The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : Hailing the unsung heroes

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Tuesday, Jan 18, 2011
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

Hailing the unsung heroes

Staff Reporter

—Photo:R. Ashok

reality check:A Newspaper In Education (NIE) session underway at Periyar Centenary Memorial Matric Higher Secondary School in Tiruchi.

TIRUCHI: Imagine that your maid goes on leave unannounced or the garbage collector neglects the trash can in your neighbourhood.

Standard VIII students of Periyar Centenary Memorial Matric Higher Secondary School found themselves in these make-believe yet undesirable predicaments during the fourth module of the ‘Being Humane' theme. The session urged them to assess and appreciate the efforts of such ‘service providers' who made their lives comfortable but still were often taken for granted.

The module titled ‘Minding your P's and Q's' was a lesson in valuing the dignity of labour. Punitha Natarajan, resource person, narrated two anecdotes — the story of a boatman rescuing a contemptuous scholar who constantly belittles the former's work and an episode involving America's first President George Washington who prompted his subordinates to prize manual labour. Ms.Natarajan said that tasks considered as menial required hard labour and should never be treated with derision.

In the subsequent group activity, students were given flash cards inscribed with names of various service providers. As volunteers came forward to mime the work of the service provider, students had to identify the word and associate it with a familiar person.

What followed was an introspective session when students were asked to evaluate their treatment of these service providers. Ms. Natrajan urged them to accord the respect and credit due to them without discounting their services. In the final activity, students had to list various privileges they enjoyed at home and link it to people who made them possible. This activity was helpful in determining their contribution in a household.

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