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Education is Integrated with Society

January 24, 2022

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.” - Mary Kay Ash

Education in true sense is all round development. It should enable the pupil to survive in the society. Ancient education was through narrating stories (Panchatantra) where the child learnt life skills through nature. Personal relationship was maintained between Guru and the pupils as the pupil lived in Guru’s ashram away from the influence of the society following Brahmachari rules. Slowly that system was replaced by the other system where Gurus became part of the society and society started its influence on Gurus and education.

The whole scenario changed to “Teacher-centric” where education meant imparting knowledge and learning by route memory. More than life skills focus was on reasoning, memorizing and reproducing the same etc.

Once Premchand a popular Hindi writer said “Mathematics is like an obstacle for me. Otherwise I would have got through my studies and could have taken a job to earn livelihood“. His novels like Nirmala are very popular.

Now there is a tremendous change in the Education system due to various recommendations made by Educationists. From “Teacher-centric” it is shifting to “Child-centric.” CBSE and other education systems are focusing not only on Scholastic areas but also on co-scholastic areas to promote the child to the next grade. The pupil is given opportunity to groom himself in all areas like group projects, peer group discussions, integrated projects, drawing contests, photography competitions, sports, debates, Student exchange program and so on.

Education is integrated with society by making students take active part in National programmes like Swachh Bharat campaign, Ekta Divas, Joy of giving, Science exhibitions etc.

Education institutions are involving parents, grandparents, peer students, technology, media, etc to nurture and groom the needs of the students. To create awareness towards health, Dental checkup, eye checkup etc have become part of the curriculum.Educating students regarding parts of the body, adolescence changes, their effects and how to tackle them has become part of education. Teaching through Smart boards made some concepts in few subjects concrete. Many opportunities are provided to the students to nurture their creative skills and hidden talents.

Education system is focusing on Dignity of labour and Learning by doing – Gandhiji’s system of education.

“Give the pupils something to do, not something to hear and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.“ - John Devey

A True Incident

Arunasree

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I am a mathematics teacher. This happened five years ago. I was class teacher for VIII C. One day in mid August, as I stepped in to class VIII-C, everybody was excited to tell me about new admission boy. Karan, a thin and short boy joined newly in the class. In my conversation with Karan, I understood that his communication skills in English were very poor. I introduced him to the class and requested them to help him in adjusting with new environment. Every day I was observing Karan sitting alone in the last bench feeling shy and lonely. I tried to convince him to make new friends, and made him join in one of activity groups. But no student was showing interest to talk and share work with Karan.

Days are passing. It was time for first term exams. Students became serious about their studies. Karan was still left out boy in the class. All the methods tried by teachers to make Karan feel comfortable became waste. Karan did not perform well in his exams. During parent teacher meeting his father said he was not an under achiever before, but he was afraid of being accepted by others.

The school planned an educational tour to Mysore and Bangalore. Karan also joined in the group forcibly by his father. All enthusiastic students with their teachers boarded the train at Hyderabad. After settled in their places students started playing ‘Anthakshari’. I observed Karan showing interest and slowly joined in the group. All the students soon noticed Karan’s talent in singing. He knows all latest songs and sings them with melodious voice. Students started cheering for him. First time I saw happiness on Karan’s face. He was in demand now. Every group wants Karan to be in their group.

At Bangalore, two days we were busy visiting places. Karan was moving friendly with other students. Another talent of Karan was shown on the next day at Mysore ‘Brindavan Gardens’. Teachers conducted a friendly dance competition among students. I asked Karan to participate in the dance competition. Hesitantly he started dancing for the music. Oh my god…. He was amazing. All of us became spell bound. Trees and flowers of ‘Brindavan Gardens’ also started clapping for Karan. Karan became hero over night.

The World in the Classroom

Lakshmi Sujatha A.G.

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“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our students of their tomorrow” - John Dewey

“The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” - Jean Piaget

In my opinion integrating technology into classroom is a great way to ensure above adages. I have used technology successfully in my classroom and have realized that this kind of teaching helps my students better understand what I teach. Any kind of technology helps

Bring a student into direct contact with objects and anything.
Make concrete what is abstract
Bring near what is distant
Bring the world into the classroom

My experiences with technology in classroom:

Power point presentations and flash presentations are the order of the day. So, when I decided to use technology to teach my class I first tried the PPTs. Once you show students what a power point presentation is and how it is done, you can actually get your students to develop presentations that will surely help impart concepts and ideas to the entire class. I got my students to form teams of two or five and develop presentations on various concepts in English language (in subjects I taught). I found that learning imparted in this way

Helped make language practice lively.
Reduced dependence on mother tongue.
Helped in the formation of language habits by reception, drill and concept practice.
Increased students’ knowledge of the English language by providing better quality language material.
Boosted students’ self-esteem and confidence and improved their presentation skills.
Encouraged team spirit, enquiry and harmony.

As a teacher, I too benefited from this kind of teaching.

It helped me save time
Reduced strain on my vocal cords as I could revise or recapitulate a topic by repeating the presentations.
Gave me scope to give out different home assignments.

Besides developing Power point presentations, I have encouraged students to use Microsoft publisher to design greeting cards, pamphlets, newsletters, brochures and posters with useful slogans. Microsoft Excel allows ones to create comprehension and understanding. I drag and drop exercises, word search and puzzles. These exercises are a much better way of assessing your students’. I have also used audio and video files in my presentations to teach music and songs.

Technology has proved effective to promote a variety of 21st century skills such as healthy competition, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.

My innovative use of technology led me to win Intel National Award 2004 for Best Integration of technology and project based learning for the topic ‘Neighborhood-At Our Service’.

When I talk about integrating technology with your classroom teaching can the internet be left behind? I have encouraged students from class IV and above to use internet resources to collaborate with global community using teacher monitored websites like www.thinkquest.com, www.epals.com, www.intel.com/education, www.goymp.org and my students won many laurels and certificated from different competitions conducted by them.

You could also get your students to do interesting projects using the internet in order to generate interest in hobbies like Philately, numismatics. I got my students to first use the internet and do some research on Philately as a hobby, history etc… My students then visited philately exhibitions and post offices, spoke to post masters and people who worked in different departments of post office. I then got them to put all the information they collected on slides and created power point presentations. To encourage my students I sent the best presentation for 2005 National Graphic Championship. Two of my students and I (guide teacher) declared winners at National level.

I have used online thinking tools in my classroom like visual ranking tool, seeing reason tool and showing evidence tool which helped students think critically and act globally. Five of my students as a team participated in web based Volvo adventure Environmental programs under my guidance and received a diploma certificate UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program)for their projects Health and Wealth Out of Waste, Hospital waste- Our concern.

I am the first guide teacher selected by Centre for Environmental Education of India in 2012 from my school to guide 18 students to complete 20 week Diploma Course from Lund University web based the young Masters Program (www.goymp.org) Empowering young people to build a smarter, more sustainable, world through new tools and networks. The Young Masters Programme on Sustainable Development (YMP) is a global web-based education and learning network. It offers a unique learning experience by connecting youth and building understanding and cooperation about sustainability issues. The challenges of building a smarter and more sustainable world are pressing and urgent. The youth of today are the future of tomorrow and therefore need to be informed and educated with tools to tackle the challenges we face globally. YMP does this through a fun, practical on-line course for high school students.

A teacher is a life-long learner and so updated myself with usage of macromedia flash which helps teacher preset his/her lessons with best animations that are useful for different concepts. I am now able to do web designing and have participated in an international web designing contest along with my students on the topic “Culprit Chemi VS Omni Organi”.

My journey of using technology helped our school to recently won ICT enabled school of the year in the 5th largest ICT event from digital learning held at Hyderabad International convention center.

I strongly believe that learning can not only be made easy, but also an experience that is rewarding in itself. The joy, we trust, is not only acquiring knowledge, bur in very process. Thus I strive in every single endeavor of mine towards enabling the learner to not only learn effectively but also discover the inherent ‘Joy in learning’.

Latest Trends for Schools

Nancy Roji

January 23, 2022

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The nature of modern culture has many new ideas which constantly being introduced from a wide variety of sources to new trend-setting modes. Some of these achieve a measure of steady, consistent success, but some fail, and some take off on an upward trajectory of exponential popularity and influence.

As we know, several issues that are finding platforms for discussion among different schools and communities could provoke changes in the next few years. Trends in education are always appearing, such as iPads and online test taking, but with recent developments in national standards and a new federal emphasis on equity, the 2013-14 school year will have a set of trends all its own.

Let’s discuss about some latest trends are following by the schools. According to my point of view, as a teacher I can suggest some easy-to-use and free tools can help parents and educators stay in touch and prevent potential academic concerns.

As we prepare for a new school year, many parents would like to know how they can be better connected with teachers and stay informed with their child’s progress. Maintaining open channels of communication is important and can prevent a student from falling behind. Here comes the importance of the development of technology and its benefits.

What our students say about web-based instruction

“If you miss a day you can easily get caught up, and you can work ahead”

The computer and the internet’s evolution in these past few years have been staggeringly fast. A computer that used to fill an entire building in 1965 has about the same computing power as a modern-day cellphone. Some say that this change has been a long time coming. There is an analogy that uses fairy tale character Rip van Winkle to describe this; Rip van Winkle has just woken up from his hundred years slumber and stares in an amazement about how much everything has changed in the time that he was asleep, he almost did not recognize anything, until he went into a classroom. Rip van Winkle recognized immediately that it was a classroom because nothing much has changed in the K-12 educational system since he fell asleep in 1906.

Here are some of the more popular trends in K-12 education today:

The use of the internet and social media as a teaching tool.
The performance of students depends on the Condition of Educational Facilities.
Students’ contribution in the classroom.
Close individual attention to each students’ needs.
Outdoor Education—Digital classroom without walls for green learning.

According to the latest data, video for homework is on the rise; mobile computing is ‘beyond the tipping point’ and most kids don’t use traditional computers to connect to the Internet at home. Below are some examples of the usage of latest computer technology trends:

Personal Access to Mobile Devices

According to the new trends, students overwhelmingly have access to personal mobile devices. 89 percent of high schools students have access to Internet-connected smart phones.

Internet Connectivity

For us, this is an interesting set of statistics showing the ways students generally connect to the Internet when at home.

Use of Video for Classwork and Homework

Video is another tool that has been on the rise in recent years. While I focused my view on students, I noted that 55 percent of teachers are using video (working with projectors) in in the classroom for more effective teaching.

Mobile Devices for Schoolwork

Based on the 2013 researches by the educators, students are leveraging mobile devices both to be more efficient in their day-to-day tasks and to transform their own learning processes.

Using Different Tools for Different Task

In the developed countries, students not only using video, social media and cell phones for communications; they use e-readers for reading texts and articles; they write, take notes and do research on laptops.

Thankfully, educators are starting to change with the times. The trend in K-12 education these days is that learning institutions should try their best to keep up with the recent advances in technology to better teach their students.

Educational trends in schools and research that we will see in the coming years can include:

Standards-based education, focusing on outcomes for student learning
Full-day kindergarten providing more time for in-class experiential learning
Research on the economic impact of the child-care industry and its effect on the local community; employment needs are identified to maintain a workforce
National School Readiness Indicators Initiative, creating a set of measurable indicators defining school readiness
Quality Rating Systems, a system of rating the quality of child-care programs that is tied to incentives and reimbursement rates.
TEACH, professional development for early-care and early-education teachers tied to extended education and training incentives.
Early childhood assessment, looking at appropriate assessments spurred on by the debate surrounding the Head Start National Reporting System assessment.
Environmental Rating scales used in measuring the quality of early childhood programs.

Many years into the 21st century, the buzz words “21st century skills” are being thrown around in describing what needs to be taught in schools: real-world readiness. Things like collaboration, innovation, critical thinking, and communication are thought to be just as important as calculus because they’re practical skills that can be used in the world outside the confines of school. Entire schools are dedicated to teaching skills like learning how to create ICT based projects, whether it’s to boost brain power and multitasking skills. The idea is that the process of learning that skill can be put to use in the real world.

Fashion Trends among Students

Life in a modern community is far more controlled by fashion than many people realize; fashion is big business, invented by original designers and controlled and promoted by business magnates for profit. Moreover, it affects not only clothing, but almost every aspect of daily life from the kind of house we live in, to the kind of book we read.

Next place to the latest technology trend is fashion trend in schools. As they follow school uniform rules, at the same time students look around for new trends in clothing and other accessories. And what is this mysterious thing called ‘fashion’? The best definition is that it is the material expression of a new trend of thought — the outward expression of a new idea, and new ideas are the life blood of business, if they ‘catch on’ . Now business eyes are on the life style of teenagers! According to my opinion, this trend will affect the individual performance of the student and also it somewhat leads to the standard of his life.

Take a look around at the school campus, we can see, and can find the changes, however small that are occurring each and every day. There are so many trends that becomes the part of coming generation. These trends that I think will truly break out during 2014, but that doesn’t mean that the other things that are happening are going to stop.

The only thing that we can truly take for granted is that the rate of change is ever increasing.

My Blue Saree

Dr. Anshu Arora

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‘In search,

you live your journey.
It ceases to matter,

whether you find or lose.
For in losing and in ruins,
you find yourself and the treasure.’

A turquoise-blue saree adorns my wardrobe for the past 14 years. My entire family takes great pride in this six-yard fabric. Indeed there are reasons for it. It is eye-catching, detailed and very impressive. Crafted by my maternal aunt, it is probably a unique piece in our family treasure and truly matchless and priceless. The extensively embroidered rich long fabric is further embellished with beads, stones and stars. Stars also glitter in my eyes when I reminisce the making of it. Yes, I watched it all along… really, I did.

It may surprise you that it took three long years some three decades ago to decorate and create this awesome piece. Well, I date back to a generation where it was customary to spend summer, winter and all holidays in ‘nani-house’; So it was only inevitable that I watched a major part of the saree getting done as my maternal aunt graced the six-yard fine fabric with silken threads, sharp needles and oodles of patience. I can still recollect her beaming face when she first showed the cloth and flaunted the traced design which ran like a serpent from one corner to the other.

“This is too elaborate,” exclaimed my mom, a lady who always believed in simplicity and is a big saviour of time and energy.

”Bai ! I love it,” my multi-talented aunt wanted to take up the herculean task and as expected she did.

She had a neat hand, a burning desire and definitely some spare time around. So, equipped with all this, she set out like a brave warrior to accomplish the mission impossible possible!

All afternoons she remained engrossed and lost in it, her back curved and head bent low as she meticulously laboured to finish the intricate pattern. But despite her dexterousness, the pace was sluggish and very slow.

I wish to quote a verse from the Bhagawad Gita, where Krishna coaxes Arjun to perform his duties, ‘Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana.’ which means that one must perform one’s actions, but not await the fruits of our doings.

Probably ‘karmanye vadhikaraste,’ kept her going but there came ample moments yearning for ‘phaleshou.’. ‘Kada chana,’ I sensed was too bookish and hard to swallow. Over the years, I saw her desire fade, her excitement dwindle and her new-found joy lost its charm. The fabric was unfolded and folded each day, many months on and on. As it was spread out, the saree received a multitude of adjectives ranging from ‘Pretty!, amazing!, elaborate,’ to ’slow and boring.’ The elaborate design enthralled one and all, but novelty fades fast and people get anxious and impatient to see the outcome. The early compliments therefore slowly gave way to comments, and then criticism. The six-yard also began to trap moisture & dirt and lost its newness and sheen.

On one particular visit, I didn’t see the saree and on enquiring, my aunt fetched it from the cupboard and handed it to my mom.

“Bai, you keep it. I can’t even look at it.” The wait-and-watch had worn down the wish to witness victory but ultimately the multi-coloured pattern did emerge to its full bloom. It was akin to darkness taking over the clear sky for the stars to sparkle. It was bliss to be engulfed in its untouched beauty and pattern which was beautiful and perfect. But nights don’t last forever and stars can’t shimmer forever… Labour laments in loneliness and loses lustre. Do dreams begin to drain and darken if the dawn gets delayed? Did the delay turn the six-yard into a denial? Did it become something like the many jobs, assignments and responsibilities that completely drain us that we even lose the charm of celebrating and rejoicing the final achievement?…. Was it destined to turn into a masterpiece and then quiz me for as long as I lived?

My mom didn’t like the blue saree in particular but she quickly grasped the pain and emotion behind it. Needless to say, she genuinely valued the effort.

”What happened? You wear it, it will look good on you.” My mother tried convincing my aunt. But there was no love and fondness in my aunt’s eyes as if it was all consumed in the making of the saree. It was then I realised that though she had tirelessly laboured she was now completely exhausted. I understood that while there is no hurry, timely gain ought to be the aim.

‘No!’ she didn’t budge an inch. She had the craving to accomplish, the preparedness to perform and the strength to prove. Yet in this moment of parting with her years-of-labour, all I witnessed was detachment, indifference and a strange relief.

My mother never wore this six-yard and years later it was passed on to me. I am awestruck at the very glimpse of this splendid saree that I rave about but have never draped and can’t ever discard. It will live longer than me with a treasure trove of memories and many moments of our lives, the story of our family, scripted in thread and art, embedded in its yarn.

Did my lonely blue saree, fresh and untouched, become a metaphor for unquenched desires? Or is it a vista of life that depicts the epitome of desire where even longing loses its lustre and the ultimate moment of victory is sometimes so drenched in pressure that the long-awaited pleasure is lost… in pain… in vain?..

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