Favouritism takes toll not only on performance but also on life
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KATHMANDU, JAN 22 -
Favouritism! A sugarcoat term for discrimination. Be it at workplace or a classroom, favouritism takes a silent toll that could manifest in a quite disconcerting way, limiting personal growth of the left-outs and, in some cases, of the favoured. It starts right from the school where a teacher has his or her circle of favourites in the classroom.
It all seems natural for teachers to pick their favourite students, but it can have serious impact on the children outside their teachers’ favourite circle, says child psychologist Choo Laxmi Maharjan.
“In many cases, teachers love and give more emphasis on those children who do well in their classes and secure good marks in exams, leaving behind the others in need of guidance and help with their learning. This could lead to lack of self-esteem and confidence among the outsider students in the long run.”
She says children’s disposition is determined by the way they have been brought up, the environment and community they come from. Some children are more social and extrovert, while others are less expressive and introvert in nature. “At school, children go through an important phase, a crash course of sort at socialising, getting self-recognition and making friends. When teachers practice preference in classrooms by paying special attention to some kids, it’s only natural for the others to feel neglected,” Maharjan says, adding that those treated as cast outs in their schooldays may not fare well in their lives—their latent potential untapped.
Atul Bista from Dang faced the worst kind of prejudice from his teachers in his schooldays. This 30-year-old claims having mocked by both his teachers and classmates for being a little older than the others and not knowing the answers to the questions asked.
“I was the eldest student in my class and not the brightest one. Whenever my teachers used to ask me questions related to the lessons, I would draw a blank. The whole class used to laugh at me. It was a terrible experience of my life that kept haunting me in my adult life as well,” Bista says. He suffered from depression and ultimately quit the school. Later, Bista enrolled in a government
school and somehow passed the SLC exam.
His classroom experience, however, continued to stalk him. Till this day, he says, he has difficulty expressing himself in front of new faces.
Arya Adhikari, A2 student at Rato Bangala School, says he is against favouritism in classroom and that no teacher should praise their favourite students if it discomfits others.
“I feel sad for the teachers who would miss out the opportunity of connecting with the other students who could be smart and intelligent on their own ways apart from scoring good grades.”
While the students who never got a chance to be under their teachers’ kindly radar could suffer from low self-esteem and articulating their thoughts, many favoured children could do worst, says Maharjan.
“The favourite children could develop false pride and self-esteem. And, since life is not fair may not take the failures quite well, also resulting in depression,” she says. “The teachers should start treating all the children equally, engage the class into participation and discussion without even a pink of favouritism. Only then we could impart a good teaching to our children.”
Posted on: 2012-01-22 08:37
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