All the photos taken on the same day, around the same time in the morning, in our garden reveal a lot about the different ways the leaves retain water on their surfaces. The wide contrast is because of the structure and texture of the leaves which differ from plant to plant. I am not surprised by this as this is a phenomenon I have observed since I began taking an interest in Rose plants.
This however had made me think and ponder. Each plant receives the water drops in one particular way, different from that of the other.
To me, it has become a metaphor for the different ways people process information, anger, hurt, experience, disappointment, stressful situation, etc.
Why is this processing different from person to person! It is a million dollar question.
Does the Emotional Quotient of each person have an influence on the processing of experiences! I am inclined to consider this as a strong possibility.
The Emotional Quotient is a reflection of the self esteem and self worth with which a person internalises and interprets information and experiences.
It is during early childhood, most children develop the consciousness of his or her worth, self skills and self esteem. The parenting environment, school environment, social interactions, societal attitudes towards children, etc contribute towards formation of self esteem. When a child is confident in his ability, skill, and has a true estimate of himself or herself, he or she is usually composed and restful and not threatened by the aberrant events or stressful situations. Children who go under the burden of bullying and show signs of anxiety or weariness are those who get carried away by fear. Such children do not feel rooted in inner confidence arising from the self awareness of his or her strengths.
The inability to face up to situations of stress and threats then would stay on even in adulthood if the fearful memories of childhood experiences linger on.
One lack in our educational system in early childhood education is inadequate attention to the personal formation of each child.
Education is formation of person, but it is mostly an activity to prepare a child to gain knowledge, and apply knowledge for higher education.
Each rose plant has its way of dealing with rain drops on its leaves.
Every child ought to have his or her way of relating to situations and coping well even in adverse situations.
There is a lack of emphasis on educating parents on the psycho-social-beahvioural-moral formation of children.
We offer pre-marital counselling when a couple is preparing fo marriage.
We need to have a design and plan to help parents on childhood formation before they become parents and during the early years of a child!
During the COVID 19 epidemic, from March to July 2020, at least 66 children ended their lives in the state of Kerala. It is a call to us about the need to promote practices, which would help in the personal formation of children. When would it become part of the curriculum in our school education.
Only one school has a part time Psychologist attached to the school, from among thirty schools near to my home that I have personally enquired into !
This is an aberration!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
No comments:
Post a Comment