Theme Days at School: Ones Not to Observe
During the days of teacher training course you must have come across the benefit and the positive influence theme days at school have on the children. This is equally important whether you are qualified with nursery teacher training, Montessori teacher training or even pre and primary teacher training.
Dressing up according to a particular theme is extremely important in the learning process of children. But while instructing them to do so and innovating new theme ideas you need to pay attention to the particulars also.
Not all themes can be suggested readily. We bring to you a few suggestions of theme days that you should avoid when you aim at enriching your students with efficient knowledge.
How about Twins Theme?
Asking to dress as a mirror image of a child’s best friend to invoke the spirit of bonding sounds interesting but difficult to carry out. There are myriad problems that may arise starting from leaving out children from pairing up with others to extra financial burden on families with low income level.
Instead of that you may try out something more unique and untraditional. Go for mismatch theme or a theme that goes “wear your dress inside out”.
What about Girls Vs Boys?
Though most of the teacher training institutes will tell you this a most common theme to implement, this is one theme that you must avoid. This will actually grow a feeling of gender discrimination among the little ones. Wearing pink or blue depicting girl or boy respectively, can pose a problem for transgender students also.
Instead of this you may try allotting particular colours to groups of children and arrange for a colour war in the class.
What is your take on Hairstyle Theme?
Calling for ‘crazy’ hairdo on theme day actually can lead to disaster. Maximum hairstyles that you will see children sporting on this day resemble the traditional cultural hairstyles as sported by the Black people. This will send off wrong message and discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or skin colour is also encouraged this way.
It is a better idea to ask the children come to class in their pyjamas. Thus instead of focussing on the hair, everyone gets to wear what they have.
What do you think about Inappropriate Spirit Theme?
When you are in possession of an international teaching diploma you can land a job of teaching students of any class. If you are assigned the classes of middle class age, you need to be extra careful about the theme during spirit week. This is because the students are vulnerable and can be easily stressed under peer pressure.
Steer clear of anything that brings forth unnecessary complications. It is always an excellent choice to make career as a theme for a spirit day at school.
Have you thought about Identity Theme?
No theme should ever play with the diverse identities of the children studying at the class. Arranging for a Hobo Day or a Redneck day will encourage the learners to stereotype their classmates. The whole idea of strengthening the spirit of togetherness will not resolve.
Instead of identity-based themes, go for theme celebrating or flaunting the school colours. This will eliminate any chances of mockery. Promote a theme like mismatching their dresses while coming to school.
Themes are instrumental and integral for child development at the same time. They boost the morale of the students and help them know the significance of important days. The main aim is to promote and instil a sense of belonging.
Choosing wrong theme can hinder the growth of a child socially and morally. Be attentive towards it and ace the skill of teaching the learners in an effective and efficient way.
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