The way one reacts to different situations determines a person’s personality.
In fact, the positive or negative attributes and the degree of humaneness of a person can be made out by putting him or her through situations contrived without their knowledge. Obviously, those who exercise self-control are the respected lot.
Standard VI students of Samad Higher Secondary School were put through one such situation during a session of The Hindu - Newspaper in Education. The session on the module ‘respecting the possessions of others’ was a component of the theme ‘being humane’.
At the outset, the resource person Tamina Alfred passed around a tray containing 12 to 13 items amongst the students. They assumed the exercise to be a memory game when asked to list the items they had seen on the tray.
Next, they were asked to respond to the question as to how they handled the items and why. Their spontaneous reply was that they handled the contents of the tray carefully since the items did not belong to them.
They were then asked how they would feel in case items belonging to them were handled irresponsibly by others. The obvious answer was that they would be saddened and annoyed.
The same principle holds good for individuals while handling other’s properties. In exercising self-control while handling other’s properties, one also respects the possessions of others, Ms. Tamina told the students.
