Determination: An Important Life Skill

Determination

During the return journey, after having attended my daughter's Graduation Ceremony, I pondered over her decision to join a corporate legal firm for the next two years before pursuing her L.L.M in International Business. A question constantly troubled me - Will my daughter be able to face the world?

                               

Luckily, I caught hold of a book by Dr. Anupam Sibal - "Is Your Child Ready to face the World?" in the school library. I think every parent and educator must read this book. It is a great aid for us educators in understanding and helping our students, and inculcating various qualities and soft skills in them, so that they can face the world with courage and confidence.

Having been the class teacher of Class X and handling the pressure of the students' first ever public examination (i.e. Class X Board Examination), I recall the story of two of my students. One is that of Muskan, a very confident and promising student from the very beginning, and the other is that of  Chandresh, a shy, simple, village student, who wanted to prove himself by performing well and securing his future studies.

                        

The challenge was to help students score high grades while simultaneously equipping them to deal with the pressure of the Board examination effectively. Muskan, on the one hand, was very confident and was able to overcome all her difficulties by actively seeking the support of her family and staff. On the other hand, Chandresh was a very shy and quiet student, who hesitated in getting his doubts cleared and seeking the help of the teachers in overcoming the pressure.

One Saturday, in the Life Skills lesson, I decided to assign to my students various roles to play, so as to increase their determination and will power and use this activity to discuss ways in which great personalities like Napoleon used determination to achieve success.

                              

As expected, Muskan gained the determination to set a record by achieving 10 C.G.P.A. Chandresh, on the other hand, slowly opened up to me and began discussing his personal and academic problems in various subjects. Other teachers also helped him in overcoming his difficulties and solving his personal problems.

The book is a powerful tool in the hands of all parents and educators looking to make their children competent in facing the world by aiding development of necessary skills and qualities in them.

~ Ajay Vijayvargi is an Educator at The Fabindia School. His email is avi4fab@gmail.com