe in the fresh air blowing gently. The entire incident replays itself once again:

Today is Rohan’s birthday. Last night the children had planned Rohan's birthday celebration over the phone and Yash had allocated duties to the others.  They desired to give Rohan a surprise. He is completely different from Yash. He is quiet, well-behaved, with a lot of respect for his teachers. That’s why he is much adored everywhere. Sometimes he looks at Rohan with fascination, wishing to be like him. But what invariably takes over, every time is his short temper. At times his ill behaviour seems to be obnoxious to himself and he becomes helpless to control it.

To his surprise, during the Morning Assembly, they were caught red-handed by the teachers while decorating the classroom for Rohan. Everything went wrong. All the items were confiscated. He knew that the school doesn’t allow anyone to celebrate birthdays. They were at fault as they had violated the rule. The previous day, Yash retaliated at this restriction imposed by the class teacher over the same issue.

At once he sensed a kind of palpitation, he had an intuition that the class teacher would be furious and would punish all of them. Unexpectedly, nothing happened. The teacher maintained a calm and composed demeanour but seemed to be disappointed at their behaviour. Stealthily, he gathered the courage to look into the eyes of the teacher; he felt that she was trying to hide her emotions from them. Probably, she was ashamed in front of the other teachers for the wrongdoings of her own class.

Involuntarily, his hands reached up to his collars and folded them neatly. He had been pulled up a number of times by his teacher for putting up his collar and his defiant body language. All of a sudden, he wanted to do the right thing and became cautious.

Now he is in Grade-IX, this same teacher had been teaching him since Grade –VI. As a result, only she knows him almost as well as does his mother. According to him, though she is strict at the same time, she showers abundant love upon him. How can he forget that once she rewarded him with the best student of the month Award? Yes, he is grateful to his grade teacher, it is only due to her, there is a lot of behavioural change in him. Suddenly he comes back to his own world looking around at the growing darkness.

During her next class, he feels restless from inside, waiting as he had been for the opportunity to speak to her alone. He becomes more apprehensive when she is about to leave the class-

“Ma’am, I want to tell you something!”

The teacher, his mentor, continues to look at him with the same affectionate expression.
 “Yes, Yash! What is it?”

“Ma’am, I really repent for my mistakes. Please forgive me as I put you down in the presence of so many teachers,” he almost chokes over a lump in his throat as controlled tears roll down his cheeks.

The teacher touches his head with more care than before, thus wiping out all his turmoil within a second. He feels whole again. All his turmoil gone - disappears in a blink. It is noteworthy to mention here that the greatest wisdom consists in knowing one's own follies and this act make the person humble.

Yash promises to himself to remain modest and to obey the rules of the school. Further, he doesn’t want to be the cause of disappointment to others.

Let us reverberate with the great poet, Rabindranath Tagore-“We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.”

Harmony @ Billabong High International School, Thane 

- Abira Chakraborty, Pooja Khona, Bhumika Ailsinghani, Rajshri Rane, Soniya Kuril, Poonam Choudhary, Kavita Shetty

Honesty and Respect - Odyssey SHS

Honesty begets Respect

It was a bright and sunny day. There was not even a speck of cloud visible in the crisp blue sky. The sun was blazing in all its glory squeezing the energy out of the people in the early hours of August morning. Though it was just 8 ‘o clock in the morning, it felt like late afternoon. To top it off, it was a Monday - the dreaded day for all especially the students.

Sunaina rushed out of the house in a fit of rage. She had not had her breakfast, but it hardly mattered to her parents. They loved to scold her from the time she woke up till the time she turned up for the bed at night. Her constant violation of the rules and ill temperament did little good to her present situation. But it was not always like this. There was a time when few things mattered to her. She loved to pick up ladybugs from the blooming daisies in her mother’s nursery, she always had time to stand, stare and listen to the soft giggles of infants on the way to her school, she loved to play in the rain, she enjoyed a hot cup tea in the chilly December evenings. These things mattered to her because her mother was always there. She was in class 7 when she passed away in her sleep after a long and painful battle with cancer. To make matters worse, her father married within a year, and the moment his new mother threw a scornful glance at her, she knew her life will never be the same again.

It was a turning point in her life - a moment that changed everything. She felt neglected and ignored all the time. Her stepmother had little, or no concern for her and her busy businessman father hardly had a minute to spare for her. But whenever he did, it was to scold or detain her for her mischief. She started dreading their short meetings after that. She felt like an outcast-alone, unwanted and unloved. She started losing her temper at the slightest of pretexts. Suddenly the vivacious young girl transformed into a cantankerous brat. She loved getting into fights, enjoyed disturbing the classes and breaking the rules. Most of all, she loved to lie and cheat. It started at home to save herself from her father’s fury, but gradually it became a part of her life. Anyone, who knew her, hated her profusely. She lost respect, but she could not care less. It seemed that there was no hope for her, but life is a mystery in itself.

She had developed a great liking for Biology in the 6^th grade and garnered hopes of becoming a doctor in the future. Moreover, her Biology teacher, Mrs Gupta was a teacher par excellence. She was an excellent teacher but more a friend and a motivator. Students loved her classes, and so did Sunaina. Mrs Gupta talked to her politely and addressed all her queries with patience and understanding. She felt a sense of respect for her teacher. Her grades in Biology improved baffling the other teachers. Mrs Gupta heaped praises on her while her colleagues applauded her achievement. Sunaina felt a sense of victory. This incident made her realize her shortcomings. For the first time in her life since the demise of her mother, she felt loved and appreciated.

She became aware of the fact that the best feeling in the world is that of being appreciated and respected for who you are. It took away all her false pretences and negativity and made her honest and humble. The dark clouds in her gloomy life had parted way for a bright sun to break through with dazzling warm rays to lead her on in life. She smiled to herself , remembering her favourite quote by P B Shelley, “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”

- Abhishek Rai <abhisacredheart3@gmail.com> for Odyssey at Sacred Heart School, Siliguri

Bharti Rao : Playing Encourages Exploration & Sparks Curiosity

Playing is important for the children. Using play way method helps a child to learn many skills. Children love figuring out how things work and this they explore by playing. Their curiosity and willpower help them to learn and this mode of learning has no end. Playing doesn’t mean sports; of course sports do help one to be fit and healthy, team spirit, leadership qualities etc. The ability to play helps one to be curious which is important for continuous growth and development.

School is an important place where students learn and grow by play way method. Play way method in class helps one to learn a lot especially is used for primary students. Toddlers learn easily by using blocks, puzzles, art materials, toys etc. This helps them to be engaged and increases their thinking abilities. For instance, with blocks, children explore size, shape, number, and texture as well as weight, balance, and symmetry. It helps the children to be attentive in class. Play based enhances children’s academic and developmental learning outcomes. It can also set your child up for success by teaching them relevant skills.

Play based learning attracts attention and motivates a child to learn more. This arise the child’s curiosity and it starts analyzing the information that they get. This helps the children to think which leads them to be creative and develops their senses. The School through play based learning offers experiences according to the child’s current interests, stage of development, and temperament. As children grow, curiosity propels them to enjoy broader, more complex encounters.

By providing children with enriching experiences, the teachers give learning potential a helping hand. Our support promotes brain-power so learning pathways become refined and strengthened. Once the kids’ basics are clear they will never have problems when they become adults. The teacher encourages children’s learning and inquiry through interactions that aim to stretch their thinking to higher levels. Teachers and Parents can also use children’s motivation and interest to explore concepts and ideas. In this way, children acquire and practice important academic skills and learning in a playful context.

Bharti Rao
bro@fabindiaschools.in