Smiling children, simmering rage: Schools face new challenge

Ahmedabad: They walk into classrooms, greet the teachers with cheerful faces, and are the epitome of perfect students: chatty, playful, and obedient. But teachers are discovering a troubling undercurrent under the facade; an anger simmering just beneath the surface. Ordinary disagreements are escalating into violent outbursts, forcing schools and parents to confront a new challenge — hidden rage among children.Take the Class 11 girl who lashed out at her mother when asked to put away her phone. The conflict was so intense that the father ended up slapping both daughter and mother. "These are no longer simple quarrels. When anger becomes the first response, it signals a deeper emotional struggle," observed the principal of a reputed city school. The recent stabbing at Seventh Day Adventist Higher Secondary School in Maninagar has forced schools and parents to confront this reality.In another case, parents of a Class 6 boy proudly showed his gaming skills until the day he began screaming in his sleep, thrashing his arms and legs as if fighting imaginary enemies. "He hurled objects in frustration whenever he failed to cross a gaming level. A physician advised counselling, and it took nearly eight months for the child to stabilise," said a teacher who was monitoring the boy's progress.One father panicked when his 15-year-old son, after constant teasing from peers, killed his pet cat in anger. "The parent initially blamed the school," recalled the teacher. "But counselling revealed that the real issue was parental separation and neither parent taking responsibility."Senior counsellor Smita Ghosh echoed that children learn by imitation: "They are like sponges. They absorb what they see and hear, not what they are told. Parents and teachers must model the behaviour they want to see."Some episodes reveal how pressure and neglect fuel anger. A Class 10 boy, forced into a stream not of his choice, stopped studying altogether. "This boy became addicted to video games and threatened to jump off the terrace when his mother tried to stop him," said another teacher.Principals say they are often unfairly targeted. "Schools are blamed if anything happens, but nobody looks at what is happening at home," one said. "Children are returning to empty houses, eating alone, and growing up with gadgets instead of care. Devoid of love, they become indifferent." Another principal adds, "We once found a Class 1 child abusing classmates. It turned out he was watching web series with his father at bedtime and copying the language."Psychologist Dr Prashant Bhimani warned: "Unchecked anger can turn into violent patterns, anxiety, or social withdrawal in later years. Crime shows are making it worse by teaching tricks used by criminals."