The monthly newsletter
Issue 92 | April 2013 | www.ei-india.com
This Month’s Issue Visuals to Stimulate ....... 01 Nizamuddin Baoli ........... 02 Junoon Arts .................... 03 Students’ Responses ....... 04 Video Review ................. 06 Teacher’s Bite ................. 07 ASSET Poster ................... 08
Visuals to Stimulate Creativity We all know that the use of visuals is fundamental to teaching and learning, but how many of us use them in actual teaching? ‘Visuals’ not just in the pictorial sense but anything ‘that can be seen while language is spoken’ can be used at all levels, for listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. One can build a ‘picture bank’ of cut outs from magazines, catalogues, travel brochures, and newspapers (especially the Sunday Supplement). A thought-provoking picture can make students comment, argue, disagree and enter into a discussion as pictures have an openended, potential ambiguity about them that sets the imagination working. Teachers should choose visuals relating to students’ experiences. Here is a collection of ideas to use visuals in different ways. The Joy of Living: Each student chooses a picture representing the joy of living and discusses his choice with as many different partners as possible. Different pictures with different themes like, freedom, ideal holiday, the underprivileged, the roofless, etc. would be useful. Guess the Picture: A student or teacher describes the picture of an incident,
without showing it to the class. The class asks questions, then sketches the picture, asks further questions and completes the drawings. Finally, the class is shown the picture. The class can then be encouraged to rewrite a clear description for the same picture.
Linking Pictures to Form a Story: Small groups of students are given two or more pictures based on which they build up a story. Words to Form a Story: The class is divided into two groups and each is given a selection of pictures. Each student selects a picture and writes down seven words associated with the picture. All the lists are collected and distributed to students in the other group. Each student writes a paragraph using the seven words listed. The teacher displays the pictures on the wall. On completion, students look for the picture they believe they have described and put their paragraph under it. Students circulate and read each
other’s compositions. Giving Directions/Instructions: Writing directions using city maps and recipe writing can help students practise the use of imperative language. Floor Plan of an Ideal Classroom/ Bedroom: Students draw the plan of an ideal classroom or bedroom and then describe it. To make it more interesting, provide students with cut outs of objects from a magazine, Ad. or catalogue so they can put in the fittings and furniture where they want it. What is the Story? A comic strip with no speech bubbles is cut up into different frames and one frame is provided to each student. He decides the order of each picture in the comic by questioning others about the details in the pictures. Then students write the narratives for the comic strip individually. Many more such ideas involving the intellectual and emotional stimulation of learners may have occurred to you by now. Suggested Reading Visual Aids for the Classroom by Susan Holden, Modern English Publications Visual Materials for the Language Teacher by Andrew Wright, Longman Handbooks for Language
Teachers Adapted version of the article that first appeared in Teacher Plus, Issue No.2, September-October 1989.
The Historical Baoli - Nizamuddin Baoli stagnant and dirty pool. Despite the many Historical monuments scattered in Nizamuddin Basti, many of them protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), there is no mechanism to keep a check on unauthorized constructions. Officials from the Archaeological Survey of India said that in the past six months, over a dozen complaints have been filed about new constructions in prohibited areas of protected monuments. No action has been taken despite repeated complaints. There are at least a dozen buildings that have been encroached in recent months. Delhi, a melting pot of cultures is a city that traces its history back to the Mahabharata, a city that welcomes everyone as a mother would welcome her child. Within this chaotic whole, there remain scattered, many sacred spaces, one of them being the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the revered Sufi saint. Of the many stories that rivet us about Delhi, an interesting one would be related to the Baoli within the Dargah. It was built by the Sufi saint himself to help the people of the community, solve the recurring water problem in the area. A Baoli or a Bawdi is a step-well in which the water may be reached by descending a set of steps. The legend goes that while building the Baoli Nizamuddin Auliya ran into trouble with the ruler GhiyasuddinTughlaq who was building Tughlaqabad at the same time. The ruler found that he had no labourers to help build his Fortress, as they were all busy with the construction of the Baoli. This angered the ruler and he denied oil to the laborers to prevent them from working at night. Nizamuddin Auliya blessed the waters of the Baoli and its water substituted oil. In turn, the angered saint cursed Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq that his fortress would be uninhabitable and sure enough, it has remained abandoned ever since. These stories fascinate us all, however, looking at the real picture, what has happened to this famous Baoli since then? After all, it is within a sacred space. Is it also a space that is getting the same importance as the Dargah? Sadly, the Baoli once built to protect the community from water problem, has been suffocated by the community itself. Traditionally, Baolis were a perfect space for community gatherings. As hundreds of pilgrims would flock to pay their homage to the Dargah in Nizamuddin, the Baoli would give them the required water. However, as the city of Delhi grew, so did the houses that literally swallowed the Dargah and its baoli. Interestingly, being a sacred space, the Dargah remains clean, while the Baoli on the other hand, is nothing but a
The encroachments have increased over a period of time and many houses in the Nizamuddin Basti even share a wall with the Baoli. This is indeed alarming. How does one tackle these kinds of situations? The Aga Khan Foundation has played a pivotal role and has been working with the people of the Basti giving them the tools to protect, preserve and conserve. It is not an easy task, as we have to find ways to protect Historical
structures in and around Nizamuddin. But what we need to deal with first is mobilizing people to take care of these structures. Many of these structures were built for public usage. Today, they stand in complete decay. The idea is to involve the community in this so that they take up the responsibility of preserving, protecting and conserving. Regular workshops, seminars and walks need to be conducted to get the community active. If we intend to get rid of the encroachments around the Baoli, then we need to have an alternate place to rehabilitate the people. It will take time, because we are also dealing with people who have for generations, lived in and around the Baoli. Consequently, the protection of something so sacred can only be successful with the people of the Basti taking responsibility for the same. One must involve the youth. Under the careful supervision of Aga Khan Foundation, the youth from the Basti conduct heritage walks and perform plays around Nizamuddin to generate interest and create awareness about the monuments there. The youth should also be involved in cleaning up of the Baoli so that it could be used once again. Regular cleaning and involvement of the people could bring the baoli back to life. With this I would like to conclude with a request that all of us must endeavor to save these monuments to save our past, our present and also, our future. ‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.’
By Trishita Barua, Class 7A, Bluebells School International, New Delhi
Impacting the lives of Young people We wish to complement school education by bringing the rich value of the arts into the school calendar. We believe the Arts enable us to recognise, engage with and nurture our human possibility – so we can put the education we receive to good use. The Junoon Arts at Play-Schools programme offers a rich enagagment through: Shows Delightful plays created especially with primary and middle-school age groups in mind, to share the magical experience of theatre with children. These shows will be in a theatre – either a public theatre, or one housed in a school Arts Encounters These performance interactions expose middle-school children to the richness of our diverse performance forms, through a delightful engagement with a specific performance arts and artists. This will happen in your school premises Workshops for Teachers Through a theatre process, teachers will have the opportunity to reflect on their engagement with their students, gain a deeper understanding of contexts and subtexts of communication, and nurture the empathy so critical to their interaction with students. Workshops for Parents Through a theatre process, parents will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of contexts and subtexts of interaction, and nurture the empathy so critical to their engagement with their children. They will also understand the value of the arts, and support the school in its endeavour to make the arts a regular part of their students lives. Artist Interactions Middle-school children will get to engage with people from different creative fields in the arts and sciences. Interactions will be over skype, enabling us to connect your students with creative people from across India and the world.
CONTACT US We’d love to have you as a Junoon Member School. Please contact: Smita Desai | smita@junoontheatre.org | +91 98333 44173 We look forward to hearing from you www.junoontheatre.org
“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Students’ Responses ‘If you could change one decision that you made in the past, what would that be?’ No, they can't go back in time, but here's the next best thing. They can think of a decision that they regret and tell us what the mistake taught them about themselves in not more than 200 words. We bring you the best five entries:
DECISION In our day to day life we make many decisions. Decisions at times can go right and at times go wrong. I am no exception to this fact. Right decisions give us success and a sense of happiness; on the contrary wrong decisions make us sad. We must always evaluate the pros and cons of a particular situation and then take a decision. Even I made a bad decision when I was studying in Class 6. I had an opportunity to represent my school at the state level for a quiz competition. My teachers believed in me as I had won the inter house competition but I felt that the state level competition was a much bigger and tougher competition. I lacked confidence and did not participate, so the student who got the 2nd prize was sent for the competition. I, along with my friend, who
Many people say that life is full of mistakes and there are others who say when you make mistakes it changes your life in both a positive and a negative way, in this way there are many different opinions about making mistakes in life. We were taught from a very young age that making mistakes is a part of growing up, but only if you rectify it otherwise, it could end up in perhaps your doom. I'm just like any other human being and do have my very own share of mistakes in life. But there are some of them, which when mended made a very drastic change in me. If there is a change in me, I owe a lot to that person who pointed out my mistake and provided support in reforming myself. In the beginning of Class 9, I was totally into friendship and nothing else. Now that is not the mistake, the problem was with my friends or the way they influenced me which was not particularly praiseworthy, or in plain words we were a bad gang.
was selected, prepared her well and I wished her good luck for the competition. She was selected for the national level because of her performance at the state level. I felt very happy for her but at the same time I felt that even if I had participated; our school representation could have been more. I did not make use of the opportunity which came my way. Even today I feel a sense of sadness because I let down my teachers, friends, family and my school. If ever given a chance again, I would like to change this decision of the past. But now I have made a decision to carefully evaluate a particular situation and take the decisions accordingly. By Simran Hulsur, Class 7, Sanghamitra School, Hyderabad
Everybody knew that - our parents, teachers, classmates even we ourselves knew it. I don’t know how it might look to others but here in our locality, it looked pretty awkward, nobody encouraged so much of ganging up among girls. And I should admit that we were off- limit, we had no interest in studies, but we were scoring good marks, so we thought this is life, this is how we can be cool. We were totally wrong of course. We fell too off track, people started hating us and we behaved very badly until my teachers and parents pointed out the mistake and we looked at ourselves and realised how pathetic our condition was. We changed ourselves and of course the gang broke and we are just good friends who share a very healthy relationship among ourselves and we are on the right track now. Everything has changed since then, but looking back at those times I feel very bad, but we have changed for the better now. Thanks to our teachers and parents. By Anjana Kesav, Nirmala Matha Central School, Thrissur
Kajal I was 12 on the day I took that decision without listening to my father because of the encouragement given my mother and went ahead. That day it was really fascinating as I started feeling that I would look more beautiful than in the past. Perhaps, it is not just me but most of the female gender love to look beautiful. That decision was none other than applying “KAJAL” to my eyes which I realized later, harms the eyes. At the beginning, my eyes were really looking nice. Days went on; I kept going everywhere with Kajal in my eyes. My father had kept on advising about the bad effects of this with lots of evidence, but I simply ignored that. The reason behind the ignorance was due to the support I was getting from most of my family members such as grandma, mother and sisters etc. Once it so happened that I had come across our family doctor and threw the question about the application of Kajal to the eyes. Surprisingly, the doctor’s
My friends and I were extremely close. We would exchange secrets, laugh together, and understand each other. One day, we weren’t friends anymore. I don’t think we knew what happened, but suddenly, we weren’t talking. It was quite surprising, and unexpected. Days became weeks, and we avoided each other. Long phone conversations dwindled to cold greetings, and laughter was replaced by uncomfortable bouts of silence. Looking back, I wish I had anticipated it, and had judged the situation better. I wish I hadn’t expected so much from the relationship. But I also wish I had reconciled with this earlier, talked everything out and
A Mistake I Truly Regret Everyone makes mistakes. Once, when I was in Class 4, our Maths teacher asked us to do a few sums on the multiplication of double-digit numbers. I had newly shifted to this school, and thought that I could show off my skill in solving word problems. By the time our teacher had reached the discussion of the eighth question with the class, I had reached the next sub-topic, and by reading the textbook, I attempted all the questions on my own. Blinded with overconfidence, I reached out for my textbook, the tenth time, and completed the lesson way ahead of my class. After about two days, after the class had caught up, the teacher announced a surprise test on a topic I prided myself on- word problems! I was filled with joy, for this topic was one of my strengths in Maths which I thought the others did not possess. So, enjoying my time, I finished my paper five minutes early and shoved it at the teacher’s desk. I went back to my place, beaming and grinning at the others scratching their heads.
advice was similar to my father’s words. Even the doctor’s advice of the possibility of eye burning or black spots would went in vain until I realized it myself personally. A few weeks later, I started experiencing the symptoms indicated by my father. In about a week’s duration, the symptoms grew high and I developed black spots and my eyes started burning like anything. I soon rushed to the wash room and washed my eyes thoroughly so that Kajal was removed completely. I felt relieved of the burning soon after washing. I said to myself that my father was so right that I did not listen to him. Since then, stopped looking at Kajal. You won’t believe that I started advising the own experiences to the Kajal lovers. By Siri Saraswathi, Class 7, Sishya School, Hosur
fixed things. Today, we aren’t enemies, but we certainly aren’t the same. We don’t share secrets, or talk on the phone, yet, we aren’t as hostile. We do laugh occasionally. Sometimes, I wish things were how they were, but I learnt a lot out of this experience. I learnt not to take relationships for granted, and, if you really want something, it’s okay to make the first move. Also, if things don’t work out, it is best not to judge people but to move on. A decision I’d like to change? I wish we hadn’t decided to let the friendship evaporate. By Taruni Sunder, Class 9, GEAR Innovative Intl. School, Bangalore
In about a day, the results came. I had got only six marks out of ten! Then I realized that even though I was flying faster than anyone else in the class, I had not cared to see the sum-up conducted by the teacher, when I was busy storming over sums. I found out that I had forgotten all about the carry-over, and this grave mistake resulted in wrong answers. ‘You have got what I wanted. You must listen to me, and then, by all means, attempt the problems. Now you have suffered this loss by yourself!’ I got this scolding from the teacher, and got a severe shock; I had never been scolded before. Till today, I am a bit slower in the multiplication than the rest in our class, just because of the mistake I committed. If I had not been so dim-witted back then, probably my Mathematics skills would have been better. By Ashwin T Shekhar, Class 7B, The PSBB Millennium School, Coimbatore
Video Review
Presented by Prof Jerry Diamond
Guns, Germs and Steel – a PBS Series As students of history, many times we wonder why it was Europeans, who established colonies, not the Sub-Saharan Africans or the Native American Indian tribes. Europeans and Asians (together called Eurasians) have not only established colonies, but also progressed far and wide in every sphere of development. So, what were the secrets that made Eurasia, a front runner of progress, conquer and rule. Peeling back the layers of history, Guns, Germs and Steel, a television series of 3 episodes, based on the book of the same name, authored by Jerry Diamond, exposes the great forces that have shaped human history over the last 10,000 years. Inspired by a question put to him on the island of Papua New Guinea about 40 years ago, Diamond embarks on a worldwide quest to understand the roots of global inequality. The question was asked by a local, named Yali, “why is that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” From then on Diamond started puzzling himself with questions on why the Europeans were the ones with all the cargo? Why had they taken over so much of the world instead of the people of New Guinea? From the very beginning, Diamond knew that the answer had little to do with ingenuity or individual skill. From his own experience in the jungles of New Guinea, he had observed that native hunter-gatherers were just as intelligent as people of European descents and far more resourceful. It seems a terrible paradox of history that these extra ordinary people should be conquered, and not the conquerors. To examine the reasons, Diamond realized that he had to peel back the layers of history till he reaches to a time, when all the people of the world lived exactly in the same way, the Stone Age life. Around eleven and half thousand years ago, the world’s climate suddenly changed. As the Ice Age came to an end, there was a beginning of warmer climate and it was more pronounced in the region of Fertile Crescent in West Asia. Here the hunter-gathers had thrived on some of the most useful and plentiful flora and fauna in the world. They had even developed semi-permanent settlements. But there was more to their story...they were becoming farmers. Through the act of cultivation they were changing the DNA of wild cereal grass. The plants became domesticated and wholly depended on human control for survival. But agriculture at that time was not confined to the Fertile Crescent. Even in New Guinea people were cultivating. But why did the farmers of Fertile Crescent succeed and the other regions including Sub-tropical Africa and the high lands of Papua New Guinea were left behind? The answer lies upon the nature of plants and animals exploited. Today most of the world’s inhabitants consume wheat, barley and rice as the staple food. To Diamond’s astonishment, most of these species are native to Europe and Asia. Likewise, a considerable number of domesticated animal species, such as sheep, goat, horse, camel, and cow were once the natives of Eurasia.
So, the successful exploitation of these species and domesticating them wild, formed an advantage for the early farmers of Eurasia to succeed. In episode 2, Diamond takes us to the era of the Spanish inquisition at the heart of the Inca Empire, in Peru. Diamond explains how the Native Americans fell to guns, germs and steel. The Incas had built an advanced politically sophisticated civilisation on the foundation of successful agriculture. They had ruthlessly conquered through their neighbours in South America, but lacked some crucial agents of conquest, such as llamas vs. horses. The horse was fundamental to the farming success of European societies, providing not only food and fertilizer but also crucially, load bearing power and transport. In contrast to the horse, llama, native to South America can’t pull a plough nor even transport human being. Diamond realized that to a people like the Inca, who had never seen human ride animals before, the psychological impact of these alien mounted troops must have been huge. The other advantage for the Spanish was the use of steel weapons, which the Americans did not have. The close living with animals had also a negative consequence for the Europeans, the killing diseases. As Europeans spread in America, through them diseases also spread eventually wiping out the native people in the America. In the episode 3, the focus is on Africa, a continent so rich in resources, but the European exploitations have ended up the continent as the poorest on earth. The series mostly available in You Tube is a must for senior school students as it offers an entirely different perspective on world history. Video Reviewed by Jitu Mishra, Educational Specialist
Teacher’s Bite Ms. Nalini Sengupta, Principal, Vidya Valley School, Pune Who has most influenced you to become an educator, and how did they influence you? As teacher and a Principal of many years, I have let myself ’forget’ the influences which led me to become a teacher. ‘Not for me to be a teacher’, I had said. Had I not heard whispers of, ‘Those who can, Do; those who can’t, teach’? All this changed once I saw my mother, who, in spite of many odds, making a difference in the lives of children in rural India. She was a medical Doctor by profession and a ‘camp follower’ by choice! You see, my father an Army officer served in many places like Dera-Baba-Nanak, Bandipur and (notably for me) in Kunraghat (Gorakhpur). Here my mother started a school for the farmer’s children under a tin-shed. Raising a family of four children, no facilities and a shoe-string budget only honed her creativity and strengthened her resolve to give these rural children an education. To give substance to her effort, she also made us study in this ‘tin-shed’ school! Today her School in Gorakhpur is a degree college and from the Kanya Pathshala, in Bansgaon, 300 girls graduate every year. They still work in the fields during their leisure time. This has taught me to dream, be courageous and to have faith in myself. Till the age of 84, she travelled once a year to this ‘place of pilgrimage’ (as she called it). Was this not dedication, commitment and grit? Many lessons have I learnt from this unassuming lady with an iron will! Left to her RTE would have been a reality long before now! Need I look any further for a role model? What is your approach to classroom management and student discipline? It is said, ‘Discipline is a symbol of caring for a child’. As teachers we find the common and different ways of children and reach out to them with patience, fairness and sincerity; focus on their strengths and not their problems alone.
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Keys to Passionate Teaching
Children must not be afraid to make mistakes. A ‘crime’ does not seem as heinous when I put myself in their shoes. I am no longer looking at it from my adult-perch! To me punishment is abhorrent. Every problem is solved by sitting down and reasoning. No matter what the age! Children are never a threat if they are fruitfully occupied. If they believe that what we teach them is relevant and practical. Make them a partner in your planning and they become your best ally. All our school events bear witness to their maturity and sense of responsibility. Above all appreciate and acknowledge their contribution to a happy school environment – every time and all the time. And then, there is nothing like a smile, a pinch of compassion and asoupçon of humor to tide over an angry moment! What are your views regarding the ‘Importance of Teacher Training and Development’ in educating Students? The objective of every teacher is a commitment of professionalism to the children; a promise to their parents to provide an environment of caring and good teaching; And like the Hippocratic oath, to be true to ourselves; to update our methods, to be innovative; to be proud of our teaching. An exhilarating and frightening prospect is that we mould the world by moulding the children whom we teach. Gone are the days of blind reverence. If we need the attention and respect of children today we need to rise to the occasion by keeping up with the times. And here, training helps. But to remember that I teach human beings not a subject, to be zealous, eager and thoughtful goes way beyond T&D.
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What is your view regarding the ASSET Test?
The tests are a great help to teachers: • They allow teachers to get on with the business of teaching • Your pool of experts is able to prepare more thinking and analytical, rather than direct questions • Time spent in corrections is now spent in teaching • Immediate feedback is always more efficient • Remediation is of utmost value
Equality Doesn’t Mean Justice
by Joe A. Martin, Jr. Ed.D. Here's some food for thought. Always having a desire to challenge those around me to be passion filled, a friend of mine (hey Fred) helped me to compile these keys for passionate teaching: • • • • • • • •
Purpose (find it) Prayer (do it) Planning (utilize it) Power (share it) Price (pay it) Positive (be it) Prosperity (accept it) Pride (have it)
• • • • • • •
Possibilities (explore them) Persistence (endure it) Patience (practice it) Praise (give it) Peace (live it) Principle (honor it) Potential (maximize it)
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Most people die with the music still in them." Don't be one of them. Teach with purpose, passion and power!
EQUALITY
JUSTICE
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