Sharing something from personal experience:
While interacting with my domestic staff, I got to know that, despite receiving proper care and education, their school-going children have become spoiled and rowdy. Some of them have even shown violent and abusive tendencies. Their changing attitudes have become a constant source of distress for their parents.
Initially, I would tell the concerned parents how crucial patience is when dealing with such things with kids of such a tender age. Unfortunately, their problem wasn't getting better.
Being an educator and always interested in kids, I decided to start visiting one of the schools, Bagiya (an NGO-run school). The school has students from underprivileged and socio-economically deprived families.
Spending time with the kids made me realize how keen the students were
on learning and excelling in life. I decided to work on polishing their behavior. I began by exploring their aspirations, feelings, and circumstances. I made a plan to inculcate the values of better living and sophisticated communication in the children.
A critical factor in changing the mindsets of these innocent kids was their living conditions. For instance, a few girls were disturbed by the use of abusive language by the boys. On inquiring with the boys about the same, I became aware of how exposed they were to such language in their lives. Moreover, most of them were unaware of the moral and social connotations of abusive language.
I explained to them the social implications of using profanity. One of the students got up and said, "But no one told us about it." "I am feeling ashamed that I was using it."
I made the child comfortable. However, I sensed their willingness to improve themselves and gave them some self-improvement homework.
Next week, when I was with them, I felt happy to see them sharing their experiences. All of them seemed to be willing to work on themselves. I was impressed to see their excitement. Our journey is still on. This was just one event.
**********
My take:
A brief period of positive communication with these children has opened a window for a newer vision for them. That is the power of communication.
Reflections:
One of the vital life skills to possess is the ability to communicate effectively. And the most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.
*******
If you are struggling with communication issues DM me.
Comments