THESE IMMORTAL words may be displayed prominently in every school to impress upon the children the sanctity of human life asking them to nourish and value it and not to throw it away in vain.
It is sad that a 15-year old has taken the extreme step recently as he was allegedly harassed by his teachers and peers at school. The unfortunate event could have been averted if everyone concerned had acted in time and in the way they should have.
But it was not to be. The school diary was found to have contained entries about the repeated unsatisfactory conduct of the boy. But thanks to a costly communication gap, no follow-up action was taken.
Such incidents can be averted by proper student counselling, frequent meetings of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), organising orientation courses for the teacher recruits, taking immediate action in case of child maladjustment, parental love and affection at home and elders adopting a positive approach in dealing with children.
The PTA, in many schools, is all but defunct. Usually, there is a year-end party and the election of office-bearers for the next year. To be really effective, the forum must meet periodically and summon an open house where heart-to-heart discussions are held about the problems of paranoid, mal-adjusted and problem children. Parents and the school authorities without standing on prestige must find a collective solution.
Teachers must help children come together in a spirit of camaraderie and friendship forgetting their differences. Instead of commenting on the negative aspects of children, teachers should arrange one-on-one sessions with the paranoid child and help him or her come out of the tangle.
In case of repeated occurrences of the non-co-operative behaviour of the child, the school must get in touch with the parents immediately without letting the grass grow under its feet.
Teacher intolerance
Nowadays, teacher intolerance is much in evidence. Learning can take place only in an atmosphere of love and friendship. A dislike towards a teacher may create a life-long hatred even towards the subject he or she teaches. Any open criticism or insinuation is resented by the child.
This I say from my teaching experience of four decades. A sense of humour has stood me in good stead throughout my career. Sometimes it was unintended. Years back, when I was teaching King Lear, a boy entered the class late. It synchronised with my reading the stage direction in the play, `Enter Fool.' The class went into uproarious laughter. Humour is a safety valve in a classroom.
In the good old days, children could not afford to be choosy about the school they join but it is not so now. They are easily upset in a school where they miss classmates of their own wavelength with whom they could be at home. This is a vital consideration which parents cannot ignore.
It is drilled into children's heads that they should achieve nothing less than excellence. Parents and teachers tend to slight the children who lag behind. This is an unhappy trend. The sooner it is given up, the better it is for the educational system.
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