Evaluation of a child should be focused upon a unique identity. Schooling prepares children to follow a process by which they set themselves up for some targets and persevere to achieve them. No wonder then that children understand this process well and strive towards meeting their goals as soon as the school academic year commences. In their quest, when failure occurs, the child is left disgruntled, wondering what could the weakness in him/her be, that has led to this downfall.
This drives home the point that as teachers, we must be mindful of the assessments which govern character, believes Rashmi Malik – Principal, Salwan Public School, Gurugram. She avers that the correct measure of a child is determined by the unique qualities in him/her. Citing an interesting example of the Kauravas and Pandavas, she shares that though both of them went to the same school and had the same teacher, yet both had distinctly different characters. The bottom line is that it is all the stakeholders who are decisively responsible in shaping characters. She strongly feels that now is the time to return to our roots by plunging inwards and to blend spirituality with the existing school system. Schools should not introduce Yoga and meditation as separate periods but as a habit in day-to-day life. The precious ‘me’ time should be made available for kids, parents as well as teachers. It is only then that a child will be able to cope up with failures and learn how to take decisions on his/her own. This will also make him/her more confident of the repercussions of their decisions taken. Taking such steps will definitely pave the way in shaping characters who will have the gumption to create history.