There are active children, there are confident children, and there are shy children. For the first two, it seemed easier to handle them. Teachers look equipped in properly managing these kinds of children. How about the shy ones? Sometimes, there are teachers who feel uncomfortable or unequipped in handling these kids. It seems you will lack words to say to them because they tend to be really quiet and withdrawn.
When you ask a shy child to come in front of the class to present or to answer questions during discussions, the tendency is that he/she will not answer or will not come in front. If he/she does, he/she will just stand there without saying anything. It can be annoying, frustrating, or it can be a pitiful sight.
There is, however, a good news for parents and teachers of shy children. The shyness can be addressed with the right reactions. It is important that the adults around them understand that the objective is to not change the children into what they are not. Guide them in ways that do not allow their shyness to hold them back in doing things they need and want to do as a child.
The way their significant adults react to their shyness can spell a great difference. Shyness is defined in research as a personality trait. For the younger children, shyness is a temperament. Temperament is a quality in which children show to the worlds even before parents have influenced them.
It is crucial to take time to understand this temperament to become better parents and teachers to them. The main goal is to ready the child to become good adults and not to insist that you want them to do or want them to be according to your standards. Patience are empathy vital to help these children learn the roads they will be traveling. Shyness should never be seen as a disadvantage to the child, rather with guidance and support, shy children can participate in the school and community in an acceptable way.
References:
Bar-On, R (2006). “The Bar-On model of emotional-social intelligence (ESI)”. Psicothema18: 13–25.
Goleman, D. (2006), Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships
Lantieri, L. and Goleman, D. (2008), Building Emotional Intelligence: Techniques to Cultivate Inner Strength in Children
By: Mrs. Aline S. Manlapid | Teacher I | BEPZ Elementary School | Mariveles, Bataan
