Transform lives..

I would like to share an experience with you. For the past one month we have been going to various schools to teach. This is an incident that happened with my friend Erica.

Erica was teaching dialog writing to seventh standard boys. She asked them to write a dialog between ‘ A Woodcutter and a Tree’. Later she asked them to read what they had written. There was a boy sitting in one corner of the classroom, Erica asked him to read his piece. When he began reading, his classmates started making fun of his speech. The boy suffered from a severe lisp. She encouraged him to read further. The more he read, my friend realized that his piece was the best written piece in class. And what she did next was really nice and different. She called that boy in the front of the class and asked his classmates to clap for 20 seconds for him as his was the best dialog writing. Erica told the class that he was the ‘Dialog King’ of the day.

Though lisping is not related to stammering, I wanted to share this incident with you because it was very special. Erica not only encouraged the child with the lisp but also sensitized his classmates about the boy. I believe that boy will always treasure this experience and it will also boost his confidence. In a span of 30 minutes a teacher can make a sea of difference in the lives of 60 plus students. We can and should adopt more creative ways like this to help our children.

All PWS have some or the other dark memories of school, college days. You too can come up with some creative ways as to how a PWS child can benefit if the teacher or parent adopts constructive methods. Suggestions are welcome.

Last but not the least I would like to thank my friend Erica for sharing this experience and allowing me to share it with others. Erica you will be a great teacher. All the best!

Regards
Mugdha Benjamin