Maharashtra Board Class 4 EVS Chapter 17 My Upbringing PDF Download

My Upbringing

What do you see in these pictures?

What are the kids in the pictures learning from the grown-ups?

We learn many different things while we are growing up. They lead to the development of certain habits, likes and dislikes. They shape our views and thoughts. This is what is known as our upbringing.

You must have seen photographs of your childhood. You began to crawl. You learnt how to walk and how to talk. And apart from this, you learnt many more things - how to brush your teeth, how to bathe, how to eat without spilling, how to behave with people older than you. You learnt many more things besides these basic ones. How to fill your schoolbag, how to ride a bicycle, how to play a cell phone game, when to feed the cattle, how to buy groceries, how to behave with strangers. The list can go on and on.

How did you learn all these things? Who taught you all these things?

Teacher's Note

Upbringing is everything we learn at home and in our neighborhood. For example, your mother teaches you to eat with your hands in a clean way, just like she learned from her mother.

Exam Trick

Remember: Upbringing = all the things you learn from people around you. Write down parents, relatives, friends, and neighbors - these are the four main teachers in your upbringing.

Points to Remember

Upbringing means all things we learn as we grow up.
Parents and relatives teach us basic skills like walking and talking.
We learn good habits and behavior from people who love us.
Friends and neighbors also teach us many things.
We learn by watching other people, not just by being taught.

You must have learnt many of these things from your parents and relatives. Holding our hands, our parents teach us to walk. They teach us how to behave and how to talk to others. When we make mistakes, they show us how to correct them. They want us to become good people.

How Does A Lion Cub Learn How To Hunt?

A lion cub is not able to hunt as soon as it is born. It is taught how to hunt by its mother and other lionesses in the pride. These cubs are quite helpless for about the first two weeks. They do not even open their eyes. Therefore, their mother keeps them hidden away from others. When the cubs are about eight weeks of age, they are introduced to the other members of the pride. All the lionesses take care of the cubs. A cub is pampered by all of them until it is three months old. Then, it begins to learn how to hunt. It takes two to three years for a cub to become adept at hunting.

Our loved ones, too, try hard to see that we develop good habits. Our close relatives like our grandparents, uncles and aunts also have great affection for us. We learn many things from them, too. People who are close to us, teach us how to carry out our own tasks ourselves. They appreciate it when we can do all these things properly. They commend us saying that we have grown up.

Teacher's Note

Like a lion cub learns to hunt from its mother, you learn to study from your parents. Just as the mother lion teaches her baby step by step, your parents teach you slowly and with love.

Exam Trick

Remember: Families teach us just like animal families do. A lion mother teaches her cub for 2-3 years. Your parents also take time to teach you - be patient and learn well.

Points to Remember

Young animals learn from their mothers and families.
Parents and relatives show us how to do things right.
They correct us when we make mistakes.
They want us to become good and strong people.
Learning from family takes time, just like in animal families.

Have you heard the names Hali Raghunath Baraf or Sameep Anil Pandit? Hali is a girl from Shahapur taluka in Thane district. Hali rescued her older sister from a leopard. Sameep rescued buffaloes tied in a cowshed from a fire. For these brave acts, the two were felicitated with the National Bravery Award by the Prime Minister of India in 2013.

What did you learn from your parents and relatives? Make a list. How did you learn these things? Think about it.

Baba Amte spent his entire life in social service. His lifelong goal was to serve people suffering from leprosy and also other handicapped people, and to help them stand on their own feet. In this mission, he was helped immensely by his wife, Sadhanatai. His work is being carried on by his sons and his daughters-in-law. Now, even the third generation of the Amte family is carrying on this mission. This example of social service carried on relentlessly by three generations of a family is really inspiring.

Everything that we learn is not taught to us by somebody. We pick up many things through observation and through exposure. How do our friends speak? What clothes do they wear? What games do they play? How do they study? We pick up many of these things unconsciously. Many times, we also begin to behave like our friends.

These parents have come for a parent-teacher meeting at school. See what they say to each other!

Earlier, Renuka never ate her vegetables. Now that she has started going to school, she eats everything without a fuss.

Ever since Zoya, Shilpa and Gail have become friends, they ride their bicycles together every evening. I am happy that they all get enough exercise.

Ever since Prathamesh has become friends with Salman and Boman, he has started taking a lot of interest in maths.

Teacher's Note

Friends change our behavior without us knowing it. When you spend time with a friend who loves reading, you will also start loving books, just like Renuka started eating vegetables at school.

Exam Trick

Remember: Friends influence us without teaching us. We copy their good and bad habits just by watching them. Choose good friends and you will become good.

Points to Remember

We learn many things just by watching our friends.
We pick up speech, clothes, and games from friends.
Friends change our behavior without us knowing.
Good friends help us develop good habits.
Observation and copying are important ways to learn.

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