AUTISM

I had to turn down a few cases of autism from admitting in a school under my control, only because I didn't have a teacher or visiting special educator who was formally trained in handling autistic children. The awareness levels about autism less among teachers. Please read more about it, identify the signs and help and children with autism and their parents..

Why Today's Children Watch Porn at an Early Age?

Off late it is a concern among the parents and educator's  that children get an exposure to knowledge meant only for adults much earlier than older times. Children not only watch porn but also indulge into adult like activities at an early age. Finding adequate information about anything before they indulge into anything is not found essential by the generation. We do get incidences of teenage pregnancy all other problems related to it?

The entertainment media has been blamed a lot for showing tantalizing shows and advertisements that that provoke the curiosity. There cant be second opinion about it. A closer look at the programmes and ads shown in prime time will quickly endorse the blame.

Easy access to adult materiel on internet, road side pirated material vendors and illegal video viewing par-lours provide easy access to these material..

Weak Law and loose control and corrupt systems in India can also be blamed.
As an educator, some more causes had been nagging my mind.

Today's' children are dependent on audio visual aids for most learning. Smart classes and digital boards have caused an over dependence on AV Aids and has limited the imagination of children. The language teachers and literary people used to blame the AV aids for reduced imagination and lack of patience to read. The children prefer the dramatization and multi-sensory forms of literature. This fact too is well know and is hardly debatable.

We also have been advocating and practicing experiential learning for quiet sometime now. Learning by doing and experimenting is proposed as most effective  methods of teaching. Learning by problem solving and learning lessons from failed experiments also is the most advocated way of teaching...
Now children are using these techniques to learn everything about adult knowledge too.
Children feel it right to watch adult material  as a method to learn newer topics. if they have to learn about it, why not view pictures and videos?
Early indulgence into adult activities also can be a result of habit into experiential learning  and learning by doing or learning by problem solving method.
The fear of a failed experiment is not there. and the fuss over first experience is gone. The generation is willing to fail and fail repeatedly.
So what do we do? Shall we stop using AV aids or experiential learning? I don't think any one would agree here... but this increases the importance of sex education at school level.
Instead of waiting for the government to make it mandatory, the principals, and teachers should take initiative and win confidence of parents to impart the knowledge.

The following is the program suggested for implementing sex education stage wise.


Stage -1 -Grade to 2 and 3)
Gender sensitization and personal hygiene
Sensitization against child abuse.

Stage-2 -Grade 4 and 5)
Need for privacy of individual
Respecting privacy of other gender (in class as well as home)

Stage-3 - Grade-7 and 8
Preparation for onset of puberty
Info in human reproductive system
Problems of teen girls and boys (separately)

Stage-4 Grade 9 and 10
Information about sensuality
Pitfalls of early exposure and wrong information
Prevention of Aids
Information about all legal aspects and various law related genders
Developing healthy and ethical attitude towards adult behaviour

At all stages: easy and free access to school's counselling psychologists
All teachers equally informed and sensitive to gender related problems
Sympathetic and inclusive approach to students who have erred.

Maturity, sensitivity and sympathy in all people who handle these issues is a must.




The issues mooted about dependence on AV aids and experiential learning are the opinion of the blog-writer and are not backed by any research it would interesting for any researcher to establish these points or negate them by comparing the situation where AV aids and experiential learning is relied upon heavily with places where AV aids are not used frequently....