Mentor September 2017; Volume 11 Issue 04 by Mentor Magazine

INVITATION to WRITE

Share your thoughts! Creating a Safe School Environment Effectiveness of School Counsellors Disabled Friendly School Premises We thank our contributors for their informative write-ups on: Bilingual Education: Ms. L Mahesh Priya Reading brain in the digital age: Ms. Pratima Satyender Contextualising Learning: Dr. Ravinder Singh Panwal

Share your thoughts and opinions on any of the topics above, and we’ll publish it in Mentor! You can also send your article on “Safe School” under any of the following categories: School Pedagogy, School Governance, School Innovation, or School Leadership.

Word limit: 1,300 words | email: info@lxl.in | Submission deadline: 18 September | Email subject:“Mentor Magazine” * Subject to editorial discretion

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CONTENTS September 2017 | Volume 11 | Issue 04 | ₹ 40

MENTOR THOUGHTS 5 Sultan Speaks Why fuel the rat race?

31 Colorful Childhood: Color and Kid’s perception The role colors play in a child’s life

34 Power to CHANGE Mindsets

Inside the mind of a leader A leadership story of faith and courage

Change is tough but important

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP SCHOOL PEDAGOGY 6 Contemplative pedagogy A need for contemplative practises in schools

22 Breaking down the wall of differences Handling socio- cultural problems in schools

9 Doodles to Zentangle®

25 Passion Quotient - How it matters more than your IQ

Doodle to improve your attention span

The youth should be driven by passion not money

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

SCHOOL INNOVATION

12 Education - An Awakening

What the government does and how it affects the youth of tomorrow

Adolescence in the 21st century The role of schools in teaching the adolescence through Emotional Intelligence

A Venture of Publisher & Owner: Syed Sultan Ahmed Editor-in-Chief: Kalpa Kartik Content Developer: Ashitha Jayaprakash Designed by: Uday S Production: Praveen U.M., Sathish C., Guna V. Printed by: Manoj Printed at: Elegant Printing Works, #74, South End Road, Basavangudi, Bengaluru - 560 004.

NOTICE: Authors/contributors are responsible for the authenticity of information they provide in the article. The publishers do not accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication. By submitting letters/emails or other publication materials to Mentor Magazine the author/contributor agree that it is the property of Mentor Magazine. All communication to Mentor Magazine must be made in writing. No other sort of communication will be accepted. All decisions regarding publishing of an article is the prerogative of the publisher and editorial team of Mentor Magazine. Mentor Magazine is owned and published by EduMedia Publications Pvt. Ltd. for and on behalf of Mr. Syed Sultan Ahmed. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts and forums in Bengaluru City.

On this Teacher's day we invited students to share a few words on the following thoughts.

Life lessons from teachers A world without teachers Values gained from a teacher A moment of utmost joy with a teacher

What value do you think teachers contribute to the life of a student? / What are some important values you have learned from teachers? The value that I learnt from a teacher is that I can't have everything to myself and I have to share some things and learn to trust that they won't break or damage the things I give them. S h r awa n Jo s h i , C h i n m aya I n t e r n a t i o n a l Residential School

Tell us about the moment you realised you had learnt a lesson from a teacher. Life lessons are not judged on how great the deal was, but rather how you adapted into your daily life. No matter what the magnitude of the change, the upkeep of it makes all the difference. It was four-years back that I was taught English literature by Beena ma'am. Never had I known the impact made by the affection of a teacher on a student, until then. She introduced me to the magniﬁcent world of reading. She taught us like it was her civic duty ﬁlling our class with her compassionate voice. Truly interesting classes were unheard of until Beena ma'am taught us. Reading, as minimal as it seems, proved to be a major part in my life. Since then, I have read religiously discovering a parallel galaxy of words. Ken George, Choice School

Tell us about a moment where you laughed the most with a teacher. It was a perfectly normal day of class tenth, with the physics period going on. I was quite fortunate to have a great physics teacher, who was not only wise and experienced, but also loved all the students immensely. For the funny streak he seemed he seemed to carry around on his sleeves, the school called him Doraemon, a title he embraced with too much glee. On that day, a student casually asked him, as he was whimsical one, replied saying “, I like Doracakes.” The whole class burst into a thunderous laugh, with giggles and grins everywhere. That little memory, for me stands out so vividly as I look back to my years as a student. It has been a pleasure and honour to have been taught by such a wonderful and hearty teacher, who ﬁll the brimming bucket of your life with colours of joy. Paridhi Puri, Ahlcon International School Delhi

What do you think of a world without teachers? One of the most important contribution to my life has been by my teachers. They have given me the opportunity to grow, excel and accomplish. They have always been supportive and put in more effort than any other person. Without them, I wouldn't have realised what I was good at and what I could get better at. I clearly remember the day when I came back after a MUN without performing well. I was unable to speak conﬁdently and had decided that I would never attend another conference ever. My history teacher, Ms Kanchen, encouraged me to go for another one and this time, I spoke much more conﬁdently. Ever since then, MUNs have become something I thoroughly enjoy. It's the push that matters. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today. I wouldn't be able to unearth my talents. Looking back, I realise how much they have put into moulding every child. I will always be grateful to them! Dhwani Shah, Vidyaniketan School 4

SULTAN SPEAKS

sultan@lxl.in

Why fuel the rat race?

system and policies of schools are focusing only on academic grades. Even the work places value academic grades more, though skills required to be a contributing citizen have nothing to do with academic grades. Yet, school managements have not woken up to this fact. Indian parents too eagerly make sure not to leave any stone unturned when it comes to academic success of their wards. More than parents, principals and school managements should be blamed as they are the ones more fascinated by 'good board results'.

t's August, yet the noise isn't settling down. From the past two months, the only news I'm hearing is about the stupendous results that schools have got in their board results. Interesting is the fact that almost every school managed exemplary results, had humungous list of toppers with most of their students qualiďŹ ed with distinctions and in some cases, all of their students received above 90 percent marks. The media didn't miss a single chance of highlighting how kids in their cities performed. Schools spent fortune in advertising the success stories of their students and the social media was abuzz with photos and percentages and celebrations. For someone like me, who has been trying to evangelise the fact that 'Academic Grades do not represent a school's success entirely', found it extremely difďŹ cult to digest the scale at which schools are celebrating.

I believe, board results, curriculums are designed keeping in mind the fact that there are sharp fast learners and then there are very slow and different learners, the curriculum is designed to cater to the average among the children's population. So, if a child score 100 percent in the board exams, according to me s/he is as good as the 'average' among the population. In all this noise we are forget that there are so called 'failures' who are branded for life and most of the kids grow up fearing becoming those 'failures'. Everyone from the principals to the teachers are so engrossed talking about the toppers that the kids with lesser marks feel insigniďŹ cant. If schools could spend a fraction of the energy that they spend on trying to get marks, on exposing children to the possibilities of careers and a bright future, and helping them build their overall personalities, they would have far more successful children who would build a much better world.

The display of academic performances of schools in the past used to be simple. The principal would make the mandatory assembly speech and congratulate the students and teachers, some of them sent out circulars to parents and most schools added a new name to the 'School Toppers Board' or 'Scroll of Honour'. Over the years, things have changed, the focus from students' learning has shifted to their academic grades. In talks and conversations most educators tell us that their schools focus on overall development of students, but the ground reality is far from what they say. In the primary and middle school classes, there is a lot of focus on overall development, but the scene is very different in the high school especially in standard 10 and 12. Today, every

Syed Sultan Ahmed, Managing Director, LXL Ideas 5

PEDAGOGY

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Contemplative Pedagogy Fathima Khader

athima Khader is a teacher trainer and a certied parent coach, who now works with families to create a happy fullling environment at home and classroom. She is a parent consultant who holds an International Parent Coach Training Mastery certication from Academy for Coaching Parents International (ACPI), California, USA. She currently heads EvolveED, a Bangalore based training organisation, that primarily works in the space of childcare, focusing on healing, restoring and transforming human relationships, mindfulnessbased compassion and acceptance programmes that are used to build inner strength, enhance self-awareness and promote emotional regulation.

“When teachers and students take a breath, classrooms thrive"

In this piece, we are going to discover what makes 'Mindfulness' so popular? Can it be practised in a school set up? What is Mindful awareness practise all about? Why is it important to bring these practises into our classrooms?

Mindfulness is gaining huge popularity, even being embraced by organisations such as Google, Intel, and Goldman Sachs. Happiest Minds, a Bangalore based IT company, has adopted Mindfulness as their primal work culture. Schools in the West swear by these practises and have started to replace consequences/ detentions with 'Mindfulness'. Results, they claim are stunning.

Mindfulness as a Pedagogy Mindfulness in classrooms, also called “ C o n t e m p l a t ive Pe d a g o g y ” , fo c u s e s o n experiential learning designed to cultivate d e e p e n e d aw a r e n e s s , h e i g h t e n e d fo c u s , concentration and reﬂection. Cultivating Mindful awareness practises in classrooms simply uses the natural human capacity for knowing through silence, tuning-in, witnessing ideas and/or experiences without judgments. Idea is to instill the much needed 'life - skills' of noticing, witnessing or observing your own inner climate without resistance and push. When introduced early in education, studies show that it fosters the development of the whole person, increasing capacities such as critical reasoning, creativity, empathy, compassion, interpersonal skills and self-awareness. A pedagogy that includes head and heart, mind and body using the lens of reﬂection.

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Why Mindfulness in classrooms?

that is a concern!

For teachers: When the adult in the room, is transformed the classroom climate changes too. According to Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence and EQ expert, “Teachers are the crucial role models for kids in this domain [EQ]. Teachers teach mindfulness by their way of handling the situation where two kids are having a ﬁght or when they notice that one kid is being left out and make sure that he's included or by how they tune into the social dynamics between kids which loom so large in kids' lives.” “Being there, notice, make sure, tune into” - these words indicate a state of mind which operates from pure presence.

Educational institutions often leap forward, wanting to help children relax, work on their social emotional skills, forgetting to notice how anxious and in need of self-care their teachers are. Moreover, teaching needs ﬁner qualities including sensitivity, listening, engagement, attention, empathy and motivation. With so much to invest, it is a social obligation to support the teaching community with skills that foster self-compassion, self-care and self-growth. Simple logic - Happy teacher - Happy classroom Happy children. Mindfulness - for those of you who are still not sure - is the practise of using attention to bring mind to the present moment. It is using conscious awareness and focused attention with intention to observe feelings and current experiences.

In reality, classrooms can be a very stressful and taxing. Teachers are required to meet too many professional demands. S/he needs to keep track of what different activities children are doing different activities, meet their emotional needs, work with energy and enthusiasm, deliver lessons within the allotted time, handle conﬂicts, handle difﬁcult parents, motivate, inspire, ensure no child is left behind, be a counsellor, a parent, a guide and much more, a great recipe for tension and stress! A teacher can't even choose to walk out of the classroom, especially during chaotic, noisy, story moments, as a way to take a break - raising the levels of pressure on them that eventually leads to emotional exhaustion, apathy, physical fatigue and burnouts. Our teachers are stressed out and

Why introduce Mindful awareness practises to students? Front-page news, viral YouTube videos, Netﬂix, Online games/challenges (like Blue Whale challende) show what the new-gen kids are going through. Kids today are consistently on crises mode - always reacting and not responding with awareness. Not because they don't know but because they are not trained to pause, slow down, reﬂect and pay attention. Feelings of isolation, 7

PEDAGOGY

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social anxieties, study pressures, parent expectations, lack of real-face time conversations are just pushing kids deeper into this crises mode. Moreover, we find more teens diagnosed with sleep deprivation, anxiety, and eating disorders and somatic distress. What they need today is the development of emotional regulation skills that interweaves body ( Biology), mind ( reflection and attention), social (relationship with others) and compassion (relationship with self) using presence as a tool. Based on training the mind, the presence oriented practises gradually modifies habitual, mental and behavioural patterns which otherwise create and sustains ne gative mental states, such as rumination, over thinking, stress, anxiety and depression. A practise that shifts to greater mental stability, calm, acceptance, appreciation of 'what is' rather than 'what isn't'.

How do we become more mindful? The simplest and easiest way towards becoming more mindful is attention training. Attention is the brain's boss, wherever attention goes the rest of the brain follows. However, ironically today we are an attention illiterate society living in an attention deﬁcit economy. Thanks to computers, smart phones, television, and other technologies, our senses are overly engaged.

“ Idea is to instill the much needed 'life skills' of noticing, witnessing or observing your own inner climate without resistance and push

Paying attention unskillfully can use up a lot energy. The more our bodies strain to pay attention, the more our mind spaces-out. Training our attention 'skillfully' is foundational, imperative and the need of the hour. Mindful awareness practises have been around in some form or another for thousands of years. Recently though, science has started looking at its impact on our minds and bodies, and has found some interesting results. Principle of Mindfulness is very simple - more space we create within, the greater clarity we posses. The kinder and more compassionate we are with ourselves, the more we develop the courage to tolerate difﬁcult things.

fathima.khader@evolveed.in

SEPTEMBER 2017

Doodles to Zentangle® Dilip Patel

ilip Patel is a Certied Zentangle Teacher, a counsellor, and an accomplished learning facilitator. He creates innovative learning processes, and designs and conducts workshops in the elds of personal change. He has inuenced, through his training programmes, over 20,000 men and women within and outside India that includes IAS, IPS and IRTS ofcers, senior executives from the corporate world, senior functionaries of Municipal Corporations and a large number of teachers and college professors. He has also trained the trainers in India and in Mexico.

I do recall our teacher getting angry if s/he caught us scribbling randomly on the last page of the note book while she was busy narrating in mono tones some episodes of history, or any other boring subjects. Later I realised that almost everyone had gone through a similar phase staining the last couple of pages of their notebooks blue. I believe, even today the students get scolded by their teachers as the practise of doodling continues. I am also sure that even the teachers would recall passing through this phase when they were students. The secret is, one does not stop doodling! Just check loose sheets, empty postal envelopes, or any other scrap pieces of paper lying on your desk. You will ﬁnd that you have scribbled some meaningless patterns on them. Perhaps when you were busy talking to someone on the phone, your hand picked up a pen or pencil and you started doodling unconsciously.

I went to school in the late '50s and early '60s. Back then we had few distractions and fewer aspirations. The curricula were simple, and so were the teaching methods. Perhaps our attention span was very good, and there were not much psychological pressures to perform, and 'beat' some imaginary competitions. We sailed through. However, now, from the eyes of 'grandparents' generation, when I look at the grand children of today going to schools with loads of weight in their back packs, as well as on their minds, I feel sorry for them. I also feel that the teachers today have a very challenging task since there are strict norms for handling children on one hand, and on the other, today's children's attention span is ever on the decline as the modern technological advances are creating an information overload all the time. But then, when constraints appear, creative solutions emerge. Psychological tools are increasingly being employed today as brain research has started providing more insight into the functioning of the brain. Many myths are being busted. One such myth all the educators must have been holding is about 'Doodling'!

While showing their displeasure, teachers rightly thought that the doodler was not paying attention to their teaching. While there could be some element of truth in it, scientiﬁc studies have shown that the process of doodling actually creates focus, concentration (on whatever the mind was engaged 9

PEDAGOGY

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understand it. And that happens because the attention span of the kids is shrinking by the day. If they can focus for a longer period of time, will be able to absorb the content offered. Thus practising Zentangle can help children focus and expand their attention span.

in at that time). The good news is that there is a huge potential in this process of meaningless doodling for creating focus and improving attention span. The problem is that doodling is an unconscious and a secondary process. Newton, when he noticed that apples were always falling 'down', he chose to work on it and discovered Gravity Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas of USA decided to work on this unconscious and secondary process of doodling to convert it into a conscious and primary activity that can practically equip almost everyone to harness the potential of channelling concentration of their minds. They named the resultant process as ZENTANGLE®. 'Zen' is meditation in Japanese, and 'tangle' is 'conscious doodle'. They described it as 'an easy to learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns called tangles'. Image1, 2 and 3 are some the examples of Zentangle images:

“ When constraints appear, creative solutions emerge Let me elaborate. Attention span is the amount of concentrated time one can spend on a task without becoming distracted. Most educators and psychologists agree that the ability to focus and sustain attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one's goals. Distraction happens the moment a trigger is made available to the mind. The mind takes over and take the thoughts into past memories, or into future imaginations. You lose touch with the present moment and miss out on whatever action is going on. You miss out on learning.

Image 1

Image 2

Can Zentangle method become part of school pedagogy? The answer is a resounding YES. Let me explain why. It is well established by now that it is not the content of the curriculum that offers difﬁculty. It is often the inability of the student to absorb and 10

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Cultivating mindfulness is not an easy task, but the ingenuity of Rick with his background of spending 17 years as a monk in an Aashram practicing meditation, and Maria as a very good c a l l i g r ap h e r i n t h e U S, a n d w i t h t h e i r understanding of the power of doodling with simple, 'meaningless' repetitive strokes on paper, they have developed this, now very popular process called Zentangle Method. And this holds a lot of promises. Persistent practise of this 'easy to learn' process can make signiﬁcant changes in the way we channel our attention.

One needs to cultivate, therefore, Mindfulness. The term 'Mindfulness' means maintaining a moment by moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and the surrounding environment. It also involves a total acceptance of the thoughts and feelings of the moment, or whatever is happening around, without judging it to be a 'right' or 'wrong' way to think or feel. The judgement words like right or wrong, and good or bad of whatever is happening are simply dropped. The process of just absorption in its raw form of the moment happens. When we practise mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we are experiencing through our senses that very moment rather than diving into the past for acceptance or otherwise, or jumping into the future of imagination.

Image 3

Practising Mindfulness is age old. It has its roots in Buddhist meditation. However, Jon Kabat-Zinn, way back in 1979 launched a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Since then, a huge number of studies have documented the physical and mental health beneﬁts of mindfulness. A secular practice of mindfulness in various forms has entered the American mainstream in recent years. Zentangle is the latest kid on the block.

“ Most educators

We shall deﬁne, describe and present the wonderful world of Zentangle in the next part of this article, till then you may like to write to the author with your questions about Zentangle and its practises at dilip.patel@gmail.com which he will be glad to answer.

and psychologists agree that the ability to focus and sustain attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one's goals 11

dilip.patel@gmail.com

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

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Education - An Awakening Vandita Sharma

andita Sharma is a passionate educator. Being an alumna of St. Mary's Convent, a Catholic school has been a boon and an added advantage for her role as a teacher, guide, friend, philosopher and mentor. For the last one-and-a-half decade she has worked in some of the topmost schools in the country beginning with Delhi Public School (DPS) Varanasi to Birla Balika Vidyapeeth to Pilani, where she is presently working. Her innovative methods, experimentation and understanding the idiosyncrasies of her students have helped them in securing good results.

“Our moral responsibility is not to stop future, but to shape it...to channel our destiny in humane directions and to ease the trauma of transition”. -Alvin Tofﬂer

fo l l ow t h i s f r a m e w o rk p r ov i d e d by t h e Government because through the NPE, it tries to meet the changing dynamics of the population's requirement with regards to quality education, innovation and research, aiming to make India a knowledge superpower by equipping its students with the necessary skills and knowledge and to eliminate the shortage of manpower in science, technology, academics and industry. Therefore, the policies formulated on the national level have to be undertaken by the states and incorporated in their curriculum. Along with CBSE, ICSE and ISC we also have State Boards which have their own curriculum to meet the needs of the state hence the inconsistencies begin. After appearing for Class 12 exams the student realises that he is incompetent to take in different national level competitions like JEE, NEET, the result being, hopes dimming. It has been observed, Boards cater to different competitions and so no uniformity in their syllabi.

Education is a window to the world and a powerful weapon to eradicate the evils of the society bringing in the winds of change to move towards progress. The Government, to alleviate the disparities and differences, formulated the National Policy on Education (NPE) and provided a framework for the same. Education is the planned process of inducing those attitudes and transmitting those skills that are essential for local, regional and national development. Thus National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 was framed considering the articulated ideas in the past Ÿ To shift learning from rote method Ÿ To integrate examination into classroom learning and make it more ﬂexible Ÿ To identify the caring concerns within the democratic policy of India Ÿ Nurturing an over-riding identity formed by caring concerns within the democratic polity of the country The educational institutions of India have to

There is a lacuna in the designing of the curriculum. It is designed by those people who are not a part of the Educational Institutions and executed by a different set of people. Thus, the 12

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languages and making Hindi in the true sense the National language. The aim is that instead of interacting in an alien language we would be promoting our language worldwide and could make it an International language thus also promoting our culture and diversity. This is a step that needs to be applauded and adopted to be truly a part of Incredible India. We also need to acquire 100% literacy. Thus to promote literacy 'Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan’, 'Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao', Right to Education (RTE) and various other programmes were launched. We must keep in mind that for a strong building the foundation i.e. our youth needs to be taken care of. There is no use of education if it cannot help them to accept the challenges of life.

ambiguities arise. The educators who know about the finer nuances of catering to the students are not the policy makers. Thus the ball is bowled by a person and played by the students who have become mere puppets. NCF 2005 has given an overview of what is required for the holistic development of a child. The government, the Central as well as the States need to go in for a thorough research and strategic planning to put into action their thoughts which they have envisaged. They also need to incorporate the views of the educators as equality, quality and quantity are the exclusive triangle for Indian education. It also states that the foundation should be laid strong and firm. Primary, upper primary and middle school should provide the space for children to explore and develop rational thinking that they would imbibe in them and have sufficient knowledge on concepts, language, knowledge, investigation and validation procedures.

It is sad, shocking and unfortunate that even after 70-years of independence and so many policies, commissions and omissions, we are still experimenting with our future through the outdated British era Macaulay model, of course with some combinations and permutations whether to award grades or marks. Furthermore, we tried to emulate and implement the rejected failed model of Continuous and Comprehensive Evalution (CCE) in our country. Alvin Tofﬂer had said, “If you don't have a strategy, you're part of someone else's strategy.” How true these words proved when CCE was imposed on the educational institutions without giving a thought to its consequences. What CCE was about and how it was implemented are two different stories, where neither the educators nor the students knew 'what was expected of them'. Instead of relieving the students of stress, it added on to it. The stress increased with the paper work making teachers, clerks rather than educators and students reeling under this stress, where no one knew what actually CCE was all about.

“ Education is a window to the world and a powerful weapon to eradicate the evils of the society, bringing in the winds of change to move towards progress

There is another ﬂaw that needs to be deliberated upon. The marking system of different State Boards creates disparities in admissions to coveted colleges. This competition has led to mushrooming of coaching centres by the same teachers who are unable to provide quality education in their

Isn't it ironical that even after knowing so many languages we converse in English – a language imposed on us during the British rule? Keeping this in mind NCF 2005 propagated the three language formula to promote our regional 13

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students have again become scapegoats as they are unable to adapt to this change in such a hurry. Today the all - pervading factor is, we are running the nation according to the whims and fancies of the so called policy makers and the consequences are that we are paying through our nose for these uncalled for ﬂaws in the education system.

respective classes. Recently in All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) 2017 moderations (grace marks) were done in various subjects thus on one side benefiting the average students but on the other side frustrating the high achievers, as the average were at par with them in marks. This was all because the policy planners are people who have no idea about teaching-learning experience. Isn't it a big question mark on the standards of CBSE? Why does this not happen in other Boards? Has the inflation in marks actually helped the students? Will it actually help them in the long run? Are we helping them acquire knowledge or marks? Are they perfect that they can get 100% in all the subjects? The present generation might get admission in various renowned colleges but at the end of the day they are unemployed and a frustrated lot because 85% of what is taught in schools is not beneficial in life (wherein Sin, Cos, Theta coming in life) The education system is producing 'Educated Uneducated Youth' who have various degrees to their credit but are not only lacking in knowledge but in soft skills and values too. Thus, it becomes imperative to answer these questions before designing the curriculum.

Education is at crossroads today where there is a vast gap between what we perceive and what we achieve. Each individual's growth presents a different range of problems and requirements, at every stage from the womb to the tomb. The catalytic action of education in this complex and dynamic growth process needs to be planned meticulously and executed with great sensitivity. The government should realise education is a tool which beneﬁts the receiver and the giver alike. It is not a child's toy to be played with and later thrown away. Furthermore, there are so many government schools in our country but everyone, including the government servants, want their wards to study in expensive public schools. Have we ever stopped to think why such long queues at the gates of public schools? Why are the public schools monopolising the education system?

In the aftermath of getting up from a dogmatic slumber the government is reverting to its old system. But the gruesome reality is that it caused a haywire in the entire education system causing a setback which will take years to rebuild. The

The answer - lack of proper infrastructure as well as unavailability of good teachers in these schools

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has led to this sorry state of affairs. Along with this many of the schools are in name only and are run by greasing the palms of the ofﬁcials.

future, with an ability to withstand the challenges and be able to decide well or be frogs in the well who cannot think beyond that well.

There is a difference in what we want and what we actually do. These discrepancies have created lacunae in the entire education system making it faulty and producing slaves rather than leaders. The need of the hour is to sit together and plan a strategy that will give direction to the students, entail dedication within the hierarchy and also shape the country through decision making.

The time has come to revert to our time tested Education System where it was not on paper but was applied in real life, a holistic approach that challenged the mind, where knowledge pervaded the system and where the perspectives of NCF 2005 were put into practise providing the 3Ds in life. We are at the threshold where reverting is a Herculean task but as Alvin Tofﬂer said, 'The responsibility for change...lies within us. We must begin with ourselves, teaching ourselves not to close our minds prematurely to the novel, the surprising, the seemingly radical." We need to ruminate on this fact and take stringent measures to give a better future to our gen next instead of worsening it by our own actions.

For this we must lay stress on the 3Ds – Direction, Dedication and Decision making. Direction: Our Policy makers need a sense of direction before they formulate and execute a policy. They need to discuss and decide what the aim of education is, how it is to be implemented and whether it is catering to the needs of our students. The policy makers and the educators have to direct their thoughts fruitfully to provide the best knowledge possible else the entire system will be waylaid leading to waste of both time and money.

Ultimately it comes to the fact what Aristotle preached centuries earlier, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” We need to create a modern, progressive, vibrant India,

Dedication: If we have a sense of direction then only can we dedicate ourselves towards a purpose. If the top of the hierarchy is streamlined the lower order will be too or they would make a conscious effort. Teaching is a noble profession but they who prepare CEOs, engineers, doctors are the least paid, thus a paucity of good educators. The Government needs to think on this issue so that there is a dedicated staff who join this profession by choice and not force. If this is taken into consideration all would have a common objective with a dedication to match their passion that would be transmitted to the students.

Where knowledge is a priority, Where values ingrained are not transitory, Where Education is remembered till eternity, Where Education is not a dream but a reality. Where Direction is a part of Education, Where Dedication and passion go hand in hand, Where Decision-making is a balanced trend, Where bookish knowledge is not a reckoning, Where Education is all about an Awakening. Education is an endeavour on which the entire society rests. To give our thoughts a shape, to recreate history, to become the golden bird once again, spreading its wings towards excellence and perfection, let us all join hands and embark on a journey where learning is an on-going process, where education is a supreme art to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

Decision Making: This is one attribute that is missing in our society. We need to decide now and decide well. Our decision today will affect our tomorrow. We need to decide what we want our future generations to inherit- a sense of direction which helps them to be dedicated towards their 15

vaandita@gmail.com

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INSIDE THE MIND OF A LEADER The world's simplest idea. The Golden Circle, coined by Mr. Simon Sinek. A man who deciphered the minds of leaders, leaders like the Wright brothers, Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King. He said exceptional leaders had a way of life, a way of doing things and realizing this gave birth to the Golden Circle. It consists of 3 concentric circles. It begins with the why? How? And ﬁnally what? The purpose of this is to understand what a leader is made of in their core and what drives them in this dynamic world. In this issue, Ms. Kavita Das, principal of the St. John’s High School, Chandigarh shares her beliefs and what made her venture into the ﬁeld of education.

WHY? What made you embark on this remarkable journey and what keeps you going every day? I'm a 3rd generation teacher! I grew up in a family where teaching is a way of life and I saw the fulﬁlment to be found in it. It is not a profession. It is a vocation. It is the only calling that truly changes lives and impacts society. More importantly it has love at its core. When a child comes back years later just to say hello, and one sees what a ﬁne human being he has become, one is yet again reminded of just how rewarding teaching is.

for one's subject, and you have a teacher who can change the world! Share an instance that tested your strength and how did you overcome it? Shortly after I became Principal, I inadvertently ran afoul of a powerful member of the city's administration. My refusal to accede to his demands led to him declaring war on the school and me. The resultant chaos that followed severely tested my courage and it was at this time that my faith in the loving and protective God was put to test. But God is faithful. I saw miracle after miracle take place as he sent me strangers who became my strongest allies and friends. The ﬁnal outcome was that I was able to weather the storm and today I stand stronger, wiser and more humbled, before a God who was himself, the wisest teacher to ever walk the earth.

Tell us your core belief. My core belief is that one must walk with the faith, that whatever happens is according to God's will, and that love works miracles. Couple this with a strong sense of fair play, a measure of creativity, a dash of humor, a touch of humility and a passion 16

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family as well as my management, I have been able to introduce and experiment with new ideas, whilst also cherishing and reinforcing the long established, healthy traditions of the school.

HOW? How have you translated your aspirations into reality? I have translated my aspirations into reality by living the maxim of leading by example and by grounding everything I do in prayer. Compassion lies at the very heart of every Edmund Rice Institution and, as a result, every decision made is done so after keeping in mind the impact it will have on children, the teaching fraternity, the support staff, the extended family of the school (parents and alumni) and the community at large. Hard work, accountability, transparency and a willingness to keep learning and to keep abreast of and implement the latest developments in the ﬁelds of education and the law have kept us ahead of the curve and won us the respect of all. And ﬁnally, the willingness to bring people on board, to listen, to give credit where it is due, to show appreciation, to encourage, to innovate and to move forward as a community in the school, has led to our institution becoming one of the premier schools in the country.

One of my passions is to cherish the dignity of every human being. To further this, we introduced May Day into our school where our children learn to value the dignity of labor by actually taking on every single task of the support staff for the day, while the staff itself is entertained. They sweep, mop and clean the entire school and campus, our washrooms sparkle that day! The Christian Brothers who began and ran this school were men who had sacriﬁced their families and countries to dedicate their lives to the cause of God and the vision of education that he had given their founder, Blessed Edmund Rice. Between them, they established a school that was built on the four touchstones of Spirituality, Compassion, Inclusive Education and Justice & Advocacy. One glimpse of our alumni will serve to show how well they succeeded; they are men of principles, who are successful not only in the world arena but also in their personal lives. In fact, they too believe in giving back to their school and so have begun the Mentoring Programme in which our alumni come in bi-monthly to mentor the Sr. Secondary boys about their chosen ﬁelds.

How have you channeled your passion into your present role as a leader? Thanks to the twin support of a loving and caring

It has been my proud privilege to carry these core principles forward. How have you impacted your school's growth since your joining? St. John's has never lacked in facilities, sports, cocurricular activities or academics. Since my joining, I have been able to add to the infrastructure, the co-curricular activities, sports, and to strengthen the academics. Right from the inception of the Senior Secondary wing, which I began about ﬁve years ago, it has consistently produced one of the ﬁnest results in the tri city. We are also completely solar as well as LED! Technologically also, we are ahead. That said, however, I believe that the true growth 17

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society makes them wonderful citizens and compassionate human beings.

of a school is reflected in the children it produces. Our school stands on the twin beliefs of faith in God and good citizenship. Our motto is “Pro Deo et Patria”, which means “For God and Country”. Our students are fine young men who are Triple H boys, Heads Held High. Their calm confidence in themselves and their self-assured approach to life often leads to them being misrepresented as arrogant. But there is a fine line between arrogance and what we call 'attitude' and it is the latter that our students reflect. Their demeanor is founded on their faith that each one of them is unique and with God's help, all things are possible, as long as what they are attempting is good and beneficial to themselves as well as others. They grow up with children from the economically disadvantaged section of society as their closest friends and because of various factors like these; distinctions are made based on ability rather than class. This kind of thinking and approach to the

The result has been a school that has climbed the rankings and is now considered one of the top three all-boys' schools in the country. We want to know what your leadership strategy is in the ﬁeld of education and how you implement it. My leadership strategy has been to lead by example but to also take a backseat and let others innovate whilst I support. I believe in listening to and learning from the wisdom of the staff, students, alumni, management and parents. Shared leadership and responsibility is imperative in a profession where each member of the teaching faculty holds the lives of his/her students in his/her hands. One constant in my life is to begin the day by seeking the blessings of the Almighty. Take us through the process of – ideation, plan of action and execution of one of the best practices/idea that you implemented in your school. St. John's High School has practised inclusive education since as far back as 1997 with children from the Economically Disadvantaged Group (EDG) being integrated into the school (this was more than a decade before the Right to Education came into being). We currently have almost 300 such children fully included into the mainstream of the school. Whilst it has proved extremely rewarding to see these children grow from strength to strength, it has also been a huge challenge to help them overcome the disadvantages of poverty, 18

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staff member barging into my room with a demand for a new pair of shoes or an extra uniform for her/his son! Tifﬁn being packed for their 'sons' for break-time, with extra nutritious food, is a common occurrence and it is heartwarming to see a little fellow dart out of his class to tell his 'parent' about his latest achievement or problem. The icing on the cake was the handmade cards many of the teachers received on Mother's Day!

poorly educated parents, negative mindsets, a lack of self-esteem and living conditions that leave one saddened and horriﬁed. We have attempted to provide them with all the external trappings and support structures such as free education, books, uniforms, nutrition, medical support, and extra tuitions after school, free access to the sports academies etc. We also admit them a year earlier and instill in them not only academic requirements but also manners, hygiene and social graces as well, so that they seamlessly integrate with the mainstream students who are admitted the subsequent year.

Experience has taught me one invaluable lesson, at the end of the day, you can plan all you want, but unless your people are on board and have hearts that want to implement an idea, the best lain plans will fall by the wayside. The success of any school lies in building a caring, proactive community.

However, the two areas where we felt they really needed support were regarding their parents being uneducated as well as their need to have caring adult supervision.

WHAT?

So we hit upon a twin solution. The ﬁrst step was Ÿ To introduce Adult Education for their parents. We began by getting ourselves trained by a member of the NLF – the National Literacy Mission – which imparts education to Adults. Ar med with this knowledge and the techniques of how to train adults, we then invited our parents to come and join us. However, it has not been easy. We had to plan ﬂexi-hours that are based around their jobs and that means that teachers put in extra time in the mor nings and after noons, depending on the parents' availability. Then there is also the question of providing incentives and encouraging them as they often doesn't feel they need to be educated! Ÿ The next step was to provide the kids with a sense of belonging, coupled with informed and loving adult supervision. And that's when the staff brainstormed and came up with a brilliant solution – Foster Parenting! Each member of the staff now has 2 to 3 EDG children whom s/he is a foster parent to. This meant that the boys are now blessed with someone in their lives who would keep a close eye on their academics whilst also overseeing their other needs. It is not uncommon to have a

What all changes have you brought about in your school that was parallel to your beliefs for a better future for children? The changes I have brought have been based on love and encouragement. Have you ever tried to inspire boys to do up their Bulletin Boards?! Believe me, we tried everything, even descended to threatening! What ﬁnally worked was a simple coupon that said “FREE PERIOD”! The class with the best bulletin board is awarded with one such coupon that they are free to 'encash' whenever they want! Our bulletin boards are now works of art.

“ Teaching is a

way of life... it has love at its core 19

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school. Our boys partner with and work with many NGOs that deal with the hearing, visually and intellectually impaired children. They visit as well as invite them over and their lives have been enriched by these special children. The House Shows this year, have included these children in their programmes and we have seen our boys learn to be gentle, thoughtful and careful of the needs of these children. They have also been taught sign language by the hearing impaired and as part of our Annual Sports Day, the grand ﬁnale was the whole Senior school,1000 boys strong, expressing the Indian National Anthem through sign language! It was an awe inspiring and deeply moving experience. The babies of KG and Class 1 adopt animals in the nearby Chhatbir zoo and are delighted when they visit the zoo and see the signboards outside their adopted animal enclosures proudly declaring “I am adopted by the KG and Class 1 of St John's High School”! They have adopted 14 animals out of which one is a baby tigress, thus simultaneously coming on board the Tiger Conser vation programme of the country.

Everyone works best with a combination of encouragement and accountability and so we have numerous small recognitions in place such as stickers, appreciation coupons, notes, bouquets, awards, badges etc. One of the latest set of awards to be introduced were the 'Star Student, Star Buddy and Star Parent badges and cups'. These were awarded to the boys who had improved their scores by just two grades, it could be from an E to a C! The students who had assisted them and the parents who had been 'hands on' with these kids were also recognised. We saw many shed a tear that day.

Our children are thus learning to care for the less fortunate and to take responsibility for the world and the people around them. I am extremely proud of the fact that when our boys were asked during the year of the school's Golden Jubilee, to pick a dedicated “cause” that they would carry forward, they chose the “Cause of the Girl Child”. This was as far back as the year 2009, long before “Beti Padao, Beti Bachao” was even conceived of. They still continue with it to this day. Their logic was heartwarming, an all boys' school ﬁghting for such a cause would carry more weight in a patriarchal society such as ours!

This approach had made inclusive education a way of life and is also reﬂected in the comprehensive Community Service programmes conducted in the

To foster gender sensitivity among our boys, we have crazy competitions like Pocket Sewing, Table Laying, Sandwich Making, Flower Arrangements and Rangoli Designing, all of which are considered to be the domain of ladies by the society!

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Chai time chit-chat Tell us your life's journey all the way from your first steps into a school to right this moment. Both my parents were educated and deeply religious. Gender Equality was a 'given' in my family. I went through a physical ailment that put me into a body brace for 5-years and culminated in major spinal surgery that kept me out of school for a year. Never once I saw myself as 'unfortunate' or 'handicapped' and participated in anything and everything, despite my limitations. This experience shaped my views on inclusive education being a way of life that is a must. What made you embark on this journey of school leadership? It was quite literally chance that set me on this path! I had never imagined myself as anything but a simple teacher, until the Brothers (my management) offered me the opportunity by way of an interview! If you could pen down your mantra for managing a school into words, what would it be? Work with faith, patience, love, trust and transparency. What was one of your most defining moments in life? When I became a mother. Do you think you chose this profession or did it choose you? This profession chose me! It was a “calling”. If you could witness any event of the past, present, or future, what would it be? I would love to witness the resurrection of Jesus and its influence. He was the greatest teacher that ever walked the earth. Share one of the finest advices you have been given that you still carry along with you today. Trust in the LORD with all your heart 21

and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. -The Holy Bible, The book of Proverbs, Chapter 3, verses 5 and 6 Tell us a time when you learned something important outside of school. Marriage and motherhood have shaped my life outside school. I have learnt to value people and to never take them for granted. I have also l e a r n t t h at o n e h a s t o w o rk h a r d at relationships and that a family that worships together, stays together. Tell us about someone who has had a significant impact in the making of the leader that you are today. Bother Philip Pinto, ex-Superior General of the Christian Brothers, was the principal of St. Columba's school (1985). He gave me my first job and it was his leadership style that I have tried to emulate. What is the most unexpected thing you've learned along the way as a leader? I have leant that one learns the most from the children themselves! Tell us 3 policies issued by the government that was either a boon to the education in India or a bane and why? Ÿ Protection of Child Rights Ÿ The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Ÿ The Right to Information Act Tell us about a technological innovation that you want to implement in your school in the next 5 years. Teaching isn't about technological innovation. Whilst our school is fully 'modernised', we first and foremost seek ways to improve upon the minds and hearts of our staff and students. stjohnschandigarh@gmail.com

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Breaking down the wall of differences Payal Bedi

ayal Bedi started her career as a Montessori Teacher in Ryan International School, Chandigarh. She is a science graduate and holds a Master's degree in sociology from the Panjab University, Chandigarh. She received Shantanu Prakash Excellence Award by Educomp for being the best facilitator for the year 20142015. She has taught various age-groups in the last 10-years of her teaching career and is currently teaching Science at the primary level at the Learning Paths School, Mohali.

Diversity in classrooms The global culture of today's world has abridged the barriers of countries, borders, and cultures and brought the students from different ethnicities and backgrounds close together. The world has become smaller providing new learning opportunities and avenues for the students to achieve, which were thought unthinkable until a few decades ago.

character of each class room should be treated as a n a s s e t a s i t p r o d u c e s m a ny l e a r n i n g opportunities for the students as they bring a variety of perspectives and ideas. Discussions and debates are an integral part of the teachingâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;learning process. Due to a variety of students being a part of the class, discussions can turn controversial within no time, particularly if the topics are contentious and sensitive. It's a challenge handling such topics which are prone to debates and disputes in classrooms. Issues related to racism, gender-equality, religious-tolerance etc. are a few examples of these.

Due to the mingling of various cultures, diversity can be experienced ever ywhere, even in classrooms. Every classroom has a varied groups of students making it unique in its own way. Students can be different in a number of ways imparting the classroom its distinct character. The students are diverse not just in their cultures, beliefs, backgrounds, nationalities, languages etc. they are diverse in their personalities, previous experiences, learning styles also.

Though challenging, it's signiďŹ cant for the students to get engaged in discussions related to controversial topics because these are a part of our society and we cannot just shy away from them and as teachers we aim to produce not just literate but also learned, civilised, fearless and responsible citizens who will make the society a better place, through empathy and compassion. This will also lead to learning of many important values, inclusiveness and tolerance to name a few, which are indispensable components of every society.

Diversity can be obvious or visible many a times; it can also be not so visible sometimes. Differences such as religion, nationality, culture etc. are discernible whereas differences such as learning styles, levels of motivation are not. The distinctive 22

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between freedom of expression and going overboard should never be crossed. We should be sensitive towards others feelings and sentiments. Many a times, there are controversial topics in class that even the best of teachers may feel uncomfortable dealing with but it's essential to deal with them as these topics are signiﬁcantly important for students' awareness of the world and their social, moral, political impact on their lives. Students need to be taught about these topics in engaging and purposeful ways.

It's crucial for the students to learn inclusiveness as in any given society we'll ﬁnd individuals from varied backgrounds. It's important for the students to accept the differences in opinions of others, while being respectful. Also, it's important to teach tolerance to students as our society is becoming fanatical and sensitive towards every issue which leads to conﬂicts among the citizens. We must practice 'Live and let live'. Acceptance, tolerance and being respectful should be the bottom line and every citizen of any civilised society must practise it.

Instructions for the Instructor As an instructor or facilitator, a few things need to be kept in mind while carrying out discussions in the classroom. The instructor should recognise the diversity of his or her classroom. S/he should be aware of the backgrounds of the students. S/he must value the diversity in class room as this gives many wonderful learning opportunities to students when they come across different perspectives. As a facilitator, create a sociable environment in class; be open to ideas and criticism. Set ground rules for discussions. A few examples are: Ÿ Listen respectfully Ÿ Don't interrupt, wait for your turn to speak Ÿ Be critical about ideas, not individuals Ÿ Avoid personal comments Ÿ Be polite, avoid using provocative language

“ As a facilitator, include everyone, there should be an atmosphere of comprehensiveness and belongingness in the class As a teacher one should neither prevent nor encourage controversial topics but rather take them up as any other topic that needs to be dealt with. The teacher should allow the discussions as these not only give students the conﬁdence to deal with the topics which otherwise they might avoid but also gives them a feeling of self assurance. Freedom of thought and expression is vital to any individual and no matter what, all types of education is ineffective without it. So, it's important that each student gets a chance to think and express his or her mind out as it will give him the courage to exercise this right in the society too. Rights also bring in responsibilities. As it is important to express and communicate one's thoughts, it's important to be sensitive towards others thoughts too. So, while expressing one's thoughts the importance of others' feelings should not be ignored or overlooked upon. The ﬁne line that needs to be drawn or kept in mind 23

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intervene if you see the situation getting heated up. As a teacher, be supportive, encouraging and act as a guide. The teacher can lead the discussion and draw ideas by asking questions, examples, reviews etc. Stay away from bias. Be fair in supporting any side of the discussion. You must have explanations ready.

As a facilitator, include everyone, there should be an atmosphere of comprehensiveness and belongingness in the class. All students should be a part of the work being done and should be involved actively. Addressing the issues The facilitator should be prepared for any uncalled for moments too but he should never let the situation go out of control. Emotional and tense moments may arise when talking about sensitive issues. Be with the students when they are going through the same. Ÿ Acknowledge that there can be times when they feel uncomfortable to speak about their ideas. Ÿ Most importantly, the discussion should be structured aiming in the right direction. Ÿ Be prepared with facts and proper explanations. You never know when the need arises. Ÿ For this, set proper framework of discussion and objectives should be clear too. Ÿ Learning outcomes of the discussion should be clearly laid. Ÿ Language should be clear, sound and respectful. Ÿ Be an active participant during the discussion. Neither be a passive listener nor be too intervening. Strike the right balance which means that ask for clariﬁcations, reviews wherever required. Also, keep reminding of the rules if need be.

Don't forget to summarise the main points at the end of the discussion. Give students time to reﬂect and share their views about the discussion. The teacher should have relevant answers fostering students' sense of curiosity but at the same time the discussion should not impeach a students' freedom to express. The instructor needs to know the balancing act.

“ It's crucial for the

students to learn inclusiveness as in any given society we'll nd individuals from varied backgrounds

As a facilitator, be with the students at all times. Provide them opportunities to recognise, explore and understand their thoughts and speak their minds. Acknowledge, accept and have tolerance for varied perspectives. Your behaviour can instil courage and conﬁdence in your students and help in carrying discussions in the class room.

It's okay to disagree with others. Remember we are criticising the ideas not individuals. Be there to 24

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Passion Quotient - How it matters more than your IQ. Virender Kapoor

n alumnus of IIT Bombay, Virender Kapoor is an author, educationist and a motivational speaker. A former Director of a prestigious Management Institute under the Symbiosis umbrella; he has written more than a dozen books on, Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, PQ - Passion Quotient and Innovation.

'I am not a teacher, only a fellow traveller of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead – ahead of myself as well as you'

to make an outstanding logo. Your choice of colors may change with time. As you grow up you may prefer pale pastel pinks to a 'shocking pink'.

– George Bernard Shaw

As we react to colors, we also react to our jobs, interests, hobbies and almost all activities. If we can creatively mix colors and start liking those which we hated when we saw them individually, we can well make changes in our activities at work to make things more interesting.

What is Passion? Let us look at our likes and dislikes. Some of us love blue color and some hate it, some love yellow and some don't. You like lavender based perfume and I may like another fragrance. There is no reason one can assign for these afﬁliations or dislikes.

The most successful, rich and contented are not necessarily high school toppers. Nor do they hold great college degrees. They are the ones who love their work and therefore they are enthusiastic all the time. They add value and ﬂavor to their work. This sets them apart from unsuccessful people who take their work as drudgery. They are successful because such people can generate enthusiasm in their colleagues and in the environment. These are the people who love their subordinates, admire their bosses and are prepared to learn from their peers. If you love your job, you are on a permanent holiday!

Passion also works on similar lines. There are certain things close to our heart and we just love doing them – we are supposed to be passionate about these things. We have no reasons or no logical explanations for this afﬁnity. And that in simple words is passion. Yo u h a t e r e d ? W h a t a b o u t s o m e c o l o r combinations and variations? If I can be creative and combine some other shades with red to create some patterns, chances are that you would like them. Airtel for example uses red, white and black

Passion sets apart the great from the good. 25

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Importance of education to fulﬁll your passion We live in the age of opportunities and there are thousands of ways to earn a living and that too by doing what you like. Our education system with some of its ﬂaws has still stood the test of time. A great India has been built by those who got education through the same system. Our IITs are producing the best engineers, IIMs the best Managers and we make great doctors too. Therefore there is no radical change that is required.

Therefore it is not the Intelligent Quotient (IQ) but you're Passion Quotient (PQ) that will take you to pinnacle of success. Everyone is not always lucky enough to get a perfect job which he/she loves, but just like with colors, we can add a different ﬂavor to our working style to make it more enjoyable and more rewarding. It is up to us to see if the glass is half empty or half full or see the empty part full of air! Let me explain. If you have an artistic bent of mind for example, and at some point in life wanted to be an architect; as a principal of a school, you can apply all that while doing up your library, your open space and your assembly hall. Who stops you? You can make a group of gifted teachers and students to make your school a living entity as your USP and a great differentiator. You can do this as a class teacher as well.

Yet, the call of the day is to let educated people find the right place for themselves. I look at education as pizza base - if your base is good you can garnish it with any good toppings of your choice. Let the students excel in the education stream they are into. Thereafter, they can switch to any area of choice. Education can never become a barrier for your success in any field thereafter, it can only help. Today's almost all actors, film directors, painters, singers, novelists, hoteliers; entrepreneurs of all types, journalists are well educated. This gives them confidence to venture into any field of their choice. Engineers become journalists, doctors become spiritual writers, CAs become film directors and PhD holders start fitness business.

“ We live in the age of

opportunities and there are thousands of ways to earn a living and that too by doing what you like

‘The most crucial factor in creativity is the motivation to do something creative’

How does passion help you to do better in life? Ÿ It is a source of tremendous energy Ÿ Shah Rukh Khan and Jackie Chan are called a power house of energy because they are passionate about acting. Ÿ Becomes your inner calling Ÿ Mother Teresa worked passionately for the poor because she 'felt' for the poor and the sick. Ÿ Makes you walk that extra mile Ÿ It lets you perform and deliver beyond your ordinary capacity as it comes naturally to you. Ÿ Helps you identify your goal Ÿ Passion has been instilled in us by nature to remain 'on track'- like an inner compass. It gradually pushes you to be what you ought to be. ‘The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on ﬁre' - Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch

– Teresa Amabile

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Teachers and parents must encourage students to ﬁnd what they love More than ﬁfty percent of close to a million small businesses started in America in the last few decades were based on hobbies or personal interest of people. India is witnessing the wave of entrepreneurs, who are job givers and not job seekers. Don't chase money - It will come as a byproduct.

Ÿ Encourage adventure and courage. Passionate people need to be adventurous. How can you follow your passion and make it into a profession unless you have that adventurous spirit? We must, therefore, encourage kids to experiment, go for treks, play different games, try adventure sports if possible. Today, children are tucked at homes during holidays often playing video games in air conditioned environments. They are disconnected from outdoor games like football, hockey let alone mountaineering or hang gliding.

Points to implement Find out what is your child's interest. It is not necessary that every child will display something extraordinary which puts him in the league of a Mozart from the age of six! Everybody who loves football is not Pele. Extraordinary talent is visible from miles; you don't have to look for it. Look for broader signs of afﬁnities like literature, logic, music to guide them properly. Ÿ

My son attended an adventure camp for a week when he was fourteen. Staying away from home, in tents in the freezing cold, following a tough timetable, it made a very positive effect on him. I was amazed at the transformation. Ÿ Don't make them overambitious. If you groom your children with a philosophy that you have to reach the top because that is all that matters, then they may never ﬁnd their passion in life. You have set their targets and you have set their means, then where is the room for passion? Let them always be reminded often that money is important but it is not everything. Encourage them to experiment and be different.

Which stream to choose? Children have to decide between science, commerce and arts in the school itself. It is more important now to see the ability of the child than passion. If you are good at something, passion will follow. Taking something which you are unable to perform, would generate hatred and fear instead of passion. Ÿ

'A ship is safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for' – William Shedds

Ÿ Set an example like leaders. Enthusiasm is pretty much contagious. If parents demonstrate their passion, it is most likely going to rub off positively on the children. Parents and teachers become a source of inspiration. It has a far greater affect when they see you living your passion rather than you telling them about it. 27

virenderkapoor21@yahoo.com

INNOVATION

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Adolescence in the 21st century Ramya Rajendiran

amya Rajendiran is the Curriculum Director of Springdays School, Vellore. She is also the co-founder of Fountainhead Leaders, an education-services company that develops curriculum and teaches 21st century leadership skills to school students and athletes. Her 10 years of strong corporate leadership experience in IBM coupled with the experience of being an educationist puts her in a unique position to understand the gaps in today's education and plug it.

'Romeo and Juliet' can be called as Shakespeare's most famous work. In his works, the characters stand out strongly and so does Romeo and Juliet. They are star-crossed youngsters who fall deeply in love with each other but whose story ends tragically and quickly. Romeo and Juliet have not only become the archetype of young lovers over the centuries but also are a clear and medieval example of an 'adolescent'.

interactions (with friends, school mates, social groups, popular culture) take a stronger role in molding them at this stage. They also try to ﬁgure out how they ﬁt in the society\world around them. Successfully resolving this crisis is important for the adolescent to emerge as an adult with a strong grip on personal identity, independence, selfrespect, self-esteem and with genuine social and personal relationships.

Biologically, adolescence is deﬁned as the time between childhood and adulthood. It is the phase when the person's body goes through puberty, rapid physical growth and psychological changes. It's breath-taking speed of growth is second only to infancy. Popularly, this phase is called as 'teenage' i.e., when the person is between thirteen to nineteen (but may vary across cultures) years of age.

Piaget's theory of cognitive development says that adolescence is also a time for rapid cognitive development when the brain's pre-frontal cortex develops and progressive reorganisation of the mental processes happen as children understand the world around them. Piaget describes adolescence as the stage of life in which the individual's thoughts start taking more of an abstract form and the egocentric thoughts decrease. This allows the child to think and reason in a wider perspective, more like an adult. Abstract thought, meta-cognition, problem-solving in a logical way are some brain functions that develop at this stage

Erikson's theory of psychological development 'Identity Vs Role Confusion' says that adolescents go through psychosocial crisis in exploring who they are as individuals. As they try to establish a sense of identity and style for themselves, they experiment with distinct roles and interests. Social 28

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Flipping the coin on how we see Adolescence: Commonly in media and literature, adolescence is considered in the negative light as the age when children become unruly, rebellious, confused, selfconscious, risk-taking and difﬁcult to manage. The problem faced by children during this age, is left to them, to grow 'out of'.

The social-mobile-tech revolution has aggravated the adolescent problems in children. The impact of these are far higher than the TV revolution of the 20th century. The changes that a child goes through is in multiple dimensions – biological, emotional, physical, psychological, health, identity, social and digital. For some adolescents, this phase is like war, for some, it's a crisis and for most it's a difﬁcult period.

In light of the biological, psychological and cognitive development that a child goes through to become an adult, this should be viewed in an adequate manner as an existential phase when adolescents need utmost understanding and support of their family and society. Their brain is malleable and adaptable and is reconstructing every aspect of how they understand the world. This gives them a fantastic opportunity for learning and social development. But to come through the opportunity, it is critical that adolescents need utmost support and tools to face the change.

Dealing with Adolescence Dealing with Adolescence is much like preparing for war or crisis. It needs the following: a)Awareness of war: Parents and Schools need more awareness on adolescence, the changes and challenges that a child goes through and how they can provide support. b)Preparation for war: This is fairly the most important aspect and the most overlooked. c)Support during and after the war: Emotional or counselling support for the child on a personalised basis.

Adolescence in the 21st century Certain characteristics mark the 21st century adolescents as different than before: 1)External influences play a stronger role than parental influence. For example: Social media, social networks, TV and other media. 2)Hyper-connectedness – Free access to information and ubiquitous communication technologies aggravates external influences on adolescents and raises privacy concerns. 3)Children are graduating with more emotional problems than before – angst, anxiety and depression 4)Social interactions are becoming more virtual\online – there is no clear line between their real and online worlds. 5)Peer pressure of wanting to be cool or to fit in – pressure to have a relationship with the opposite gender, to own fashionable clothes or latest gadgets, to smoke\drink in urban societies. 6)Reduced family time. Adults also tend to display adolescent behavior by zoning off with their phones. 7)Adolescent behavior starting much earlier in children and so does the related health problems.

While external counselling and support systems are popular ways of providing assistance to adolescent problems, preparing the child with the tools\skills needed to decode his journey further is very important. This is not to say that they should be given premature knowledge that would confuse them. They need to be equipped with ageappropriate skills before, during and after adolescence. They need skills to understand themselves, their strength and weakness and their emotions. It also includes ability to self-examine and manage one's emotions. Adolescence and Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence is the capacity to create positive outcomes in relationships with others and with oneself. According to Mayer and Salovey, Emotional Intelligence consists of Ÿ Self-awareness Ÿ Managing emotions Ÿ Motivating oneself Ÿ Empathy Ÿ Handling relationships

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Daniel Goleman explains Emotional Intelligence in simpler terms: “In a very real sense, we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels.” “The emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the thinking brain” “Emotional intelligence begins to develop in the earliest years. All the small exchanges children have with their parents, teachers, and with each other carry emotional messages.”

grouped as emotional intelligence”. To truly to educate a student, schools need to expand their responsibility to improve the EQ 'Emotional Intelligence' of its students. There are challenges that exists in this daunting task for schools: 1)The right emotional skills need to be taught at the right age. Schools need to invest in a curriculum that is proven and research-based. 2)Schools need to invest in training teachers and staff on Emotional Intelligence. The training should include all teachers\staff in the school and not just those who teach emotional intelligence. 3)Teachers for Emotional Intelligence need to step out of their formal methods of teaching and listen more to the students. They need to set up a more active communication channel for two-way communication. 4)There is a thin line between counselling and teaching emotional intelligence. Teachers need to be careful not to cross the line. Any speciﬁc problems that a teacher might encounter in a student should be referred to the school counselor. 5)Teachers should only provide the children with the tools\skills which will act as enablers for the children to make their own decisions. Teachers should refrain from giving advice or taking decisions on behalf of the student. 6)Results can only be seen in the long-term. There is no clear assessment technique for measuring the effectiveness of teaching Emotional Intelligence to students. 7)There is no clear assessment technique in measuring the teachers' effectiveness in teaching Emotional Intelligence. 8)Schools need to invest in developing the whole community – parents, teachers, management and students. Parents also need to be aware and equally invested in the cause for the program to be successful. Adolescents need 360 degree support from all their stakeholders to successfully convert this opportunity and emerge as emotionally intelligent adults. Though this task can be daunting on the school, at the moment, they are in the best position to bring a change in the society at large.

Self-awareness is the fundamental aspect of Emotional Intelligence that can be taught to children even before they hit adolescence. Children can be taught to understand the emotions they are going through and to calm themselves. The adolescent brain is very limbic and not very good in deciphering emotions in others. Empathy, perspectives and handling relationships are skills that they can learn alongside their adolescent phase so that they use the tools as necessary. Motivation can be a very powerful tool which can give the adolescents a sense of direction through the change. Schools and teaching Emotional Intelligence as a skill to equip todays' Adolescence: Schools play a larger role in inﬂuencing the child than ever before. It is important for school management and teachers to be aware of the changes and challenges that adolescent children go through. Schools also need to actively locate p r o bl e m s a n d p r ov i d e c o u n s e l l i n g o n a personalised basis. Having said that, the deepest impact that schools can make on their students, is by teaching Emotional Intelligence to children. While Emotional Intelligence covers gamut of skills, teaching the ﬁve core aspects of it, at the right age, will equip the students not just through Adolescence but through the rest of their lives. Schools, now, largely focus on growing the IQ 'Intelligence Quotient' of the students. Daniel Goleman says, “At best, IQ contributes about 20 percent to the factors that determine life success, which leaves 80 percent to other forces: forces 30

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SEPTEMBER 2017

Colorful Childhood: Color and kid's perception Dr. Sagneet Kaur

r. Sagneet Kaur works with LXL Ideas in the research and development domain. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology, and has more than nine years of experience in the area of Cognitive Developmental and Applied Psychology. Her doctoral research entitled “Facilitating Ego-Identity Formation in Adolescents: A Psycho-Educational Intervention” tests the impact of identity related intervention on process of ego-identity establishment in adolescents. She was appointed research intern/fellow by Maulana Azad National Fellowhip, under the UGC grant, which included full time teaching assignments for postgraduate students in the university. In between she has always maintained connect with the industry by leveraging her skills in the domain of behavioral sciences to develop marketing and pre-launch plans for various companies. Applied Psychology and impact measurement have been her areas of major interest throughout her short career.

0-2 Years Scientiﬁc research (Gigglebellies, 2013) states that in the ﬁrst few weeks of life, babies are at least partially blind and have extremely less sensitivity towards light. Ÿ They aren't impressed with shades of same color. Ÿ They prefer bright colors. Ÿ Younger kids prefer more colors at once (around 5-6 colors)

Color holds same importance in human existence as water, food and shelter. They impact how we think, behave, look, feel and interpret. Colors give identity, flavor and significance to each and everything in the universe. However, perception of colors is the function of certain technical concepts like hue, value and saturation, identified by the rods & cones (receptor cells) of the human eye (Olesen, 2017).

The color psychology is a widely studied concept in the ﬁeld of education even in branding & marketing. Colors have the ability to inﬂuence the perception of anybody, especially children. Each color has a positive as well as a negative emotional and behavioral connotation attached to it (Wright, 2017).

Toddlers elicit happiness, feel comfort and cozier with warm colors (like red, orange, yellow and pink). Red, emotes and excites them; pink signiﬁes empathy, femininity and calmness; Yellow is bright & and symbolises happiness, memory & metabolism, sometimes anger & frustration as well and Orange promotes welcoming and socializing behavior among kids (Lascurain, 2017). Cool colors (like blue, purple and green) have a soothing, relaxing and calming effect. Blue calms the mind and body, lowers blood pressure, aggression and increases respiration, purple is sign of wisdom and maturity and is associated with wealth and royalty; whereas green promotes serenity, health, healing, wellbeing.

Color Psychology and Age In general, the most favorite colors of children and adolescents between the ages of 1 to 18 years (Hallock, 2003) are blue (44%), green (27%), red (10%), orange (10%) and grey (9%), whereas the least favorite colors are maroon (45%), purple (38%), orange (10%) and yellow (7%).

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splashed white, whereas girls like jade black, crimson red and tangerine orange (Brown, 2016). Children show more intense reactions to colors as compared to adults. Psychological, biological, occupational, medical changes are one of the main reasons of the age related changes in the perception of colors (Dittmar, 2001).

Male infants and toddlers prefer aqua blue, ﬂex grey and vanilla yellow, whereas female infants prefer sunlit coral, blush candy pink and candy orange (Brown, 2016). 2-10 years The children in this age range prefer soft pastels, not bright and strong color. This radiates warmth, peace and has a soothing and comfort effect. These colors are found to promote love and security among kids (Atkinson, 2004). 2-7 years old boys prefer arctic blue, lime green and amber yellow, whereas girls prefer cupid pink, lavender grey and tiffany blue (Brown, 2016) Empirical evidence (Boyatzis, 2014) found that the 69% of children within the age of 5 to 6.5 years have shown positive emotional responses (e.g. happiness and excitement) to the 9 colors shown to them. Another study highlighted the preferences of children within the age range of 7-8 years, where Ÿ Boys were more indecisive than girls in marking emotions to colors Ÿ Boys were happy with colors like red & brown, whereas girls were unhappy with the same Ÿ Boys were found to be unhappy with colors like pink & purple, whereas girls were happy with the same Ÿ There was no gender difference observed in the emotional preference for colors like yellow, orange, blue, green and black

Color Perception and Learning Research evidence sheds light on (Olesen, 2017) the existence of correlations between different colors and their effect on cognitive aspects of the child. Ÿ Blue: enhances creativity and stimulates cool and relaxing environment Ÿ Red: evokes passion for learning but sometime instills strong feelings of threat among kids Ÿ Yellow: stimulates intellectual and critical thought Ÿ Green: stimulates and contributes to better mental health in kids, simulates speed and concentration Ÿ Pink: helpful in grabbing attention Ÿ Orange: enhances critical thinking, memory and exam performance Choice of colors should vary as per the academic standpoint of the kid: Ÿ Pre-school and elementary school- Warm and

7-10 years old like stronger and more vibrant colors, shades of blue – green coupled with yellow creams stimulates study and learning, whereas fruity coral reds, & violets enhances their social, creative imaginative play, whereas less use of orange and yellow create stimulation and energy (Atkinson, 2004). 10-19 years Colors like ﬂuorescent bright, red, bold blues, citrus greens provide excitement and mental tranquility; purple stimulates social awareness, outward thoughts among teenagers, whereas black is not good enough for emotional development of the teenagers (Atkinson, 2004) Teenage boys love charcoal black, denim blue and 32

SEPTEMBER 2017

Ÿ Ÿ

Color Psychology & Culture India, the home to myriad emotions is a hub of diversity in people with regards to geography, culture, and religious institutions they follow. Research (Wou, 2015) portrays the meaning different colors have in India. Ÿ Red is found to be highly auspicious and pure. It is correlated with sensuality, prowess, bravery and protection Ÿ Saffron is connoted as sacred, pure, religious and abstinence Ÿ Green is a festive color, connotes happiness, life, stability and nature Ÿ White is for purity, cleanliness, peace, knowledge, but as a depict mour ning, disruption and violence in southern part of India Ÿ Black shows lack of desirability, evil, negativity, anger, barrenness and death

bright color schemes Upper grade and secondary- Cool colors Libraries- Cool green or pale/light green colors

To create a sense of balance and have positive effects on the psychological, emotional and academic aspects of the kid, overdoing of colors should be avoided. International investigation in the ﬁeld of color psychology (Rouw et al., 2014) evidenced the association of Alphabets or days with different colors, it was found that people speaking Hindi, English and Dutch found following associations: Ÿ Monday: Blue and red Ÿ Tuesday: Yellow and blue/green Ÿ Wednesday: Green and yellow Ÿ Thursday: Green and blue/purple Ÿ Friday: Red and blue Ÿ Saturday: Red and yellow Ÿ Sunday: White and yellow

The general meaning of the colors for India is not far different from that of the other countries. In a study conducted, both Indian and British samples, males' preference is limited to blue and green colors whereas females show an additional taste for pink and purple. Across cultures, females compared to males have higher ranks for turquoises, pink and purple and a lower rank for olive green, brown and beige (Bonnardel et al., 2012) References:

Many research ﬁndings state that colors are positively correlated to brain development, decreased absenteeism and aggression, enhanced productivity, childhood to adulthood transition, improved sleep habits, increased memory and enhanced academic performance.

A t k i n s o n . C . ( 2 0 0 4 ) . R e s e n e C o l o u r. R e t r i e v e d o n l i n e f r o m : http://www.resene.co.nz/homeown/use_colr/colours-for-living.htm Bonnardel.V.; Beniwal. S.; Dubey. N.; Pande. M.; & Bimler. D. (2012). Color Preferences: A British/Indian comparative study. Retrieved online from: http://www.academia.edu/4205575/Color_preference_a_British_Indian_comparati ve_study Boyatzis. C. J. & Varghese. R. (2014). Children's emotional associations with colors. Journal of Genetic Psychology.

Color and Consumer Psychology Not only does color affect learning but also purchase decisions of kids and parents. They create instant subconscious judgment and help people make up their mind for a particular product within the initial 90 seconds of interactions with the product. Memory retention studies conclude that a word or phrase printed in color than in black and white is 78% more likely to be remembered by consumers (Singh, 2006).

Brown. E. (2016). Age & gender based color preferences. Retrieved online from: https://www.designmantic.com/blog/infographics/age-and-gender-based-colorpreferences/ Gigglebellies (2013). What colors do kids prefer? The science of playful colors. Retrieved online from: http://blog.thegigglebellies.com/2013/11/what-color s-dokids-prefer-the-science-of-playful-colors/ Olesen. J. (2017). Color Psychology: Child behavior & learning through color. Retrieved online from: http://www.color-meanings.com/color-psy chology-childbehavior-and-learning-through-colors/ Rouw.R.; Case. L.; Gosavi. R.; & Ramachandra. V. (2014). Color association for days and letters across different languages. Frontiers in Psychology, 5.

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Power To CHANGE Mindsets Kalpa Kartik, Editor-in-chief, Mentor Magazine, Director, LXL Ideas

being mindful of the consequences that every action and statement of yours can cause Ÿ being aware of the young adolescent minds that can be inﬂuenced through various mediums Ÿ creating an atmosphere of comprehensiveness and belongingness in the school Ÿ engaging in discussions related to controversial topics because these are a part of our society and we cannot just shy away from them.

For years, Indian kids particularly with disability or from poor background have been falling behind due to the lack of proper address to their problem. This is affecting our schools’ international performance in terms of rankings and empathy. We know we need to make urgent changes and look to the world's leading education systems for inspiration. Ecuador has become an exemplary country with its acting President on wheel chair, shared the First Consul General Hector Cueva while speaking at the 20th National Summit on Quality in Education on 'Promoting a Positive Approach towards Inclusive Education' held in Bangalore and organised by Confederation of Indian Industry- Institute of Quality.

While bringing about change is important to sustain, it is also the toughest. At times a little bit of inconvenience on our part can go a long way to change mind set of people. It is often the adults that hesitate, so don't hesitate to break away from the beaten path and include lesser fortunate, unable/differently abled in your school and create awareness on sensitive topics

U N Khaware, Additional Commissioner Academic, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan on the occasion said that the path for education helps in reaching peace and assimilating each individual with his/her differences. Dr Siddaraju, Director, Disability, Government of Karnataka shared that disability has seen a long way and is ﬁnally getting its due respect. Being people in power and position, principals have the capacity to make CHANGE happen. With them lies the responsibility of at least 1,000 minds that can be inﬂuenced and nurtured. They can empower children to think differently by: Ÿ being Inclusive in all areas concerning a school

Successful transformation leaders embrace the above mentioned and many more challenges. There are no easy answers; however, committing to an on-going communications and listening campaign so people know what's going on and know how they might contribute to the transformation effort and know that they can make a difference is important.

DECEMBER 1 & 2, 2017, BENGALURU

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