Inspired by a viral video of teachers greeting kindergarteners as they walk into the class, the principal of Telangana Social Welfare Residential School/Junior College at Addaguduru in Telangana’s Yadari-Bhongir district decided to adopt the initiative in her school.
S Rupa greets Class 5 students with either a hug, a handshake, a high-five or a fist-bump. The ‘greeting’ is chosen by the students who select them as per the signs pasted on the door.
The greeting exercise in the viral videos was envisioned as a tool to build community and teach about consent to kindergarteners. Along with this, Rupa also found out how excited and emotional the students were after this exercise.
She told TNM,
“I didn’t expect that this act would bring us so close to the students. Students coming from marginalised communities go through a lot of trouble, which includes family problems. But they don’t share them with others. But after hugging them and giving them handshakes, many students wept. They couldn’t control their emotions..”
