Im sick and tired of Vijays greatness,” Sundar complained.
Ramani closed her comic and looked up. So am I. Hes alwa-ys boasting about his wonderful holidays abroad or how his parents can afford bathroom fittings that cost a lakh each

Waste of money, if you ask me. I could put that money to better use,” Sanjiv retorted.

I will give my new roller-skates away as a reward to anyone who successfully cures Vijay of his boasting,” Sundar declared.

But thats because it was a gift and I love my old ones too much to part with them,” he whispered to Binu, who sat next to him.

At the mention of the reward, everyone perked up and resolved to try.

Ramani tried to outboast Vijay by making up all kinds of tall tales.

Sanjiv tried giving him hints about his behaviour. But nothing seemed to work.

To their amazement, Binu came up with a novel strategy. As class leader, he asked Vijay to be the Project Leader for a class project on ‘Valuing everyone inspite of differences.

What a person to choose!” Ramani said. But Binu refused to change his choice of Project Leader.

Vijay was surprised but happy to be the Project Leader. But for once, he found that the topic was an unfamiliar subject. So he was willing to take any help the others offered.

How about each of us mak-ing handprints, painting them and cutting them out to make a big colla-ge? It will focus on our simi-larities of having almost identical hand shapes and how we can work together to make something beautiful,” Sundar suggested.

How about making a list of one positive quality of each of our classmates?” Ramani asked.

By the time the project was over, Vijay had been trying out all kinds of ideas that proved the value of every individual. He no longer thought that only he was great.

The others commented on the difference in him.

Binu smiled. Well, that was my plan, though you didnt know it. Now, can I have the roller-skates?”

– NIsha Daniel

Teacher’s Corner

Want to make your class feel great about being back in school?

Place an attractive banner on the blackboard with the names of all students and a large welcome greeting. You can even tape some new stationery to get their attention — one for each student. They will love the welcome gift!

Keep the first day fun with minimal lessons. Let them share their holiday experiences. The whole new class will enjoy hearing about them.