Story Analysis
Little Bobby
by Thota Srinivas
Not
just a story, every act and every single move of human has something underlying
to teach us. It requires a profound comprehension and deep insight to see
things through the perspective of weighing value and adding meaning to things
which seem to be trivial but have invaluable things to offer to the inquisitive
minds. Teachers are expected to possess such insight if not in tonnes at least
in ounces to be able to activate this very sense in the children.
The
story, 'Little Bobby' has got great lessons to offer......
1.
Parents' act of presenting gifts on special occasions or events makes them feel
that things can be earned even without actually working to earn them.
The
story teaches us that kids need to be taught to earn their gifts through better
deportment.
2.
Children should be taught and guided to reflect on their behaviour. The way
Bobby's mom asks him to reflect on his behaviour to know whether he deserved a
gift is a lesson for every parent.
3.
I personally loved the idea of writing letters to God and this must be taught
to every child to strengthen the faith towards God and also the belief that our
actions and thoughts are observed by omnipresent God.
4.
The motive behind writing letters to God is achieved in the story. We see that
Bobby keeps getting more and more candid and honest with every letter.
Moreover, he admits his mistakes which is a sign of maturity seen in Bobby.
5.
The culmination of the story gives us a shock indeed! We usually do not expect
a trouble maker becoming a sweetie pie and then bouncing back to his usual
self. But as a matter of fact, this is the reality in the case of kids.....and
this should be true.....if it isn't how can we differentiate a kid from a man.
Reality about kids is shown in this story.
6.
We get disappointed to find Bobby kidnapping the mother of Jesus. But trust me,
when I was teaching this story, almost the entire class criticized the act of
Bobby besides finding it ridiculous. It was then that I had to say to the
children that we get to learn things not just from our mistakes but others'
mistakes as well.
7.
Last but not the least, the most important lesson we learn from this story is
the fact that kids mirror the actions of the people they get to see or spend or
read or know.
This
is the reason why parents need to check and correct their own behaviour,
language and actions before they proceed to check their children's
behaviour. If we analyze Bobby's act of kidnapping the mother of God, we
get to realize that parents and teachers are to be blamed in this regard though
they might not deliberately do things to misguide the children. Most of us do
and say things subconsciously forgetting the fact that kids are recording every
act and word of ours.
Parents
tend to say, " If you eat the food, I shall get you a toy"
Teachers
usually say, " If you get good marks, you can become the class prefect
"
And
finally Bobby said, " If you give me a bike, I'll send your
mom"
Now
who should we blame for what Bobby did!!?? Who is teaching the kids the concept
of blackmailing!? Who is confusing the kids with hypocritical ideology and
deportment!!?