Teaching kindness to kids in the digital era
Students have been through a lot as covid left them physically and emotionally drained. Going back to school was not easy for students, parents, and teachers alike. Under these circumstances, everyone needed some kind of support in order to remain emotionally healthy.
Character Building at PSI
Character Building as a subject has been added by PSI (Preparatory School Islamabad) to help students get back on track after covid. The purpose is to equip them with skills to face different challenges of life. From gratitude to compassion to learning a sign language called Makaton, grades 5-7 learnt a lot of new skills.
Initially it was quite a challenge for me as a teacher to communicate with them. Today most of the children are not as attentive as they were before covid. During lock down children did more screen time, they did less socializing, hence their attention span for other activities reduced. Further, they lacked in teamwork and listening to teachers’ instructions. Thus, I struggled in getting their attention. I tried some fun activities also like charades, jenga game, aerobics, and artwork.
Areas Covered in Character Building
We talked about bullying, basic mental health issues, interviewing skills, and respecting others. Time management, projects, and presentations were also part of the curriculum. After extensive research and keeping in mind the school’s requirements, the course was carefully designed.
Makaton is a sign language for hearing-impaired people. Grade 5 and 6 were introduced to it and they learnt a few basic signs very quickly. A small presentation about Makaton was conducted by grade 6 and was quite impressive.
It took a toll on me when I felt a bit disheartened towards the end of the term. Students were becoming restless and since exams were approaching, they were losing interest. I came up with a kindness project. I asked my students to bring some gifts for disabled students at Hassan Academy Special Education. Their response won my heart!
There were a few moments where I felt that children today are not bothered about others. They live a “me, myself, and I” life. But Alhumdullilah they proved me wrong! The beautifully wrapped gifts with such generosity were so overwhelming!
Finally I could see how wonderful these children are. You just need to have patience and provide them with opportunities to show you how compassionate they are!
In Conclusion
PSI is an institution that instills good values and ensures that their students are nurtured in a conducive environment. As a society, we need to encourage our children in helping others. The digital world is taking over their lives and they are becoming less responsive. Therefore we have to set good examples and make way for situations where they can display different emotions. Ramadan is here and this is a great month to teach our children good values and morals!
Educationist, researcher, writer and a passionate learner from Islamabad. She has been working as a freelance writer for more than 10 years now. From academic to content writing. Finally, she is doing what she loves; writing for education. You can reach her at editors@educations.pk