Kolkata|
Whatever be the age there’s no excuse for bad manners. And since most manners stick to persona lifelong, good ones need to be taught well and early. Certain up-scale schools and institutions do offer a preparatory ground but so far there hasn’t been any a/v instructional aid till Namita Jain plugged the gap somewhat with ‘Dining Etiquette for School Children’. Launching the CD, a 17-minute animated movie on said subject in the presence of Gouri Basu, Vice Principal, Loretto House; Meenakshi Atal, Vice Principal, Heritage School; Dr Anuradha Das, Principal, Garden High International; S Sen, Principal, Ballygunge Siksha Sadan; L Saigal, Headmistress, Birla High School; Mukta Nain, Principal, Birla High School; M Nath, Principal, CIS and teachers from Sushila Birla School and South City, she said, “ Etiquette is not just about a strict set of rules but a guide on kindness and how to treat others.”
The knowledge is imparted in a fun, lively way with a dose of humor harnessing mnemonics like BMW and such. At the end there’s quiz too help recap. A copy was provided to all present. “It’s a social initiative and will be given to schools for free, it’s not for sale”
So far she’s travelled to Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and plans to visit Trivandrum, Kochi and Ludhiana with it.
The moment it came up for discussion there was a persistent need for a follow-up.
Mukta Nain, Principal Birla High School broached on a lighter note that maids might run away at home if there were too many cutlery involved but mentioned that it’s an important tool for their exchange students and equally to health and wellness club. One principal vouched to show the CD this very Wednesday in its ‘Bits & Bytes Club’ meant for 3-5 yrs old. Yet another said it’ll be applicable to nutrition students as well.
What about one on Business etiquette, one on how to eat fish, on ……
“The follow up is on cards but it’ll take a year” , twinkled, Namita.