Courage and Patience: Prakriti RPKM

Patience is not very different from courage. It just takes longer- James Richardson

Situation 1- A fearful student 

As children explore the world around them, having new experiences and confronting new challenges are almost unavoidable for them. 

“Fears are common but they have to be dealt with early so they do not become extreme, persistent and develop into phobias”. 

Ways to deal with the situation:

In a classroom, there are different students with different behaviours and attitudes. Some are happy, cheerful, confident, responsive, active, inquisitive (sometimes inquisitive students are impatient), interactive, highly invested in studies, vocal, and punctual with the class work. Some are slow learners, underconfident, sad, fearful, silent, least interested in their studies, less punctual, and lacking in completing their assignments on time.

We as teachers have to strongly consider the concept of “ Individual differences” and understand that every student is different and possesses different strengths and weaknesses which have to be dealt with accordingly.

If we talk about a fearful student particularly, knowing the reason behind the fearful attitude of a student is very important. There might be multiple reasons:- 1. He might have done something wrong or might be involved in some wrongdoings or mischievous habits in school or outside. 2. He is not prepared for class and has not completed his homework assignments. The way to deal with a fearful student depends on the reason. In the case of reason 1, we have to counsel him and bring him back on the right track. As teachers, we have to build up that confidence level so that the student can share his actions with us. In the case of reason 2, we have to encourage him and make him aware of the benefits of studies, prospects, and what life he can live after studying and otherwise. Incident directly from the classroom: It was in the year 2022-23, there was a student who used to stay quiet and was scared most of the time. He was not able to express himself properly and was hesitant in even answering simple questions. After talking to his parents and his friends we came to know that his health condition was not good due to which he failed to study well and that made him fearful. We were successful in making him a more responsive and bright student by coordinating with his parents. We would like to share another story of a student who had a fear of swimming. He had a fear of deep water. One day, knowing his fear, he prepared himself to learn to swim. His motivation was to fight and save himself in adverse situations. He went swimming and was trying hard to learn it. Hardly three days had passed when another senior student who was swimming with him forced him to a depth of 16 feet and left him in the middle all alone. The senior wanted him to face the situation and overcome it. However, that student started drowning and almost lost his breath when he thought to try and somehow catch the corner. This was his last attempt. He started throwing his hands and legs just looking for the railing to catch it. Luckily this effort made him move towards the railing and he could reach the corner where he took a deep breath. This incident motivated him to learn swimming and at present, he knows every type of stroke in swimming and also diving. But here he was his own teacher, and the person who left him in the middle of the pool can also be called his teacher as he taught him to overcome his fear through hard work and sincere efforts. That senior student placed him in a situation of fear and let him think to himself how to fight it out. So with this story, it is beautifully conveyed that first and foremost the child himself is his teacher. Advice to Educators- 1. We as educators should be involved with our students not only on the professional front but at the personal front. 2. The concept of “Individual differences” should be followed because each child is different. 3. The educators should try to find the root cause of fear by taking help from the child and his parents. 4. Educators should prepare the child to face and overcome his/her fear.

5. Educators should involve parents. They should discuss and inform parents of their plans so parents can follow up accordingly at home. 6. Suggesting relaxing activities like meditation, yoga, etc. can help reduce stress. Situation 2: An impatient student and ways to deal with the situation: An impatient student might be impatient because of multiple reasons:- 1. He might not understand the concepts taught, making him impatient- We can deal with the situation by teaching the concepts clearly and providing him with the extra and individual attention that he may need. 2. It is his inborn nature or character trait– This type of impatience is difficult to handle and can be dealt with with a deep understanding of the child’s behaviour in different situations. 3. He understands the concepts well and he is impatient out of curiosity– This type of impatience can be dealt with easily by answering the student’s queries. It entirely depends on the competence of the teacher. There are many such incidents in our classroom where we deal with impatient students daily. There is a student who always comes up with queries, sometimes relevant and sometimes irrelevant. His queries are always related to the conceptual knowledge of the subject.

He has been a curious child from the start. With time, we have observed that there is a positive change in him. Now, he has become more sensible. Earlier he used to be impatient and restless but now he has become patient and calm. Advice to Educators:- 1. It is very important for us to be patient and calm while dealing with impatient students. 2. Knowing the root cause of impatience is very necessary. 3. Educators need to provide students with a comfort zone where they can open up and share their thoughts.

Prakriti @RPK Moradabad, India

Dhiraj Gupta, Naina Soni, Rekha Kapoor, Suman Singh, Naushaba Sami, Isha Sharma