From the days of yore, a good old story, be it the Aesop's fables or the parables in the Bible, has been the favourite medium to drive home a message. Likewise, the opening module under the ‘Being Humane' theme took off with a story-telling session to impress upon students that being humane primarily involves respecting the other person, their ideas and perspectives.
The Standard Seven and Eight Standard students of Brindavan Vidyalaya ICSE were hooked from the first word of Resource Person, Punitha Natarajan's story. She narrated the tale of a young boy who wished to put Buddha to test. With a small dove concealed in his palms, he asked Buddha whether the bird in his hand was dead or alive.
He decided he would prove the Buddha wrong by releasing the bird or stifling it in contradiction to Buddha's answer. But the great one who intended to save the bird answered simply, ‘The fate of the bird is in your hands.'
The activity that followed had students divided into groups of four and discussing ideas for a few proposals- hosting a farewell party for a teacher, planning an excursion for the class or saving more water. While each group shared its ideas with the rest of the class, the other groups were asked to assess and criticise the group. Through the activity students learnt how to criticise without hurting others and face criticism with a sportive spirit.
The class winded up with a newspaper based activity. Students were asked to locate two photographs – of a personality who deserved respect by his deeds and another who had earned disrespect through his actions.
