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Young World
Loving our teachers
SANGEETH KURIAN
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These sessions help them open up to their teachers.
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Photo: N. Rajesh
Learning better: Confiding in the teacher.
Student-teacher relationship in Government schools across the district is in for a paradigm shift with a majority of the students developing a friendly rapport with their teachers.More than ever, students are comfortable in opening up to their teachers and sharing personal issues with them. “The equation between students and teachers in schools has changed for the better,” said. Dr. Nithyanand, project director, Hum
anity Trust of India, an organisation offering counselling programme for students.
The organisation in association with the General Education Department and State Police Women’s Cell is currently conducting ‘Kowmarasangamam’ (Teenage get-together) among students studying in class VIII to XII at various Government schools across the State.
The two-hour long session held separately for boys and girls during class hours, gives an opportunity for the students to share their concerns and grievances with a team of five qualified counsellors in private.
“Ever since the programme was launched nearly two months ago we are yet to receive any complaints from the students against their teachers, said Mr. Nithyanand who has covered 12 out of the 102 schools in Thiruvananthapuram Educational District till date.
Corporal Punishment
He says one possible reason for this attitudinal change is the decision to do away with corporal punishment by most of the schools. “The new curriculum which focuses on a student centric approach too has contributed to the positive change,” he said.
The get-together begins with a motivating session, during which students are told about inspirational stories and anecdotes from the lives of eminent personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi and the former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. “The sessions have a magical effect on the students with most of them expressing their concerns without inhibition,” said Mr. Nithayanand. Students identified by teachers are also offered personal counselling.
Yet some of the common problems associated with the teenage population continued to be on the rise. It was estimated that nearly 20 per cent of the students have psychological disabilities such as depression and anxiety. During the get-together students are advised on how to identify their problems by looking for symptoms such as lack of concentration in studies, uncontrollable aggression, fear of examinations, preference for solitude, lack of cleanliness and sudden fall in academic proficiency. If a student exhibits more than three out of the six afore-mentioned problems, then he or she will require the service of a counsellor.
One of the most pervasive problems observed among teenagers was the ‘alarming’ spread and influence of pornographic compact discs and magazines. The availability of Internet pornography has also complicated the issue with students relying on the Internet for their projects and computer related assignments. “All this adversely impacts their level of concentration on studies. The session helps them to tide over such adolescent desires and regain their focus,” he said.
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