KIDS AND PARENTAL PRESSURE

As a home maker, I try to keep myself busy by taking tuitions to a few kids in my complex. This also for a few couple of hours when my kid goes to sleep. Initially taking tuitions was something I would'nt ever dream of ever. But this happened accidently last year when I met a freind of mine whose kid was slow at learning. Since she also had another small baby to look after and I too was at a very low phase, so took my first student. What followed was that this same friend of my mine got an other student. Both these boys were in the same class UKG so for me it was great. Then came the neighbour of mine whose kid was in the 7th grade ICSE Board. She wanted me tutor him on Maths and Science ( I was numb, I tried my best to tell her that its been a long time - but she somehow convinced me into it). And so came along a few more.

At first, I was more nervous when the results were to be announced. Then every parent would come and discuss their childs progress. At first if the child would not do as expected (parents expectations) then the parents would try and give me their inputs as to how I should go about teaching. That was it.... I was not going to allow any parent to tell me how to do my job. I let them know how I felt and if they were not satisfied they were free to search for another teacher. That did scare them a bit coz there were other teachers who had big batches of kids but none of them could give personal attention. Generally, parents who put their kids for tuitions feel that their kids will do a miracle and when that does not happen the blame game starts. What they do not understand is that a tuition teacher is a guide who help the kid in understanding the subject well but the students are also required to practise and study. By setting unachieveable goals to the kids makes them more depressed. This according to me is the PRESSURE which results in the kid lying, not paying any interest etc. In fact some kids feel that their parents do not even love them any more (yes as told by one of my students). Parents really need to sit with their kids (especially the ones entering their teenage) and understand them more and love them for what they are. Few words of encouragement can go a long way in shaping up the childrens future.

All the kids who I had as my students eventually gave a good performance in the finals atleast there was a 15% to 20% improvement than their earlier scores. This was not only due to my efforts but also the students who really worked hard. This, for me is an achievement and an encouragement. The students parents were really happy and I was glad that I could bring a smile on their faces.

Teaching these kids has made me realise how they feel or rather how a certain age group thinks. Most of them are pretty honest. They are not as diplomatic as the adults. Instead they voice their emotions well. Its up to us to understand them and make changes before its too late. How many times have we wanted to do something but were not able to due to parental pressure or financial pressure? We should be happy that the Kids nowadays are more clear in their thinking and know what they want to do. Supporting them will help them achieve greater heights.

HAPPINESS

Last week we had gone to CROSSWORD to shop for some good story books as well as some reference book for our son. The best part about this Book Store is that you can sit there browse thru and also read books with no one to disturb. My husband who is a usual fan of TINTIN and ASTERIX sat cooly and started reading these comics. My son was more than happy sitting on a toy elephant model.

Since both of them were busy I decided to go thru the books for improving my cooking skills. Finally ended up selecting a couple of the Sanjeev Kapoor books. After moving away from the cookery section I saw myself looking at the section on self improvement. Not really interested in it, I moved on but could'nt help looking at this book "The Little Manual of Happiness" by Vikas Malkani. It was as if the book was screaming to me to "pick me up, phuleeeeez". I sure did and I am glad that I did.

Now I am almost half way thru the book and wanted to share some of the wonderful quotes :

" Do what is right, regardless of the fear or the consequences. All you can finally lose is you fear."

"Happiness does not depend on your tommorro; happiness is today, the present moment."

"Often, our pursuit of perfection overshadows our pursuit of happiness; when this happens, expect disaster."

"Stop worrying about what everyone thinks about you because, usually, they are not thinking about you at all; instead, they may well be wondering what you may be thinking of them."

"Pause for a minute and reflect on this sentence : You deserve love and respect just because you are you."

"A happy person is one who gets rid of all negatavities. He or she will go that extra mile just to avoid the downbeat and the depressing."

"The next time you feel low, for whatever reason, remind yourself, "This too shall pass." It will."

"If you live your life thinking that you will be happy tommorrow, let me tell you straight that tommorrow never comes."

"Solitude is precious; a person who loves his or her company is forever happy. He or she does not need to rely on another for joy."

"A happy person is the one who knows that there are options and always chooses the happy one."

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony- Mahatma Gandhi"

The last quote indicated has been written by Mahatma Gandhi.

Enjoy reading them and Be Happy. Oh yes, do leave your comments.