Teatastic

Recently UWCSEA student Nikhil Shah was caught while trying to put sugar in his cup of tea during English class as he complained that the tea was too bitter. He was later stopped by fellow student, Arnav who shouted and alert their english teacher, Jabiz Raisdana. This incident was stopped by him as he said that if the tea was going to be an issue, he would stop allowing students this privilege of having tea in class. This is a very unusual finding but Mr. Rasidana claims that he feels at rest while writing if he has a cup of tea to drink next to him. “I enjoy it a lot and feel my students should have the same perquisite of drinking tea while reading and writing and I also feel that this encourages a sense of responsibility in them” he commented. He did have conditions although that students were not allowed to add anything to their cup, no caffeinated tea and no sugar. Should teachers allow students freedom and privileges like this knowing that students will still take advantage of this. When unconfirmed student sources were asked whether they thought this was helpful or not, they admitted that the tea really did help them to write and they felt more “grown up “ in a way.

Most parents think that this is a bad idea as children tend to develop bad habits like this very quickly and can cause children to start drinking tea at home. According to a parent Neetu, this has already started to have an effect at home as her child demands tea while having a load of homework. “This is not a habit that they should be developing at this age” was her opinion on the matter. They may be right in a way but what parents don’t realize, is that drinking tea might improve the likes of student for english as it might help them relax and focus. “I love the tea and thats my favorite part of English as it helps me focus ” said a student requested name not be used.

Research from ayearofproductivity.com shows that herbal and green tea increase focus of students and boosts brain activity. Can this really be a technique that teachers can use to make students have a better propensity for subjects like english. A survey asked to the students proves that student in Mr. Rasidana’s class are far more rhapsodic about english than other class's students. Can this really be the key to having a subject being liked so much ? Maybe next time it will work for other not much liked subjects such as History.