This evening, a friend, who teaches in the kindergarten section of a top school, called me. She sounded upset.
"Is everything fine?" I asked.
"Don't even ask," she gasped. "I wish the earth split open this moment and swallowed me!"
"What happened?"
She told me. Last week, two students in her class, a boy and a girl, were caught trying to relieve each other their uniform (this is Upper KG!) and simulating unmentionable acts.
"When I asked them what they were doing, they said they had seen their parents doing such things at home. These days, if you hit a student, you go stright to jail. So what do you do?"
"What did you do?" I asked.
"We made the boys and the girls sit separately."
"Did it work?"
"No! This morning two girls were kissing each other in front of the entire class. When I asked them what they were doing, they said they had seen people doing it on TV."
I didn't know what to say. Then my friend chided me, "And people like you, what do you do? You write about all nonsense topics. Why don't you write an article on parenting? Why don't you at least write a post on your blog?"
Parenting is one area Ganga Mail stays clear of. But I think I have done my bit for you, 'Miss'.
21 comments:
:-o this generation, I tell you!!!
Because what was once taboo has become what is acceptable in the media... But the media is not to be blamed... Like u said, what are parents doing???
on a serious note,i think it was a cue that it's time you make her a bua/pici(aunt).
on a lighter note-this generation sucks.
Damn! What has this world come to?
Dear BG
the said anonymous fellow which you are looking for
blogs as "sadoldbong" and JAP. Search it.
Into my 15th year as 'mother'. Have parented more by instinct than by the book....not sure if I can voice my theories without being controversial!
How did the kids of an upmarket school - roughly 2 ayahs & 2 teachers monitoring 30 students - get to be by themselves.... that's worrying me!
Soumya, I happen to be a teacher in a kindergarten school.
In KG teaching primarily happens in two modes 1) when you are teaching the entire class-here all students can be observed and monitored. 2) When you go around checking what individual students are doing or have done, making corrections and guiding them.
In the second mode all students are obviously not observed and monitored regularly. Please note that this is very specific to KG and is not (always) followed in higher classes.
Finally, ayahs role is to assist students during playtime,mealtime, going to the washroom etc. They have no role to play during core teaching periods.
This is my experience from the schools I have taught in, others may differ:-)
What about the 'complaint boxes' who normally alert teachers when something untoward is happening?Or, is it that they don't exist any more?!
How the system destroys journalist who dare to expose them
http://aaloktomar.blogspot.com/
This journalist had written some daring stuff on his website and was severly victimised. He was arrested and jailed several times by Delhi Police on fictitious charges as he had written against commissioner of police. Nobody came to his support. All this in national capital.
I dont know what is his status at presnt or not. He has not posted in his blog for a year.
My dear parents you have quite a job in hand. All the best to you all.
Children are precious. The current younger lot are smarter, their exposure varied and they have to go thru a lot of peer and parental pressures.Some of them have to leave the countries they were born when their parents choose to return to their native country and the pressure starts right there for such kids. They are already bearing the brunt of climate change, corruption, and instability even in their families. Grandma and Grandpa are there for them on pictures and over phone calls. A whole lot different from the secure stable atmosphere that we were brought up in. So lets lend this generation a handshake, a shoulder to cry on, a pat on their back and geniune encouragement. They sure are a promising lot.
"When I asked them what they were doing, they said they had seen their parents doing such things at home. These days, if you hit a student, you go stright to jail. So what do you do?"
So if the fear of going to jail was not there, this teacher would have solved the problem by beating the children?
The solution is to tell children about 'appropriate behaviour' and also to let the parents know that the children seem to know more than the parents are probably aware of.
I would also be concerned about child abuse in such a situation, but whatever else this teacher did, there was no reason to separate the boys and girls or to make them feel like they are doing something dirty or 'unmentionable'. If the kids felt guilty they would have made sure they were not seen.
Maybe the teacher needs to read this post, <a href ="http://indianhomemaker.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/sex-education-has-nothing-to-do-with-blue-films/> Sex Education Is Not A Dirty Thing. </a>
Here's the link again,
Sex Education has nothing to do with Blue films.
@indianhomemaker. I don't think it is all that bad to pick up the rod once in a while. I grew up at a time when it was okay for your teacher to beat you. It just taught the child a thing or two. I myself learnt things better. A harmless spanking and slight tapping on the back will not terrorise a child.
I don't think the teacher here is supporting corporal punishment.
I strongly believe in 'spare the rod spoil the child.'
me thinks ppl are super sexcited! they are kids. leave them alone. its childhood play. none of you can stop change. or your children. relax guys :)
Ganga mein paani behna achanak kyon band ho gaya ji? bahut vyast hain kya? ?
Write like Ganesha, don't stop. If your pen breaks, use your tusk. If your keyboard breaks, use the mobile phone.
Crap, sounds like such a corny ad for Airtel.....
Dear Ghosh Babu,
I made the discovery of the century today: how to write a blog. I hope you find some time to read mine as I read and enjoy yours.
http://peanutexpress.blogspot.com/
Desi Babu
gosh! ghosh! how did ur friend even get hired!!! She comes across as one conservative paranoid meenambakkam maami! Thats the age children discover they sexuality and their bodies. Not in the ''i am so hot for you...stick it a hard one'' way but more of a ''hey look what I got...wanna show me urs?" kinda way. You have to be very very careful with them- vulnerable and fragile that they are at that age. All she has to do is start explaining things to them- at their level. Not make them embarrassed about something so natural.
And beating them up and separating the girls from the boys for something like that???? Who did she train under? The Taliban????
gosh! ghosh! how did ur friend even get hired!!! She comes across as one conservative paranoid meenambakkam maami! Thats the age children discover they sexuality and their bodies. Not in the ''i am so hot for you...stick it a hard one'' way but more of a ''hey look what I got...wanna show me urs?" kinda way. You have to be very very careful with them- vulnerable and fragile that they are at that age. All she has to do is start explaining things to them- at their level. Not make them embarrassed about something so natural.
And beating them up and separating the girls from the boys for something like that???? Who did she train under? The Taliban????
COLOURMEWHITE
I would like to disagree with the comment that says a little bit of beating by the teaching once in a while is ok and 'teaches' the children something. I have received beating from a kindergarten teacher and it only taught me to fear teachers. Fear and humiliation. Those were lessons I did not need to learn in LKG and UKG. I do not support this form of disciplining children at all.
hiii SPARKLING MAN...
we dont give noodles to a new born child...we dont expect a child of 5 to cook her own food... we dont think a 10 year old child is capapble of running their own family....
there is an age to learn and experiment everything.same way knowing and exploring the opposite sex must start preferably after 18 ...there is nothing the teacher could have done other than what she had..-sam
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