1. Social awareness
Part I:
THINK BEFORE YOU ACT
We have all heard the story of the man who was walking along swinging his walking stick wide till it hit the nose of the man who was behind him. The man who was hit protested loudly and the man with the walking stick said” I am the citizen of a free country; I can do as I like.” The other man said, “Your freedom ends where my nose begins.”
When we live together in society we have to be careful that our rights do not encroach on those of others. Live and let live is the motto to be kept in mind. Just as we are conscious of what is convenient to us, we should also be aware of what is necessary for the others who form a part of the same society.
We often clean our houses by littering the street and nearby area with garbage. Think of those who use those places. Why do we forget that we also have to use the same street to go anywhere? We cannot live inside the house all the time.
While travelling in a train a lady was applying mehendi to her hands and feet. The paste fell over on the luggage of the co- passengers and also on their bodies. For two days they have to bear this squalor because it was long journey. For her own selfishness, the lady caused discomfort to the others. Therefore, before we do anything it is imperative that we think how it will affect the others rather than only thinking of ourselves.
The present-day culture has become such that if we go out of our way to help others, people think that there must be some ulterior motive to it. Mr. Prakash got up early every morning and goes to get milk. He saw his old neighbor struggling to go for milk everyday. He offered to get milk for the neighbor everyday and soon heard that he had been branded as a “servant” by some of the other neighbours. But this did not make him give up his task. The old man was very grateful to Mr.prakash. He knew that the words of others of others could not harm him. After sometime the tongues stopped on their own. In fact, some of the neighbours also emulated his example and came forward to help their neighbours.
We know that water is scarce commodity, as is electricity, which we should use as sparingly as possible. In doing that we are saving valuable natural resources. But we often waste these things unthinkingly and with gross insensitivity. We throw water on the smallest pretext. That which cannot be used for drinking can easily be used for bathing or washing vessels. In offices lights or fans are put on even before anyone arrives and they remain on till the end of the working day, irrespective of whether anyone is in the room or not. If we cultivate the habit of switching on these conveniences when they are needed and switching them off as soon as they are unnecessary, we shall be displaying sound sense. All it requires a little effort.
Our capitalistic conditioning often teaches us to hoard things without reason. Those of us who have the ability to buy everything we desire, should learn to give away the older things in our possession to those who are less fortunate. To give the old cycle to the poor child when we have a new moped, to give our old toys to an orphanage, to give children`s books away as soon as we grown up, these are some of the tasks we should look upon as our social responsibilities.
Social awareness is that which teaches us to love our neighbours as ourselves. This popular saying will no longer be a cliché if we empathize with all the people we meet and think that they too have the same needs, desires, likes and dislikes as we do. All cruelty and violence will end on its own if each human being is convinced that the other person suffers the same pain as he/she does.
We can begin to test our social awareness in our school itself. It is said that in Japan no school has attendants to do the cleaning, etc. the students themselves do it by turns and it is a matter of great pride to keep the school/class clean and perform efficiently all other tasks necessary for the smooth functioning of the school. In our experience we may notice that even to pick up a piece of paper lying on the field or in the class-room is considered as degrading by many of the students. They argue that they did not throw the paper in the first place. All this has to change before we become mature, socially aware citizens of a nation which has great promise.
Activity :
DEVICE A P;AN TO ORGANISE A SURVEY/ QUESTIONNAIRE IN YOUR CLASS/SCHOOL AND FIND OUT FROM STUDENTS WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO DO AS A CONTRIBUTION TO MAKING THEIR SURROUNDINGS BETTER, MAKE A LOST OF THE IDEAS THUS GATHERED AND EXECUTE THOSE WHICH YOU CAN, INDIVIDUALLY OR IN GROUPS.
part-II
POWER FOR A DAY
once there was a king who wanted to fin d out how his people were living. He told his chief minister about this. Both of them decided to disguise themselves and tour the kingdom. They went from place to place and found out that the people under the present king. No one seemed to have any desires left.
Finally in a small village they found a young man who was telling his mother, “I would love to be the king just for one day. “
The king and his chief minister wondered why the young man had such a desire. Anyway they thought they would fulfill his wish and give him power for one day. The called the boy out and asked him for help. They wanted to have some tea and rest, they said. The boy did not know that he was in the presence of the king. He thought the two men were ordinary travelers. He took them to the nearest inn. There they have invited them to a cup of tea with them. In it they mixed something which made the boy fall asleep immediately.
The next day the young boy woke up in the palace and treated like a king. He was totally bewildered first, thinking it was all a dream. Slowly he was made to believe that he really was the king. His desire for power has come true. He thought he should perform all the tasks he thought he would if he was a king and set to work quickly.
The court had been instructed by the actual king to obey the new ruler implicitly. When the new king came to meet his ministers he was made to feel all-powerful. The king said, “We have some important laws to amend today.”
The ministers were shocked. Who was this stranger? Why did he want to change the excellent laws of their wonderful king? Of course, they could not protest. They waited for the new king to tell them what he wanted?
The king spoke again, “I want to change the hunting laws first. Hunting for pleasure is barbaric. If we want a bird or two to eat we may kill them. But to kill indiscriminately and leave the half dead, suffering birds in the forest to increase the pollution is a crime from today. Killing animals just because we want to show how brave we were also forbidden. If a tiger is creating havoc by killing villagers it can be hunted down. But harmless animals which are living in the forests without hurting us in any way should be left alone.”
The king who was hearing all this from behind a partition was struck by the wisdom and social commitment which this young man had, as also the love for birds and animals which was reflected in his voice. The king had thought that as soon as he becomes the ruler for one day the boy would seek prosperity for his own family, relatives and friends. Never for a moment had he thought that he would think of wild beasts or birds and their welfare.
The new king continued to speak, “Cutting trees and making forest bare is also against the law from today. For every tree a person cuts he will have to plant and care for two saplings so that the next generation does not have a dearth of forests or its benefits.” Again the king was filled with admiration.
The new king did not stop here. He went on to announce that catching fish should also be regulated. Nature has given us food but we should not selfishly finish the entire store in one generation. In all we do we should think of the future of humanity. He said water used for drinking should be kept clean and not directed by washing vessels or clothes. Rivers should be allowed to flow pure without dumping garbage in them because rivers give us the crops we eat. Land should be reclaimed as it was good to have extra crops which can be shared with those kingdoms which are starving.
In this way the new king made progressive laws pertaining to every aspect of life. He knew that it is not enough to be happy. One had to live a life that was socially useful and productive. That is why he wanted power for one day. The king now came out of his hiding and congratulated the young man for his excellent ideas. He appointed him as his prime minister and the kingdom flourished from that very day.
2. EFFORT
Part-I
THE BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH
There is a saying which gives the essence of the theme of this lesson: try, try, try again till you succeed at last. There is no substitute for genius effort, as we learn from experience. Negative thoughts, pessimism, or a sense of defeat can destroy even the most powerful and laudable ambition. To be successful, we have to make continuous, concentrated effort till the goal is attained. If we give up midway we shall not be able to achieve anything in life.
Such was the case of Chandra kiran. As a small boy he was eager to be taken to the huge factory where his father worked. His father appeared heroic in his eyes. Once when his father took him there he was awed by the colourful plastic articles manufactured there. But his father said “ we still have not perfected the technique. It is good enough for the present day not the best. Our research wings keeps trying to make it better.”
The words did not have much effect on his young son. As he grow into his teens instead of continuing to hero-worship his father he was secretly ashamed of his inferior position at the factory. He would have been proud if his father had been the owner of the factory. chandra kiran resolved to rise high in whatever job he took up in future.
After college and ayear of special training, Chandra kiran decided to make advertising his profession. He was talented and soon got an excellent job in a leading advertising firm. He was given a car, an excellent house and many other facilities. He did not have much to do with his parents who still struggled with the same pay which his father earned. Now his boss became a hero in his eyes: tall, handsome, successful and very rich. He wanted to be like his boss. He worked hard hoping to become successful overnight.
Unfortunately, kiran`s selfish motives did not take him far. He became over-confident about the perfection of his designs and presentations. The first few projects were so much appreciated that he thought he was the best in the fieldof advertising. He asked his boss to give him a better salary and more facilities.
At that time the man did not say anything. But he decided to look carefully into kiran`s work. It was not long before he found various flaws in the projects taken up by kiran. And without warning one day he told kiran to look for another job. The shock was too much for the young man. He had no one to turn to and nowhere to go. At last, defeat and despair took him to the very parents whom he had been neglecting for such a long time.
Kiran`s parents welcomed him with open arms. They never made him feel as though he had been away or had not taken care of them. They were sad to see their son in deep depression. But they did not have the habit of forcing their advice on any of their children. After many days kiran confined in his father that he had been fired from his job. His father listened to him carefully and said,” I know you are hurt, but tell me this: do you really think your work was good enough.”
This made the son think about his work and see it in a new light. He had been so enamoured of his own skill that he had lost his objectivity. He took out the transparencies which his former boss had criticized. At that time the words of the boss had seemed unfair. Now he himself could discover many flaws in the design.
That evening kiran went to his father`s factory just as the last whistle sounded. He saw again the colourful plastic articles which had fascinated him during his childhood visit. He picked up one of them. There was not much change in all these years. But his father said,” we have improved the quality over the years. Now ours is the best in the market. But we cannot stop here. We have to continue our effort to keep it the best.”
Part I:
THINK BEFORE YOU ACT
We have all heard the story of the man who was walking along swinging his walking stick wide till it hit the nose of the man who was behind him. The man who was hit protested loudly and the man with the walking stick said” I am the citizen of a free country; I can do as I like.” The other man said, “Your freedom ends where my nose begins.”
When we live together in society we have to be careful that our rights do not encroach on those of others. Live and let live is the motto to be kept in mind. Just as we are conscious of what is convenient to us, we should also be aware of what is necessary for the others who form a part of the same society.
We often clean our houses by littering the street and nearby area with garbage. Think of those who use those places. Why do we forget that we also have to use the same street to go anywhere? We cannot live inside the house all the time.
While travelling in a train a lady was applying mehendi to her hands and feet. The paste fell over on the luggage of the co- passengers and also on their bodies. For two days they have to bear this squalor because it was long journey. For her own selfishness, the lady caused discomfort to the others. Therefore, before we do anything it is imperative that we think how it will affect the others rather than only thinking of ourselves.
The present-day culture has become such that if we go out of our way to help others, people think that there must be some ulterior motive to it. Mr. Prakash got up early every morning and goes to get milk. He saw his old neighbor struggling to go for milk everyday. He offered to get milk for the neighbor everyday and soon heard that he had been branded as a “servant” by some of the other neighbours. But this did not make him give up his task. The old man was very grateful to Mr.prakash. He knew that the words of others of others could not harm him. After sometime the tongues stopped on their own. In fact, some of the neighbours also emulated his example and came forward to help their neighbours.
We know that water is scarce commodity, as is electricity, which we should use as sparingly as possible. In doing that we are saving valuable natural resources. But we often waste these things unthinkingly and with gross insensitivity. We throw water on the smallest pretext. That which cannot be used for drinking can easily be used for bathing or washing vessels. In offices lights or fans are put on even before anyone arrives and they remain on till the end of the working day, irrespective of whether anyone is in the room or not. If we cultivate the habit of switching on these conveniences when they are needed and switching them off as soon as they are unnecessary, we shall be displaying sound sense. All it requires a little effort.
Our capitalistic conditioning often teaches us to hoard things without reason. Those of us who have the ability to buy everything we desire, should learn to give away the older things in our possession to those who are less fortunate. To give the old cycle to the poor child when we have a new moped, to give our old toys to an orphanage, to give children`s books away as soon as we grown up, these are some of the tasks we should look upon as our social responsibilities.
Social awareness is that which teaches us to love our neighbours as ourselves. This popular saying will no longer be a cliché if we empathize with all the people we meet and think that they too have the same needs, desires, likes and dislikes as we do. All cruelty and violence will end on its own if each human being is convinced that the other person suffers the same pain as he/she does.
We can begin to test our social awareness in our school itself. It is said that in Japan no school has attendants to do the cleaning, etc. the students themselves do it by turns and it is a matter of great pride to keep the school/class clean and perform efficiently all other tasks necessary for the smooth functioning of the school. In our experience we may notice that even to pick up a piece of paper lying on the field or in the class-room is considered as degrading by many of the students. They argue that they did not throw the paper in the first place. All this has to change before we become mature, socially aware citizens of a nation which has great promise.
Activity :
DEVICE A P;AN TO ORGANISE A SURVEY/ QUESTIONNAIRE IN YOUR CLASS/SCHOOL AND FIND OUT FROM STUDENTS WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO DO AS A CONTRIBUTION TO MAKING THEIR SURROUNDINGS BETTER, MAKE A LOST OF THE IDEAS THUS GATHERED AND EXECUTE THOSE WHICH YOU CAN, INDIVIDUALLY OR IN GROUPS.
part-II
POWER FOR A DAY
once there was a king who wanted to fin d out how his people were living. He told his chief minister about this. Both of them decided to disguise themselves and tour the kingdom. They went from place to place and found out that the people under the present king. No one seemed to have any desires left.
Finally in a small village they found a young man who was telling his mother, “I would love to be the king just for one day. “
The king and his chief minister wondered why the young man had such a desire. Anyway they thought they would fulfill his wish and give him power for one day. The called the boy out and asked him for help. They wanted to have some tea and rest, they said. The boy did not know that he was in the presence of the king. He thought the two men were ordinary travelers. He took them to the nearest inn. There they have invited them to a cup of tea with them. In it they mixed something which made the boy fall asleep immediately.
The next day the young boy woke up in the palace and treated like a king. He was totally bewildered first, thinking it was all a dream. Slowly he was made to believe that he really was the king. His desire for power has come true. He thought he should perform all the tasks he thought he would if he was a king and set to work quickly.
The court had been instructed by the actual king to obey the new ruler implicitly. When the new king came to meet his ministers he was made to feel all-powerful. The king said, “We have some important laws to amend today.”
The ministers were shocked. Who was this stranger? Why did he want to change the excellent laws of their wonderful king? Of course, they could not protest. They waited for the new king to tell them what he wanted?
The king spoke again, “I want to change the hunting laws first. Hunting for pleasure is barbaric. If we want a bird or two to eat we may kill them. But to kill indiscriminately and leave the half dead, suffering birds in the forest to increase the pollution is a crime from today. Killing animals just because we want to show how brave we were also forbidden. If a tiger is creating havoc by killing villagers it can be hunted down. But harmless animals which are living in the forests without hurting us in any way should be left alone.”
The king who was hearing all this from behind a partition was struck by the wisdom and social commitment which this young man had, as also the love for birds and animals which was reflected in his voice. The king had thought that as soon as he becomes the ruler for one day the boy would seek prosperity for his own family, relatives and friends. Never for a moment had he thought that he would think of wild beasts or birds and their welfare.
The new king continued to speak, “Cutting trees and making forest bare is also against the law from today. For every tree a person cuts he will have to plant and care for two saplings so that the next generation does not have a dearth of forests or its benefits.” Again the king was filled with admiration.
The new king did not stop here. He went on to announce that catching fish should also be regulated. Nature has given us food but we should not selfishly finish the entire store in one generation. In all we do we should think of the future of humanity. He said water used for drinking should be kept clean and not directed by washing vessels or clothes. Rivers should be allowed to flow pure without dumping garbage in them because rivers give us the crops we eat. Land should be reclaimed as it was good to have extra crops which can be shared with those kingdoms which are starving.
In this way the new king made progressive laws pertaining to every aspect of life. He knew that it is not enough to be happy. One had to live a life that was socially useful and productive. That is why he wanted power for one day. The king now came out of his hiding and congratulated the young man for his excellent ideas. He appointed him as his prime minister and the kingdom flourished from that very day.
2. EFFORT
Part-I
THE BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH
There is a saying which gives the essence of the theme of this lesson: try, try, try again till you succeed at last. There is no substitute for genius effort, as we learn from experience. Negative thoughts, pessimism, or a sense of defeat can destroy even the most powerful and laudable ambition. To be successful, we have to make continuous, concentrated effort till the goal is attained. If we give up midway we shall not be able to achieve anything in life.
Such was the case of Chandra kiran. As a small boy he was eager to be taken to the huge factory where his father worked. His father appeared heroic in his eyes. Once when his father took him there he was awed by the colourful plastic articles manufactured there. But his father said “ we still have not perfected the technique. It is good enough for the present day not the best. Our research wings keeps trying to make it better.”
The words did not have much effect on his young son. As he grow into his teens instead of continuing to hero-worship his father he was secretly ashamed of his inferior position at the factory. He would have been proud if his father had been the owner of the factory. chandra kiran resolved to rise high in whatever job he took up in future.
After college and ayear of special training, Chandra kiran decided to make advertising his profession. He was talented and soon got an excellent job in a leading advertising firm. He was given a car, an excellent house and many other facilities. He did not have much to do with his parents who still struggled with the same pay which his father earned. Now his boss became a hero in his eyes: tall, handsome, successful and very rich. He wanted to be like his boss. He worked hard hoping to become successful overnight.
Unfortunately, kiran`s selfish motives did not take him far. He became over-confident about the perfection of his designs and presentations. The first few projects were so much appreciated that he thought he was the best in the fieldof advertising. He asked his boss to give him a better salary and more facilities.
At that time the man did not say anything. But he decided to look carefully into kiran`s work. It was not long before he found various flaws in the projects taken up by kiran. And without warning one day he told kiran to look for another job. The shock was too much for the young man. He had no one to turn to and nowhere to go. At last, defeat and despair took him to the very parents whom he had been neglecting for such a long time.
Kiran`s parents welcomed him with open arms. They never made him feel as though he had been away or had not taken care of them. They were sad to see their son in deep depression. But they did not have the habit of forcing their advice on any of their children. After many days kiran confined in his father that he had been fired from his job. His father listened to him carefully and said,” I know you are hurt, but tell me this: do you really think your work was good enough.”
This made the son think about his work and see it in a new light. He had been so enamoured of his own skill that he had lost his objectivity. He took out the transparencies which his former boss had criticized. At that time the words of the boss had seemed unfair. Now he himself could discover many flaws in the design.
That evening kiran went to his father`s factory just as the last whistle sounded. He saw again the colourful plastic articles which had fascinated him during his childhood visit. He picked up one of them. There was not much change in all these years. But his father said,” we have improved the quality over the years. Now ours is the best in the market. But we cannot stop here. We have to continue our effort to keep it the best.”