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‘My son has become independent since he started school’

The mother of a student of Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, who is in the nursery, says that she is happy with the progress her son has made to date

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Parents sending their toddlers off to school for the first time have an uphill task. From making a checklist of what they want from a school for their child to asking for recommendations from family, friends, and even acquaintances to zeroing in on the school involves a lot of sleepless nights.

 And then comes the entire exercise of filling out the admission forms for over 20 different schools to then physically checking out each one of them is not a job for the faint-hearted. For the parents of Dhruthik Narula, who is the nursery at Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, Drishti, and Raghav Narula, a businessman, it was word of mouth that convinced them that this school was a perfect fit for their toddler.

In an honest and straightforward interview, Drishti speaks about how independent her son has become since going to school.

How is Dhruthik coping with offline schooling?

He did go to a preschool but it was all online – Wonderland Play School in Chanakyapuri. But since the classes began offline in April, he has been doing rather well and moving with whatever is being taught in the class.

What are some of the things that he has learnt?

Since going to school, he has started speaking longer sentences than he used to. He has picked up certain moral education values as well like the morning prayer during the assembly. Even when he doesn’t go to school, he recites the prayer. This is something that he does on his own. I don’t have to prompt him. He does other things on his own as well like eating his food and going to the washroom. He even completes his schoolwork on his own and sets his bag for the next day.  

Is there work pressure on him?

There is a bit of it. Initially, Dhruthik had issues. He had never gone to a school; had no idea of how to behave and act in class. There are a few things that are expected from a child going to school. But for my son, everything was new. He used to cry a lot and didn’t want to go to school. But now things are good. But toddlers are moody so once in a while he doesn’t want to go. I just go with the flow.

How is your son’s relationship with his teachers?

I would say it is very good. Both Minnie Khurrana ma’am and Jyoti ma’am are good to him. But he is closer to Minnie ma’am because when he used to cry she was the one who would handle him and pacify him. He always takes Minnie ma’am’s name at home all the time and how good she is.

Are you satisfied with the teaching methodology?

I think it is a bit fast but I understand that the pace has to be set which applies to every kid. Given the competition that exists, I can relate to why the curriculum is so; it has to be at par with what is being taught to toddlers their age globally. I would like my son to learn more nursery rhymes. But otherwise, I am happy with what is being taught at present and how it is taught. The way he interacts socially is also good. So the credit goes to the school and the class teachers.

A lesson that you would want your son to learn.

I don’t want him to join the rat race. I want him to be what he is; there is no need to pretend. Life is all about learning and it is okay to fail. If you don’t fail, you won’t succeed. I want him to come and tell me that he failed and what next. As parents, we fail too. There should be no societal pressure on a child just because he didn’t succeed. The child should not live in abject fear of what will happen if he fails. Nobody learns to climb a tree at the first attempt. The idea is to try till you achieve your goal.

How do you keep the communication channel open with your child?

Just be there for him/her; this is the most important thing that parents can do. It is immaterial whether both parents are working. Give him attention when you are home. As the child grows, he will know that the parents are there to watch his/her back.

Since going to school, he has started speaking longer sentences. He has picked moral education values like the morning prayer during the assembly. Even when he doesn’t go to school, he recites the prayer

Drishti Narula, Mother of Dhruthik Narula

Shalini is an Executive Editor with Apeejay Newsroom. With a PG Diploma in Business Management and Industrial Administration and an MA in Mass Communication, she was a former Associate Editor with News9live. She has worked on varied topics - from news-based to feature articles.

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