Treating children with dignity
I would like to thank Zenobia N. Lakdawalla for sharing her experience in ‘We learn from mistakes’ (Notes from a teacher’s diary, March 2010). In her situation, it would have been easy to do the usual thing, which is to snub the child for copying, lecture him on his unscrupulous behaviour, even take him to the principal and call his parents. Instead, the teacher chose to approach the situation with great maturity, something we need to cultivate in our dealings with young people entrusted in our care. The child would have appreciated being ‘related to’ instead of ‘dealt with’. The teacher pointed out his mistake and asked him to mend his ways, but did not violate his dignity. I also find it significant that the teacher responded to the act of copying, instead of passing judgment on the child’s character and upbringing or humiliating him in front of other students. We teachers are often unaware of the damage we cause, and Zenobia’s story is a good reminder. It also makes us see that children will take responsibility for their actions, provided we relate to them with trust and respect.
Chintan Girish Modi
Mumbai
Helping teachers grow
The article ‘Get ahead with the news’ in the April 2010 issue throws light on the multi dimensional activities that can be carried out by any teacher irrespective of the curriculum. These activities will help students learn any difficult subject with ease and joy. Apart from academics, articles like ‘Classroom language’ (Ask and Answer, April 2010) will help the teacher inculcate soft skills in students. No doubt reading Teacher Plus will help teachers grow internally and also professionally.
Jayalekshmi Rajasekaran
Tirunelveli
An asset to teachers
It’s my immense pleasure to share my feelings about Teacher Plus, a complete magazine for a valuable profession like teaching. I don’t miss out on any section of the magazine and read with interest ideas and experiments to liven up a classroom that other teachers share through this innovative magazine. The quality of the magazine both in terms of looks and content has made it an asset not only to teachers but also to parents and students.
Harekrushna Behera
Unchahar
A good resource
The May-June biology special issue from Teacher Plus was a treat to both the eye and the mind. The layout of the magazine was very appealing and attractive as usual. The content didn’t let us down either. There are articles from which teachers can pick ideas and take straight to the classroom and also articles that ask the teacher to think. There is a bit of fun to have had too with the crossword, the quiz and the shells! I also liked the idea of the images pages. We are probably seeing these trees, lizards and butterflies everyday but don’t know what they are called. Now we have names to match them with. The biology issue is truly a wonderful resource that every biology teacher will benefit from.
Shamili
Hyderabad