This article deals with the guidelines for the teachers who are
dedicated to the task of shaping and nurturing children’s dreams. As a mentor one can win the faith of the
child by getting connected with him and giving the direction leading to focus
his dreams. Preparing a child in setting and achieving his targets by
supporting him at different demoralizing phases of his life has also been
discussed with suitable guidelines. Article is concluded by giving points on
monitoring child’s activities as an objective viewer and contributing to his
grand success.
Introduction: Teaching is one of the
splendid professions where you have the opportunity and responsibility to help
in shaping one’s personality and character. It is a great challenge of shaping
the future of growing young minds in the present scenario. Most of them possess
one or the other own imagined dreams with amateur (may be mature) action plans
with them and many may have not. But the problem is how to reach at the inner
core of their heart to know whether they have the dreams or not, if yes, what’s
that, if no, why not? Building the curiosity to know about one’s dream and wish
to nurture it by giving it a deep edge, maybe by means of becoming the most
approachable mentor meant for an individual, is the basic requirement for a
successful mentor. The topic demands that some fundamental points need to be
addressed thoroughly which are the vital nutrients for the healthy growth of
children’s dreams.
Winning the faith of a
child: Taking
a child into the confidence by structuring a candid bridge with him is the
pioneer step of nurturing course of action. Before becoming his teacher mentor
you will have to be his reliable ‘buddy’ so that he can be open for sharing his
views with you. Once the child starts discussing his strengths and weaknesses,
ups and downs related to his studies and begins trying to connect himself with
you is the first achievement for a teacher. Talk to him on different issues,
take his suggestions, give him the responsibilities and show faith in him. But
be alert and non-sentimental. You must draw a thin transparent line of dignity
which would act as a boundary during every piece of sharing. Teacher is a
facilitator who is going into deep to the heart of a child to identify his
dream and to show him the right path to achieve it successfully. You will have
to train him to live with his dreams. You can nurture only what you get. So it
is up to your willing and concerned endeavours that how much you can explore and
inspire the child.
Connect yourself with his
dream: Second
essential step after exploring the child up to an optimum level, by igniting
his mind, is connecting yourself with the child’s dream. We must learn to connect with children, get to know how they see
the world around them, what it is they want from life, what their goal is, and
then we should equip them to fulfill their aspirations and desires. If the
child does not want to do something, there is nothing in the universe that can
force him to do it, and still give desirable results in the long run. The inner
desire to do well and be good is something we need to develop in children, it
is perhaps even more important than normal lessons. After all, how many people
use more than ten percent of the factual knowledge taught in schools when they
grow up?
Think with them – not for
them: There
is a phase in every child’s life when his moral is low, we need to support him
and also to make the child know that failures and bad times are inevitable,
obviously he or she will encounter trouble when he or she grows up. This can be
done if we think with the child, not for the child. You have to come down at
the level of the child and match your frequency with him so that he would be
able to connect himself with you. Once he is fully confident that you are his
co-thinker not a supreme-thinker, his mind would be in comfortable state in
your presence. Both of you must be thinking on the similar issue at the
identical time and moreover coming to the matching conclusions. This is called
perfect match of the frequency between a teacher and taught. We have so many
live examples of the similar frequency coordination connecting a mentor and a
scholar giving outstanding results. Guru
Nanak Dev and Bhai Mardana, Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda, Ramakant Achrekar and Sachin Tendulkar, C.G.K. Bhupathi and Sania Mirza and so many other examples are there in which a perfect harmony between
a mentor and scholar, resulted in the great success for scholar.
Helping them to focus
their dreams: In today’s world children are incredibly self reliant. As such
they do not require any help once their thinking process starts soaring, but
decisions taken by them needs to be screened, seconded and supported by us.
Listen to their thoughts as an active listener, show your responses with
positive attitude and make minor corrections by giving suggestions not by being
an authoritarian but by being a friend. At the growing age their dreams may not
be clear and their action plans may not be sharp ended but they are strong-minded
to do something ‘big’ in their life. How much big and how this ‘big’ is going
to be achieved, this they may not know but still they are determined. Use this
spurt of determination to identify their dream and inspire them to step in
towards its attainment. A teacher can do this with his vast experience and
expertise, moreover, willingness to make children realize their dreams and
fulfill them. Sharpening their aspirations by playing a catalyzing role as a
teacher, you can set the examples as it was done in the past by many great
mentors. ‘Inspiring without expecting credit’ is the key mantra which would
help you to devote yourself for this divine cause.
Prepare them for setting
and achieving goals: It is not possible to prepare someone for any task without
knowing about his likes, dislikes and whereabouts. There is a strong need to
discuss about his approach towards different situations. Conversation with the
child in an open environment leads to the best results towards analysis of his
capabilities. Talking to him for a long in different segments will help in
recognizing his talents. Give him the exposure for various things by involving
him in different responsibilities. You need to spend maximum time with the
child. This will help in strengthening scholar – mentor relation on hand and
will make him feel sheltered and channelized on the other hand. Your gracious,
experienced and concerned presence will shoot his many unstated, unseen and
unexpected troubles. Taking part with him in different activities or making him
participate and developing learning zeal is the key aspect of ‘setting and
achieving goals’. It develops a competitive spirit in the child which helps him
at each and every moment of his life. Tell him about his merits, demerits,
strengths and weaknesses time to time so that he will take remedial measures
for the next course of action. Such rectification process will convert his
endeavours into success playing vital role in boosting his confidence manifold.
Be supportive during their demoralization phase: Life is an extensive
sequence of opportunities, efforts, cheers and becoming role models. It is a
stretched process of happenings. Nothing is there to lose. As a friendly mentor
you have to make child confident that in number of life skills he is better
than so many others. Tell him that great Almighty has provided him unique
talents and outstanding inner powers which he can utilize to optimize his
efficiency. Use anecdotes in support of your arguments given as confidence
boosting capsule. Help him in regaining
his confidence if he loses it repeatedly. Give examples of distinguished people
who have gone through ups and downs of their life and come out from extreme
situations with the flying colours. During your conversations try to find out
the causes which are demoralizing him. Bring him into the positive frame of
mind. Encourage him to make another enthusiastic effort for the preceding
defeat. Give him small targets with redefined pathways to achieve previously
identified goal. Be his friend, cheerleader, well-wisher and guide.
Stay away and monitor: Now this is the time to
monitor the child from a distance, and give direction only when we feel it is
needed. After all, in the end, all we can do is show them the right path, it is
they who have to progress on it. But in this process of shaping and nurturing a child’s dream, his
privacy and self-esteem should not be ignored. Sometimes, showing the right
path to follow it, is enough. “You can lead a horse to
water, but you can't make him drink.” I may be wrong, but in my opinion what
many people think wrongly is that good education is telling a child what to do.
Swami Vivekananda once said that the experience of teaching is ruined if the
teacher believes that he or she is teaching. No one can force a child to learn
or go on the right path. True, we can tell a child what to do, we can either
coax the child or give him or her an incentive to do what we wish him to do.
Wish
him luck and celebrate his success: Living with the child’s dream and nurturing it with intensive
care leading to a great success, is itself wishing him luck. Equipping him with
all skills which he learnt under your kind, caring and promotional guidance and
leaving no scope for his failures was your firm duty which you must have
completed, if you really believe in great mentorship. Exercise all your
expertise once again before wishing him luck for his future endeavors. Since
both of you are sailing on the same boat so you wouldn’t stay away from
celebrations on his success and off course can’t go away from your accountability on his failures. Keep in mind you are not the creator, it is
someone else. Your role is only channelizing the appropriate talent to the
precise path. Rest is up to the coincidence of planning, execution at the right
time, consistent effort in the right direction, best wishes, blessings and
unquestionably the final note – destiny ……………….
Published in CENBOSEC, CBSE’s
Quarterly Bulletin (Jan. – Mar. 2012 issue)
The project is working to a 2018 launch date.
