Welcome to Season 2 of ‘Pratibimba’ – for teachers, by teachers. Since this is a longer conversation, we have divided it into two parts.
Our guest today is Dr. Mala Giridhar. Trained at NIMHANS Bengaluru, she has been working as a mental health expert at Sirsi for almost 25 years. Through her NGO, She has been working towards improving the learning among government school students.
Dr. Mala Giridhar feels Covid-19 has affected and changed the lives of many students in a terrible and unfortunate way. The uncertainty and insecurity about the future has affected different children differently. Condition of some sensitive children, who already had fear, anxiety and depression, has worsened. It is important to educate the parents on how to make the youngsters cope with the situation.
Some children may not be able to express their problem. Though they know there is something amiss, they may not be in a position to point it out. Many such children have clear indications of anxiety and depression. They might sleep for long hours or sleep very less or have disturbed sleep. Similarly there may be a big change in their eating habits. They might show less interest in daily activities which they used to enjoy. This means we need to talk to them.
Teenagers have specific emotional, intellectual and physical needs. School provides an opportunity for all these needs. Covid-19 has disrupted it. We have to think about addressing these needs from a distance.
The first step towards achieving it is, by providing them with an environment of love and trust. Never push our anxieties on them. We have to involve them in our daily activities. We should talk about their friends, their likes and their dislikes. Children like spending time with their caretakers/parents. If such attention is not available, they move towards gadgets like TV, or mobile phones.
Many adults feel they have done all the hard work and hence the children should not have to do it. This thinking has to change. Small activities develop children’s muscles and their ability to plan. So an important take away for parents is, please involve the children in your daily activities. In that sense, Covid-19 has given an opportunity for families, to bond with each other. She also focuses on activities can be used to bridge the gender divide. Now, girls are working in all areas. Boys also should be made to do chores at home.
Dr. Mala throws emphasis on learning aids within our homes. In the kitchen, knowing about the various vegetables can lead to enhanced learning of Science. A fish being cleaned at home can become a zoology lab! There is a lot to learn from the plants, flowers, animals, people around us. Similarly basic numeracy can be learnt with daily activities.
Let us understand more about this topic next week. Please tune in to Pratibimba at the same time, next week.
Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. If you have an interesting story, please contact 98450 79590.
Welcome to Season 2 of ‘Pratibimba’ – for teachers, by teachers. Since this is a longer conversation, we have divided it into two parts.
Our guest today is Dr. Mala Giridhar. Trained at NIMHANS Bengaluru, she has been working as a mental health expert at Sirsi for almost 25 years. Through her NGO, She has been working towards improving the learning among government school students.
Dr. Mala Giridhar feels Covid-19 has affected and changed the lives of many students in a terrible and unfortunate way. The uncertainty and insecurity about the future has affected different children differently. Condition of some sensitive children, who already had fear, anxiety and depression, has worsened. It is important to educate the parents on how to make the youngsters cope with the situation.
Some children may not be able to express their problem. Though they know there is something amiss, they may not be in a position to point it out. Many such children have clear indications of anxiety and depression. They might sleep for long hours or sleep very less or have disturbed sleep. Similarly there may be a big change in their eating habits. They might show less interest in daily activities which they used to enjoy. This means we need to talk to them.
Teenagers have specific emotional, intellectual and physical needs. School provides an opportunity for all these needs. Covid-19 has disrupted it. We have to think about addressing these needs from a distance.
The first step towards achieving it is, by providing them with an environment of love and trust. Never push our anxieties on them. We have to involve them in our daily activities. We should talk about their friends, their likes and their dislikes. Children like spending time with their caretakers/parents. If such attention is not available, they move towards gadgets like TV, or mobile phones.
Many adults feel they have done all the hard work and hence the children should not have to do it. This thinking has to change. Small activities develop children’s muscles and their ability to plan. So an important take away for parents is, please involve the children in your daily activities. In that sense, Covid-19 has given an opportunity for families, to bond with each other. She also focuses on activities can be used to bridge the gender divide. Now, girls are working in all areas. Boys also should be made to do chores at home.
Dr. Mala throws emphasis on learning aids within our homes. In the kitchen, knowing about the various vegetables can lead to enhanced learning of Science. A fish being cleaned at home can become a zoology lab! There is a lot to learn from the plants, flowers, animals, people around us. Similarly basic numeracy can be learnt with daily activities.
Let us understand more about this topic next week. Please tune in to Pratibimba at the same time, next week.
Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. If you have an interesting story, please contact 98450 79590.