LET THE CHILD MAKE HIS OWN

BLUEPRINT
“Don’t chide a Lily for not being a Rose.”This piece of wisdom should be
put up in every classroom on the day of parent teacher meeting. In my 15
years of teaching experience, I have repeated this nugget of wisdom to
parents who find it difficult to acceptthat their child is not a 90 percent
center.

We grown-ups, who have been through the travails of life, have had time
and again accepted our short comings without excuses or delusion. What
then stops us from accepting our child the way he is? Rather than censuring
him, why don’t we teach him to soldier on and set his own benchmark. The
fault line in a parent-child relationship widens with every comparison and
every barb thrown at him.

Often during counseling periods children share their angst with the
teachers. The one thing that is oft repeated is, ‘Why do exams and marks
define who I am?’ Any answers? We as “well-meaning” parents and
teachers tie and truss up the free spirit of the child with our constant
badgering. We unwittingly destroy the child’s selfhood.

The most searing remark that a parent or teacher can inflict on a child is to
tell him, “You won’t amount to anything in life!” This is imprisoning the
child with fear of failure. Look around and you will see that the world is
largely ruled by the mediocre! The so-called brilliant students are struck up
in the nitty-gritty of the profession they take up.

Let us, therefore, let the child make his own blueprint for life. He will of
course go through the seasons, its chapter if you will. But the hard times
will sculpt him into something better.