Bullying

Teaching your kids about bullying

Mrs Annapoorni Balan, Principal, The UN volunteers

In order to bring attention to bullying, it's important to talk to your kids about this dangerous behaviour. The fight to stop bullying is an important cause that needs to be addressed. As October month is dedicated to the National bullying prevention month, so to create an awareness in mind, here are some tips for teaching your kids about bullying.

If you find yourself Being bullied or comes face to face with a bully themselves, knowing how to properly handle the situation is of utmost importance. In general, there are three simple steps for dealing with a bully – ignore them, walk away, and tell an adult. Bullies often seek reactions, so engaging them will only encourage the behaviour to continue. Rather than risk further confrontation, it's best to leave the scene and find a trusted adult right away.
 At school, this could be anyone from teachers to classroom aides to custodians – as long as they are school faculty members, all student reports will be given to the appropriate authorities.

It's also beneficial for your kids to recognize signs that someone else is being bullied. If a friend or classmate begins to show a dramatic change in personality or emotions, this shouldn't be ignored. Whether it's a physical or emotional change, it's always best to talk to an adult and share these concerns when something doesn't seem right.
 Bullies often feel a lack of control in their own lives. As a result, they may find a victim to compensate for their own problems. In many cases, bullies have issues at home, family problems, or may have even been a victim of bullying themselves. Most importantly, your kids need to remember not to take anything a bully says as fact. A bully's behavior is not a reflection on the victim, but rather the bully themselves. Hurtful words are just that – verbal jabs meant to offend – and they shouldn't be taken to heart.

To understand why awareness and prevention is so important,your kids need to know the consequences of bullying. It may seem like a tough conversation, but facts are facts – kids who are bullied are more likely to develop depression and are at a greater risk of suicide. Bullies themselves are more likely to have substance abuse problems in the future, as well as become abusive towards other individuals. It's a vicious cycle that needs to stop as early as possible, and although these subjects may be difficult to discuss, they emphasize why the fight to stop bullying is so important.f bullying. It may seem like a tough conversation, but facts are facts – kids who are bullied are more likely to develop depression and are at a greater risk of suicide. Bullies themselves are more likely to have substance abuse problems in the future, as well as become abusive towards other individuals. It's a vicious cycle that needs to stop as early as possible, and although these subjects may be difficult to discuss, they emphasize why the fight to stop bullying is so important.

In today's day and age digital/internet bullying (otherwise known as cyberbullying) is a real problem. Your kids need to know that bullying is not limited to physical interactions at school or in person. Cyberbullying can be just as hurtful and damaging as traditional bullying, and the same steps should be taken. Never engage the bully. An adult needs to be notified, and the bullying should be reported to the network immediately (and even law enforcement, depending on the severity). Cyberbullying usually happens through social media and needs to be reported to the social platform right away. It doesn't matter which social media network they use – cyberbullying is not tolerated anywhere, and the “report” function exists for this very reason.

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/detail/423068

Never blame the world

Mrs. Annapoorni Balan, Principal, UN volunteers, IUEf SECRETARY GENERAL for Pooma Educational Trust

Being optimist or pessimist ,we do learn from our journey !Learn to be better than yesterday,knowing your mind and still find the self free to walk the path with a free will....

 
I travelled a path of despair,
The journey seem to begin and end there!!!
I took the path of peace and I saw myself, walking the path of peace and serenity!!!

I walked to a world of sympathy and compassion…
And in my walk I found the smile.
I reached to hold few truths.
And truth held me closely with thine.

I walked the path of fear,
And fear accompanied me all the while ,
Holding me too close till I cried.
I travelled the dark ignorant world,
And found my self strangled, ignorant to see the bright world which was definitely at my doorstep

As I smiled , My mirror too smiled.
I wept…
I could feel the tears much stronger than the joy…
As we walk ahead,
Where ever we go!
The world we travel…
The places we hold…
The sole path we meet at the end
Is none other, our own reflection of the world we created among and within us!
And the people we hold!
Trust, joy, care…as I travelled,
Found my friends in the noble, beautiful path,
Holding the lamp of joy,
For as I hold a burning candle in my hand…
I saw  a light, Warmth undefined!
Overshadowing the darkness…
We create and blame the path every day …
As we travel known and unknown road of our destiny…
A blank canvas….   
Touching the colors undefined,
Colors which matters the most…
We need to create and define our Inner art…
As we travel…never forgetting the picture we choose within our limit,
  The varied colors touching the untravelled road of our destiny!
Times defeated…times won!!!
Times we too define!!!
We too color,
We fill in the untraveled world of blank canvas…
Never blame the world!!!!
When the road travelled was chosen by our own!!!!
Chose it well before we leap,
Walk with an untiring feet,
As every journey we stumble…
Times we define the untraveled road…
Never blame the world!!!!
Times defeated…times won!!!
Times desperately trying to forget, times cherish the moments,
We travelled the road to our destiny!!!

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/detail/423068

Smiles and Tears

Neeta Gupta, IUEf Educator for Pooma Educational Trust.

When I look weeds growing in my yard, I fear that they are going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers and blow fluff, and wish on it.

When I see an old drunk man smiling at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm, so I sit and listen. My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say grant me this, give me that. My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for everything. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet, as I will miss my Mom and Dad."

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach them, or to learn from them? 

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pooma_Educational_Trust#

Values, Ethics, Morals and Principles

Annapoorni Balan, Principal, IUEF SECRETARY GENERAL for Pooma Educational Trust.

"Values motivate, morals and ethics constrain"

In other words values describe what is important in a person 's life, while ethics and morals prescribe what is or is not considered appropriate behaviour in living one' s life. Principles inform our choice of values  morals and ethics.

Generally speaking  value refers to the relative worth of a quality or object  Value is what makes something desirable or undesirable.

Values, therefore, become part of complex attitude sets that influence our behaviour and the behaviour of all those with whom we interact. What we value guides not only our personal choices but also our perceptions of the worth of others.

We are more likely  for example  to evaluate highly someone who holds the same hard-work value we do than someone who finds work distasteful  with personal gratification a more important value.

What then of ethics? Ethics are the standards by which behaviors are evaluated for their mortality - their rightness, or wrongness.

Concepts such as material success, individualism, efficiency, thrift, freedom  courage, hardwork  prudence  competition, patriotism compromise and punctuality all are value standards that are varying degrees of potency in contemporary American culture.

Ethical judgements focus more precisely on degrees of rightness and wrongness in human behaviour. In condemning someone for being inefficient  conformist, extravagant  lazy, or late, we probably would not also claim they are unethical.

However, standards such as honesty, truthfulness, fairness, and humaneness usually are used in making ethical judgment of rightness and wrongness in human behaviour.

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pooma_Educational_Trust#

How to deal with Passive- aggressive colleagues

Durga K NAIR, IUEf Educator, National Joint Secretary IUEf for Pooma Educational Trust

Aggression:
Aggressive behavior is a type of behavior where people attempt to stand up for themselves or exert power over others in ways that are hostile and violate the rights of others. Aggression in the workplace is increasingly recognized as a serious problem, but there are few studies about worker aggression toward outsiders in the workplace. Occupational stress such as role conflict and role ambiguity was associated with aggression among teachers. It is necessary to reduce problems which relates to role conflict and role ambiguity for preventing teachers' aggression.

Passive- aggression:
Aggressive behaviors differ from passive aggressive behaviors, which seek to disguise feelings of anger in that they are usually intentional and meant to harm someone, either psychologically or physically, or destroy someone's belongings. It is characterized by indirect resistance to the demands of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation
What are the best ways to deal with passive-aggressive colleagues?
If the aggressor is a colleague who works near you, ask if you can be transferred to another space in your workplace so you don't have to be around the person all the time. That might take care of the problem. If you cannot be moved, you can do your best to interact only minimally with the individual.

The most effective approach is to ignore the behavior and pretend you don't notice it. If it doesn't appear to affect you, there is not much in it for them, and they may stop the behavior because of your lack of a reaction.

When ignoring passive-aggressive behavior is not feasible, perhaps because it strongly affects you psychologically, the best you can do is to maintain distance from the person as much as possible.

It is much more necessary that every interaction should be professional and to the point, which will deter the aggressor from escalating.

“Aggression tends you depression”
Have a healthy work area with positive environment!

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/detail/421994

Self Acceptance

Annapoorni Balan, Principal, IUEf SECRETARY GENERAL for Pooma Educational Trust.

Self-acceptance means that you understand who you truly are and where your strengths and weaknesses lie. You know what you want. This will allow you to be comfortable with your place in the world and be honest with yourself.

Self acceptance means that you are happy with who and what you are but it does not mean that you give up any hopes of change or improvement. Self acceptance is a necessary first step towards self improvement because you need to see the truth about yourself and accept it and then decide whether or not you can change.

Understand that there are both positive and negative aspects of who you are and you should accept these as part of who you are.It is so important because if you do not accept yourself for who you really are, you will create a number of problems in your life.

Some of these problems are internal affecting you personally and some will affect how others treat you. Many people fall into the trap of not accepting who they are and then try to be like someone else.

Let’s quickly look at some of these problems that can result from this:

Low self esteem – denying who you are or being blind to what you really want means you may suffer from low self esteem

Living a lie – if you do not accept yourself you may push yourself to be what you are not and the result is a false life. If you feel that you are living a life which is not you perhaps you have this problem.

Unhappiness – connected to the last two points because you will not be enjoying life as you are ignoring your inner voice and your heart.

Becoming a victim – if you do not accept yourself you may believe what others tell you and become a victim.

No trust in yourself – low self confidence can follow when you are unsure of who you are and what you want.

If you can build your self confidence, you will live a life free of self criticism and you can begin to face the challenges in your life and overcome them. Imagine being at ease with people, being able to speak in public and feel good about yourself, no more shyness or fear.

If you accept yourself you can also value yourself and tell others that they should respect who you are. You will also be able to accept others and not demand that they try to reach your standards. You will also be able to ask others for what you want and need.

Self acceptance does not mean being happy with the present situation or standing still, you are still free to change what you can in complete honesty with your truth.

Culture

Mrs. Annapoorni Balan, Principal, IUEF SECRETARY-GENERAL

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.
Culture is composed of behaviours, beliefs and values and influenced by multitude of factors including environment, gender, family, age and ethics. It is acquired and not genetic and ever evolving. It's manifestation comes through interaction between people. Some cultural differences are superficial and are relatively simple to deal with. It is easy to see that people may dress or eat differently for example.
The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition goes a step further, defining culture as shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that are learned by socialization. Thus, it can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group. But cultural differences are not always so obvious like an iceberg tip. The hidden bulk below the surface comprises of aspects that are prone to cause problems.

"Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things,"

The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin "colere," which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. "It shares its etymology with a number of other words related to actively fostering growth,"
Today, the influences of Western culture can be seen in almost every country in the world.
Eastern culture was heavily influenced by religion. This giant statue of Buddha overlooks Hong Kong.
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/detail/422592

The UN Global compact affiliation no.80881

Empathy

Mrs. Annapoorni Balan, Principlal, IUEF SECRETARY GENERAL for Pooma Educational Trust.

Empathy is the experience of understanding another person's thoughts, feelings, and condition from their point of view, rather than from your own. You can imagine yourself in their place in order to understand what they are feeling or experiencing.

Empathy facilitates prosocial (helping) behaviours that come from within, rather than being forced, so that we behave in a more compassionate manner. Although there may be a genetic basis to empathy, research suggests it is possible to boost your capacity for empathic understanding.

As a society, it may seem at times that we are becoming more individualistic and self-centered, but neurological research confirms that humans and other social animals, especially primates, are equipped with "mirror neurons," which give us the capacity to display, read and mimic emotional signals through facial expressions and other forms of body language. Mirror neurons help us share emotional experiences and become more empathic toward others.

Unlike sympathy, which simply means feeling sadness or pity for someone who is undergoing some type of hardship, empathy promotes selfless compassion and action on behalf of another person or group of people.

While this sounds like a positive, highly ethical and well-principled practice, some people believe having too much empathy can be detrimental to one's own well-being and even to the world at large. Too much empathy interferes with rational decision-making, causing us to lead with our hearts rather than by our heads, losing the broader picture or long-term consequences of overly empathic behavior.
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/detail/422592
The UN Global Compact member 80881

Save life from lifestyles

Jemi

1. A Construction Supervisor from 16th Floor of a Building was calling a Worker on Ground Floor.

Because of noise
the Worker
did not hear his Call.

To draw Attention,
the Supervisor threw a 10 Rupee Note
in Front of Worker.

He picked up the Note, put it in His Pocket &
Continued to Work.

Again to Draw Attention the Supervisor threw 500 Rupee Note & the Worker did the same,

Now the Supervisor picked a small Stone & threw on the Worker.

The Stone hit the Worker.

This time the Worker looked Up &
the Supervisor Communicated with Him.
.
.
This Story is same as to our 'LIFE'...

God wants to Communicate with Us,
but We are Busy doing our Worldly Jobs.

Then, he give Us Small Gifts & Big Gifts......
We just keep them without looking from Where We Got it.
We are the Same.
Just keeping the gifts
without Thanking him,
We just say
We are LUCKY.

And when we are Hit with a Small Stone, which We call PROBLEMS,
then only We look Up & Communicate with him.
Thats why it is said. .....
He gives, gives and forgives 
And
We get, get and forget.......

An attempt to save the life from lifestyles

Mrs. Jemi, Heavenly Angels, for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION

A man got up early in the morning and went to the temple to worship God. Stumble on the way he fell off.

As soon as the man who was torn by his knuckles dirty in his garment, he moved back to his house again and went back to the temple.

On the way he fell back in the same place where he fell. The man who returned again went back home to change his dress again and went back to the temple.

Then he saw someone standing in his hand with a lamp. He asked the man: 'Who are you, why are you standing here with a lamp?'

He said, 'I saw you fall twice in the way to the temple. So I will wait for you here to help you to help you.'

Going to the temple, he said, "Sir, you are someone who has come to help me. Thank you very much." Then they went to the temple.

The faithful man who went to the temple said to the man who helped him, "Come on! Come and eat some food and then worship God." The man refused. He told him how much the man refused to go in.

He said to the man, 'Why do you refuse to come in?' That man said, "I am Satan."
The loyal man who was shocked to hear it said, "You are Satan, why did you help me to go to the temple?" Satan said to him, "When I threw you down the first time, you did not murmur, but you went to your house and then went back to the temple, and God saw your faith and forgave your sins.

The second time again I dropped you down in the same place. But it did not minimize your curiosity.You go home again and change the dress and go to the temple. God saw the devotion of your devotion and forgot all the sins of your family.

I was afraid to see where you came down to the third time and go back to the temple to see that God will forgive the sins of your nation. "I have come to help you where you will fall, where you will fall."

Yes, my dear brothers and sisters who love Christ! The Bible says, "God is not unrighteous in forgetting the love of the love we showed for his name." Our faith, truth, justice, zeal, and obedience, our family, our nation will be protected, saved, and blessed.

So let's not get tired of our faith. May the Lord grant us all grace and by strength so that our faith will not pass away. Amen.
"Our Lord Jesus Christ is with you, the One who begins and ends the faith.

ஒரு மனிதர் அதிகாலையில் எழுந்து தேவனை ஆராதிக்க ஆலயத்துக்கு சென்றார். செல்லும் வழியில் இடறி கீழே விழுந்துவிட்டார்.

தட்டுத்தடுமாறி எழுந்தவர் தம் ஆடையில் அழுக்கு படிந்ததால் மீண்டும் தன் வீட்டிற்குச்சென்று ஆடையை மாற்றிக்கொண்டு மீண்டும் ஆலயத்துக்குச் செல்லப் புறப்பட்டார்.

வழியில் அவர் தாம் விழுந்த அதே இடத்திலேயே மீண்டும் விழுந்துவிட்டார். திரும்பவும் எழுந்தவர் மீண்டும் தன் ஆடையை மாற்றும்படி வீட்டிற்குச் சென்று மாற்றிக்கொண்டு திரும்பவும் ஆலயத்துக்குச் செல்லப் புறப்பட்டார்.

அப்போது வழியில் ஒருவர் தம் கையில் விளக்குடன் நிற்பதைக் கண்டவர். 'யார் நீங்கள், ஏன் இங்கு கையில் விளக்குடன் நிற்கிறீர்கள்' என்று அந்த மனிதனிடம் கேட்டார்.

அதற்கு அந்த மனிதன், 'நீங்கள் ஆலயத்துக்குச் செல்லும் வழியில் இருமுறை கீழே விழுந்ததை பார்த்தேன்.ஆகையால் உமக்கு உதவுவதற்காக நான் இங்கு கையில் விளக்குடன் உமக்காக காத்திருக்கிறேன்' என்றான்.

ஆலயம் செல்ல புறப்பட்டவரோ, "ஐயா, தாங்கள் யாரோ, எவரோ எனக்காக உதவும்படி வந்திருக்கிறீரே.மிகவும் நன்றி" எனக் கூறினார். பின்பு இருவரும் ஆலயத்துக்குச் சென்றார்கள்.

ஆலயத்துக்குள் சென்ற விசுவாசமுள்ள மனிதர் தனக்கு உதவிய மனிதனை நோக்கி, "நீங்களும் உள்ளே வாருங்கள்! சிறிது உணவருந்திவிட்டு பின்பு தேவனை ஆராதிப்போம்" என்றார். அதற்கு அந்த மனிதன் மறுத்துவிட்டான். இவர் எவ்வளவோ சொல்லியும் அந்த மனிதன் உள்ளே செல்வதற்கு மறுத்துவிட்டான்.

இவரோ அந்த மனிதனை நோக்கி, 'ஏன் நீங்கள் உள்ளேவர மறுக்கிறீர்கள்' என்று கேட்டார்.அதற்கு அந்த மனிதன், "நான் தான் சாத்தான்" என்றான்.
அதைக்கேட்டு அதிர்ச்சியடைந்த அந்த விசுவாசமுள்ள மனிதர், "நீதான் சாத்தானா, பின் ஏன் நீ ஆலயத்துக்குச் செல்ல எனக்கு உதவி செய்தாய்" எனக்கேட்டார்.
அதற்கு சாத்தான்,"நான் உன்னை முதல்தரம் கீழே விழச் செய்தபோது நீ முறுமுறுக்காமல் உன் வீட்டிற்குச் சென்று ஆடையை மாற்றிவிட்டு மீண்டும் ஆலயத்துக்குச் செல்லப் புறப்பட்டாய். உன் விசுவாசத்தைக் கண்ட தேவன்,'உன் பாவங்களையெல்லாம் மன்னித்தார்'.

இரண்டாவதுமுறை உன்னை மீண்டும் அதே இடத்தில் கீழேவிழச் செய்தேன். ஆனால் அது உன் ஆர்வத்தை குறைக்கவில்லை.நீ மீண்டும் வீட்டிற்குச் சென்று ஆடையை மாற்றிக்கொண்டு ஆலயத்துக்குச் செல்ல புறப்பட்டாய். உன் பக்தி வைராக்கியத்தைக் கண்ட தேவன், "உன் குடும்பத்தாரின் பாவங்களையெல்லாம் மன்னித்தார்".
அதைக் கண்டு பயந்த நான், எங்கே நீ மூன்றாவது முறையும் கீழே விழுந்து மீண்டும் ஆலயத்துக்குச் செல்வதை தேவன் பார்த்து அதினிமித்தம் உன் தேசத்தாரின் பாவங்களை மன்னித்துவிடுவாரோ என பயந்துதான் "நான் தள்ளிவிடாமல் எங்கே நீயாகவே விழுந்து விடுவாயோ என்று உனக்கு உதவிசெய்ய கையில் விளக்குடன் வந்தேன்"என்றான்.

ஆம், கிறிஸ்துவுக்கு பிரியமான என் அன்பு சகோதர,சகோதரிகளே! "தமது நாமத்திற்காக நாம் காண்பித்த அன்புள்ள பிரயாசத்தை மறந்துவிடுகிறதுக்கு தேவன் அநீதியுள்ளவரல்ல" என வேதம் அறுதியிட்டு கூறுகின்றது. நமது விசுவாசம், உண்மை,நீதி, பக்திவைராக்கியம், கீழ்படிதலினிமித்தம் நம் குடும்பம்,நம் தேசம் பாதுகாக்கப்படும்,இரட்சிக்கப்படும், ஆசீர்வதிக்கப்படும்.
ஆகையால் நாம் விசுவாசத்தில் சோர்ந்து போகாமல் இருப்போமாக.  கர்த்தர் தாமே நம் விசுவாசம் ஒழிந்துபோகாதபடிக்கு நம் யாவருக்கும் கிருபையையும்,பெலத்தையும் தந்தருளுவாராக.ஆமென்.
"விசுவாசத்தை துவக்குகிறவரும் அதை முடிக்கிறவருமாகிய நம் ஆண்டவராகிய 'இயேசுகிறிஸ்து' உங்களோடுகூட இருக்கிறார்.." 

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/detail/422291