The Tribune - Windows - Main Feature

Thus, come summer vacations and Junior heads for a summer school that excels in holding workshops in theatre, art and craft, music, dance and yoga. It can also have on its agenda exotic week-long camps, golf lessons, archery, horse-riding, trekking, angling, biking, etc.

The idea of confining children to only one hobby or vocational course is considered pass`E9 by these schools. Their accent is on personality development. And they strive to bring that by stringing together a number of drama and dance lessons, which often culminate in a stage performance — the ultimate in personality building.

It cannot be contested that an increasing number of such workshops, organised by school, specialised units and, in some cases, teachers and even housewives, are surfacing every summer. But what can be debated upon are the gains aspired for and eventually achieved by attending the ‘fun school’ during vacations. In other words, why are Junior and his friends being sent to summer schools? What are the factors their parents consider before selecting one from the scores available in the city?

A break from boredom

Summer camps are not only welcomed as a break from regular studies and tight tuition schedules but also because they remove the boredom that seeps into the long, sultry summer vacations. Twelve-year-old Kabir Nanda, who recently attended a spring camp with Go Bananas Kids Club, is now looking forward to participate in the club’s summer bonanza. "Besides watching TV and doing the holiday work, there is little else to do at home. I would rather meet new people, make more friends and enjoy what I like doing best — dancing — at the club."

For the almost seen-it-all and have-it-all kids of today, boredom strikes fast. Michael Angelo, fine arts and music teacher at St John’s School, who has been holding his subject-related workshops for children for the past six years, says nowadays children are impatient to learn a lot. "They are more close to the teacher. They are almost like their friends. During our schooldays, if a lesson got over in half an hour, we sat quietly for the rest of the class. Now children expect more. They are not afraid to ask, demand or question."

Constructive use of time

Television, a horror word for parents even during regular school days, assumes monstrous proportions during vacations. Finding children unsafe in its company, parents deposit them in the safe custody of instructors who cannot speak less about the healthy wholesome entertainment they provide. Rashi, mother of 4-year-old Naiza, did not find her daughter coming away wiser from the 20-day summer school she attended last year that lay stress on etiquette, improving the spoken language, pronunciation and vocabulary. Despite the disappointing experience, this housewife wants her daughter to try out another summer club this season. "Without a routine, Naiza starts her mornings with cartoons, throws tantrums for eating breakfast and does not want to bathe till lunchtime." Expressing similar views, Ginny Kang, a lecturer in the local SGGS College who wants her sons Ranvir (12) and Tanvir (7) to join a summer school, remarks: "If the two stay at home, the chances are they’ll spend the morning watching TV or sitting before the computer."

Exposure is the objective

Most parents view summer classes as a confidence-building exercise. They see it as a platform where their child gets an opportunity to meet other children from different schools and of varying ages. Atul Khanna, Principal of Strawberry Fields, who claims to have initiated the concept of holding organised summer workshops in the city as far back as in 1991, says interaction between kids at these clubs takes away inhibitions, breaks inter-school barriers and instils a feeling of camaraderie. Shonica, a business woman, chose a summer camp for her introvert eight-year-old daughter (studying in a leading school for girls in Chandigarh) last year in order to help her shun her shyness and be comfortable with meeting more people. "The extra-curricular activities in the school are restricted merely to a singing and a dance class per week. Schools now lay stress only on studies. At the camp, however, my daughter got a chance to perform at Tagore Theatre. I wouldn’t say that she did very well but she did get a chance to show her mettle, which has never happened at school."

Rajni Thareja, Principal of Hansraj Public School in Panchkula, admits that schools have their limitations. At times a balance cannot be struck between studies and extra-curricular activities as there is a shortage of time and the syllabus has to be covered. Vacations, she recommends, should be used as make-up or cover-up time. "You may choose to devote time to any activity, be it computers, riding, swimming, cooking, etc, for which you feel you have not been able to spare time," she says.

The long-term plan

Is sending your child a convenient way to get him out of your hair, or do you have his interests, aptitude and a long-term plan in mind—a hobby that he could pursue and later may be bank on for emotional and even financial support? Or is it just peer pressure and keeping up with the Joneses that has made you enrol him into the expensive, talked about Shiamak Davar dance and fitness workshop?

Anu Vala, whose 4-year-old Go Bananas Kids Club’s primary aim is to impart children-friendly entertainment, maintains that 40 per cent of her admissions are made by working parents. Only 20-30 per cent of the parents have a long-term objective in mind. are ambitions and want their child to excel in show business. The rest simply hop on to the bandwagon, keeping up with a trend."

What kids want

Is your child going to the workshop smiling and returning home with even a bigger grin and interesting tales to tell? Let his smile be your yardstick to judge the suitability of summer lessons.

Atul Khanna asserts that the fun element should never be lost from these workshops. Though a child must not be forced into any activity yet it is vital to gently introduce and expose him to different mediums so that he can decide where his interests lie.

The child, may be rightly so, feels he has copyright over his holidays. He does not want anybody to tamper with them without his approval. What he wants to say in so many words is: "Ten months I have listened to you, now for two months let me do as I please." So, if 10-year-old Mojtaba says he enjoyed the "kids" most at the last summer camp, make a mental note of that. And respect 8-year-old Gurraj’s sentiments, who has chosen not join a course, as he would like to spend time on his computer and be with his bua, who is here from Mumbai for the summers.

By the age of five, a child has a lot of ideas inside him. He must be allowed to express them without any checks or curbs. Michael remarks that children look beyond stereotypes. "Why do you think they often like to paint trees red and yellow and not green? And why should it be drilled into their heads that the sky is blue when they see it in myriad hues — white, red, pink, purple, black?"

A child, speaks this artist’s experience, must be given freedom in a certain periphery. Slowly, he will open that periphery as he grows. But, essentially, he has to be given that freedom first.

So, coming back to Junior. Let him board the bus to freedom. You can coerce him to pick up crayons but you cannot force him to bring alive the colours in his frame; you can push him to take up singing but you cannot impel him to hum the joyous song of life!

What parents should know

HOME is the first confidence-booster for the child. Next, ideally, the school should be depended upon to raise its wards into self-assured beings. Lastly, other props (like summer clubs) should be sought to help a child shun his timidity.

The thrust is on fun in summer schools — Photo by Parvesh Chauhan

First ask yourself whether your child actually needs to join such classes. Don’t get persuaded by what the others are doing or even what some school teachers recommend. Be wary of all those who are only interested in making a quick buck by playing on the feelings of parents who are ever ready to shell out for the child’s benefit, real or imaginary.

Each time Radha (name changed) approached the kindergarten classteacher of her son, who is studying in a leading co-educational school in the city, to help him come out of his shell, she suggested that he would benefit by attending her forthcoming summer workshop. When the parent expressed reluctance to make the child go all the way to Panchkula from Chandigarh, the teacher promptly suggested a nearby workshop conducted by another teacher of the same school. Mercifully, when the school authorities learnt about the issue, they took strong action against the teachers concerned and stressed that the confidence of the child must be built all the year round and not just at a two-week workshop with which the school was not even connected.

The right age to join summer workshops: Competition among parents results in the entry of even two-year-olds into clubs. Here, again, don’t trust organisers who say that they can manage children that young and have something specific lined up for them. Guneeta (name changed), who admitted her four-year-old son to one of the known clubs in the city, was surprised to see her son playing outside in the sun, unmonitored, while the other older children practised drama inside. At the end of the camp, he was handed a colourful mask and a decorated pot which he could not recall even touching, let alone colouring.

The child should be sent to a workshop only after he is five or six. Before this, a child feels neglected if he is in a group. He doesn’t learn from the group because at a young age the child is immersed in his own world. It is only later that he learns to compete and then group activities come in handy as they encourage him to better himself.

Mixed age groups: For music classes, mixed age groups do not work at a younger level. Young children get a complex if they find that their counterpart can play the keyboard while they can’t. Mixed ages, however, do well while doing theatre. Michael Angelo, who recently helped St John’s boys with the staging of Annie, says older students learn about patience from younger children, who quietly heed every word the teacher utters and follow instructions. Besides looking into the age groups, parents must enrol their children into clubs that cater to small and manageable groups.

Friendly environment: Indu Luthra, who has been running the Sanjeevani Kidzklub for the past 10 years, insists that it is imperative to have artists who can come down to the standard of kids and reach out to them. Parents must also verify whether the organisers can provide their child a safe and clean environment, cool rooms, transport, etc. It must, however, be realised that bigger the name of the artist, the larger is the money charged. It is no gaurantee for more fun and better performance of the child. But here you cannot totally discount the significance of trained instructors.

A child can be helped to discover his talent: Every child has a flair for something. We have to discover his talent and polish it. Cultivating and honing a hobby will not only make the child more confident — he will know he is a cut above the rest — but can also help him ward off loneliness. A leisure pursuit — like knowing how to play an instrument — can act as a valve to release emotions, both of happiness and anger. It also fetches appreciation of others, which can again bring a high. After introducing the child to a hobby, parents must ensure that the child’s enthusiasm does not wear off and he remains in touch with his new passion all through the year and does not just take it up during summers.

Evaluation is mandatory: It is not enough merely to enrol the child into a summer school. It is the duty of every parent to sit with the child every evening and hear about his experiences at the club. Parental involvement and interest go a long way in making the child feel wanted — a morale booster which has no equal.