Random Thoughts : The spirit of Christmas

The Spirit of Christmas

 

 

I have been cheating!!Call it whatever...                                               

but what I have done is not really punishable.

coz i was teaching something...

faith, belief, harmony,

appreciating other traditions,

joining others festivities...

believing in others, yourself.... and so on...

I made my children really believe that there was a Santa Claus and he would get them gifts .... they would decorate the tree, make creative decorations…[ some of them would be path breaking…. Like a mobile [!!!!], a trumpet, a broom[ thanks to harry potter], and what not… they learnt to think out of the box to make something new every time…

The children in the neighbourhood would enjoy playing with each other..... sing carols.... learn about Rudolph....and be good children.... [Coz Santa gives gifts to only good children??!!!.].

I did all this and much more….

I taught them letter writing -- write a letter to Santa asking for gifts, your letter should be polite and give him a choice of gifts to choose from [for you] it might not be available in the market sometime [aaagh… it used to be tough finding the exact thing….]

Speech writing…. What would you say if you met Santa…. Or if  Santa visited you. How would you greet him and what would you do …..

Message writing….. You want a gift from Santa….but will be unable to stay awake late in the night to meet him…. Leave a message for him… informing him the reasons for doing so…

It was through and through teaching beyond the classroom…. Teaching values… faith, conviction.

All the while I would enjoy playing secret Santa, buying the gifts.. wrapping them and then hiding them till they went off to sleep…then joining them when they would un wrap them -to see their excitement…

Then they grew up….… started questioning…. Stopped believing everything we said…. Lost their innocence…grew out of childhood.

Sigh!.

This time I again asked my kid to write a note for Santa… for  his gifts…

He didn’t.

He said…I won’t ask him for anything more… he has given me everything…lovely parents who take care of all my needs… if he wants to give anything on his own…. He may do so…

Now what do I do….

Any suggestions.???

 

Random thoughts:

So how does one celebrate children's day???

Children don't want to be called children....

How do we celebrate childhood? Children are impatiently waiting to step into adulthood ...

Waiting to fulfil their dreams and overcome hopes and fears

As a child I would love to celebrate the day. It was the day when there would be no teaching and only playing [and officially!] No one would reprimand us. We would be spoken to with wide smiles and our impish adventures were all forgiven on that day. Then we would get a toffee from the class teacher … or a colourful balloon from the principal. Such simple gifts, but they meant a lot to us. The assembly hall would be packed with balloons and some would explode and then there would be giggling and laughs… it was… funny and memorable.. Today I look back and then realise no teacher would dare give a toffee to their student today! Or even a balloon…. Just imagine the look on their faces…. Celebrating children’s day has become difficult. Whatever we do …as teachers… we fall short of their expectations..

lets help them and not discourage their blossoming dreams to the ground

lets not treat them like dirt and without respect

lets not abuse their innocence

lets not force them to live with so much of anguish and hard work

lets not dispirit their talents

lets show acceptance of different perspectives[theirs]

lets be more tolerant to their questions and pace of learning

lets not forget that they are the ones who will change our future

lets not forget that they need our love care and help all the while
 let them know that this is ‘Children's day.'

Let us……let them ……know every day is Children’s day.

So please share with me what according to you would be an ideal celebration on children’s day.

Au Revoir !

                    au re·voir 

This is for all my friends. My students.

You are now entering the “real world.”

We have prepared you for your careers, and I hope that it will lead to successful future.

 Whatever you may be pursuing- for graduation, I know you will make us proud. I do hope though that you plan to stay in touch with your friends, teachers, and the school. What you will be receiving from cbse in a few weeks is just a certificate / evidence of having cleared your basic education. Remember there is no way to evaluate you as a person. No way to tell if you have imbibed all the skills/values for life. Your passing out only symbolizes the years of growing up, fun, friends, frustration, happiness, and other emotions you have experienced over the years. Your preparing for ‘unending’ unit tests, ‘unnecessary’ assignments and ‘unrelenting’ homework’s will have come to an end - those moments of extreme joy in seeing your projects succeed, and the times where you wondered how you were going to get through it all,.. all the Photostatting manually of each other’s notes and assignments.. even lab manuals,.. all the speed writing to meet a deadline,… begging for permission for ‘tomorrow definitely’ submissions,.. ah!  You are going to miss those very things - starting now... The gallivanting in the corridors,… peeping into friends classrooms,… checking out the ‘adjustment teacher’ for your classes,.. the extended breaks near the taps, the canteen, corridors, stairs,…  wont you miss those.? Those free periods and catching up with gossip, those ‘run for your life’ movements in the corridors, those last second… brainwave scribbles during the exams… those long trousers to hide your real colors [ of socks!], those shoes that got dusty due to the dust in the assembly…??? Right… ???  they were polished when you left home….
Reflect on those years and try to remember all that has happened …you.. we’ve all been through so much, both collectively and individually. Start thinking of things that you want to do next year; think of ways you can you can improve and excel your own self. Assess your own self… and your worth. Don’t wait for any …board… to tell you how good you are…. believe in yourself!!

So what were your best memories of your school?

 

Random Thoughts

' Missing you.....'

It scares me

Family Bonding is a  precarious thin thread.

Relationships only exist on fb

Relations visiting each other is sacrilegious-

“How could they even think of coming to pay a visit??”

“Don’t they know today is a Sunday??”

“MY holiday and tomorrow is the kids Unit Test??”

‘Relations’  have been cast on to a ‘ship’

I meet my friends more often than my cousins or bros and sisters

I miss my cousins

I miss my childhood

I miss  my nani [as she made sure we all found time to bond]

I miss those days when there was no time set for ‘playtime’

 I miss their attention, love

I miss their asking me something

I miss our sharing and caring

I miss our girlish giggles

I miss listening to grievances and acknowledging concerns

I miss the chilling out and spending time together

I miss the emotional bonding

I miss all that and much more

Those were the days my friend!

As the years pass by

I see them grow and go their separate ways

I see them grow ambitious and independent

I see them grow… away …

But that bonding feeling---does stay

Time goes so fast, we don’t see it pass

Before we know it we are breathing our last.

Those were the ONLY days my friends.

Heemal