In this post, I am sharing a story which I like very much. Once a Professor brought an empty jar and some other material into the classroom and told students that he is going to teach very important lesson today. He put the empty jar on the table and started putting table tennis balls into the jar until the time there was no place for more balls to settle in the jar. He then asked the students “Is this jar full?”Students answered “Yes”. Then professor started putting some pebbles into the jar until there was no place for more pebbles to settle in the jar. He again asked the same question and got the same reply. Then he started putting sand into the jar until there was no place for more sand to settle in the jar.He again asked the same question and got the same reply. This time he started putting water into the jar until the time there was no more place for water to settle in the jar. Then Professor looked at the students and asked “What did you learn from this exercise?” There was complete silence.Professor then explained: The empty jar is our life. The table tennis balls are important things in our life like God, family, children, relations, friends, health, passion etc. Small pebbles means your job, car, big home etc Sand means useless things like hatred, anger, fights etc. If you would have filled the jar first with sand, then there would have been no place left for table tennis balls and pebbles. If you would have filled the jar with pebbles first, then there would have been no place left for balls, only sand could have come. He then explained that same philosophy applies in life. If you are always discussing small matters, talking useless things about others, then you will have no time for important things in your life. You have to decide what is more important for true and real happiness in life.Play with your children, spend time with your family and friends, maintain good health, everything else is sand. Shared by: Mohamad Shaved … [Read more...]
Spare the rod, spare the child
Injuries and deaths due to beatings at school, suicides committed by students when they receive punishment at the hands of their teachers – these news have lost their shock value, they seem to occur every other day. A recent case was that of Rouvanjit Rawla of the prestigious La Martiniere School in Kolkata, who committed suicide after being caned by the principal. Though parents too are guilty of this misdemeanour, it is mostly teachers who get into the news for whatever reason. It may be because parents are more careful, the child being their own and they ensure that they do not react extremely to their children’s follies. Let us consider corporal punishment from the point of view of both teachers and students. What is it that prompts teachers who play an important role in moulding a child’s character to raise their hand against their students? Is it possible that the teachers want to show-off the power they wield? I have personally seen a teacher throw a heavy black-board duster at students when they have failed to solve a mathematics problem, where they has been no instigation whatsoever on the part of the students. Don’t these knowledgeable teachers pause to consider the implications of their thoughtless action? What if the child gets hurt? It may be anger which makes the teacher hit a child. When a student interrupts the lesson by misbehaving or is a nuisance at school, the teacher may get quite mad at him. Without thinking of the consequences, without thinking about right or wrong, he may resort to caning the student. The issue may be a small one and there will be other ways to tackle the problem but rage literally stops the thinking process of a person and the teacher acts blindly on a reflex. Or is it helplessness on the part of the teacher? When unable to control a particularly naughty student, the teacher who is at his wits’ end may decide that corporal punishment is the only way out. What about the student? How will corporal punishment affect him? The child may feel belittled, more so if the punishment is … [Read more...]
