I could scarcely believe the drastic change in her
personality; so I discreetly observed her interactions with other students. To
my surprise, I discovered a body language in stark contrast to that of
yesterday. She did not push or shove any other student and worked well in the
class. Her academic performance had always been good and was only improving
now.
To make her feel appreciated, and to get more comfortable
with her, I decided to take her and her classmate Gauri to a field trip along
with me. On the way to the destination, the two of them read story books I had
brought along for them. We sat together in the auditorium and Mariyam got to
know about my fondness for music among other things. I learned more about her family.
I thought that the plan had worked.
And yet, of late Mariyam had been behaving a little
strangely in the class. She wouldn’t speak much. She isolated herself from her
original group of friends and participated only when asked to. I thought it was
a clear case of not getting enough opportunities to display her leadership
skills. So I gave her a strong role to play; I told her to play my role in the
class for an entire period, by writing down questions on the blackboard,
modelling how to solve them, keeping an eye on the troublemakers, picking
students at random to answer, and then verifying their answers. That put a
smile on her face and she looked instantly gratified.
I guess, some students just need a little extra push and
attention.
We have eight different teams in our class and each one gets
managed by a team leader. The team leader gets changed every week, and this
week Mariyam is leading her team. I am hoping this would boost her morale and
increase her involvement in the class. It is difficult to understand why a
child acts in a certain way. But once you understand the WHY, you know exactly
WHAT to do.
Pranav Sukhija
Teacher of primary school children, counselor for many, perpetual thinker, voracious writer, avid (not greedy) reader, crazy dancer, joyful singer, wannabe guitarist, wannabe actor, wannabe chef, comfort food lover, nature lover, self-proclaimed photographer, ingenious explorer, Delhi boy who doesn't fulfill most of the assumed 'typical' Delhi boy qualities.
Teacher of primary school children, counselor for many, perpetual thinker, voracious writer, avid (not greedy) reader, crazy dancer, joyful singer, wannabe guitarist, wannabe actor, wannabe chef, comfort food lover, nature lover, self-proclaimed photographer, ingenious explorer, Delhi boy who doesn't fulfill most of the assumed 'typical' Delhi boy qualities.
