Reinstating The Human Quotient In Students

Libraries are the quietest places. Gone are the days when librarians used to create a place where no one was allowed to speak. When I was a child, my librarian used to give me a magazine, and I was expected to sit quietly for the entire period. But now, with the advent of technology, where the attention span is less than a minute, one cannot expect our children to obey us all the time.

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As librarians, we should create a safe space for our children to come and use the library whenever they want to use it! Children nowadays come from different backgrounds. It is very important to create a bond with the children. When children feel safe, valued, and important, they try to show the best classroom behavior.

Children get very attached to their teachers, especially at younger levels. I have seen children who are very stubborn at home but show simplified behavior in school. They listen to their teacher like a godmother. She is the one who is responsible for the child’s well-being. Hence, developing a human quotient from the early years is the most important job of a teacher. Apart from regular teaching, the teacher should take time to talk to each child.

As a librarian, I try to bring a human touch to my day-to-day routine library activities. For reinstating the human quotient, the most effective mode is storytelling. Stories create magic. It can help children develop humanity, sympathy, kindness, and problem-solving aptitude. Stories also develop concentration, and their attention span increases. Children can learn about famous people and their uniqueness, which is a good indicator in helping a child develop humanity.

Let’s give you an example of my library, where I started a bookworm club with my children. In the first class, I did an icebreaker where each one of them was supposed to group with another group member and speak about their happiness. Many of them were so happy to listen to this question about how a teacher was genuinely asking about their happiness. They happily talk about their happiness. Most of them were happy to come to the library, and there were books all around. At the end of the session, I did a reflection activity with them where they mentioned their happiness. I was satisfied that the purpose of the activity was fulfilled.

Let’s talk about morning tête-à-tête with our children. As a librarian, when a child walks towards the library early in the morning. Don’t set the rigid rule that the library can be used only during the library period. Always try to talk to the child and allow him/her to speak about an incident, a book, a dream, his passion, or maybe his happiness. When we allow the child to speak his mind, he can never feel alone, and that is the time when he starts sharing a bond with you, which lasts for the entire school life.

True happiness also comes when children feel valued and appreciated. One way to achieve this is by engaging children in multiple library activities. I organized the library of Manava Bharati India International School in my first year, where I wrote the shelf number on each book. Initially, it was difficult, but with my students’ help, the library was more organized! Now each of them can read the number on the book and put it in the correct column. Now, they come in their free periods and keep the books themselves. In fact, after our completion of work, I sometimes reward them with a handmade bookmark and a handmade card. As a result, they also have a motivation to come to the library, and thus they become more friendly towards the library and the books.

So, at the end, I would like to conclude that as a librarian, one must understand the needs of a child so that each one of them is considered as equal, as Jorge Luis Borges said, “ ‘I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.’. So make your library as lovely as a Paradise.

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