EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES FACED BY THE SCHOOL TEACHERS

 EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES FACED BY THE SCHOOL TEACHERS

New teachers bring energy and enthusiasm to their classrooms, but also a specific set of needs.

A teacher's first year on the job is often difficult. According to research, student achievement tends to be significantly worse in the classrooms of first-year teachers before rising in teachers' second and third years (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005). The steep learning curve is hard not only on students, but also on the teachers themselves: 15 percent leave the profession and another 14 percent change schools after their first year, often as the result of feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, and unsupported (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004).

Surveys and case studies offer compelling insights into the areas in which new teachers commonly struggle. By effectively addressing these areas, schools can help new teachers improve their skills more quickly, thereby keeping them in the profession and raising student achievement.

Struggling with Classroom Management

The biggest challenge that surfaces for new teachers is classroom management. A 2004 Public Agenda survey found that 85 percent of teachers believed "new teachers are particularly unprepared for dealing with behavior problems in their classrooms" (p. 3). A separate survey of 500 teachers found that teachers with three years or fewer on the job were more than twice as likely as teachers with more experience (19 percent versus 7 percent) to say that student behavior was a problem in their classrooms (Melnick & Meister, 2008).

When interviewed, many beginning teachers say their preservice programs did little to prepare them for the realities of classrooms, including dealing with unruly students. "A bigger bag of classroom management tricks would have been helpful," one first-year teacher confessed (Fry, 2007, p. 225).

New teachers universally report feeling particularly overwhelmed by the most difficult students. One Australian first-year teacher interviewed for a case study observed that having a disruptive "student in my classroom is having a significant impact on my interaction with the remainder of the class … As a first-year teacher, I don't have the professional skills to deal with this extreme behavior" (McCormack, Gore, & Thomas, 2006, p. 104). Often, classroom management difficulties can prompt new teachers to jettison many of the research-based instructional practices they learned in college (such as cooperative learning and project-based learning) in favor of a steady diet of lectures and textbooks (Hover & Yeager, 2004).

Burdened by Curricular Freedom

Another concern that new teachers commonly raise is a lack of guidance and resources for lesson and unit planning. In a recent survey of more than 8,000 Teach for America teachers nationwide, 41 percent said their schools or districts provided them with few or no instructional resources, such as lesson plans. When classroom materials were provided, they were seldom useful; just 15 percent of the respondents reported that materials were of sufficient quality for them to freely use (Mathews, 2011).

Although such curricular freedom may be welcomed by veteran teachers, it appears to be a burden for new teachers, who have not yet developed a robust repertoire of lesson ideas or knowledge of what will work in their classrooms (Fry, 2007). Case studies have observed novice teachers struggling "just trying to come up with enough curriculum" and spending 10 to 12 hours a day juggling lesson planning; grading: and the myriad demands of paperwork, committees, and extracurricular assignments (Fry, 2007, p. 225).

It's worth noting that many schools that have successfully raised low-income students' achievement have taken a distinctly different approach. Rather than letting new teachers sink or swim with lesson planning, they provide binders full of model lesson plans and teaching resources developed by veteran teachers (Chenoweth, 2009).

Sinking in Unsupportive Environments

The sink-or-swim nature of many first-year teachers' experiences frequently surfaces as another significant challenge. New teachers often report difficult interactions with colleagues, ranging from "benign neglect" of administrators (Fry, 2007, p. 229) to lack of cooperation or even hostility from veteran teachers.

One first-year teacher, for example, said a colleague flatly refused to share his lesson plans, which was "unfortunate my first year, sinking down and getting no help" (Hover & Yaeger, 2004, p. 21). Another teacher reported that a veteran member of her department came into her classes, propped his feet up on her desk, and disrupted her teaching by throwing out historical facts. "It was so degrading," she said (Hover & Yeager, 2004, p. 20).

More than anything else, novice teachers often appear to yearn for, yet seldom receive, meaningful feedback on their teaching from experienced colleagues and administrators (Fry, 2007; McCormack, Gore, & Thomas, 2006). Regrettably, teacher mentors, ostensibly assigned to provide this support, were sometimes part of the problem, dispensing little guidance, if not bad advice (Fry, 2007). In the words of one new teacher, "Some of the teachers who are mentors shouldn't be. They're not nurturing people; they've just been here the longest, and they want [the mentor position]" (Hover & Yaeger, 2004, p. 20).

How Schools Can Scaffold Success

New teachers bring energy and enthusiasm to their classrooms, but also a specific set of needs. Whereas experienced teachers might bristle at receiving classroom management tips, model lesson plans, and constructive feedback on instruction, new teachers appear to long for such supports. School administrators should recognize that, like students, new teachers need scaffolded assistance. This support should go beyond merely assigning them a mentor, a practice that only reduces five-year attrition rates by one percentage point, from 40 to 39 percent (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004).

If, however, school administrators provide mentoring and guidance, schedule common planning periods to plan lessons with colleagues, and reduce new teachers' workloads by providing an aide in the classroom or fewer preparations, they can cut the attrition rate of their beginning teachers by more than half—down to 18 percent (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). This early investment in time and resources may result in long-term gains by shortening new teachers' often-perilous journeys from novice to experienced professional.

Interesting tips for Teaching and Learning :-

1)  Homework Hack.

Copying homework will neither help you nor your teacher. It is better for the student to say ' I didn't do it' cause copying is just wasting the pages. For teachers, they should never force the students to do homework. Rather if they will tell  students, the use of the homework and how it will help them and improve them, more number of students will do it and there would be less use of force and the work will be done willingly.  

( P.S. Teachers... do take care that the right amount of homework with the right amount of time is given and of course it should be of the level of students and help in improving their learning)

2) Social studies bores. 

No, it would not if the teacher prepares the chapter well. Social Studies is not a subject to be taught from books. S.St is more about discussions, explanation and ending chapter by coming to a conclusion and a learning. Relate the topic with the recent events and news. So that the students will get to know the worth of the chapter and why they need to learn it.

• Relate Geography to the environment conditions prevailing in the world. Relate it with the climate, weather, disasters, degradation, recent meetings held for improving environment conditions. Show structures of various things through videos.
• Civics is so much interesting if you relate it to the political structure of the country. This would make students aware of various things and help in achieving the objective of Social Studies i.e. make them a better citizen.Tell students about Naxalism, ask them about the Vidhaan Sabha of their area, they thus would be more interested in knowing everything.
• Economy - Make your student little money minded, tell them how all this money comes and goes. Give them great examples.It will become interesting.

I can't still workout with Historty - I am sorry... :(

P.S.- These practices will need a lot of work to be done by the teacher but simultaneously these will increase your value among students.     

3) Tests should be effective.  

This I learnt in B.Ed. The test teachers make should not check student's cramming power or memory. It should check their Knowledge, Understanding and Application Skills. The student should know the facts and figure, that will check their knowledge.Except language, other subjects should not evaluate on the basis of language but on how much the student has understood the concept, concept clearance is more important than the way of expressing the answer. Now the last thing is, does the student know how to apply the knowledge and Understanding? For this, situation based questions should be there.

4) Better teaching environment 

         These will make the teaching environment better :-

• Though, there should not exist any politics in school ( among teachers especially) but if there is any, it should not come out in front of the students. This lessens the Dil se vaali respect for the teacher.
• Good work of the teacher as well as students should be appreciated by teachers and students.Teachers should appreciate the good work of other teachers and teachers should appreciate the good work of students as well.This will improve the bond.
• Not always but once in a year,there should be a direct check on the teacher's work and behaviour by the higher authority. This will improve the quality of education.
• More than qualification, quality of the teacher matters.

First follow these and check their effectiveness. Later I will come up with other points. 

TEENAGE SELF ESTEEM !!

What is Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)?

The term Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) is used for school based evaluation of pupils in which their assessment is done on a continuous basis throughout the year and which is also comprehensive in nature, in the sense that it is not confined to assessment in scholastic subjects but also covers co-scholastic areas such as performance in games/sports, Physical education, Creative Education, Art, Music, Dance, Drama, other cultural activities and Personal & Social qualities.

 

Advantages of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)

 

  

Teachers evaluate students in day-to-day basis and use the feedback for improvement in teaching – learning process.

Teachers can use varieties of evaluation methods over and above the written tests.

Students can be assessed in both scholastic and co-scholastic areas.

Evaluation is done throughout the year and therefore it is expected to provide more reliable evidence of students’ progress.

CCE encourages the students in forming good study habits.

The feedback provided by CCE can be effectively used in remedial teaching to slow learners.

 

 

ASPECTS OF COMPREHENSIVE AND CONTINUOUS EVALUATION

 

The ‘continuous’ aspect of CCE takes care of ‘continual’ and ‘periodicity’ aspects of evaluation.

Continual means assessment of the students in the beginning of the instruction and during the instructional process done informally using multiple techniques of evaluation.

Periodicity means assessment of performance done frequently at the end of unit /term.

The ‘comprehensive ‘ component ‘of CCE takes care of assessment of all round development of the child’s personality.

Scholastic aspects include curricular areas or subject specific areas, where as Co-Curricular Activities, Attitudes, and Values.

Assessment in Scholastic areas is done informally and formally using multiple techniques of evaluation continually and periodically. The causes of poor performance in some units are diagnosed using diagnostic tests. These are followed up with appropriate intervention followed by retesting.

Assessment in Co-Scholastic areas is done using multiple techniques on the basis of identified criteria, while assessment in Life Skills is done on the basis of indicators of Assessment and checklists.

To evaluate comprehensively the more important abilities like; affection, certain values, attitudes, interests , habits etc.

Aspect of CCE is also to foster individual abilities of the children.

To help the child to realize their potentialities and capacities.

 

Problems faced by the teachers under CCE system

 

 

 

CCE believed to help reduce the pressure on the child during/before examinations. After a discussion with few teachers we have identified some problems which teachers may face in implementation and execution of CCE system. These are:-

 

 

 

Increased volume of work: As students have to sit for multiple tests throughout the year, it has led to increase of burden on both teachers and students .collecting, checking and marking projects require extra efforts on the part of teacher as compared to written tests. Teachers feel that their work has increased tremendously with assessments having additional ‘descriptive indicators’. The increased volume of work further affects teaching effectiveness
Time Constraints: Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation requires us to spend more time evaluating individual students. While the advantages of this include a broader view of the child's progress and more interaction with the child's parents, it can put additional strain on us that negatively influences their ability to assess students. Student conferences are more frequent under this system, requiring us to add more hours to their work day
Negligent attitude of parents: Some parent specially uneducated parents do not support the CCE system. They think of CCE activities as a waste of time, money (amounts spent in making projects) and efforts. Many of them favour the traditional approach of terminal examination. Parent lack of support affects the performance of child adversely and further makes the tasks of the teacher tougher. There are many financial constraints associated with it as it may not suit the pocket of every child.
Large number of children in class: Most teachers find it difficult to execute CCE in large classes. In such cases CCE activities become time consuming and unmanageable and teachers are not able to give individual attention. Due to be over crowded classes, sometimes CCE becomes only show off.
Lack of seriousness amongst students: sometimes there is lack of seriousness amongst students regarding CCE as they are aware of the fact that they will pass without making enough efforts in academics.
　 
 
　 
　 

DIAGNOSTIC TEST IN EDUCATION

Diagnostic testing is an important tool for educators who want to know where their students are academically in order to bring those students to where they need to be. If you want your students to move forward, you need to identify where they have started; diagnostic testing is the way to do this.

·       Purpose     

§  A diagnostic test measures where students are in terms of their knowledge and skills.

§  It will assess the abilities that students have at a particular time to solve problems or answer questions in a subject area.

·       Uses

A teacher uses a diagnostic test

§  to assess students' strengths and weaknesses in a specific subject area.

§  It shows her how much they know about her subject and

§  it also help teacher that how much more they still need to know before they leave her class.

·       Classes

§  Diagnostic tests can be especially beneficial for teachers who have multiple classes to teach within one subject.

§  A diagnostic test given to all classes can show that teacher, for example, that first-period students are comfortable with fractions, but third-period students still need some practice in that area.

·       Repetition

A diagnostic test is useful if a teacher uses it more than once throughout the school year. Given at the beginning of the year, it can help the teachers plan his instruction. Midyear, he can determine how much students have learned so far and what he needs to review. At the end of the year, a diagnostic test can provide an assessment of a student's total learning for the class.

·       Growth

A diagnostic test can show how much students have grown in a class or in their knowledge of a subject.

INDIA'S DARK SECRET

Female genital mutilation is being practiced not just in Africa but in the heart of Mumbai.

Imagine being taken to a room in a dark decrepit building. Imagine being pinned down on the floor. Imagine your underwear being taken off. Imagine seeing a knife being heated on the gas stove. Imagine the same hot knife slicing your clitoris. Imagine young girls shrieking in pain.

The cruel practice of female genital cutting or female genital mutilation (FGM) is not happening only in far away Africa. It’s not just being practised in tribal societies. Young girls aged six and seven are regularly being cut right here, in India. Mumbai abounds with untrained midwives who continue to scar young girls from the Bohra community, a Shia sub sect.

For long, FGM or khatna as the Bohras call it remained a well-kept secret, a taboo, a subject never to be discussed. But now a few women – victims at the hands of the Bohra tradition – are choosing to speak out and create awareness. Masooma Ranalvi, a Delhi-based publisher – who has put her name to an online petition against the practice along with 17 other women – has decided it’s time to come out in the open. The pain has become a trigger and the passion to save other girls from being cut have made her and the others fearless.

Masooma was cut 42 years ago but says the day is etched in her mind. She narrates her personal story haltingly but with clarity. “My mum told me come; I’ll take you out and buy you chocolates. I happily went with her. She took me to Bohri mohalla (in Mumbai), a cluster where 90% Bohras live. We went into this dark decrepit building. I remember being taken into a room. The curtains were drawn. She said lie down. Like an obedient child, I lay. My grandmother was holding my hands. An oldish woman pulled down my pants… I started crying. Grandmom said don’t worry, it will be over in a jiffy. I shrieked in pain… I experienced a sharp, shooting pain and she put some black powder there… I came home and cried and cried and cried...”

For a long time, Masooma did not understand what had happened to her or why she had been cut. The realisation that she had been so betrayed shattered her. The reasons why khatna is so common in the community shocked her.

Aarefa Johari, a young, articulate journalist is another petitioner. Like most women in the two million-strong Bohra community, Aarefa was cut too. Without consent and without too much thought. Why, she asked herself for a long time. The answer to that question is stark: Tradition is not easy to slay. Slaying young girls is easier.

Masooma and Aarefa were both cut because their mothers were pressured into taking their daughters to Bhindi Bazaar in Mumbai by older women in the family; either by aunts or mothers-in-law. The beliefs that the clitoral head is ‘unwanted skin’, that it is a ‘source of sin’ that will make them ‘stray’ out of their marriages are reasons that lie at the heart of a practice that predates Islam but thrives amongst Bohras. One woman this reporter spoke to referred to the clitoral head as ‘haraam ki boti’ or immoral lump of flesh.

The sad truth to this painful process is the fact that it is a practice being done to women by other women. Most women we spoke with blamed their mothers initially. Till they realised they too were victims of the same mindless tradition. “There was pain and I cried. I was aware that there is a thing called khatna and the main intention is to curb sexual desire. The first target of my anger was my mother,” said Aarefa.

The secrecy comes wrapped in deceit and betrayal. And a grave form of abuse on young minds and bodies.

The Importance of Art in Child Development

              The Importance of Art in Child Development

 Although some may regard art education as a luxury, simple creative activities are some of the building blocks of child development. Learning to create and appreciate visual aesthetics may be more important than ever to the development of the next generation of children as they grow up.

Developmental Benefits of Art

Motor Skills: Many of the motions involved in making art, such as holding a paintbrush or scribbling with a crayon, are essential to the growth of fine motor skills in young children. According to the National Institutes of Health, developmental milestones around age three should include drawing a circle and beginning to use safety scissors. Around age four, children may be able to draw a square and begin cutting straight lines with scissors. Many preschool programs emphasize the use of scissors because it develops the dexterity children will need for writing.

Language Development: For very young children, making art—or just talking about it—provides opportunities to learn words for colors, shapes and actions. When toddlers are as young as a year old, parents can do simple activities such as crumpling up paper and calling it a “ball.” By elementary school, students can use descriptive words to discuss their own creations or to talk about what feelings are elicited when they see different styles of artwork.

Decision Making: According to a report by Americans for the Arts, art education strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. The experience of making decisions and choices in the course of creating art carries over into other parts of life. “If they are exploring and thinking and experimenting and trying new ideas, then creativity has a chance to blossom,” says MaryAnn Kohl, an arts educator and author of numerous books about children’s art education.

Visual Learning: Drawing, sculpting with clay and threading beads on a string all develop visual-spatial skills, which are more important than ever. Even toddlers know how to operate a smart phone or tablet, which means that even before they can read, kids are taking in visual information. This information consists of cues that we get from pictures or three-dimensional objects from digital media, books and television.

Parents need to be aware that children learn a lot more from graphic sources now than in the past. Children need to know more about the world than just what they can learn through text and numbers. Art education teaches students how to interpret, criticize, and use visual information, and how to make choices based on it. Knowledge about the visual arts, such as graphic symbolism, is especially important in helping kids become smart consumers and navigate a world filled with marketing logos.

Inventiveness: When kids are encouraged to express themselves and take risks in creating art, they develop a sense of innovation that will be important in their adult lives. “The kind of people society needs to make it move forward are thinking, inventive people who seek new ways and improvements, not people who can only follow directions,” says Kohl. “Art is a way to encourage the process and the experience of thinking and making things better!”

Cultural Awareness: As we live in an increasingly diverse society, the images of different groups in the media may also present mixed messages. “If a child is playing with a toy that suggests a racist or sexist meaning, part of that meaning develops because of the aesthetics of the toy—the color, shape, texture of the hair,” says Freedman. Teaching children to recognize the choices an artist or designer makes in portraying a subject helps kids understand the concept that what they see may be someone’s interpretation of reality.

Improved Academic Performance: Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievement.  Young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day on three days each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate

“Are Backbenchers in the Classroom the Bill Gates of India?”

“The entrepreneur builds an enterprise; the technician builds a job.” - Michael Gerber

In every classroom, the educators find three types of students – above average, average and below average students. In fact, the classroom is incomplete without this combination of categories. The above average students often sit in the front rows in the classroom, the average students in the middle, and the below average students in the back benches. When the educators deliver their lectures, the rate of listening decreases gradually from the front row to the last row where you find students in the front rows are found to be great listeners with some of them taking the notes. However, the students from back benches listen less to lectures but talk more among themselves. Most time, the educators are annoyed with backbenchers as they will not be able to concentrate on their lectures due to the noise created by the backbenchers. And some of the frontbenchers don’t appreciate and associate with backbenchers. 

When we look at the results during examinations, the frontbenchers excel greatly while the backbenchers perform poorly. This is one side of the coin. When we look at the other side of the coin, some of the backbenchers become successful politicians and entrepreneurs while the frontbenchers excel greatly as intellectuals and become employees in prestigious companies. Precisely, some of the backbenchers become the employers while the frontbenchers become the employees. There are a number of reasons for this. The frontbenchers follow the rules, and know how to make the rules whereas the backbenchers often don’t follow the rules, and know how to make and break rules.  

When we look at great achievers like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Michael Dell, they were academically poor but excelled as great entrepreneurs. Hence, it is the emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) which is more important than intelligence quotient (IQ). It seems the backbenchers possess more of EQ than IQ thus excelling as leaders as EQ is one of the major factors for leadership success and effectiveness.  Hereafter, don’t ignore and underestimate the power of backbenchers who might surprise everyone by becoming as successful leaders and entrepreneurs. Hence, we can conclude comfortably that some of the backbenchers might become Bill Gates in future.

“Genius does what it must, and talent does what it can.” - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Child trafficking in India: 'It was only after a few years I realized I had been sold'

Anti-slavery activists say thousands of children are going missing from some of India’s remote tribal areas as human traffickers respond to a surge in demand for domestic child labour in booming urban districts.

Between 2011 and 2013, more than 10,500 children were registered as missing from the central state of Chhattisgarh, one of India’s poorest states. The majority are believed to have been trafficked out of the state and into domestic work or other forms of child labour in cities.

“Trafficking for sex and other purposes has always existed in India, but trafficking children for domestic slavery is a relatively new development,” says HS Phoolka, a senior advocate at India’s supreme court and a human rights lawyer and activist. “This is due to rising demand for domestic maids due to rising income in urban areas and widescale poverty … in rural areas. This trafficking shows the rise of massive inequality in India.”

The missing children in Chhattisgarh represent a small percentage of the estimated 135,000 children believed to be trafficked in India every year. Yet the rate at which they are going missing from remote villages in the south of the state is causing alarm.

I worked from 6am until midnight. I had to cook, clean, take care of the children and massage the legs of my employers

Last year, the Supreme Court expressed serious concern over the number of missing children in Chhattisgarh. The state responded with legislation, India’s first attempt to regulate the growing number of employment placement agencies, which are often conduits for children being trafficked into domestic servitude and other forms of exploitation.

Activists say more needs to be done to tackle the problem. “The state has become a big source area for children because of a lack of law enforcement, civil unrest, large-scale poverty, illiteracy and the remoteness of the villages,” says Bhuwan Ribhu, an activist working with the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the childhood movement). “These are places where the protection of the state does not reach. Trafficking in this region has become deeply engrained.”

In the village of Kunuri, Deepti Minch, 19, describes her experience of being trafficked into domestic servitude in northern India’s Punjab state. A village agent had visited her family and promised her mother 5,000 rupees ($79) a month if she sent Deepti to work in Delhi. Once she reached the capital she was sold off to a family.

“It was only after a few years I realised I had been sold,” she recalls. “I was extremely hurt and was in tears. My life was tough. I worked from six in the morning until midnight. I had to cook meals, clean the house, take care of the children and massage the legs of my employers before going to bed. If I didn’t do my job well, they used to scold me.”

Deepti eventually managed to run away and make her way back to her family – yet thousands of other children remain unaccounted for.

One of them is Salmaet, who went missing from Sihardhar village in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district six years ago, when she was 11. “I thought she had gone to a neighbouring village, but when she didn’t return I got worried and started asking around,” says her father, Thibu Ram. “I still have no idea where she is. I hope she’s safe.”

Salmaet’s disappearance is part of a disturbing trend of children going missing in the area. Fear and distrust of the police and officials mean children are rarely reported missing for months, or even years, after they disappear. Although Salmaet went missing in 2008, her family didn’t go to the police until this year. They say the police have done nothing to look for her.

Rishi Kant, one of India’s leading anti-trafficking activists, says trafficking is still considered a peripheral issue among law enforcement agencies, especially in rural areas such as Chhattisgarh. “The response of states across India to this problem is very poor,” he says. “In states such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, law enforcement is too busy fighting the armed Maoist insurgency or civil unrest.Human trafficking is not a priority.”

“Most [police] don't see trafficking as a crime. They just see it as poor children migrating for a better livelihood”

Aradhana Singh, head of anti-human trafficking unit, Jharkhand state

In neighbouring Jharkhand state, Aradhana Singh, head of the anti-human trafficking unit in Khundi district, says the police lack both the funds and the will to tackle the problem.

“We simply don’t have resources,” she says. “Our phones don’t work; power cuts are so frequent that we cannot use a computer or a fax machine. There is not even office space to offer counselling services. Most [police] don’t see trafficking as a crime. They just see it as poor children migrating for a better livelihood and don’t take these issues seriously. They think I’m dealing with a petty issue.”

The impunity enjoyed by those running trafficking rings in these tribal areas is increasing the power and influence of local criminal gangs.

“The situation has become so grave that in these areas it is the traffickers who wield the power,” says Prasanta Dash, head of Unicef in Chhattisgarh. “Even if cases are filed against them, they are able to pressure the families to change their statements or threaten them. Because they earn a lot of money, they are well off and act as muscle men. Trafficking in this region is very deep.”

  

child abuse

Child abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to a child or puts a child at risk of harm. Child abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Neglect, or not providing for a child’s needs, is also a form of abuse. However, in India, as in many other countries, there has been no understanding of the extent, magnitude and trends of the problem. The growing complexities of life and the dramatic changes brought about by socio-economic transitions in India have played a major role in increasing the vulnerability of children to various and newer forms of abuse. According to WHO: “Child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/ or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.’’1 Child abuse has serious physical and psychological consequences which adversely affect the health and overall well-being of a child. Most abused children suffer greater emotional than physical damage. An abused child may become depressed. He or she may withdraw, think of suicide or become violent. An older child may use drugs or alcohol, try to run away or abuse others.
Age group Infants and toddlers are the age group most vulnerable to child abuse and neglect and the largest group of children entering foster care.

Problems - India and worldwide After centuries of being shoved under the carpet, the truth is out. India has the largest number of children (375 million) in the world, nearly 40% of its population.  69% of Indian children are victims of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse (or read it as every 2 out of 3). New Delhi, the Nation’s capital, has an over 83% abuse rate. 89% of the crimes are perpetrated by family members. Boys face more abuse (>72%) than girls (65%). More than 70% of cases go unreported and unshared even with parents/ family2. Nearly five children die every day in America from abuse and neglect.3 In 2010, an estimated 1,560 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States.4 In the same year, Children’s Advocacy Centres around the country served over 266,000 child victims of abuse, providing victim advocacy and support to these children and their families. In 2011, this number was over 279,000.5
Causes -There are many interacting causes of child abuse and neglect. Characteristics or circumstances of the abuser, the child, and the family may all contribute. In many cases the abuser himself/herself was abused as a child. Substance abuse has been identified as a key factor in a growing number of cases. In some cases abusers do not have the education and skills needed to raise a child, thus increasing the likelihood of abuse, and providing inadequate parental role models for future generations. Children who are low birth weight, ill, disabled, or otherwise perceived as different are more likely to be the targets of abuse. In the family, marital discord, domestic violence, unemployment and poverty, and social isolation are all factors that can precipitate abuse. Lying, disrespect, disobedience, low performance in school and destroying property are the main reasons for punishment. Patterns of abusive behaviour may result in the physical or mental impairment of the child or even death. Small children are especially vulnerable to physical injury such as whiplash or shaken infant syndrome resulting from battery. Abused children are more likely to experience generalized anxiety, depression, truancy, shame and guilt, or suicidal and homicidal thoughts or to engage in criminal activity, promiscuity, and substance abuse.

Prevention of Child Abuse-

 Resources on child abuse prevention, protecting children from risk of abuse, and strengthening families. Includes information on supporting families, protective factors, public awareness, community activities, positive parenting, prevention programs, and more. Understanding child abuse prevention and what to do when children are at risk. Includes frequently asked questions and links to related Federal and national organizations and State contacts that work to prevent child abuse.
(i) Strengthening families Information on how to enhance protective factors in families and ways to support and partner with parents. Includes a calendar of family activities and parenting resources.
(ii) Public awareness and creating supportive communities Tools for sharing a child abuse prevention message with your community and building community support.

 (iii)Prevention programs Standards for prevention programs, research on what works, information on the role of related professionals, and resources for specific types of programs. (iv)Developing and sustaining prevention programs Considerations for managing a prevention program, including community needs assessments, collaborating with community partners, family engagement and retention, cultural competence, training, and funding. 

(v) Evidence-based practice Child abuse prevention programs and strategies supported by scientific research.

UNDERSTANDING PEER PRESSURE

Almost everyone has experienced peer pressure before, either positive or negative. Peer pressure is when your classmates, or other people your age, try to get you to do something. It is so easy to give in to peer pressure because everyone wants to fit in and be liked. Especially when it seems like “everyone is doing it”. Sometimes people give in to peer pressure because they do not want to hurt someone’s feelings or they do not know how to get out of the situation so they just say “yes”.

Peer pressure  is influence a peer group, observers, or an individual exerts that encourages others to change their attitudes, values, or behaviors to conform to those of the influencing group or individual. Social groups affected include both membership groups, in which individuals are "formally" members (such as political parties and trade unions), and cliques in which membership is not clearly defined. However, a person does not need to be a member or be seeking membership of a group to be affected by peer pressure. One may also recognize dissociative groups, with which one wishes to avoid associating, and thus behave counter to that group's norms

WHO ARE PEERS?

Your friends — your peers — are people your age or close to it who have experiences and interests similar to yours. You and your friends make dozens of decisions every day, and you influence each other's choices and behaviors. This is often positive — it's human nature to listen to and learn from other people in your age group.

As you become more independent, your peers naturally play a greater role in your life. As school and other activities take you away from home, you may spend more time with peers than you do with your parents and siblings. You'll probably develop close friendships with some of your peers, and you may feel so connected to them that they are like an extended family.

Why Do People Give in to Peer Pressure?

Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids might make fun of them if they don't go along with the group. Others go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that "everyone's doing it" can influence some kids to leave their better judgment, or their common sense, behind

How to resist peer pressure?

·         Understanding your own values and beliefs

·         Have Self-confidence

·         Choose your friends wisely

·         Talk to a trusted adult

·         Don’t make excuses – say exactly how you feel

How do peers pressure?

·         Insults: making a person feel bad for not doing something, so that they eventually will

·         Reasoning: pressure by giving a person reasons why they should do something

·         Rejection: pressure by threatening to end a relationship or a friendship

·         Unspoken pressure: simply seeing all your peers doing something or wearing something can be s form of pressure

Negative effects

Ø Alienation From the Family-The direct effect of negative peer pressure is alienation from the family. The teen will just not like to be in the company of his parents as he feels that their values are standing in the way of his desires. A negative peer pressure is always antagonistic to the values that are promoted by the family. Thereby, the first thing that the teen does is to compromise the values and then indulge in activities that are contrary to them.

Ø Disinterest in Studies-Negative peer pressure teaches and encourages the teen to ignore studies. He will thus bunk classes and be completely uninterested in academics. The grades would naturally fall the teen would find it difficult to cope up in high school or get admission in colleges. This will naturally affect his career.

Ø Negative Behaviour-Negative peer pressure renders an impact in his behaviour and attitude. They feel that it is a mark of independence to disobey and disregard the opinion and values of their parents. They turn hostile and it affects their relationship with their parents, social circle and later in their personal lives also succumbs to this negativity.Amongst the other common effects of negative pressure is indulgence in smoking, alcohol, drugs and early sexual activities. If the negative peer pressure is not timely taken care of, it can damage the future life of the teen in a major way leading to behavioral and psychological disorders, not to forget the physical harm ensuing from it.

The positive side   

While it can be hard for teens to resist peer influence sometimes, especially in the heat of the moment, it can also have a positive effect. Just as people can influence others to make negative choices, they can also influence them to make positive ones.

Ø A teen might join a volunteer project because all of his or her friends are doing it, or get good grades because the social group he or she belongs to thinks getting good grades is important. In fact, friends often encourage each other to study, try out for sports, or follow new artistic interests.

Ø peer influence can lead teens to engage in new activities that can help build strong pathways in the brain.