Picture courtesy by: The Shri Ram School, Aravali
The monthly newsletter from EI
Issue 66 | September 2010 | www.ei-india.com
This Month’s Issue Studies Vs Soccer.............. 01 Mathcovery....................... 02 School Corner.................... 03 Essay Contest Results........ 04 Essay Contest Results........ 05 Mindspark......................... 06 Teacher’s Bite ................... 07
AY ESS test
Event................................. 08
Con
Results announced on Page 4-5
Editor’s Note It was raining cats and dogs in Ahmedabad for the past three months and it seems that the Rain God has finally realised that it was more than enough. This issue announces the winners of E s s a y c o n t e s t . We g o t a n overwhelming response from 750+ enthusiastic students from across the country. Also featured are the two best entries from teachers sharing their views on ‘Why they wanted to be a teacher’. Our hearty congratulations to them! Lots of interesting school events are covered in this issue. Looking forward to hearing about activities of your school too. Do share your thoughts and comments on this issue. Happy Reading!
Bindu Pillai
Studies Vs Soccer In the past few decades, our schools have emphasized a broad educational mission: to develop the "whole student." School-based extracurricular activities provide highly structured creative environments, in which students can exert control and express their identity through choice of activity and actions within the setting. For the majority of students, involvement in extracurricular activities plays an important role in the school experience. Students become involved in extracurricular activities not only for entertainment, social, and enjoyment purposes, but most important, to gain and improve skills.
fantastic scores in their ASSET test but also brought home the trophy from an inter-school Soccer Tournament. We asked Mr. Mark Parkinson, the director of The Shri Ram School, the secret behind these phenomenal accomplishments of his students, and he said, "We believe that if a child is growing up with a strong sense of values, freedom to dream and set goals that truly motivate them for the future and a safe and secure environment within which to experiment and learn, then there is a good chance that success achieved in any aspect of their life will provide the base for broader success."
That’s not to say that academic achievement doesn’t matter – it does, but if we only look at standardized test scores, we’re only considering part of the equation for success as an adult in a global scenario. Academic achievement is part of the story, but it’s not the whole story. You’ve got to have the social skills and work habits to back those achievements up.
Raghav Khurana, another brilliant student, took more than half the year off when selected for national level football and still managed a 91.5 % in the ISC. Sarthak Malhotra received the Karamveer Chakra award, for his involvement in the rehabilitation of the Mogiya tribe of Ranthambore.
Extracurricular activities contribute to students' success at school. This has been brilliantly demonstrated by The Shri Ram School, Aravali. Their students have always performed outstandingly in both academics and co-curricular. For starters, the class 5 students, Aditya Pandey, Shreyas Ahuja and Sumer Vardhan not only got
There are more than hundred such similar success stories that Sri Ram School can share. These kids have gone way beyond just balancing out between work and play; they have broken all performance records. They have proved that it’s no more a question of studies verses soccer in the schools.
7000 students DO THE UNOBVIOUS!
Mathcovery the first of its own kind national level mathematics competition which inspires students to look for maths in the most unnoticed situations and places has received an overwhelming response with more than 7000 students participating in the first round. The Mathcovery creators; Nishant, Anuron, Rahul, Tarini, Chiranjiv and Anshul have been visiting the schools in Ahmedabad to spread the word about Mathcovery and encourage students to participate in the competition. Anuron says, “When we decided to visit the schools, I thought the principals would never take a bunch of kids seriously. But it was not so. We were not only able to get the schools to participate but were also deeply appreciated for volunteering in such activities at such an early age.�Students have submitted very imaginative and thoughtful entries in the senior as well as junior group. Many have discovered Mathematics in Music and Nature! And then there have been some really unobvious entries which will only be revealed during the final round in
which selected entries will be displayed as 2D/3D models. The final round will be in the form of the exhibition wherein the selected students from all parts of the country will come together under one roof and present their ideas. It is an opportunity for the students to share their findings with the Mathematics experts who will constitute the panel of judges.
For More Information Visit www.mathcovery.com
Why I Wanted To Be A Teacher
Teacher’s Day Special – School Corner
Actually I never thought of becoming a teacher. How and why I wanted to become a teacher is a long story. But let me put it in few words. After I shifted to Jamnagar with my husband (he joined Reliance at Jamnagar), I was not interested in any commercial job. Before joining my husband I had work experience of 10 years in an administrative job One day, I just walked in to Little Tots of Reliance Township. While exploring the school, I was asked to meet the head mistress. After a brief introduction she asked whether I would like to join them. Since I was not doing anything, at that particular time I agreed to try it. I was told to write a paragraph on “How you would convince a crying child?” I had no experience of motherhood, but I took it as a challenge and wrote from the experiences of observation. It clicked and the Head mistress was very happy and immediately asked me to join. The only mantra given by the Education Advisor at that time was “See your child in every other child” Still I was not sure that I wanted to become a teacher. I had command over three to four languages. This weapon helped me to communicate with tiny tots and made them mingle with me comfortably. The more I interacted with them the more confident I became. The personal rapport with children was the strongest point in me. Children poured their feelings and I explored more ways of teaching and learning with them. At this juncture, I realised, Oh! My god I belong to this place. I have a potential and an ability to put more efforts and become a teacher. That’s when I seriously started to mould myself in becoming a teacher. Slowly and gradually I started learning things and moved on with my strengths and weaknesses. I was very sure; yes this is what I wanted to do in my life (being a teacher). I never looked back and banking on my strengths
climbed the ladder of success. As of now, I am teaching 5th grade in the same school. Looking back, I feel proud that the last nine years have been wonderful years and am yearning to go ahead with the same enthusiasm and attitude of learning and teaching. Being a teacher first and mother later also helped me to nourish my child in a better way. Becoming a teacher was an accident in my life, but I would say it has given me immense pleasure and encouraged me to learn more and more. Teaching is ‘learning at every stage’. It also helps in exploring things (as I was always interested in learning new things). Finally, I would like to say, do the things which gives you happiness and make others happy as well. As my father used to say “Knowledge is the only thing which helps you get more when you give more”. I believed this, and have experienced the same during my journey of teaching little tots to the fifth grade teacher. The journey had its ups and down but I saw the brighter side and have enjoyed being a teacher and would continue to be a teacher.
Contributed By – Sheela Subramaniam, K D Ambani Vidyamandir, Jamnagar
Once A Teacher, Always A Teacher! Did I ever want to be a teacher? Well… yes during those young impressionable years, maybe seven or eight.. I often emanated my role model teachers. My younger siblings became my students and sometimes the whole neighbourhood children gathered to play “School School”, but the condition was always the same, that I would be the teacher! Unknowingly, unwittingly the wish to be a teacher while acting like one crawled into me. However, as the years went by, ambitions changed to highly adventurous ones like being a pilot to a commercial one - achieving success as a business woman. And then for a long time I settled upon an intellectual ambition of becoming an I.A.S Officer. But the seed of the first love -the profession of a teacher lay buried deep within. When I began to water that seed -and when it finally grew into a plant –spreading its roots - I don’t know! Forsaking my ambitious plans I joined B.Ed classes. According to my family, being an intelligent offspring, I was making the biggest mistake of my life!
But I was beyond caring! The intoxicating teacher’s blood began to seep in and flow into my veins. Maybe my inspirations were my role model teachers in school and college or perhaps it was just that love of the feeling of being a teacher…a person in comman, the queen of the territory named “Classroom”. Whatever it was now after twenty years of teaching in Birla High School, I know that this was the profession always meant for me. Perhaps following my head I would have scaled heights in some high flying career but would I have ever had the acknowledgement of so many successful doctors, engineers, businessmen and I.A.S Officers? I am glad, very glad that I followed my heart and chose to be what I am today! Somewhere there always was a teacher inside me and don’t they say, “ Once a teacher, always a teacher!”
Contributed By – Suman Sood, Birla High School for boys, Jr. Section, Kolkata
AY ESS test Con
Who is the greatest teacher of the world?
If someone asks me, I would respond with three simple letters – Mom. Indeed this was the most popular theme amongst the 300 students of the 750 who participated in the ‘Who is the greatest teacher of the world’ Essay competition by ASSET Scope. The competition was organised on the occasion of Teachers’ Day for the students across the country to encourage them to discern learning outside the classroom. “It was a joy to come across entries by young learners expressing ‘life’ and ‘experience’ as their greatest teachers”, says Bindu Pillai, Editor – ASSETScope. Nallari, a Class 9 student writes, “Every time we experience something new, we learn something new. When we look back at our experiences we realize that these experiences made us the persons we are today.” For Shrishti Pal, there is no greater teacher than the all powerful nature, “Nature’s caprice makes it fatherly sometimes and motherly at other times. It teaches us to be tender, patient and understanding as a mother and to be bold and strong as a father.” “There were some touching entries that took me back to my childhood where children talked about how much their grandparents had influenced their lives”, adds Bindu. And then there were some very unconventional teachers like the omnipresent computers or the 8 legged crawliesspiders! The winners are: *
1st Prize winner Swaha Sinha, Bai A. F. Petit Girls’ High School, Mumbai
3D T-Shirt
2nd Prize winner Reetica Pattanayak, Global Indian International School, Singapore
Magic Mug
3rd Prize winner Somya Kumari, St Xavier’s School, Hazaribag
Artistic Pen
1st Prize – The Best Teacher in the World By Swaha Sinha | Bai A. F. Petit Girls’ High School, Mumbai | Class 8 When I was five years old I had a horrible habit of biting my nails -something my parents were determined to make me quit. They tried everything possible – bribed me with chocolate, toys, ice-cream, and a whole lot more. My mother even bought me a Barbie doll, much against her wishes. When I turned six, I started developing an interest in animals and threw tantrums about getting a dog. Little did I know my parents were one step ahead of me. They promised to get me a dog provided I stopped biting my nails. Miraculously, my hand went out of my mouth for good. And as promised, I got a newborn Labrador retriever on my seventh birthday.
Being a child I thought that getting a dog meant nothing but fun. But getting a dog taught me things that I would never have imagined a pet could teach. Looking back today I realize what a good teacher it was, although unwittingly. Named ‘Dogmatix’, he grew up to be a mighty fine Labrador. And I was proud of him because I knew the pains that I had taken in training him. He had to be fed, bathed, walked, played with, trained, and would get grumpy if you missed any one of these activities. This tiny puppy taught me, at a very tender age, what it meant to be responsible. He taught me how to care,
love selflessly and give without expecting anything in return. And he taught me how to be a friend in good times and bad. He sat tirelessly by my bedside when I was down with chicken pox and was forbidden to meet my friends. As children, all we can think of is ourselves - what we want to eat or not eat, what toys we get or how comfortable our parents can make us. With Dogmatix’s entry into my life, suddenly it was my turn to do the worrying. I would come hurrying back from school to see if he had eaten well. I would be running to the phone to call the Vet if he didn’t feel like playing. Was he feeling sick or plain lazy? I would spend sleepless nights if he did not jump up at the sound of the door bell – a sound that normally drove him crazy. I was the parent, he was my child. He taught me how to share- my bed, my room and my favourite pieces of chocolate! What was mine was his. He taught me perseverance. I went through a million tries (or was it more?) to get him potty trained. He taught me patience – he did chew up my favourite pair of slippers and then begged for forgiveness with sad eyes! And he taught me how to love with his wet, sloppy licks on my face, hands and on all visible parts of
my body; a wagging tail against my legs; a warm, furry head on my feet during winter and so on. A bad report card? Lick, lick, lick on my face! A sneezing fit? Wag, Wag, wag, against my legs! A fight with friends in school? A mad, scurrying dance around my feet! ‘Love’ no matter what. And I learnt to love in return. Who would not? Unconventional though he was, he was the best teacher I could have had because, learning cannot be restricted to books. He taught me the basic skills of life: responsibility, patience, perseverance, sharing and love. Although Dogmatix didn’t teach me Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry or History, he was definitely the a most unusual teacher and may just qualify to be the BEST TEACHER in the world.
2nd Prize – My Greatest Teacher By Reetica Pattanayak | Global Indian Intermational School | Singapore, Class 8 A teacher in a student’s life is like a rising sun who spreads all the bright rays to a child with which a student goes on to a bright path of career. Interestingly, the teacher who had the most impact on my life was not one of my school teachers, but was my grandmother. My grandmother was a retired special education teacher of deaf and mute children, but for me she was always my best teacher. She taught me the kinds of things that school teachers never could teach in the classroom. Because my parents had to work and my grandmother was retired, I spent a lot of time with her. She was a mother, a grandparent and a teacher at the same time. She always prepared an interesting activity for the day. We visited museums, went to the zoo, took walks, visited the library, watched movies or just stayed at home and did something fun together. She always created a proper schedule with the weather and my age in mind. Because we baked sweet pastries together, I have a passion for baking to this day. I loved the way she could find the tone and the language with me, keeping in mind my capacity. She had a good sense of humor and always tried to cheer me up when she saw lack of interest or tiredness. The biggest lesson I learned from her was how to be a happy and independent child. She let my free spirit wander, making me curious and adventurous. She never lectured me or gave me boring speeches instead she always found ways to engage my interest through stories and examples from her life. We read stories every single day. It was very important for her. She wanted my imagination to grow and explore different ideas and topics in my head. When I could not read by myself, she was the one who introduced me to picture books, and when I went to the first grade she sat down with me and held my hand during my discovery of reading independently. My granny was the first person who put a pencil in my hand. First we drew and
coloured together, and then slowly I learned how to form my letters and to write my name down before I started my school education. As I mentioned before, my parents had to work, so my Granny picked me up from school every day. When we arrived home we always had snacks and then a little free time before we sat down to do my homework. If I had a difficult assignment, for example from chemistry or physics, we tried to associate it with baking as a science, or made an experiment to see how it could work in real life. She never disciplined me. How it worked between us was very natural. She was older and wiser, I was little and hungry for knowledge. I admired her knowledge, life experience and her enthusiasm; I asked question after question, begged for stories of her life and never let her sit down for a moment. She tried to keep up with me and never complained of being tired and I was never bored. I was the engine of her life and she was the educator in mine. When I was older and went to stay at overnight camps during the summer, she wrote me letters every single day. I learned how important it was to keep contact, communicate and express my feelings and ideas in writing. My grandmother made a huge impact on my life: I learned how much I should appreciate life every day. I learned how I can make changes if I have an open and curious heart. I want to become like her, because her kindness, energy and curiosity of life inspired me to teach others how to learn. continued to page 6...
3rd Prize – Who is the Greatest Teacher of the World? By Somya Kumari, St Xavier’s School, Hazaribag, Class 11 I faintly remember the year; perhaps I was in std 7 that year. Sitting in front of the television was me, having my dinner and accompanying me was my father. A very astonishing piece of news was being broadcasted which left both of us gasping. It was about ‘Ram Babu’. ‘Ram Babu’? No surely he was not a renowned or glorious personality, merely a bus driver in Delhi. A bomb was detected in his bus the by the very brave, the very human ‘Ram Babu’. As soon as he detected it, he himself threw it off, saving the lives of 23 people sitting in his bus. He had to pay for this courageous deed, he lost his eyes and one of his legs! ‘How stupid is this man! I reflected, what the hell, came into his mind and he sacrificed himself? Then, deep in my thoughts, I found the answer to this question. Hadn’t he done that he would have never become an ideal for me and others. What was done by him defines humanity and brotherhood concern for others. That very day I took him as a teacher, a teacher who taught me the lesson of humanity. Frankly
speaking, the immediate response after detecting the bomb, anybody other than him, even me would be to run away, after all ‘my life is more precious to me than anything’! ‘Ram Babu or rather I should say ‘Mr. Ram Babu’ has cast an everlasting imprint on my heart. It was he, who surely, unknowingly taught me the lesson of selflessness, the lesson of humanity. It is commonly said ‘people learn more when ideals or examples are set for them by their lives, rather than books. The same is the case here. From my childhood days, I have been hearing “life has no meaning, until and unless it is dedicated to others” These golden words of somebody surely have a very deep meaning, which no doubt, I grasped after knowing about this ever adorable personality. Further, in my life I‘ll always use his principles at the turning points of my life. Surely, somebody in the near future will imitate my ideal person and become like the person he was!
What Students say about Mindspark St. George's School, New Delhi
MindS ark
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TM
An Internet-based Computer-Adaptive Learning Program
“I have really seen a good improvement in Maths with the help of Mindspark. The concepts are much clearer now, Maths does seems very easy and interesting. I just want to say thank you to Mindspark for all this"
Sri Kumaran Children’s Home – CBSE, Bangalore “Mindspark rocks, is awesome fun and because of Mindspark I got full marks in my maths tests!"
Akshara Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai "I am Rishikesh, I do Mindspark for two days in a week and I like it very much. I didn’t like Maths before but from now I like Maths”
The Deen's Academy, Bangalore “I like Mndspark.The idea of having sparkies is really creative. That makes people enthusiastic when they do Mindspark. Mindspark is a good way of learning and having fun!"
Greenwood High School, Bangalore www.mindspark.in
"I am really liking " Mindspark" because it is really building up my Math Skills . Mindspark is just awesome and really really fun in my words”
For more information visit: www.blog.mindspark.in
Teacher’s Bite
Q:
Who has most influenced you to become an educator, and how did they influence you?
The greatest influence was my mother. She was also an educator herself but unfortunately could not continue formal teaching due to liabilities as a home maker. But her values, social service and dealing with children around, inculcated in me at a very young age the importance of individuality. She practised the philosophy of being a role model to inspire others. There were other major influences also-my nursery teacher, science teacher, B.Ed lecturers, each added a layer from their side.
Q:
What is your approach to classroom management and student discipline?
Classrooms nowadays are no longer the age old classrooms. As the teacher needs to connect with students of different aptitudes – the excellers, average doers and laggers, so also has he to be on his toes to be resourceful enough to create and
sustain students’ interests in day-to- day learning. The educational program must be academically challenging, engaging each student by linking the curriculum to previous knowledge and experience, and also be exciting enough to promote Ms. Priti Menaria, further exploration of new ideas. Headmistress, Hollotoli School, Dimapur
What are your views regarding the 'Importance of Teacher Training and Development' in educating Students?
Q:
For this, the teacher needs to be updated with the educational system and pattern. He needs to have a quest for learning. And the ASSET test helps the teacher as well as the learners. It encourages both to look reflectively at course content, to measure and evaluate strengths and weakness, decide on the next steps to be taken, and help to take on other similar tasks.
‘Prayaas’ - Science Exhibition
School Corner
Students vied with each other in displaying their talents, as the best exhibits would be awarded. There were judges for appraising the models at each level. To create an awareness about the role of Science and Technology as a major instrument for achieving goals of selfreliance and socio-economic development, the Computer Science Department had also encouraged children to come up with some interesting exhibits. On display were a variety of gadgets like i-pods, spy caps and Animations. e-learning for Grade 8 in Physics, Biology and Chemistry was made available by the students. Our young programmers from the middle school had designed a modular programme on Q Basic. But the highlight of the show from the Computer Science dept. was the school blog created by Supreeth and Anjun from Grade 10; it can be viewed at –www.wix.com/presidency/nlo Presidency School, NLO, Bangalore, organized its annual Science Exhibition, ‘Prayaas’, for the 7th year. The main theme of this year’s exhibition was “Science and Technology for Global Sustainability”. On this occasion more than 100 handson exhibits from Grade 4 to 10 were on display. The exhibition is held every year to popularise science amongst children and the public in general. As every year, this year also, the exhibition unleashed a wave of creativity and scientific temperament amongst children. It enabled them to examine and analyse their everyday experiences. It made them feel that science is all around them and they can gain knowledge, as well as solve many problems relating to the learning process of the social and physical environment around them. Hybrid Cars, Safety Sensors, Water level Indicators, Solar water heaters and experiments on infrared rays overwhelmed the parents and judges alike.
The Chairman, Mr. Nissar Ahmed and Mr. Thangadurai, the Director for the Presidency Group Schools, felicitated the teachers for the tremendous efforts that they had put in along with the children to make the show a grand success. The judges on the occasion were Mr. Badrinath, Ex-Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya and consultant for the Presidency Group Schools, Mrs. Deepali, Educational Advisor, EI and Mrs. Radha Lakshmi Narayanan, Consultant for Educational Initiatives. At the end of the day, when the eager and enthusiastic learners had tired themselves after explaining their models to the parents, the English Department’s ‘Tuck Shop’ was a breath of fresh air to every one. The Senior Assembly ground was soon abuzz with activity to enjoy all the delicacies that were put up in different stalls. The children had a wide variety of food items to purchase and relish themselves.
‘Green Day’ Celebration...
Event
Sri Gowthami Smart Group Schools, Rajahmundry celebrated ‘Green Day’ in their school on 10th July, 2010. As part of the celebration students made powerpoint presentations on effects of global warming and cause of global warming. They also took an oath to save the earth. They had a great time and learnt about how to take care of the planet and also participated in some great hands-on learning activities like puzzles, sudoku and drawings. Teachers maintained the green colour as their dress code for that day.
Humourous Bite Teacher: How do you spell cat? Pintu: K-a-t Teacher: The dictionary spells it c-a-t Pintu: But you asked how I spelled it!
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