Princess Naik, an enterprising resident of Gandhi Nagar, was a pioneer in bringing in the concept of Day Care to Chennai. Her ‘Play Coop’ holds a record of a successful 40 year old in the Play School arena. It was a piece of luck that I happened to meet her to know her thoughts on Teachers’ Day. Her candid views on the children of today and the young parents who are clueless on how to handle the myriad problems of kids and adolescents, will educate readers in our neighbourhood. Adyar Times takes pleasure in presenting a pioneer in car rallying, a successful dress designer, an acrylic painter, a wildlife and environmental enthusiast, and a widely travelled Princess Naik.
She has written articles on children and environment protection in several magazines, and in The Hindu. Her observations on the various programs for children around the world helped her emulate those concepts in her Play School. Over and above, is her counselling sessions with perplexed mothers and kids with problems. This is done beyond the call of duty in the interest of the society.
PlayCoop has an integrated syllabi based on Indian Methodology with concepts taken from Montessori. “Why do we need to follow the American syllabi when the Indian system has such beautiful infusions? If you are not aware of those, I’m sorry, You have missed the bus!” is her challenge to educationists. That is why she made sure that her play school has a plethora of after school activities like yoga, art, cooking, games, and other activities to balance study and play in early childhood.
Asked if children are over-smart, these days, she says, “I firmly believe that children are all born the same, innocent and child-like; it is the parents who mould them into robotic human beings. They place a lot of expectations on their small heads. They want them to excel in everything from academic to sports to arts; each one wants their child to be a superhuman being. Moms are no more the cool and collected species of yesteryears, allowing the child to take up its own interest in his own pace and capacity. They have turned demanding, aggressive and assertive, not aware of the chaos they are creating in a child’s mind. If a child is incapable of living up to their hopes, he loses his confidence and his love for life.” These thoughts are worth pondering.
A working mom spends less time with the child and is over cautious and over protective. They too are first time moms, inexperienced, may not be willing to learn from the experience of other elders in the family. The child emulates this behaviour and wants his way all the time. It is a pitiful state that parents need more counselling than children. But how many schools can afford a counsellor with 30 years of experience? Princess questions.
Student to teacher ratio being so high, how much can the teacher know about a student? What can a mother do, when she herself is finding it difficult to maintain an emotional balance. A scientific approach to the solutions for the problems a school child faces is missing, in the frenzy of schools opening ten and twelve branches in the city. They dilute the policies and compromise on the pedagogy and quality of teaching, is her concern.
Princess Naik, will be coming out with a book exclusive for young mothers, which will carry the wealth of her experience of 40 years with children. She is ably supported by Padma Srinath, an icon in education, who will also be contributing to the book. It is expected to be in stalls in 2024.
We need empathetic teachers like Princess Naik in society. May her breed grow!
Princess Naik can be contacted at 98847 65925 or at [email protected].
