Hi!Finally resumed my blogging activity after a long break.
In my previous post,I had promised to write on Cinema,But I take some liberty to break my promise and in this post I would like to discuss about extra curricular activities...
Since my school days,I am more interested in Music,Dance,Drama etc and less inclined towards my studies.Even today I feel that I could have enjoyed more if I would have joined Arts stream instead of my M.tech..;-)))
But when I compare the activities of today's children I really feel pity for them because they are not aware how much they are missing in their life :-( because of academic pressure.
I still remember December '86 ..just 3 months before my +2 exams.I used to return home at 8 pm after my rehearsals for the Drama on Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.I was playing the lead role and had lots of dialogues.Many times I used to forget some lines and used to stub them with my own creative dialogues ;-))) which were funny and entertaining for my teachers and for my dear friend Fatima who was the prompter.I always enjoy the rehearsals more than the actual performance.Rehearsals are always loaded with fun and we can take liberty on our dialogues and actions.In spite of so many rehearsals,on the day of performance I was so engrossed in my acting;-)) I forgot the next scene and curtains had to be pulled down :-)))
But I cherish that moment with happiness even today.:-)))
Just studying for last 3 months I could squeeze into Govt.college of technology with a B.E admission.I am not writing this to declare my intelligence.I feel that 3 months study is enough for board exams...Even in my college I was known for my stage performances ;-)) than my studies :-)))..
But compare it with today's scenario...
Show me a single kid who will volunteer for extra curricular activities just 3 months before their board exams...!Children are made to study from 9 th std for their tenth and again have to start for their +2 from 11 th std itself..Coaching classes..IIT foundation courses ...Is it not a torture?...Their prime time(9 th std to 12 th std) of enjoying the beautiful moments of life are grabbed from them.No extra curricular activities,No social functions during that period...Are we on the path of creating just scientists and mathematicians of rote learning?
Are we killing the creative abilities of our kid?Will they have any funny moments to cherish in the future?
As a parent ,even I feel guilty about my son's tight schedule.He is in 7 th std.Can he afford to be carefree and fun loving as we were in our younger days?Peer pressure on their academic performance is so high on todays' kids that they are not able to concentrate on other activities.
Only consoling moment for me is the skit performed by my son and his friends 2 years back.I was the script writer and director;-))) and literally we had a gala time during the rehearsals in our house.Kids and their mothers assembling in our house,having samosas,biscuits and patties amidst the rehearsals ,hunting shops for the wigs (all were boys and 3 of them played female roles;-))),sarees, readymade blouses and suitable accessories(My MIL was equally excited and collected many accessories).It was real fun for us and kids.I could feel the excitement and happiness in them when dialogues were forgotten or missed sequences.Even dress rehearsals were held with great fun.
Extra curricular activities doesnt mean participating in super singer competion or meaningless dance competions on TV.These are individual activities .Activities should involve more kids so that children can derive more pleasure and they should be away from all these cameras and studio lights to have real fun.They should not be taught to be funny,it should be naturally inspired.
It can be a Drama or Dance dramas ,debates anything...which involve more number of kids which are very exciting and funny.
Hope the kids of today will allot more time for some interesting activities and have more interesting extra curricular moments in future to cherish upon.cu in next post.....
18 comments:
Padma..even I thought of writing a similar kind of thing in my next blog...Nowadays it is a curse for the children to be in the bin of studies...the worst scenario of it is one of my neighbour sending their kid for IIt coaching in 4th std...i still remember the days when my amma used to dress up me as Aandal,Bharathiyar,etc for fancy dress competition and also made me to enjoy the role and encouraged me to participate in all extra curricular activities...
but nowadays children are forced to go to some classes and there also their motto is to become first...keep on blogging
Hi!prasanna!thank u for ur comment!IIT coaching from 4 th std sounds interesting ;-))) i think they should start it from playgroup:-))))
Padma..so back to blogging..now the blog fever will spread to the rest of us!
Extra curricular activities are very important .. I always emphasize the need for extra curricular activities for Shreya and Advait ..be it sports or arts..it is a must..I don't mind kids standing a few places below the top rank holder..but would like to have a well rounded person..Shreya had a similar dance rehearsal at my place for her talent show..we put her with a dance teacher and during the evenings we had fun watching her and Advait mimic her practice dance for 'Jai Ho' song..did she get to selected? NO..but did we have fun? a big YES..
Important note - parents should align the kids extra curricular activities with the kids core interest and not their interest!
Thank u raja for ur comments...while writing this blog i remembered our song and dance sequences imitating shammi kapoor (u) and asha parekh (me) and our acting sessions with SVK( i dont know whether he remembers)and it always used to be a tragedy scene/song which gave more scope for acting.we used to enjoy paneesh's acting skills also...I think life in A14 was a golden period for all of us...and ofcourse golden memories...
Appadi, I thought you went into hiding or something.. Good to see your post ;)
hey padma akka,
Nice blog.Very well said.the scenario here is also not a lot different from there.i observe a lot of desi parents here who are at the back of their kids pressurising them be it studies or other activities[even the extra curricular is to the parent's choice]despite a very non competitive environment at school.on that note i liked the movie thaare zameen par.how i wish atleast a few parents would give a thought on the values that were conveyed in the movie.
hi kothai!thank u for ur comments..s it was a long break! but had to brush up creative cells of my brain..;-))) so took a long time:-))
Thanks suha!s!s u said 'Taare Zameen par' was a good movie..quite different..overall development of kids is very important.such skills will help them tackle real life situations...
hi Raja and Padma..I also remember the days when Raja mimic as Nambiar and Ravi used to act as dog near the lamppost...our children are really missing this type of get togethers now...
padma a good blog
you blame the parents or the kids for non extra curricular activities .
we are also parents and are we allowing our children free? honestly the answer is NO ,because we compare with others and we also run in the same race we are not taking risk. we have the fear , whether they will be able to do duel roles. studies and extra curricular activities.
In our days we didn't have this much pressure and competition .
no end to this we will just make a cry like this when someone open this and we all will run in the same race, because we are not risktakers.
ok a lot to analyse.
a good topic
Hi SVK!thank u for ur comments..Parents are completely responsible for this situation..we dont want our children to lag behind anyone..and we forget that there can be only one topper and we force our kids to meet the 99% goal..even i feel guilty and pity myself for not doing much in this issue...ok keep reading my blog..
prasanna !who can forget the nambiar act of Raja?:-))
Prasanna ..yes..no one can forget the golden moments of our family get togethers..be it the mimicry or mani periappas shestai!
Padma..I heard there is a proposal to eliminate board exams for 10th grade in India..If the bill passes I will be happy for so many 10th graders!
raja abt 10 th board exams ,i may write it in next post to discuss pros and cons of it..:-))
Extra curricular activity again should not be too much in organised mannar. Each child has talent in specific fields. We have to identify and put there. Main requirement is commonsence for Kids.Earlier days it came naturally because of surroundings
Nowadays All Parents wants there Kid should be either Dr or Engr.
They cannot think beyond. It is very unfortunate.
Hi Padma
U have aired ur sentiments.nice one.The problem is that in the current environment it is the survival of the fittest.If ur children lag behind they will be pushed back miles.but if u observe the interviews of many artists or sports person they woold have ordinary back ground from villages and corporation schools.They came up bcos of determination.But we don allow our children to decide their future.It is a social curse.
Coming back to my child hood - i hv played the folloeing games
Cricket
kabadi
Foot ball
Base ball
Pambaram
Killi Thandal
Goli
Kite flying
Jilli
Kuchi vilayattu
present day children may not know what are these.
Thank god I had my child hood 40 years back.
hi!kumar chittappa!atlast recd ur comment..yes,today's kids may not be aware of these games...bcos they r more familiar with playstations etc...ok keep reading my blog..
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