NSH Notepad

The Importance of Integration of Physical Education and Sports in our Curriculum

2021-08-15T22:24:00.015-07:00

The importance of integration of physical education and sports in school curriculum for the success of youth development was recognized by Govt of India in 1984. At that time, National Sports Policy recommended making physical education and sports an integral part of the school curriculum. Earlier, the focus used to be laid on only academics. Later on, it was realized that the goal of physical education and academics is common. Now academicians and Govt of India have realized completely that physical education sport & should be

made an integral part of the curriculum. Now students report healthier eating habits, good cardiovascular fitness, decreased levels of tension, anxiety and depression. A research study conducted in this field in 2014 also indicated a positive correlation between students who were engaged in the programmes of physical education and decline in drug, alcohol and substance abuse. Indeed, the importance of various programmes of physical education in school curriculum can be understood in the following ways:

1. Improve physical fitness: The well-integrated programmes of physical education improve physical fitness of students, which is the key ingredient for a healthy lifestyle. That is why physical education is very significant in all the schools. The regular programmes of physical education help in better absorption of nutrients in the body and also keep improving the holistic health of students.

2. Improve concentration: Students, who take part in the programmes of physical education are better able to concentrate and maintain focus, which has a very significant effect on their academic life. Infact, the programmes of physical education help in improving academic performance of students. Studies show that physical education helps in boosting the knowledge learnt in the classroom.

3. Reduce tension, anxiety and depression: The well-integrated programmes of physical education reduce the levels of tension, anxiety and depression. Nowadays children usually remain under more stress, tension and anxiety than ever, so physical education programmes are beneficial for them.

4. Help in social interaction: The programmes of physical education provide a number of opportunities for social interactions. Such programmes help to improve their social behavior, self-discipline, courtesy, cooperation, team building & leadership qualities.

5. Proper nutrition. The programmes of physical education help students to understand the importance of proper nutrition. It is specifically significant in school days as this is where students eating disorders and obesity prevail. Students are able to understand the importance of eating well and various guidelines related to nutrition.

6. Proper growth and development: For proper growth and development of students, it is significant that our organs and systems must function optimally. The programme of physical education lead to an improvement in the digestive system which ultimately helps in growth and development.

In conclusion, it can be alluded to that physical education can contribute to young student's various benefits such as educational achievement, community cohesion and public health. Physical education and education are interlinked and together contribute significantly to holistic human resource development. Physical education is a significant component of quality education. Physical education not only promotes physical development but the programmes of physical education correlate to improved academic performance. No doubt, it is an integral part of school curriculum.

~Dr. VK Sharma - Author, Professor, Dept. Of Physical Education DAV College, Haryana.

Creative Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century

2021-05-24T00:32:00.007-07:00

Teaching and learning in the 21st century are filled with challenges and opportunities. Technological advances are affecting our lives in every sphere; information is available at the very touch of a button. Social media has permeated our children’s lives. In this transiting stage, teachers provide the foundation on which learners can build learning competence and futuristic skills to face the future. In the audio-lingual and structural method, language acquisition was thought to occur through a process of habit formation like drills and repetition. In the 1960s however, Noam Chomsky’s theories of competence and performance in language learning gave rise to the communicative approach. The focus was accorded to the use of language rather than the rules of grammar. In our country, new textbooks emerged, based on task-based activities for listening-speaking skills in addition to reading, writing and grammar. Reading and listening are considered receptive skills as compared to the productive skills of speaking and writing. With time, however, language teaching came to be compartmentalized into silos of reading, writing, grammar, listening and speaking.

NEP 2020 brings to our attention many of the lacunae in our pre-existing teaching-learning scenarios. It may be interesting to study some of its features in this respect:

A marked emphasis on conceptual understanding represents a distinct moving away from rote learning and memorization. The reading of static texts in the classroom, followed by simple comprehension questions seeking responses based on ‘copying from the text’, does not allow for cognitive development Once the learner is released from imitation and mimicking, it provides space for the learner’s creativity and critical thinking skills to come to the fore. Text material with exercises and activities that lead onto research, discovery, critical analysis, personalization may be more rewarding for the 21st-century learner. For example, the textbook series Grow with Creative Skills provides a dialogue-filling activity based on the famous Canterville Ghost story by Oscar Wilde. Here the learner is expected to imagine and construct the dialogues when the ghost goes back to ghostland and describes the rude behavior meted out to him by the humans of the haunted castle. The task requires a learner to critically grasp the nuances of the reading text, and personalize it through her/his creative faculties.

Flexible, multi-faceted, activity-based inquiry-method learning has been given due weight in NEP 2020. The takeaway from this points to a direction where distinctions between listening-speaking, reading-writing gives place to holistic learning and a cross-curricular approach. In teacher-centered classrooms, the speaking skill as taught often has little authentic communicative value. It is generally limited to each student parroting a similar structure with a few words changed in each construction. An interesting example of a multi-faceted approach may be cited once again from Grow with Creative Skills: First, the middle school learner is asked to follow a set of origami instructions to make a bird. Based on the given model, he writes his/her own origami instructions for the pictures provided of how to make a paper boat. In the third stage, the learner uses the help points given to write--- how s/he can put up an audio-visual presentation of making a paper boat for young learners. Here the skills of comprehension, critical thinking, innovation, communication and technological application become completely integrated towards definitive learning.

Communication skills, both speaking and writing, prepare the learner for their career goals outside the classroom. It also equips them to fit into the social structure via the necessary life skills such as cooperation, teamwork, resilience. Language learning becomes the vehicle for imparting ethics and human values too like empathy, courtesy, the democratic spirit and scientific temper. In a global world gradually closing in through instantaneous interaction, respect for diversity has to be built into the English learners from an elementary level. Tasks, activities, images should be geared towards removing the biases inherent in the immediate environment. The teacher should be particularly observant that gender, class, caste and color stereotyping does not creep in unobserved.

Teamwork is an important skill that learners need to develop for their future careers. For teamwork to be effective, It is necessary to build up the skills of collaboration and responsibility. This also enables the teacher to undertake these activities without undue noise or confusion in the classroom. Leadership roles can be inbuilt into these tasks with the teacher taking note that every student gets a chance to participate equally.

“Indeed, with the quickly changing employment landscape and global ecosystem, it is becoming increasingly critical that children not only learn but more importantly learn how to learn. Education thus, must move towards less content, and more towards learning about how to think critically and solve problems, how to be creative and multidisciplinary, and how to innovate, adapt, and absorb new material in novel and changing fields. Pedagogy must evolve to make education more experiential, holistic, integrated, inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centered, discussion-based, flexible, and, of course, enjoyable.” NEP 2020.

~FARZANA QUADER

ELT expert and author

Maa...

2021-04-16T03:59:00.001-07:00

~by Asha Kiran, NSH, Delhi

'Current Education System'

2021-04-16T03:56:00.007-07:00

Current Education System

Education system in India has gone through a number of changes since past few years. In the ancient times education was based more on religious and cultural issues and was imparted orally by the sages through the Gurukul system. The present system of education was introduced and founded by the British in the 20th century.

As per the present education system, the biggest challenge is to give the children education that helps in an overall development of the child to enable him to survive in this competitive world. A number of problems are still prevailing in the education system of which we all are a part. The normal school hours are six hours, but, the actual learning takes place for around two hours. Teachers spend too much time assigning work that requires no real thought and teaches no real lesson. In spite of the implementation of CCE (continuous and comprehensive evaluation system) in most of the schools, the schools still follow rote learning methods rather than imparting practical knowledge to students. Emphasis on memorizing certain paragraphs from books and evaluation on the basis of "bookish knowledge" still persist. The examination system induces the students to prepare them for certain subjects but real talent of students cannot be assessed. The learners who are research minded are not able to perform well in the examinations even if they are more intellectual than the rest who are good in cramming. Another imperative problem prevailing in our education system is regarding homework which is totally based on just copying answers and definitions from the textbook.

Teaching in schools should be such, where the learner is not given knowledge; instead, knowledge should be taken out from him/her. The word Education itself comes from the word "Educere" which means to bring out what is already in and not just blindly stuff in. Education should be based on application and intelligence instead of trying to test memory of knowledge. Imagination is more important than knowledge and a child should be given freedom to imagine and think of creative ways of learning. Each child should be guided correctly to choose an occupation in life where he/she is going to spend majority of waking hours in future. Real education is the education that enables an individual to take out what is unique in him/her. Education must impart vocational knowledge and inculcate values to respect all vocations. Homework given should be something which is more research based rather than just copying and writing.

To summarise, present education system has gone through lot of improvements but, still a more practical approach is required for the overall development of the child. It is the responsibility of each individual who is a part of the education system to actively contribute towards this common goal because as each seed grows into a tree, each child grows into an individual helping the society in their own unique way.

~by Arti Makhija, NSH, Delhi

'Original'

2021-04-16T03:56:00.001-07:00

Original

ORIGINAL! Do you think anything in these times is original? Whatever comes to your mind also comes from something you thought earlier somewhere, somehow. Start from the very basic necessity of all living beings, i.e. food. Think about any new dish that your mother must have tried at home when she was experimenting in the kitchen. She took the recipe of one of the common dish she used to make every second day of her cooking life and added or deleted some of the ingredients, increased or decreased the degree of flame required and served a new dish, garnished it with some new topping. Can somebody say that this dish is original? Things which were worn by the celebrities in the 70’s are again worn with little more mix and match, is it original? Even an idea that comes to your mind is originated from some experience or idea generated by somebody in the past, so even the great ideas can also be not called as fully original. So next time you come across with somebody who says to be original, give it a minute to think, is it really ORIGINAL!

~by Arti Makhija, NSH, Delhi

'One Earth, One Humankind'

2021-04-16T03:54:00.005-07:00

One Earth, One Humankind

May I have the privilege and honour of sharing this thought with you today..

Imagine What if...

What if, we categorise the Human race based only on their intellectual knowledge and skill? Could we see this as a possibility... Let me re-wipe our lenses and lets look deeper.

Today we have the Watsup community / FB community, where people think alike and share alike.. That’s a good news..! So, we all seem to blend under one profile or one thought.

Similarly let’s try n bind the Human community on a much wider and higher scale than this.

Rather than we going about creating barriers between religion/ race/ language / class / creed / minority / majority and so on....

We could re-look and strategise the whole concept at an Universal level based on the individual's set of skills possesed by each of us .

Can we raise the bar above the barriers and walls built around us???

Most of us are engaged in either one of these following professions, namely,

Agricultural / Manufacturing / Service oriented sectors

I guess it would be easier, if we match our skills/profession to relate/ assess ourselves closer to these sectors (rather than relating ourselves to the deep rooted religious faith/ class-creed /dialect etc.) We need to get rid of the religious barriers and invisible walls around us.

We all are familiar with this adage- Dood ka Dood and Pani ka Pani. What does this specify?

i.e. may we let Milk remain as Milk and may H2O remain as H2O in their purest form..

Both posses their own importance and values. Let's not adulterate Milk with Water and vice- versa... This would dilute the power of productivity, within both the products. Agreed?

So, when this is the outcome for milk and water, imagine what would we as humans face when confronted with day to day adulterations and unwanted thoughts in our minds. Won't our level of productivity be hampered and scattered. Please do think for a moment...

The level of productivity possessed within each of us is compromised when we mix religion / language / faith/ culture/ creed etc. to our day to day professional affairs. The root of all the confusion begins from here, when our inner properties possessed by our minds begin diluting with our day to day life affairs and importantly with that of our fellow beings. For, on many occasions, we distract our thoughts and question our own abilities along with those working with us.

Let's not mix religion/ race/ language with that of our profession/ abilities and aspirations (Doodh ka doodh / Pani ka pani).

I would like to site few examples to highlight the bottom line of my article, we could club the varied community of professionals (unlike all agriculturists across nations as one community & class/ can all the engineers across nations be considered as one community and class/ can all doctors be considered as one community and class/ people from different educational, academic streams to be considered as one community/ we require one community of teachers /we require one community of artists / we require one community of the labour & work force....and so on. This will help us channelize our resources in one direction.

After all, its only when you hold the magnifying glass under the Sun , can you concentrate all the energy and light of the mighty Sun to generate the required heat and kindle a flame! Agreed?

We all need that similar magnifying glass in our lives today. This would further help us converge together at one point on various aspects and issues we face in our day to day professions, it will help us bring about positive solutions, assess our progress/ efficiency and oneness in life.

I don’t think that we have the right or wrong side to our lives, the good or bad shades in our lives, the pretty or ugly images in anyone's lives, the bright or dark phases in our lives. All that matters is our perception/balance towards this one and unique life form, along with our maturity and the sound understanding or scientific knowledge that each one posses.

We all interpret various events happening around us everyday. You may interpret better because you posses better understanding of that event, on the other hand I may not interpret as good as you due to my lack of my understanding or the knowledge of that event.

We are loosing out of precious time and the energy within each of us. We have to adapt to a newer perception, for our better tomorrow.

Do you agree?

The scientific skills possessed by an Engineer in our country, would match with the skill sets of other Engineers outside our country. The scientific skills possessed by a good teacher in our country, would match with those good teachers of other countries. (We all begin by learning A,B,C and 1,2,3... isn't it? ) The political power of our politicians would equal to those belonging to different countries. So where exactly is the difference occurring in whose mind is the difference occurring? It's a well known mystery. We need to stop feeding the ego in us and begin nurturing the hopes within us.

It's not sufficient alone to harvest the natural resources of this planet.

We do also require harnessing of human resources throughout this planet... Please do think once again. Where are we heading from here.

After all, we live on the same planet! and not on different planets...

So, why not live as one...

~by Kinni Jana, NSH, Chennai

Storytelling, an Art of Teaching and Learning!

2021-04-16T03:48:00.002-07:00

Storytelling, an Art of Teaching and Learning!

An old proverb says, "Tell me a fact, I'll learn. Tell me the truth, I'll believe. Tell me a story, it will stay in my heart forever."

Long ago, as toddlers and school-goers, the best leisure activity that we could recall is undoubtedly the story time around grandpas and grandmas. Even if we had heard a story several times before, we listened to it eagerly yet again. Many a time, we were able to say what happened next or recite the dialogue word-to-word! That is the power of storytelling! Stories can help us visualize, perceive and share our thoughts to the world in an inspiring, interesting manner. Stories also enhance listening capability which is a very important skill in the process of learning.

Storytelling is a well-recognised medium to inculcate knowledge, improve thinking and ignite one’s imagination. While a storytelling session keeps the child engaged, it also educates and entertains. It makes the child curious and boosts his memory power alongside! Much before learning how to read and write, a pre-schooler is able to narrate his best-loved story because---it interests him! It catches his attention, enables him to listen carefully and to memorise!

In olden days, we did not have computers, power-point presentations or digital classes, but still teachers were effective in teaching concepts. Wonder how? Through stories! Teachers shared their knowledge with students in an easy-to-understand story format. A story-like class on a seashore by a teacher to a 10-year old boy on How Birds Fly made him inquisitive to learn more and understand better. Later, the small boy grew up to become a famous scientist in Rocket Engineering and Space Flight. This is a personal experience shared by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in his book “Wings of Fire”. Here, he described how his teacher Sivasubramania Iyer enthralled his students by his method of teaching.

All of us grow old, but some memories stay afresh, especially those of a favourite teacher, their unforgettable lectures, amazing techniques that helped us to learn better, some humour and dramatics in class and personal anecdotes that linked to concepts and definitions of Maths, Physics or Chemistry.

A lot of researchers have found that course material, if delivered in a story format, helps students to understand and recall concepts as they remain in their mind for a long time. A connect is mentally envisaged by children between real-life events and lessons learnt. Just like a song, learning through stories make the lesson familiar and with one part of the story, students are able to recollect the rest of the lesson---even the dreaded definitions and derivations.

Passion is the keyword to enhance the teaching-learning activity. While teacher ought to be passionate about imparting knowledge, children ought to be passionate to learn and acquire them thoroughly. An interactive class is sure to create an indelible impression on the minds of the children. Encouraging questions, however trivial, and trying to find solutions will enable students to think beyond their lessons. This way, the children work under a good pressure to raise their potential to explore new avenues.

Narrating stories, sharing real-life anecdotes, reading autobiographies of great men in class, group activities and discussions, study trips -- all these will lead to a perfect ambience to teach and learn, establish a healthy, positive relationship between teacher and the pupil and in turn create aware citizens who are more willing to share their opinions and experiences to the future generation. Classrooms are not just places of learning books alone but are places where young minds imbibe essential skills for a life time! Happy learning!

~by Uma Narayanan, NSH, Delhi

Naari Shakti

2021-04-16T03:40:00.008-07:00

~by Gurpreet Sharma, NSH, Delhi

More...

2021-04-16T03:39:00.003-07:00

More

Lying under the blanket of stars,
I see so much more.
I see myself riding the horse past the full moon
On a clear starlit night.
I see the possibilities of tomorrow,
Shining bright.
I see myself running alive amongst those yellow daffodils,
With the joy bursting forth.
Listening to the waterfall,
Gushing right outside my window
I hear so much more.
I hear the sounds of happiness,
A melody that’s rare.
I hear the song of the wind,
Distinctive in my ears.
I hear tomorrow calling for me to
Take a step.
One step.

Feeling the sense of completeness overtake me,
I feel so much more.
I feel the need to smile without a reason.
I feel the need to let go of all the digressions.
I feel the need to write.
I feel the need to write,
with the essence of my soul as the ink,
And my life as the paper.
I feel the need to bleed with my words
All over the blank canvas of time.

~by Aditi Agarwal, Student, Economics (H), Kamla Nehru College, Delhi University

Nari Divas

2021-04-16T03:38:00.004-07:00

~by Reeta Mittal, NSH, Delhi

Ladies Compartment (Delhi Metro)

2021-04-16T03:35:00.006-07:00

Ladies Compartment (Delhi Metro)

Want to know about the latest fashion triumphing in Delhi, take a metro token or a smart card and enter the ladies compartment of the Delhi metro. In a short while you will get to see all varieties of girls in different types of attires. What kind of footwear is in, what kinds of tops/dresses are in... you will get to see all, once you put your feet in. You do not even need a fashion magazine or a makeup artist or a hairstylist to tell you what is the latest makeup and the hairstyle which is in. Looking at the different attires that these girls are wearing you will also realise that many of them are actually not looking great in such a get up but still they want to do it so that no one considers them to be behind the ones who actually are looking sensible. People do not understand that merely following some fashion does not make them smart; one should adapt things that actually suit their personality. Forgetting an individual’s own self is not the path to be hip.

~by Arti Makhija, NSH, Delhi

Abhilashi Chidiya

2021-04-16T03:34:00.004-07:00

~by Reeta Mittal, NSH, Delhi

Getting on with Life Once a TV Series Ends

2021-04-16T01:09:00.002-07:00

When you invest hours upon hours in a story, the characters, the relationships, and the emotions, you form an attachment to that TV series. Watching it and waiting to watch it becomes a habit you can't seem to shake off. You think about what happened in the last episode you watched when you wake up and you wonder about what will happen next when you go to bed. You start breathing, living, and dreaming in the world of those beloved characters. You obsess and you want to get to the end. But when you do, it hits you like a sledgehammer.

It's not easy to move on from the life you had experienced alongside your own. It was as if it's yours, too. You were with them right there on the island, too. So, how to get out of the funk and get on with your life when it's ended?

Here are 5 ways how...

1. START WATCHING A NEW SERIES.

Well, isn't that the most obvious option? To stop obsessing over one thing, and to start obsessing over something else. As simple as that. Not exactly healthy. But, well, a person in need got to do what they got to do.

2. WRITE AND SCRAPBOOK.

Get it out, darling. Whatever it is that comes to your head when you think of it, write it down in a separate notebook/ scrapbook. Paste pictures, and little trinkets that remind you of that favorite scene, write stuff about characters and write about your opinions on a particular twist that the new season brought about. And once you have it all poured over the pages, make a time capsule and put the notebook away for next, say, 2 years. You will reminisce and be so damn happy when you get to see it again.

3. START A FANBLOG.

It's the new cool. People love to find people with similar interests. Write reviews of episodes, your opinions about different relationships throughout the series, how it could have turned out better, how it couldn't have been any better, characters and their lives, the actors and their lives...blog it out of your system.

4. START YOUR OWN RANGE OF MEMORABILIA MERCHANDISE.

If you have the funds and the time, you can start your own range of merchandise dedicated to the series. This will engage your creative sides and will make the ideas swirling inside your head a beautiful reality. This will get you to stop going crazy and will be like a productive transformation of the series in your life. Not to mention, you will make money out of it.

Who doesn't want an amazing pendant, or ring, or keychain, or mugs, or tee-shirts which reminds them of their beloved series?

5. REWATCH.

Rewatch the whole series again. Maybe then you will get over it and stop obsessing. When it becomes predictable and not so wonderful anymore, maybe it won't be that great for you. Maybe you will realize that all it was meant for was 2 reruns and now it's time to move on.

Getting over something isn't easy. It takes time and patience. A TV series is nothing different. So, try to get over it, do stuff that might help, but if you aren't able to move on, maybe you aren't meant to. Not yet.

(NOTE: This isn't only about moving on from a TV series. These steps can be followed to get over anything. If it's a relationship --with friends, with family, whatever --maybe you got to start trying. Or, maybe not. It's your call. Take your time. With a little improvising these steps can be used to get over anything in life. All you need is patience. And, a little faith.)

~by Aditi Agarwal, Student, Eco (H), Kamla Nehru College, DU

What Should be the Real Concern

2021-04-16T01:05:00.004-07:00

Einstein said, "It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge". Years ago, Einstein, an intellectual genius, had beautifully expressed his thoughts with such simplicity that somehow seems to be obsolete in the ever so fast-moving world of today.

The tech-savvy generation of the present world spends each day in the struggle of keeping pace with the swift changes that affect their world every now and then. The ones who are most affected by the changes in the face of education are the parents, and even teachers, who still live with their individual experiences and struggles of their student lives. They often develop certain inhibitions towards the increasing complexities of the education system and start bombarding their children with advice, suggestions, warnings, etc. which eventually do more harm than good to them as it keeps adding on to the pressure on the children. Each step taken by the anxious parents acts as bricks that build the humongous structure of pressure on the young impressionable minds.

The focus these days seem to be only on the marks and results of the students. In this process, the students fail to enjoy the most endearing part of their education - the student life. We must have heard it before that the journey is more important than the destination. But we completely seem to ignore it when it comes to a child's educational journey. The fixation with the end results and the numbers reflected on the report card is so strong that it completely overpowers our moral reasoning.

Sadly enough, in the present educational system numbers seem to define and certify a child's capabilities. This clearly explains the obsession of the parents as well as the students with the results. It's high time we sit and ponder over what will actually matter in the long run. Is it the numbers on the report card or the true qualities of a child that will make him/her a successful and more importantly a HAPPY person?

Our respected Prime Minister had rightly said "Never let the child in you die". But the question that we need to ask ourselves is "Are we taking away the childhood from our children?" Hope we all are in a position to give a confident NO as a reply to this question.

~By Neha Khanna, Teacher, Sunbeam School Lahartara, Varanasi

A Mother's Message to Her Son Before She Leaves Him Forever

2021-04-16T01:04:00.008-07:00

A Mother's Message to Her Son Before She Leaves Him Forever

A wait prolongs my dear

Let's welcome let's welcome it with a new dear

Don't feel alone my heart is with you anyway

Whatever words you hid just say

I am gonna be away too long a day

I know paler would the sunlight get

Less darker would be the night over our head

For some time now you will open your arms for me

But nothing like me would you see

Don't this hearten yourself my dear

Just hug your own self then and you feel near

I love you tiniest parts

My life longs for your smile every second

But for now you won't feel my palm when you extend your hand

It's just a little long lovely lifeless lonely wait

Just have faith I promise I won't be late

Let your soul be strengthened by my memories

You wont find me in celebrities

I will always be inside your heart so feel

Keep your hand on your chest

Close your eyes and speak my name when you need

Remember my son,

Stars change places every night,

BUT HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE MOON DEEP?

~by Kiran Goel, Student, Class 11(Medical) MGN Urban Estate Phase 2 School, Jalandhar

Mirror

2021-04-16T01:04:00.007-07:00

Spending hours in front of thee

To refashion the natural order,

Spending hours in front of thee

To refashion the natural order,

Anxious about the reflection of the ephemeral,

Turning every stone to be presentable,

Unnerved by a glance at the divine version of thee inside

Horrified even at the thought of the ugly reflection

Unable to veil it with the artificial correction

But can not do without glancing at it

For to be presentable to the ultimate source of reflection,

I look for the cleansing of the dark soul,

I need to bleach it with confession n admission,

I need to nourish it with acceptance and forgiveness

After cleansing, bleaching and nourishing the dark soul

I can feel presentable to the whole...

~by Neha Goyal, Teacher, Sacred Heart Convent Sr. Sec. School, Khanna (Distt. Ludhiana), Punjab

The Values That Make Us Human

2021-04-16T01:03:00.006-07:00

Do you know what is 'common' between us and the saints?

That, we all are the 'creatures of the god'.

Do you know that is 'uncommon' between us and the saints?

The 'sacredness' of the saints.

Do you know what 'should be common' between us and the saints?

'The values of life that make us a human'.

"Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values".

— Dalai Lama

Today's generation is moving at a very fast rate. As a parent, spouse or business professional, we encounter several circumstances each day which test our patience, character and the peace of mind. During such times, our values guide us and shape our priorities and reactions.

Here, I am going to emphasize the importance of three values which. I believe are the basic values to be a human and to live peacefully in today's scenario.

(i) Character

"Reputation is what others think of you. Character is what you know yourself to be".

— Helen Keller

Character means that you take pride in being the absolute best that you can be, regardless of whether anyone else is paying attention. Character is what you owe to yourself; your dignity, integrity, effort and self-respect.

If one has to choose between 'character' and "Reputation'; one should always choose "Character" because reputation can be earned for the second time but character can't.

(ii) Forgiveness

"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naïve forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget".

—Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

We live, we fight, we forgive, we forget. It is cycle of life which goes on. It is natural to feel bad, to feel hitting back after a fight. But what makes us stable in such condition is the ability to go let it go. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong, it makes us at peace and give us an upper hand. One should forgive, but never forget the lesson learnt from pain.

(iii) Tolerance

"Tolerance is about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you".

—Mahatma Gandhi

Lack of tolerance in today's society is leading to, matricide, patricide, fratricide etc. And 'suicide'. If we wish to have peace and harmony in our societies and personal lives, we need to develop and imbibe the value of tolerance within ourselves. Tolerance comes by from learning to forgive.

So, a value system can keep people moving along in life making good choices and being proud of who they are. When our actions and words are aligned with our values, life is generally good and we feel content, confident and satisfied and proud of ourselves.

~by Garima Chaudhary, B.Sc. (Hotel Management) IHM Pusa, Delhi

What Really Counts in Assessment

2021-04-16T00:28:00.003-07:00

What Really Counts in Assessment???

Assessment- the word which gives jitters not just to the students but also to the teachers. The question which keeps everybody confused is “what really counts in assessment?” Assessment literally means judging or evaluating someone’s ability but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. Every child is unique. If we start judging every child on the same parameter, we will perhaps be unjust with the students as it will not be a true reflection of their calibre. This is the biggest concern related to the assessment pattern of the education system. Every school aims to achieve holistic development of a child. Then is it not necessary to assess a child holistically? In the present scenario a child is assessed on the basis of his performance in the written examination. A child scoring 90% is considered to be intelligent and a child scoring 60% is considered to be an average child. But is it always true? Does this give us the true and actual evaluation of a child’s ability? I don’t think so.
A child may score well in the exams but he/she might lack the skills or deeper understanding required to deal with the practical real life situations. On the contrary, a child may not fare well in the exams but might have the skills required in the long-run. To be precise the written examination cannot be taken as a true reflection of a child’s abilities. While assessing a child emphasis should be laid on more complex capabilities like conceptual understanding and long-term transfer skills. As educators we also need to think of some ways to help students understand and reflect their own learning progress. This will make them self-sufficient. So, next time before judging a child we first need to ensure whether we are able to see the hidden part of the ice-berg or we are still looking at the surface

~by Twinkle Khanna, Teacher, Sunbeam School Annapurna, Varanasi

A Student’s Life - Misses and Balances

2021-04-15T21:45:00.004-07:00

A Student’s Life - Misses and Balances…

I feel each one of us, no matter at what stage in our life, do remember and love to go back to our school days. Some memories make us smile while others make us repentant.

Surely those prime 14-16 years of our life leave an impression that is so influential on our entire lives. So it is indeed important that these initial enthusiastic years of our life are happy, rightly directed and lay a sound foundation for the rest of our lives.

A student’s life is so full of vigour and enthusiasm. We just want to do anything and everything. To achieve high grades, to increase the friend list, to be the star in whatever way we can.

The energy we hold at this age is so tremendous to overcome anything and achieve what we determine to. This age crosses all emotional and mental barriers to achieve whatever we aspire for.

What we need to ask ourselves is a simple question - Are we running at a right pace? Is it crumbling and overcoming others or is it walking, treading, enjoying and being together?

At the end of the day, this succeeding, surpassing and wining might get you an appreciation but is that all what you desire or is there more to it?

Tomorrow you may end up becoming a doctor, banker, engineer or a highest level professional but will you be a happy person? – What matters the most is – Are you Happy today and tomorrow?

Before we try to find answers, we need to understand a simple fact that:

Karma + Destiny = You.

Here both the factors are important. Be it Karma that is your thoughts/ actions or destiny that is Fate – what life has in store for you.

Life comes with so many choices and opportunities. Which path you tread on is important when at the crossroads in your life.

And here comes the importance of your Imbed Value system which helps you make right choices at the right time.

It is this value system that helps us distinguish between right and wrong.

Being young students we have an independent life to lead, a future in the process of designing; here it is important for us to individually abide ourselves by values and ethics and proceed at a pace walking along with others; helping those who need help.

Don’t forget that its man’s efforts that a make hell of lot of a difference but it's that subtle value system that make the decisive difference in what you are today and where you land up tomorrow.

~by Archana Narula, Content Writer, New Delhi

THE WAY FORWARD: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND THE HYBRID MODEL FOR EDUCATION

2021-04-08T03:48:00.014-07:00

What is sweeping all sectors of society and economy at a rapid pace is digital transformation. The ease of access to information and the ever-increasing speed of transaction, along with the interactive nature of digital literacy has made all cross-sections of society adopt digital systems for their accelerated growth and outreach. We see this futuristic transformation most in the new-age children who are students as well as the teaching fraternity across ages, which is nothing short of the word ‘marvelous’. NEP 2020 marks a landmark roadmap in the country’s education system. Advocating a forward-thinking, cogent reform, NEP 2020 is a perfect blend of a need-based policy, innovative learning, cutting-edge research, and entrepreneurial thinking, paving the way for a New India.

Education plays a key role in human development and it is the citizens that matter most during these unprecedented times, that is driven by the innovation and creative the genius of people who are taking up the challenge of becoming ‘creators’ instead of ‘workers’. The NEP 2020 brings about many changes that we have long been procrastinating in terms of things that cried out for a change, like for example, digital innovation; entrepreneurial thinking; selection of subjects based on passion and strength rather than lack of choice – for a student who wants to study Chemistry and Biology without Physics (which the child may be weak in) – has not been possible so far; being forced to take the ‘next best stream’ if marks are low, and struggling with it thereafter for life, have been some of the core issues. Then there has been this tradition of studying only for examinations to get a job, the choice of which has remained the same for decades: medical, engineering or teaching.

One of the reasons things have been this way is because education in India had remained untouched by the disruptions of technology advancements for a long time. In a way, the Covid-19 came as a blessing in disguise for the education system at all levels. It made a rapid adaptation of digital technologies for imparting online education and made people interact and express themselves more easily online in the host of webinars, online conferences, and seminars that have been organized during the ongoing Covid-19 times. While many have benefitted greatly from these like the teaching community that has been able to attend training programs on topics like online teaching, managing a class, and best global teaching practices, there have been issues like fatigue in young learners and technological glitches that have at times created havoc and loss of time for many. Educational publishers like New Saraswati House have been partners in learning with all the stakeholders during a difficult time like this and have worked hand-in-hand with educational institutions, providing the best-in-class services in terms of digital content, animations, online workshops and webinars, as well as pan India contests for students digitally.

The Digital Age however has its own challenges. Loss of privacy, data piracy, data theft, cybercrimes, and a colossal waste of time on social media and other digital apps that have raised issues relating to ethics and values of this digital age beyond the normal call for ethics and values in a civilized society. However, with one year gone by in the pandemic, 2021 seems to be better prepared in terms of dealing with digital technologies, innovative teaching-learning curve, hands-on learning through projects and teamwork, and others. Globally, people are also poised to take on the challenges like cybercrime, better use of the social media time and space, along with online learning, which has actually been a boon in disguise. 2020 was an experimental a year and the world didn’t realize what hit them; it took time for schools to develop the online teaching mode and for educators, parents and students to adapt to it. But what seemed like little triumph initially in terms of being able to do everything on the screen soon became a bane with children getting migraines, eye problems for staring at the screens for too long, as well like anxiety and stress due to odd timings and lack of physical activity, while educators and parents have experienced fatigue and anxiety due to being overworked with the pressures of being ‘online’ all the time.

What looked like a piece of cake initially in terms of working from home and having to just switch on a device, soon became a nightmare. Yes, the internet has been a real boon; without it, learning would have been completely lost this past year. However, it is a ‘Hybrid Model’ today that is the need of the hour—one that is a healthy mix of printed material like books, pen, and paper along with the digital content. Another thing that has become increasingly important today as has co-curricular classes like art and craft, physical education, etc. Our CEO, Mr. Shammi Manik says, “It is imperative for both schools and parents to ensure that blended learning with printed books and stationery, along with the digital content is consumed by students to get the balance right; one without the other may cause serious issues. The hybrid model is the way forward.” 2020 has been both a challenge as well as a great learning curve for everyone across the globe, especially in the education space: for students to sit in front of a screen with little or no social interaction with friends, and for educators who have had to learn how to use many different tools for teaching, engaging as well as evaluating students. There is no doubt that publishers too have gone that extra mile to help facilitate all kinds of online teaching-learning experience for all three stakeholders through students, educators, and parents. This does not negate the need for offline learning mode though, especially in the higher classes, where hands-on practical learning through experimentation is important, which is why there is a provision for students for classes 9-12 to go to their institutions. However, even though for the junior and middle school students, the online learning model is being facilitated through tools like animations, test generators, online competitions, educational games and so on, one cannot negate the need for physical books.

A new teaching-learning environment has now been created that facilitates learning anytime, anywhere and as per one’s interest areas. Student-centric learning look like they are slowly becoming a reality with digital systems information to learners at an affordable cost and across boundaries, but to make it truly viable, the print material is important, making one’s own notes is important and reading extensively is important. We still have a long way to go, but the best part is that with all that is available in terms of content – both online and offline by publishers – we can see a whole lot of innovation and usage in the education space for the session in 2021!

~by Ms. Anurima Roy (Marketing Head of New Saraswati House)