Jamsedpur: Students of XLRI, under the banner of Samarthya, a student body on campus organized the 2nd edition of ‘Meet the Mentors, Train the Trainers’ on 17 and 18 September, 2016 at their campus. Its purpose was to make teachers more attuned to youth psychology and their own self so as to help them mentor and counsel their students better. The event saw an enthusiastic participation from teachers of five different schools – DBMS, St. Mary’s, ADLS Sunshine, Kerala Samajan Model School and KPS Kadma.
The trainers who helped made this workshop a huge success were Prof. Manish Singhal, Chairperson, Organisational Behaviour; Fr. Oswald A J Mascarenhas S J, JRD Tata Chair in Business Ethics & Student Counsellor;Fr. S Tony Raj S J –Loyola College &Board of Governors, XIMB and Fr. Anton Joseph, Delhi University.Fr. Francis M Peter, S J,Faculty Coordinator Samarthya, worked tirelessly to ensure that the event went smoothly.
The program was inaugurated by Fr. Oswald A J Mascarenhas S J who lighted the ceremonial lamp along with the gathered teachers and student members of Samarthya. The sessions covered Emotional Intelligence, Coaching, Mentoring and Challenges facing teachers and included various activities and sessions designed to make teachers reflect and introspect on their own selves and teaching styles. The session aided them in becoming better mentors and councillors for their students and their parents. The program was brought to a close by a thanking note given by Fr. Francis M Peter, S J, Faculty Coordinator Samarthya and Coordinator CEMLR.
The students in Samarthya, the youth wing of CEMLR, regularly go to schools to engage with studentson various topic such as Joy, Fear, Stress, Relationships, Failure, Speak Up, Exam Preparation among others. They engage with 700 students of classes 9th to 12th on a weekly basis throughout the year. They seek to become ‘buddies’ of students and jelp in solving their problems and issues.
Understanding their own limitations of scale, ‘Meet the Mentors, Train the Trainers’ was conceptualised by Prof ISF Irudayaraj last year, to be able to reach the teachers instead because they were the ones who interacted with students and parents regularly.
Mrs.Anuja Singh, a teacher at Kerala Samajan Model School appreciated saying that, ‘The strength was the emotional attachment given to the workshop, the involvement of the students and the extremely committed resource persons’
Mrs ReetaBhusal, a teacher at St. Mary’s commented that, ‘It was a very informative session and will surely help us to perform better in our workplace’.
