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| Edited By: DNA Corresponedent |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 13, 2017, 08:30 AM IST
My way of establishing a rapport with children is through the activities they participate in. In regular academics, I do not find much space to reach out to all individuals, but during assemblies, co-curricular activities and some major events, I do take out enough time to know them. I have a conviction that each educator should encourage children to learn from their mistakes and thus they should even celebrate their mistakes.
Peer pressure and study pressure have their roots in the assessment system. Here, I am a bit critical about the present education system wherein a lot emphasis is still on marking or grading. I would propose the concept of profiling each student – it would enable us to understand each child along with his/her strengths and weaknesses. Peer pressure can be dealt with through well-defined sensitisation programmes which an institution can incorporate in its calendar. It may be a few activities that are monthly based, on any theme, which should relate to the problems of children; case study presentations in the assembly taken up by students themselves and also though the participation of children in more and more co-curricular activities.
I would propose that in matters like cyber crimes and cyber bullying, children should be made aware through regular counselling and talk shows. The all-pervasive nature of this threat has made it dangerous and fatal. A close watch and monitoring of each student in and outside the classroom is the need of the hour. Taking some proactive measures will cut down the risk it involves.
I never want kids to see my office as the place they come to where they get in trouble but as a place where they can talk and grow. My goal as a principal is to ensure that I talk to kids and get to know them so that if they ever do end up in my office, I always try to establish a relationship with them.
Coping with peer pressure is one of the toughest parts of growing up. Those pressures are most intense during a child’s middle and high school years. Being accepted by their peers is of paramount concern for students during these years as they strive to look, talk, and act like their classmates. In their desire to gain peer approval, teenagers typically feel pressure to engage in the same activities as their peers. Sometimes, they will succumb to that pressure against their better judgement. Children with low self-esteem are particularly vulnerable to peer pressure, and might lose their perspective about right and wrong. On the other hand, children with nurturing parents are more likely to resist peer-group values that differ from their family’s values.
Cyber-bullying is increasing day by day as children are exposed to networking and social sites. Being a principal, my duty to protect my students from various negative technological pressures. So from time to time, we organise workshops such as a Cyber Ethics School and Community Programmes to make students aware. Regarding the Blue Whale challenge, I came to know that Blue Whale is not a downloadable game, application or software.
