Understanding the problems of managing the adolescence age, our school conducts meetings for both, girls and boys from ages 11 to 15 every year. The Principal, this year also guided the School Counselor and the teachers to address the concerns in order to sensitize the adolescence issues in respect to behavioral issues, hormonal changes, the negative influence of peers, personal hygiene, control of sense gratification, being safe from addiction, related to eating Unhygienic foods, T.V., Mobiles, social media etc.
As per the instructions, separate sessions for both, girls and boys from classes 6th to 10th on “Sensitizing Adolescence Issues” was conducted on 16/8/19 by Ms. Reshma Nair Ms. Jasbir Kaur,Ms. Neetu V and Ms. Sunita Satish.
While the girls initially shied and waited for each other to talk, once the teachers shared their personal childhood experiences, the session became a very interactive one and each of the students shed their inhibitions and wanted the teachers to address their doubts, mostly pertaining to Do’s and Don’ts during menstruation, sexual attraction and how to handle peer pressure. They also confided to teachers about being groped by boys outside school and how they should address such incidents. Boys on the contrary were extremely shy and took time to open up. Teachers spoke to them about the physical changes that occur in boys during puberty like appearance of beard stubs, break in voice and sexual maturation.
The teachers repeatedly conveyed to the students the importance of confiding in their parents if they come across any disturbing incidents, such as stalking, teasing, threats, etc. The teachers also applauded the openness of students to share their concerns and urged them to come forward with any issues they face, and not to find solutions on their own due to fear of admonition.
The meeting ended very well and it was a joy to see the beaming faces of the students as they felt that their disturbing thoughts were addressed.
