Children are very sensitive these days and it is getting difficult for teachers to counsel them on their emotional and personal problems, said Ranjani Parmeswaran, teacher of PSBB.
Endorsing this view at the workshop on life skills and communication here on Saturday were many of her counterparts, including her colleague Laxmi Mohan who said that with children being exposed to many influences, teachers had added responsibilities of anticipating adolescent behaviour and take remedial steps.
Concerns such as these and many more, and the need to instil life-management skills in children were discussed at the programme that was organised by N. C. Sridharan and Radha Sridharan. As many as 200 teachers from 60 schools, and 30 students participated in it.
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Since values are getting scarce, it is important that children are brought up with a sense of discipline which would help them make the right choices, and be responsible for themselves, Mr. Sridharan said.
Teachers in class should include inspiring stories from history to help children connect to the past and get motivated, he added.
It is the responsibility of schools to inculcate in children, the ability to absorb failures, besides imparting the right amount of social skills and intelligence, he said, citing the growing occurrences of suicides among students.
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The workshop engaged the children in a variety of interactive games that involved the use of listening capabilities, concentration, interest, ability to analyse and solve problems, and team spirit. By engaging children in regular personality development classes, outbound exercises and practical, fun games, you can teach them lessons on life, without imposing conceptual values on them, Mr. Sridharan told the teachers.
Accepted discipline and not enforced discipline is what works with children, he said.
?Talk to them about the consequences of their actions, help them decide for themselves,? he added.
?We believe that even the most restless children can be disciplined if taught the right way, programmes such as this should be held as often as possible to give children alternative and better methods to learn about life,? said J. Gita, DAV School, Adambakkam.