Why do we need so many days in a week? Why can’t we have only Saturday and Sunday?” complained the son squirrel to his mother as he wailed and flailed one morning. The mother squirrel was running out of patience and answers to the numerous questions that she had to face every morning before packing off her son to school. So she ignored the sniffs and piffles. Standing at a distance was the grandmother squirrel who had answers to all questions. She came to the son squirrel and said, “‘Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,/If we haven’t enough to do-oo-oo,/We get the hump-/Cameelious hump-/The hump that is black and blue!’ Now this is a good reason to go to school don’t you think so?” And after that day, the son squirrel never cried before going to school lest he got a hump.
“To cut a long story short, you just miss out on all the fun,” my grandfather would end his squirrel story with this line every time my sister created ruckus before going to the kindergarten in our neighbourhood.
Many parents have to encounter odd questions when their children are introduced to school, especially if the session starts after a long, fun-filled vacation. The sniffles turn into wails as the school nears and the pitch gets louder at the time of saying goodbye to parents.
Outside Tiny Tots, a playschool in the city, it was a long wait for parents as their children sing and dance inside. As classes for the new batch of toddlers end, a high-pitched sound of crying was heard from inside. “How tough is it after vacation?” Arthur Steven, the principal and proprietor of Tiny Tots, smiled. “You already heard. Now go inside and see it for yourself,” he told this correspondent.
Inside the colourful classroom, teachers were busy pacifying the children. “Please don’t mind. Wait for some time,” said Miss Dolly who was distributing candies to children as they left with their parents.
The teacher, who has been handling children for over two decades, has a pleasant smile that made her students comfortable. Even those who were crying stopped to say “thank you miss, goodbye”.
“Children will cry on the first day. That is how it is. All they need is love and care. Teachers have to be patient and take care of these children as their own. They understand love and gradually adopt themselves to the environment,” said the teacher as she greeted the parents and kissed the children.
The smart screen inside the classroom showed cartoons and a child, tucked comfortably in a teacher’s arms, forgot to cry for a while as he watched the animated figures run across the screen. In one corner, Gerard Sawian was busy with toys. He did not want to leave the class and refused to look at his mother. “Not all children cry. There are many like him who love to come to the playschool and spend time with friends,” assured Dolly.
Some like St Mary’s School allow parents to sit through the first class on Day 1 so that children get time to accustom themselves to the strangers around. “But the crying starts from the second day as parents are not allowed to come inside the classroom,” said a teacher.
However, Steven said Tiny Tots does not allow parents even on Day 1 as “our teachers are trained to handle all kinds of children”.
“This is a playschool. They are taught basic etiquettes, toilet manners and cleanliness. We let them enjoy,” he said.
A mother waiting for her daughter outside St Margaret’s School said her child cried on the second day because she saw other children crying. “This is a common instinct among children. They soon get friendly with others,” explained Steven.
Samita Chakraborty, who runs a kindergarten school called Divine Grace, said a long vacation is a break from the school routine and children take time to get back to it. “But that is true even for adults. Don’t we feel like not working after a long holiday?”
Chakraborty said there is not much problem after vacation except that handwriting becomes poor and “we have to take extra care after vacations”.
“For some, the behaviour pattern also changes and we have to teach them manners again,” she added.
At the Montessori section of All Saints’ School, the nursery classes were surprisingly quiet. A peek at the classroom and one could see the little grown-ups enjoying their lunch break. Tiffany Blah, who has been associated with the school for 30 years, was accompanying the children. It was a smart class and the LED screen on the wall kept many children busy. “Some children even dance when the music starts,” laughed Blah.
Blah said earlier, managing the children would be a tough task but with the introduction of smart class, this problem has been mitigated to a great extent. “We do not put any restriction on children. Unlike many schools, we allow children to bring rice. The school becomes a home away from home,” she informed.
According to Blah, tackling children is a huge responsibility but in the process, “they too teach us so many things and it is wonderful to watch these innocent souls”.
Rebecca Kharsahnoh, whose brother is a student of All Saints’, said he would cry in nursery school “but he has friends now in the KG class and he enjoys coming here”.
Principal Evarisha Syiem is trying to make the school friendlier and the system approachable and accessible. “We are trying to make classrooms shorter and smarter so that each child gets proper care. Smart classes have helped us. Technology cannot replace human affection and teachers’ care and yet it is a good support system. In the past, the first few days in school would be the loudest but now things have changed. Children these days can easily adjust to a new environment,” she asserted.
OM Lyngdoh, whose daughter is in Class II and the son is getting ready to start school, feels all children, no matter how naughty and restless they are, are manageable. “Much depends on upbringing. But more than that, it is the teacher’s patience and sensitivity which matter from Day 1 in school,” she said.
~ NM