If we all want an eye for an eye, the entire world will be blind
.........Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Carefully pondering on this sentence and putting it into action, we will definitely find ourselves in a dark hollow and aimlessly drowning in it without the hope of touching the solid ground of oneness, brotherhood and respect for each other. Luckily, there is still harmony left to balance out all evil. We have our children, our hope for a better tomorrow, our reason to strive hard and yet harder to provide them with sound and quality education, vital guidelines and sincere virtues.
In any society where darkness lingers in any form, brightness has to find its way to counterpart it. As adults we have responsibility for upbringing our children in clarity of both so that they are able to distinguish between the choices which are good and those which are not so good. The challenge lies when the decision has to be made between the better and the best. Such attributes need to be instilled from the very beginning. It starts by respecting one self. The potion of believing in oneself, in one's strengths and recognizing one's drawbacks and then self-correcting requires a big heart.
One cannot make it next to perfection if one has not travelled the path of mistakes. Repetition of self-correction usually leads towards perfection. The journey no doubt seems endless at the beginning but along the path lies the true definition of success. It should not be the end destination that matters but the winding hurdles and evicting them, the utmost concern. How one encounters , deals and then overcomes them, are all the ingredients of a hero in the making...a hero of a much higher caliber.
Children need not see this world as a chess board where winning is the absolute condition rather than a blank canvas on which they should be allowed to leave their own individual strokes with confidence, uniqueness and positive advancement for the society as the whole.
By: Ifra N. KHoso
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i loved this post of yours.. beautifully written.. and a subject which is extremely close to my heart.. Reading it was kind of comforting being a new mom and all, and especially at a time like this.. when we in khi are going through such a time of turmoil and questioning every single thing. I think being a parent really broadens one's mental horizon. We discover things in so many new and different ways.. ways in which we did not even know we were capable of thinking.
ReplyDeleteAfter having my son, my belief in everything you talked about in Perception has become more stronger. The last paragraph could almost have been written by me as this is my long standing belief that every child is a masterpiece.. each with his/her own gift..not comparable to anyone else's.
My baby's going to turn 7 months in another two weeks..and i find myself going crazy finding learning material and activities for him..to stimulate his growth.. but i sometimes find myself stepping back and saying.. just let him be... a baby :) But i would love your take on this..bcz i always wanted to study the montessori method.. but never got the chance..could u direct me to the relevant sources and materials..? would be grateful. thanks :)
Mariam.Thank you for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteLife takes an uncertain turn when we join the bandwagon of parenthood. It adds on to our anxieties, curiosities and decision making as it all starts revolving around our precious little ones. Montessori Method is very approachable and allows room for massive self-growth without the constant pressure of the norm set by the society. We, Montessorians believe that every child is
"A Star".Each one unique with differed capabilities. Its important to recognize those strengths and encourage them just like as adults we are all different.
Montessori is an "Extension of the HOME environment". The first school for any child is his home and the first teachers are his parents.
Apart from the Montessori materials which are scientifically made and will be costly to buy, I suggest that you make use of the daily house hold coomodities around you. Remember " Children dont suffer in Poverty". Expensive toys are not a necessity. Your son being at the toddler age, you must have observed him wanting to play with regular kitchen utensils or any inexpensive household furniture, tools etc around him. Start with these as your "Materials". Counting can be done with the regular utensils, lentils, garbanzo beans etc,( You will get creative along the way) you dont need to go and buy anything pricely to make your child learn how to count. Just make sure he is safe when working with tiny objects as you wouldnt want him to put them in his mouth. Let him explore your cooking gadgets.Let him fill them with water, spoon it out.Believe me he'll get creative.Kitchen is the best area to learn a lot of mathematical concepts indirectly without really realising them, dont be afraid to give him glass objects, Surely he will break but thats how he'll learn, just keep a watchful eye for his safety. Watch for clues which he will start giving to, regarding language development.. talk to him all the time, children at this age are very observant and like Maria Montessori said," Their minds are sponges"...as for development for reading, start him on the Phonics. (Sounds which each letter make instead of the traditional way of just telling the child the names of the letters) this will help him in reading early and with ease...dont feel obligated to set up rules like "He can only play with toys" let him explore his home environment around him making sure it is safe. Give him real objecs not just "TOYS"...I can literary go on and on.
I do have to share this particular incident which happened when my son Essa was just 14 months old.. It was a regular day and I was cooking, Essa got hold of the kitchen Spatulas and ladels ( since I dont believe in child locked cabinets only for the cleaning and detergent cabinet...the rest of the shelves which were reachable for Essa always had safe equipments and available for him to explore like spoons both of metal and plastics, glass bowls made of thick glass etc, my expensive china was always kept in the upper shelves)..anyways..he took those ladels and went away, I being curious followed him, only finding him stirring the toilet bowl with them..gosh you could only imagine my look. I asked him what was he doing and he said,"Mommy I am cooking just like you, this is my pot" referring to the toilet bowl....the toilet bowl for his size and height level was the perfect pot for him...big and reachable...I got a good laugh out of the situation and was again amazed how his mind worked...Not to mention that I had to throw away all those ladels and explained him that it was not a cooking pot although from a toddler's view it can actually look like one..I then gave him the real pot with water in it and some new spoons and he happily stirred it thinking he is making soup:-)
Above all this.." A mother's instinct is never wrong"...trust them to guide, teach and mentor your little guy...you and him will be just fine:-)
thankyou soooooo much :) i cant thankyou enough :)
Deleteit makes so much sense really doesnt it ifra baji....
And i loved Essa's story at the end!!! Haha :)