The movie is about Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) a kid who is suffering from dyslexia and misunderstood of

being lazy and slow is treated badly by his teachers and parents, especially his father. He is sent to a
boarding school away from his family that causes his depression. A substitute English teacher who is
funny, lively and loves music and arts met him and help him overcome his problem. But there is more
than Ishaan’s condition to solve the problem.

The movie is more of the current educational setting, the system and parents who lay more stress on
the academic performance of their child rather than their child’s talent and interest. Every Child is
Special taught the issue about the difference of interest and the judgments of adults around the child.
The movie taught about the understanding of the child’s situation rather than insisting what we think is
the best for the child. The movie also shows the interaction of teachers to the students and to the
parents especially when they convince the parents of Ishaan to transfer in the boarding school. The part
here the child is separated with his family is a very heartwarming part and the background song
contributes to it.

Parents can relate to this movie and can find lesson not to pressure their child to be the first among
their classmates but to bring out the best interest of the child. Teachers can get the point not to judge or
put a child down because you think he/she is slow but to help and encourage the students. This is a very
good movie for teachers who want to have a deeper understanding of child diversity and learn that an
effective strategy to a child may not be as effective to others. This movie ill remind the students that
medals, honors and awards are not the only thing that matters, grades cannot indicate the future.

Every child can excel may be not in academics but on other things that interest them and remember that
every child has their own way because every child is special!

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No comments:Movie Review: Every Child is Special

Every Child is Special (also known as Like Stars on Earth ) is an Indian movie directed by Aamir Khan in
2007. The movie is about an 8 year old child, Ishaan Awasthi, who has several difficulties in school. He
was repeating third grade and did not make any progress. His teachers always complained about his
grades and behaviors and as a result, Ishaan’s father sent him to a boarding school as a solution.
Everything was getting worse in the boarding school for Ishaan until a new painting teacher, Ram
Shankar Nikumbh, came into the school. After that, in the proper meaning of the word, a new life began
for Ishaan. In this paper, I will try to analyze Every Child is Special according to three main issues;
morality, motivation and intelligence, and special education.

Morality

In this part, moral judgments of Ishaan will be tried to analyze in the light of Domain Theory by Turiel
(1983; as cited in Nucci, 2009). Turiel described three main domains which effect moral judgments;
morality, conventions, personal domain. He stated that moral judgments do not have to overlap with
social conventions; there might be societal rules which contradict with personal moral judgments. In the
movie, examples of this idea can be seen. For example, skipping school was strictly forbidden but Ishaan
did not think that was wrong because no one understood him; teachers and schoolmates always
humiliated him. School turned to a torture for Ishaan. As a result, staying at school, just because rules
dictate that seemed meaningless to him. However, both his father and teacher use punishment, even
beating, as a tool to teach the “moral values”. Their understanding of morality was congruent with
Kolberg’s approach to morality (Shaffer, 2008). Kolberg describes several stages in morality
development. He stated that morality emerged from conventions and children learnt morality via
punishment/obedience then they follows the orders of the society, at the end reach post conventional
morality. But as Nucci (2009) showed that children even in small ages are capable of separation moral
and non-moral rules. In the movie, a similar approach with Nucci can be seen in skipping school
example.

Motivation and Intelligence

In the movie achievement and being intelligent were very important for people around Ishaan, but they
described these notions in a very strict way. For both teachers and Ishaan’s parents, getting high scores
from math and language lessons; coming in first in school and other social activities; being educated in a
way that would help to get higher salary were seen as important signs of intelligence and achievement.
However, as in the example of Ishaan, having special talent like ability in painting had no importance for
those people. When Ishaan could not meet his teachers and parents expectations because of his
problem that no one realized before Nikumbh, they blamed him for being uninterested, lazy and even
being “idiot”. In real, Ishaan was a very curious child. Instead of drawing boring “perfect figures”, he
watched how the mother bird feed her offspring. However, these behaviors were seen inappropriate
according to the conventions of the school. Teachers punished and even humiliated him to “correct” his
behaviors. As a result, he lost his all interest in anything. He lost his believe in his own competence, self
worth and relatedness. These three notions described as basic human needs (Omrad, 2011).
Competence can be described as people beliefs in themselves about coping with difficulties they faced
in their lives. If people believe they have competence, they might have self–worth (Omrad, 2011).
Because Ishaan was always criticized and humiliated, he gradually lost his belief in his coping capacity
and thus his self-worth. He also lost his sense of relatedness because no one tried to understand him
and exhibited their love. After, Nikumbh realized his problem and his special talent and showed how to
use this talent, Ishaan regained self-worth and thanks to special relationship between Nikumbh and
Ishaan, felt related. At that point, it can be asserted that Nikumbh perceived intelligence in somehow
similar way with Gardner who stated that there were multiple intelligences; people could be very
talented in one area, such as Ishaan special skills on painting, but might have average intelligence in
other domains (Omrad, 2011).

Inclusive Education

As stated at the beginning, Ishaan had several difficulties in school. For example he could not learn
writing and making mathematical calculations in a proper way. He always made similar mistakes while
he was writing; for example he wrote “b” instead of “d”. He could not follow the complicated
instructions; he said that the letters were dancing while he was trying to read. As described in the
movie, these are the symptoms of dyslexia and it is related with the lower level of activity in the special
parts of the brain (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011). Until Nikumbh realized that Ishaan had dyslexia, no one ever
thought Ishaan might have a special problem. Only headmaster of Ishaan’s first school implied that
there might be a problem with him, but she did not put it into words in proper way. As a result Ishaan’s
family took it as a bad thing and just rejected. Thus, they could not realize Ishaan’s needs. After
Nikumbh understand the situation, he spoke with the headmaster of the boarding school about Ishaan.
The first thing came into headmaster’s mind was to send Ishaan to another school for special education.
Nikumbh insisted that Ishaan had an average intelligence and had a right to study in a normal school. He
just needed little more interest of his teachers. These assertions argued in the movie are in compliance
with Ainscow’s (2013) statements. Ainscow claimed that studying in public schools is the right of every
child. If disabled people are segregated from other children, they might be otherized and excluded from
many aspect of social life. Ainscow also stated that inclusive education has several benefits for other
children; mainly they might be more sensitive to discrimination. When Ainscow’s claims are taken into
consideration, attitude of the movie towards inclusive education seems meaningful.

As a Conclusion

The movie mainly focused on disabled children, especially children with dyslexia, but it also gives plenty
of information about child development and child rearing habits of a society. What we watched in the
movie is not far away from our culture. In this respect watching this movie is gaining much more
importance. A person, whether she/he is working/will work in an educational or psychological area or
not, should spent some time with these issues basically to minimize discriminative attitudes toward
disabled people. These kinds of movies could be a nice beginning.

Every Child is Special (also known as Like Stars on Earth ) is an Indian movie directed by Aamir Khan in
2007. The movie is about an 8 year old child, Ishaan Awasthi, who has several difficulties in school. He
was repeating third grade and did not make any progress. His teachers always complained about his
grades and behaviors and as a result, Ishaan’s father sent him to a boarding school as a solution.
Everything was getting worse in the boarding school for Ishaan until a new painting teacher, Ram
Shankar Nikumbh, came into the school. After that, in the proper meaning of the word, a new life began
for Ishaan. In this paper, I will try to analyze Every Child is Special according to three main issues;
morality, motivation and intelligence, and special education.

Morality

In this part, moral judgments of Ishaan will be tried to analyze in the light of Domain Theory by Turiel
(1983; as cited in Nucci, 2009). Turiel described three main domains which effect moral judgments;
morality, conventions, personal domain. He stated that moral judgments do not have to overlap with
social conventions; there might be societal rules which contradict with personal moral judgments. In the
movie, examples of this idea can be seen. For example, skipping school was strictly forbidden but Ishaan
did not think that was wrong because no one understood him; teachers and schoolmates always
humiliated him. School turned to a torture for Ishaan. As a result, staying at school, just because rules
dictate that seemed meaningless to him. However, both his father and teacher use punishment, even
beating, as a tool to teach the “moral values”. Their understanding of morality was congruent with
Kolberg’s approach to morality (Shaffer, 2008). Kolberg describes several stages in morality
development. He stated that morality emerged from conventions and children learnt morality via
punishment/obedience then they follows the orders of the society, at the end reach post conventional
morality. But as Nucci (2009) showed that children even in small ages are capable of separation moral
and non-moral rules. In the movie, a similar approach with Nucci can be seen in skipping school
example.

Motivation and Intelligence

In the movie achievement and being intelligent were very important for people around Ishaan, but they
described these notions in a very strict way. For both teachers and Ishaan’s parents, getting high scores
from math and language lessons; coming in first in school and other social activities; being educated in a
way that would help to get higher salary were seen as important signs of intelligence and achievement.
However, as in the example of Ishaan, having special talent like ability in painting had no importance for
those people. When Ishaan could not meet his teachers and parents expectations because of his
problem that no one realized before Nikumbh, they blamed him for being uninterested, lazy and even
being “idiot”. In real, Ishaan was a very curious child. Instead of drawing boring “perfect figures”, he
watched how the mother bird feed her offspring. However, these behaviors were seen inappropriate
according to the conventions of the school. Teachers punished and even humiliated him to “correct” his
behaviors. As a result, he lost his all interest in anything. He lost his believe in his own competence, self
worth and relatedness. These three notions described as basic human needs (Omrad, 2011).
Competence can be described as people beliefs in themselves about coping with difficulties they faced
in their lives. If people believe they have competence, they might have self–worth (Omrad, 2011).
Because Ishaan was always criticized and humiliated, he gradually lost his belief in his coping capacity
and thus his self-worth. He also lost his sense of relatedness because no one tried to understand him
and exhibited their love. After, Nikumbh realized his problem and his special talent and showed how to
use this talent, Ishaan regained self-worth and thanks to special relationship between Nikumbh and
Ishaan, felt related. At that point, it can be asserted that Nikumbh perceived intelligence in somehow
similar way with Gardner who stated that there were multiple intelligences; people could be very
talented in one area, such as Ishaan special skills on painting, but might have average intelligence in
other domains (Omrad, 2011).

Inclusive Education

As stated at the beginning, Ishaan had several difficulties in school. For example he could not learn
writing and making mathematical calculations in a proper way. He always made similar mistakes while
he was writing; for example he wrote “b” instead of “d”. He could not follow the complicated
instructions; he said that the letters were dancing while he was trying to read. As described in the
movie, these are the symptoms of dyslexia and it is related with the lower level of activity in the special
parts of the brain (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011). Until Nikumbh realized that Ishaan had dyslexia, no one ever
thought Ishaan might have a special problem. Only headmaster of Ishaan’s first school implied that
there might be a problem with him, but she did not put it into words in proper way. As a result Ishaan’s
family took it as a bad thing and just rejected. Thus, they could not realize Ishaan’s needs. After
Nikumbh understand the situation, he spoke with the headmaster of the boarding school about Ishaan.
The first thing came into headmaster’s mind was to send Ishaan to another school for special education.
Nikumbh insisted that Ishaan had an average intelligence and had a right to study in a normal school. He
just needed little more interest of his teachers. These assertions argued in the movie are in compliance
with Ainscow’s (2013) statements. Ainscow claimed that studying in public schools is the right of every
child. If disabled people are segregated from other children, they might be otherized and excluded from
many aspect of social life. Ainscow also stated that inclusive education has several benefits for other
children; mainly they might be more sensitive to discrimination. When Ainscow’s claims are taken into
consideration, attitude of the movie towards inclusive education seems meaningful.

As a Conclusion

The movie mainly focused on disabled children, especially children with dyslexia, but it also gives plenty
of information about child development and child rearing habits of a society. What we watched in the
movie is not far away from our culture. In this respect watching this movie is gaining much more
importance. A person, whether she/he is working/will work in an educational or psychological area or
not, should spent some time with these issues basically to minimize discriminative attitudes toward
disabled people. These kinds of movies could be a nice beginning.

Melek Yeşilyurt

I love watching foreign movies, especially those movies that are inspiring and really impart life lessons to
its viewers. One movie that I really loved is the Hindi movie, Every Child is Special. Actually, it was
recommended by a good friend of mine. And I must say that this movie is worth watching.

Every Child is Special, with an original Hindi title, Taare Zameen Par, and reissued as Like Stars on Earth
for Walt Disney, is a 2007 Indian drama movie. This movie was directed by Aamir Khan as his debut film.

After its international release, Every Child is Special has received numerous critical acclaims for its one of
a kind story offering.

Movie Cast and their Characters:

Darsheel Safary - He played the role of Ishaan Awasthi.

Aamir Khan - Ram Shankar Nikumbh, Ishaan's Art Teacher.

Tisca Chopra - Maya Awasthi, Ishaan's mother.

Vipin Sharma - Nandkishore Awasthi, Ishaan's strict father.

Sachet Engineer - Yohaan Awasthi, Ishaan's elder brother.

Bugs Bhargava and Shankar Sachdev - Sen Sir and Tiwari Sir, respectively. Teachers at New Era High
School whose attitudes changed towards Ishaan when he is already accumulating high grades.

Movie Summary:

Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is an eight-year-old boy who dislikes school and fails every
test or exam. He finds all subjects difficult, and is belittled by his teachers and classmates. But Ishaan's
internal world is rich with wonders that he is unable to convey to others, magical lands filled with colour
and animated animals. He is an artist whose talent is unrecognized.

Ishaan's father, Nandkishore Awasthi (Vipin Sharma), is a successful executive who expects his children
to excel. His mother, housewife Maya Awasthi (Tisca Chopra), is frustrated by her inability to educate
her son. Ishaan's elder brother, Yohaan (Sachet Engineer), is an exemplary scholar and athlete, which
Ishaan is frequently reminded of.

After receiving a particularly poor academic report, Ishaan's parents send him to a boarding school.
There he sinks into a state of fear and depression, despite being befriended by Rajan (Tanay Chheda),
physically disabled and one of the top students in his class.

Ishaan's situation changes when a new art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan), joins the
school's faculty. An instructor at the Tulips School for young children with developmental disabilities,
Nikumbh's teaching style is markedly different from that of his strict predecessor, and he quickly
observes that Ishaan is unhappy and contributes little to class activities.

He reviews Ishaan's work and concludes that his academic shortcomings are indicative of dyslexia. On
his day off, Nikumbh visits Ishaan's parents and asks if he can see more of their son's work.

He is stunned by the sophistication of one of Ishaan's paintings, and tells his parents that Ishaan is a
bright child who processes information differently from other children in his class, but Ishaan's father is
suspicious that the explanation is simply an excuse for his son's poor performance.

Nikumbh demands that he read some Japanese text on a box and berates him when he cannot, giving
him a glimpse into Ishaan's experience of school. Nikumbh describes dyslexia to them and explains that
it is not a sign of low intelligence. He tells them he can provide extra tutoring that will help Ishaan,
highlighting the boy's artistic ability evident in his many paintings and other creative works.

Nikumbh subsequently brings up the topic of dyslexia in class, and offers a list of famous people who
were dyslexic. As the students are leaving the classroom, Nikumbh asks Ishaan to remain behind and
reveals to him that he too experienced the same difficulties with dyslexia. Nikumbh then visits the
school's principal and obtains his permission to become Ishaan's tutor. He attempts to improve Ishaan's
reading and writing by using remedial techniques developed by dyslexia specialists; Ishaan soon
develops an interest in language and mathematics, and his grades improve.
Towards the end of the school year Nikumbh organises an art fair for the staff and students. The
competition is judged by artist Lalita Lajmi. Ishaan, with his strikingly creative style, is declared the
winner and Nikumbh, who paints Ishaan's portrait, the runner-up.

Ishaan's Painting

Nikumbh's Painting

The principal announces that Nikumbh has been hired as the school's permanent art teacher. When
Ishaan's parents meet his teachers on the last day of school they are left speechless by the
transformation they see in him. Overcome with emotion, Ishaan's father thanks Nikumbh. As Ishaan is
getting into the car to leave with his parents, he turns around and runs toward Nikumbh. The film ends
with a freeze frame shot of Nikumbh tossing Ishaan into the air.

My Take on the Movie:

The movie is definitely inspiring and an eye-opener. The story line is truly a masterpiece. It also take on
the topic about the awareness of the condition that Ishaan had, which is Dyslexia. This movie offers a
heartfelt experience of acceptance. This movie is indeed a must-watch.

For those who have not yet seen the movie, here is a full version of the movie with E

1.Determine the issue or the problems that are predominantly brought up in the film. 2.If you were to
be part of the story, which character who you would want to be so you can be part of the solution of the
problem?

see more: every child is special summary

In the film Every Child Is Special, there are issues or problems shown that really happen in our society.
The first one is the family issue; there is something wrong when it comes to parenting style done by Mr.
and Mrs. Awasthi that affected the child’s behavior. The father doesn’t have enough time to guide his
son, he punished Ishaan when he got in trouble or when he is misbehaving but he never tried to find out
the reason behind. They did not really accepted Ishaan’s condition and did not give enough care for him.
The other is the social issue; Discrimination, Ishaan’s classmates, teachers and others treated him
differently just because he has difficulty in his studies and motor skills, they sometimes bully or even
hurt him. They also discriminate children with disabilities by comparing their abilities with other kids.
Child Labor, it is shown when Nikumbh was on his way to Ishaan’s house, he saw a little boy working.
But he mentioned that, “Putting your ambition to the child is worse than Child Labor”. The biggest issue
that I’ve noticed in the film is the Education System. The way the other teachers teach their students,
embarrassing the student in front of the class, beating, shouting, giving punishments when they can’t
understand the lessons.

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I really don’t think that those will help or discipline the students instead it may just lower their self-
esteem, they might think those hurtful words are true, may take away their interest in studying and
worse destroy their dreams. We all have different special abilities. If I were to be part of that film, I
would like to be Nikumbh, the art teacher. I admire his great love for all the children especially with
those who have special needs. He is the one who brought huge solution to the problem faced by Ishaan
and tried so hard to help him learn and improve his artistic abilities. Nikumbh made Ishaan’s parents
realize that he is not misbehaving, that he is not lazy, idiot or hopeless just like the other teachers said
and that he needs to be accepted and treated well. He did it right because, he understand Ishaan more
than any other. He brought back Ishaan’s interest in painting and supported him in the times that he
almost gave up, telling him that even great people had encountered some difficulties before they
achieve their accomplishments. The teacher provided the kid with much special attention, care and
encouragement that resulted to the kid’s excellent improvement that surprises his parents and the
whole school community. It would be a wonderful accomplishment for those people who can do what
Sir Nikumbh did.

TERARY CRITICISM

‹ › Home

Tingnan ang bersyon ng web BIYERNES, MARSO 22, 2013

Charlene Elisan sa 7:23 AM EVERY CHILD IS SPECIAL by AAMIR KHAN

There was a playful nine year old boy who likes to disobey his parents and a boy whose enemies were
books and books.
One normal school day, his English teacher asked Ishaan to read a part from his book for the reason of
catching him spacing out while looking outside the window. Ishaan had a difficult time reading the
words and told his teacher that the words were dancing. The teacher felt frustrated at the child for
disobeying her and for not wanting to study or participate in her class so Ishaan was sent out of the
classroom and spent the whole period outside. After experiencing the wrath of his teacher, he ditched
his other classes and roam around the streets alone. The same night he begged Yohan, his older brother
to make him an excuse letter so he could attend class the following day. Ishaan was, indeed, permitted
to attend class, but they had a test in Math and because of spacing out and imagining random things he
only answered the first number yet he answered it incorrectly, unfortunately failing again. That same
day, his father found the fake excuse letter and asked his mother if Ishaan was sick the other day. His
mother told his father that Ishaan was not sick and thus he discovered that Ishaan skipped his class. His
parents met the teachers the next day. His parents learned that Ishaans not progressing at all and that
he might fail grade 3 again.

Ishaan’s father was very frustrated at Ishaan. He asked Ishaan why he could not be like his brother,
topping all his subjects. He decided that Ishaan would continue studying in a boarding school. Mrs.
Awashti, Yohan, and of course Ishaan greatly opposed to this idea, however, no one could not change
Mr. Awashti’s mind. His things were packed and Ishaan was sent to the boarding school. The only thing
that Ishaan did was cry while his family went back home.

On his first day of school, Ishaan’s teachers were upset by his poor performance in class. His Arts teacher
even whacked his knuckles five times. Ishaan was overwhelmed and traumatized at the same time
because of how strict the teachers were. He became depressed and sad. He was still depressed when his
family visited him and did not say a word. He didn’t even take a good look on the set of paints that
Yohan gave to him. He just kept it. He was even more depressed when his family went back home.

Then one day, their new Arts teacher came because the previous one was going to teach in a different
country. Mr. Ram Shankar Nikumbh, the new Arts teacher, made his entrance while playing his pipe and
was dressed as a elf. After his exciting entrance, he instructed the class to draw what they want and
that’s when he noticed a depressed Ishaan. He knew something was bothering the child. Later that day,
Mrs. Awashti told Ishaan that they won’t be able to visit him because of Yohan’s tennis tournament.
Ishaan clearly didn’t care anymore.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nikumbh was asking Rajan, Ishaan’s seatmate, about him. Rajan told him that Ishan had
some difficulties in studying especially in reading and writing. Mr. Nikumbh checked Ishaan’s notebooks
and discovered that his mistakes have a pattern. They were either written backwards or in mirror image.
He went to Ishaan’s house to explain to his (Ishaan) family why he had some trouble learning in school;
that he was showing symptoms of dyslexia, a reading and writing disorder, that he, Mr. Nikumbh had
once suffered.

Mr. Nikumbh discussed in his class the famous people that had trouble writing and reading when they
were young. This caught Ishaan’s attention. The class was sent out the classroom and Ishaan made a
boat that showed his talent.
Mr. Nikumbh discussed Ishaan’s situation to the principal and suggested that he will teach Ishaan how
to read and write while in return, he asked that the boy will be judged orally for the time being. He
received the consent he needed and worked with Ishaan for the following days. One day, Mr. Awashti
visited Mr. Nikumbh to tell him that his wife is doing some research about their son’s condition. Mr.
Nikumbh asked him why he was telling him these details. Mr. Awashti said that he don’t want him to
misunderstood them for being careless parents. Regardless of what Mr. Awashti had said, Mr. Nikumbh
told him the real meaning of caring. On Mr. Awashti’s way out, he heard his son reading the
advertisement for the upcoming painting competition. It was his first time to hear his son reading and in
shame, he did not have a face to show his son and left without saying hi.

It was the day of the competition and Ishaan woke up and left earlier than the others and came back
when the competition is already starting. All the contestants had fun. Ishaan and Mr. Nikumbh had a tie;
however the final decision made Ishaan’s painting of a boy by the pond the winner. As for being the
winner, his painting was the book cover of their school year book and Mr. Nikumbh’s painting at the
back which is the face of Ishaan. Teachers and parents were very proud of Ishaan. It was all thanks to
Mr. Nikumbh who did not give up on the boy who once didn’t know how to write and read.

Reflection:

The movie tells us that we all have a dream. It was also said that all people have talents/skills but we,
sometimes, do not have knowledge that we have it in us. For us to discover this talents/skills or to
achieve the dream we want, we need someone who can love and care for us while guiding us to the
path we chose. Since in this world we live in is full of cruel, racist, and judgmental people who will, in the
future, step on our courage, pride, and esteem, we need people who can pull us up when we face the
world. It was shown in the movie how words can affect someone’s perspective in life, even so, with the
help of the people who love us and of course yourself we can make a strong wall against those hurtful
words you will here.

#MORAL CRITICISM

Every teacher plays an important role in the development of his/her students. This one holds true in the
movie “Every Child is Special” which is about the boy, Ishaan Awasthi, who was suffering from dyslexia
and the teacher who changed his life. Ishaan had difficulty in recognizing letters and numbers and could
hardly read and write. The condition his parents and his teachers had no idea of. Because no one
understood him, he felt different from the rest. Parents and teachers thought he’s dumb and lazy. These
gave him a feeling of isolation.

The kind of relationship we build to the young ones greatly affects how they perceive themselves and
what they will become. The lack of patience, love and kindness and most especially knowledge of one’s
physical, intellectual and emotional condition can make one feels unworthy and unwanted.
In the movie, Ishaan met Mr. Ram Shankar Nikumbh, a substitute art teacher. With his persistence to
help the young boy, he found out the boy’s condition and so offered extra time to teach him in areas he
had not mastered yet. For me, the character of Mr. Ram Shankar Nikumbh shows us some qualities of a
great teacher. A teacher who does not only teach, but inspires as well. A teacher who is not afraid to use
unique and unconventional ways in teaching his pupils. Furthermore, a teacher who exhibits a broad
knowledge of Psychology in teaching and using positive approaches in dealing and addressing students’
concerns. The teacher’s persistence to truly understand the boy changes everything. From a lazy, dumb
boy as others thought he was, turned a very smart and gifted boy in the end. An artist to remember.

Oftentimes we are blinded by the strict rules and high standards in meeting academic requirements,
that, we fail to see the person’s worth. We believe that an underperforming child, someone who can
hardly read and write and demonstrate certain skills and knowledge in the given situation is not worth
of our time. In my personal point of view, teachers should help a child in every way they can. They
should look into the child’s potentials as a learner and of what motivates a child and what does not.
Other than a having a broad knowledge on subject-matter, curriculum and standards, teachers must
have strong desire to make a difference in the lives of young

SUMMARY OF FILM

The movie is about an 8 year old boy Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) who finds it difficult to match his
world of colors, kites and animals to that of the others in his age group, who are more into studies and
homework. When complaints start to pour in, Ishaan’s parents decide to set him off to a boarding
school. His life is no different at the boarding school, oppressed and insulted by his teachers, he remains
the laugh stock of the class. Now that he is away from home, he feels even more dejected, inferior and
finds it tough to cope up with his inabilities.Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan) gets appointed as a
temporary art teacher of the boarding school. Unlike other teachers who follow definite norms in
educating children, Ram makes them think out of books, outside the four walls of the classroom and
paint their imaginations. Every child in class responds with immense enthusiasm except Ishaan. Ram
takes effort to understand Ishaan and his problems. He makes Ishaan’s parents and other teachers
realize that he is not abnormal but a very special child with talents of his own. With time, patience and
care Ram succeeds in boosting the confidence level of Ishaan. He helps Ishaan in overcoming his
inabilities and re-discover his lost confidence.

THEME OF THE MOVIE

Dyslexia is the central topic and theme of the film. This film raise awareness of the issue of dyslexia, and
prompt more open discussions among parents, schools, activists, and policymakers. The beauty of the
narration is that the message applies to all children – learning disability or not. How can creativity not
deserve a place in academics? It also points a very subtle finger at how we build conformation in our
system right at the roots.

WHAT IS MOVIE ABOUT

Taare Zameen Par is about a child who suffers because no one around him recognizes that he is a slow
learner. This child named Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is an eight-year-old boy who
dislikes school and fails every test or exam. He finds all subjects difficult, and is belittled and berated by
his teachers and classmates. But Ishaan’s internal world is rich with wonders that he is unable to convey
to others, magical lands filled with colour and animated animals. He is an artist whose talent is
unrecognised.The film Taare Zameen Par (Stars upon the Ground) also portrays the tormented life at
school and at home of a child with dyslexia and his eventual success after his artistic talents are discove

red by his art teacher at the boarding school.

DIFFICULTIES FACED BY ISHAAN

Ishaan Awasthi has a problem called dyslexia, i.e. is a neurological language processing disorder that
affects a student’s ability to process written and spoken information. He faces difficulty in pronouncing
words, repeating phrases that are spoken to them, understanding the meaning from spoken phrases,
and following detailed instructions. They particularly have difficulty in distinguishing similar sounding
words and letters. Due to his failure in every test and exam his parents were also not able to recognise
his problem, they make pressure of getting up in his studies. This leads lack of confidence in him, his all
artistic desires suppress by the feeling of loneliness.

ROLE OF PARENTS,TEACHERS & PEER GROUPS TO DEAL A SPECIAL CHILD

TEACHERS AND PARENTS

1. First,The parents & teachers should be extremely supportive and encouraging. Secondally, the young
dyslexic found an area in which he or she could succeed. Finally, successful dyslexics appear to have
developed a commitment to helping others.

2. I believe encouragement involves at least four elements. First, listening to children’s feelings. Anxiety,
anger and depression are daily companions for dyslexics. However, their language problems often make
it difficult for them to express their feelings. Therefore, adults must help them learn to talk about their
feelings.

3. Parents & teachers must reward effort, not just “the product”. For the dyslexic, grades should be less
important than progress. When confronting unacceptable behavior, adults must not inadvertently
discourage the dyslexic child. Words such as “lazy” or “incorrigible” can seriously damage the child’s
self-image.

This movie teaches a lesson to the guardian as well as teacher how to behave their child or student,
behaving abnormal or very different from the behavior of common children.

ROLE OF PEERS

Some children with special needs will make friends very easily. Others may need an adult’s help in
connecting with peers in their classroom. Having friends is one of the most rewarding aspects of a child’s
life.Peer groups can boost a child’s social competence, self-esteem, and confidence. Friendships support
social, emotional, and intellectual development. Having a good friend means sharing fun times and
difficult times. A good friend can offer comfort and connection through words, gestures, or silence. A
group of friends can provide a wonderful and important opportunity for a child to fit in and to be
accepted. So, it is important for a special child to have numerous supporting friends so thst he can
develop with out any hesitation, and will not feel isolated.

ROLE OF SOCIETY, COMMUNITY & EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

An educational institution for special children should aim at the following norms:-

1. To interest him in social life – try to make his life better than before

2. To improve his awareness of environmental stimuli – but the context was controlled

3. To extend the range of his ideas (e.g. introduce him to games, culture, etc.)

4. To teach him to speak & teach him to communicate by using symbol systems, such as pictures and
written words.

5. To exercise the operations of his mind upon his physical wants, from simple and proximal to complex
and far.

6. To make available all the basic facilities in relation to the special child’s need.

7. Care for the disabled, medical care and rehabilitation. Children segregated into homogenous groups.

8. The principle of normalisation and integration.

9. Educational equality and equal educational services (inclusion).

10. Trained staff, equipment and specialized services.

Role of society & community:-

1. Treating people with disabilities as normally as possible.

2. People should not label the special children.

3. They should encourage their efforts & should not criticise their failures.

4. Society & community should not pressurize them for following their norms as they feel difficulties in
making their spaces in the vast culture.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN SPECIAL EDUCATION

Inclusive education means all children, also children experiencing barriers to learning, development and
participation, including children with disabilities, have the right to quality education in a school that is
close to their home and in a class that suits their age.

In my opinion the inclusive education is much better because:-

1. Every child has a fundamental right to education & a unique characteristics, interests, abilities and
learning needs.

2. Students with special needs must have access to regular schools with adapted education. Regular
schools with an inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating and preventing
discriminative attitudes and building up an inclusive society.

3. Removal may only occur when education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and
services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

4. If it is not possible to educate a child successfully in a regular education classroom with the use of
supplementary aids and services, then team must consider more restrictive alternatives

LESSON TAUGHT BY THIS MOVIE

Taare Zameen par was a heart touching movie.This movie teaches a lesson to the guardians, peers as
well as teachers how to behave their child or student, behaving abnormal or very different from the
behavior of common children.This film should be an eyeopener to parents of dyslexic children. It is
important to facilitate the development of their unique artistic and other abilities to its full capacity
rather than to overemphasize on the correction of the disturbed coded symbol operations. We should
support and behave with them with love,we should not label them this demoralizes them.

THIS IS A SHORT VEDIO OF TAARE ZAMEEN OF ISHAAN

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjk3MDc3MTMy.html

THIS IS A GREAT AND INSPIRATIONAL MOVIE..

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