Mentor June 2016, Volume 10, Issue 1

CONTENTs

June 2016 | Volume 10 Issue 01

Mentor Thoughts

Sultan Speaks Page - 05

Life Long Learning...

Post Scriptum Page - 34

Organize curriculum…

Pedagogy Painting Dreams Page - 06

The necessity of art-education in Indian Schools is currently underrated..

A Friendly Ambience Page - 09 A glaring issue...

School Leadership

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The DAV Lamp

An Arena of Motivation

Behavioural Changes in teenagers Page - 18

Parenting, is a journey of lifelong learning...

Empathy, Leadership, Design and Technology Page - 22 From Managers to Leaders...

School Governance School Policy Page - 27

Policies and Procedures are the strategic link between the organisation’s vision, and its day-to-day operations...

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Innovation The Triad Page - 30

Children learn better when their parents stay involved...

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Just One Point

Computer literacy for teachers...

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Publisher & Owner: Mr. Syed Sultan Ahmed Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Vidya Shetty Content Team: Ms. Kalpa Kartik, Ms. Yashika Begwani Designed by: Mr. Harpreet Singh Production: Mr. Praveen U.M., Mr. Sathish C., Ms. Guna V. Printed by: Mr. Manoj Printed at: Elegant Printing Works, # 74, South End Road, Basavangudi, Bengaluru - 560 004. Ph: +91 80 26615507 Published at: # 175, 2nd Cross, Lower Palace Orchards, Bengaluru - 560 003, India.

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MAKING LESSONS OF LIFE At the end of eighteen years of education, one gets a degree and graduates to undertake various challenges of life. Unfortunately, our graduation courses were designed to get our children ready for a ‘Livelihood’; the irony of our times is that most of our graduates are unemployable!

I wonder what on earth did we teach them for 18 long years.

The bigger irony is that in this entire process of teaching our children to get a ‘Livelihood’ we have forgotten that there is a ‘Life’ that they have to live which our educational system focuses very little on. Our education system seems completely broken!

Teachers who learnt yesterday are teaching children today to live a life tomorrow. Teaching what we teach today, in the manner we teach today is one of the biggest jokes going around.

The pace at which our world is changing is incredible. It is estimated that children studying in grade 1 today will do jobs in future that we have never heard of. 40% of the jobs that we do today will not be required 10 years from now and half of our children will land up doing jobs that have not yet been discovered. In future, every individual will change careers 5-6 times in their working life; I am talking about careers not jobs.

Our children are going to face challenges that we have never heard about. We need to equip our children with skills to handle situations that we have no clue about. There is an old saying: “When in doubt stick to the

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basics”. Teaching information and lessons of the past is old school. We need to equip our children with skills to solve future problems.

We as educators have to make lessons for life, make lessons of life.

of educating our children the ‘X’ factor often goes missing. The ‘X’ factor between learning and life is our ability to improve the quality of all our lives.

Just as my team and I strive to create meaningful experiences for children and educators under the banner of LXL Ideas, I look forward to your continued support and encouragement as we set out on our journey to Make Lessons of Life!

Having worked very closely with children for over 18 years I have learnt that you cannot teach children. But the interesting fact is that children learn. The best way that anyone learns is through experiences. So as educators the best we can do is to create experiences for children that will enable them to learn. We as educators have to make lessons for life, make lessons of life.

For almost two decades EduMedia has been striving to make a difference in the school education space. From 26 May 2016, EduMedia will evolve into its new avatar as LXL Ideas and focus on ‘Making lessons of Life’. Our educational system surely teaches our children the A to Z, however, in this process

Mr. Syed Sultan Ahmed, MD, EduMedia India Pvt. Ltd. www.lxl.in

PEDAGOGY

PAINTING DREAMS

Dr. Ritwij Bhowmik

Trained as a visual artist, Dr. Ritwij Bhowmik obtained his Bachelors (Oil Painting) from Govt. College of Art & Craft, Kolkata and MFA from VisvaBharati University (Santiniketan).

He later pursued Chinese Art, Oil Painting and Calligraphy from Northeast Normal University (China) and then earned his Doctorate degree from National Chiao-Tung University (Taiwan) in Visual Culture. He has exhibited his art work in many national and international art exhibitions in India and abroad. His research interest lies in the areas of Visual Culture, Art-Education, Cinema-Study and Art-History and his work has been published in several reputed journals. He has teaching and research experience of more than five years. Dr. Bhowmik joined as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur in 2013 where he currently teaches Art-History, Art Appreciation and CinemaStudy and simultaneously works as a professional painter and research scholar. In this article to MENTOR, Dr Bhowmik highlights the importance and development of a structured art curriculum.

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Abstract The necessity of art-education in Indian Schools is currently underrated.

With the commencement of the 21st Century, there is an exigent need to create a robust additional arteducation programme in Indian schools to prepare the future generation for the challenges of a powerful globalized society.

Introduction A little boy painting his creative imagination onto his classtest papers is admonished by his teachers and family members – this is yet another heartwarming scene from Amir Khan’s blockbuster film Taare Zameen Par. Although released nearly a decade ago (2007), it still remains relevant to our present Indian society, with special reference to primary education and creativity.

Like the protagonist, Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi (played

by Darsheel Safary), in the film, in real life too, talented kids are reprimanded for practicing art and unmercifully pushed towards serious academic curriculum only. While I am not against primary education focusing on academics, my concern is the constant neglect for skill based learning or a subject like art, which is treated merely like a recreational activity. The rampant ignorance about the gravity of primary art-education in schools is a typical problem in the modern Indian scenario. The scenario is different in most other countries.

So much so, that in 1999, the

Director General of UNESCO launched an International Appeal for promoting ArtsEducation and Creativity at School (Iwai, 2002). For decades, in the USA and most European countries, art remains an integral part of every student’s life, both in school/college and in the community. The Chinese traditionally consider painting and calligraphy as the two most essential elements among the “four-arts” (the four major educational achievements) required for the Chinese scholar-gentleman. Japan has a separate art educational system called Children’s Academy of Art, which is equivalent to kindergarten for children from the age-group of 3 to 6 (it also has courses for their mothers) before they would start their elementary education. In these places a child’s art education is not limited to classroom teaching, but covers a wider boundary and includes innovative modern teaching techniques such as frequent museum and art gallery

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June 2016 visits for school children for the development of their visual (arts) literacy. And after all these examples, if we look within, perhaps we would understand how dusky the state of primary art-education in Indian schools is!

Art-education can avowedly assist students to gain self-confidence, to focus on quality and subtlety and above all to learn new creative skills

Getting facts to the canvas Recent researches have demonstrated how incorporating art-education in school curricula helps to improve aesthetic development among students.

Art education helps children imagine and think creatively; it also improves their ability to observe, comprehend, narrate and illustrate their own observation through the language of art. With art, they can freely elicit their innermost feelings and can exchange those without the need for spoken words. Below are some ways in which art can help children learn a few important life skills.

Fine-arts was always given priority in the modern BritishIndian school education system.

Even in the post-independence era, primary art-education received importance in Govt. of India’s educational policies.

An article published in the Times of India reported that in the report of the Education Commission 1952-53, the Kothari Commission Report 1964-66 , the National Policy of Education 1986, the National Curriculum Frameworks of 1975, 1988, 2000 and 2005 and several other such government committees, gave importance to art-education (TNN, 2013).

Despite this fact, regrettably the focus of our schools is always on the STEM subjects.

During my early career days, I worked for a few years at a renowned Kolkata based higher secondary school, when I intimately experienced many queer anomalies in our primary art education system.

I have noticed that the schools which have regular fine-arts classes, have more creative and productive students than other schools who do not have fine-arts in their curriculum. Like any other aesthetic art practice, such as music or dance, fine-art or visual-art is a special art form

that requires regular committed cultivation and diligence that helps the practitioner achieve excellence. Creativity and fineart skill can never be developed artificially or within a short period of time. While it is not enough for a school to only invest in fancy art laboratories, what differentiates complete art education is a trained finearts teacher to ‘inspire’ the little minds and help them grow in the realm of creativity. According to NCERT, the primary level art education is run by general teachers who are mostly nontrained art teachers. Going back to the example of the film, Taare Zameen Par, beautifully depicts the stark difference between two art teachers – Mr. Holkar (played by Ravi Khanvilkar) who with his strict orthodox teaching process, induced Ishaan to hate ‘art’, even though Ishan had loved painting and sketching; on the other hand it has Mr. Ram Shankar Nikumbh (played

by Aamir Khan), who goes beyond his limitations to teach art and inspires Ishaan and his other students to think freely and paint their imagination.

We desperately need more art teachers like Ram Shankar Nikumbh in our schools.

This neglecting attitude and the frivolous confidence of schools

• Art can teach them that there may be more than one right answer through multiple perspectives.

• Collaborative art practices, such as mural paintings teach them to cooperate and communicate with others thorough the colorful ways of art.

• Art education can help a child blossom and can build their self-esteem and confidence.

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with respect to art education being adequate in their schools, compel them to overlook the crucial imperfections in having an appropriate fine-arts curriculum in their schools. Furthermore, an ill-suited ambience obliges fine-arts education to become just another additional subject choice.

Art education helps children imagine and think creatively; it also improves their ability to observe, comprehend, narrate and illustrate

Colours of tomorrow All said and done, I am still optimistic that there is a deep rooted cultural heritage that one would find only in India and that modern day schools and upcoming generations shall understand its importance. It is only then that the schools will be able to nurture it and take the efforts to design an effective framework for art-education and skill based learning. The British have left us with a unique school education system , closer to their own primary

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education, which emphasized the importance of learning creative arts as a part of regular school education curriculum.

In the post-independence era, slowly but steadily fineart education degraded in our schools. Over the years, many renowned schools had sidelined fine-arts from the main streams of education with substitutes. However, any substitute can never replace the need of an additional fine-arts training programme that is wellstructured and well-designed.

I am not saying that we do not have schools with good arteducation programmes, but there are only a limited number of schools with such art-education programmes that would actually benefit the students. Having a full-fledged fine-arts programme at school can be rewarding in many ways as has been already stated. Art-education can avowedly assist students to gain self-confidence, to focus on quality and subtlety and above all to learn new creative skills to express themselves more meaningfully. All these, can be learnt in an amusing way that no academic curriculum or books can provide.

I am anticipating a better future when Indian schools will pay

attention to this notion and will engrain art as a vital part of their educational curriculum not only to glamorize their advertisement websites and pamphlets and to attract more prospective students, but for the sake of the next generation of Indian citizens!

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A cross-cultural study of pre-schoolers, conducted in Tel Aviv, Israel and Ohio, in the USA, shows the value of arts education instruction where students went through visual-art activities with teacher supervision achieved significantly larger improvement of artistic development compared to those without teacher supervision; see Iwai, Kaor. “The Contribution of Arts Education to Children’s Lives.”

Prospects Vol. XXXII.Vol. XXXII (2002): 407-20. Print.

2 For information on how art-education can help a child, check Frost, Shelley.

“What Are the Benefits of Art Education for Children?” Livestrong.com. Demand Media, Inc, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 5 Mar. 2016; Lynch, Grace Hwang.

“The Importance of Art in Child Development.” PBS Parents. PBS.org.

Web. 05 Mar. 2016.

3 Art instructors with general degrees who have no proper specialized training/ art-college degrees, from any reputed UGC approved University/institute.

4 My intentions here are not to rant about the greatness of British education system, instead I am merely trying to demonstrate some good aspects of the system that they have left behind.

ritwij.art@gmail.com

June 2016

A FRIENDLY AMBIENCE Ms Megha Moturi

How do you identify children who have special educational needs in a forty student class?

Megha Moturi was always awed by her mother’s dedication for children and for teaching. Her childhood was as unique as her mother’s colourful and vibrant classroom. Megha usually writes fiction and is a travel evangelist. In this article, Prativa Patnaik, a veteran in elementary school education spills the beans to her daughter, Megha, on her experience with children having special educational needs in a regular classroom and how she helps them.

Prativa Patnaik has a double Masters, in Education and in English and an experience of 26 years as an elementary school instructor and has worked in reputed schools in India and overseas. After a brief stint abroad working, at MES Indian School, Qatar and several other schools in Bhubaneshwar, she currently works at DPS Damanjodi, Orissa.

I feel identifying children with special needs is of paramount importance, especially in a public school system. The teacher is often the person who identifies a learning disability, which might have gone unnoticed by parents or a pediatrician. Such children when identified early, show good prognosis. In fact, some excellent administrators I have worked under, in schools in the past, have asserted that only experienced teachers and the school’s most capable, handle elementary divisions. I believe everything can be learnt and anyone can learn. All that is needed is perseverance by both the child and the parent and of course a loving atmosphere.

In order to identify special children when they are enrolled in a regular school the teacher needs to employ observation skills and ‘diagnose’ from her experience.

Children with special needs are sometimes hyperactive and/or aggressive or are at times aloof, subdued and less interested in things happening around them.

Aggressive behaviour includes stubbornness, shouting loudly, spitting or biting and being adamant and dominating in group activities, like insisting on being the first in line or stealing food from a friend sitting next to him/her. Kids with cognitive and/or attention deficiency, when outdoors have no fear while attempting a new game or a seemingly dangerous one because they have difficulty in comprehending danger. Many times, these children face difficulty in controlling saliva in the mouth and drool all over the desk or their uniforms and spit on others.

There is another segment of children with special needs who can be identified by noticing their impassive and temperamental behaviour. These children have a tired and bored look about

In this tete-a-tete with MENTOR, Ms Megha Moturi, in an interesting mother-daughter conversation format, divulges into how breaking the news to a parent of a child enrolled in a public school, about his/her probable disability can be an uphill task for a teacher.

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who is often termed by parents is a little ‘naughty’ or ‘shy’.

What are the challenges you face when you counsel parents regarding such a difficult subject?

them. Some kids under this category have a spell of dullness which might last for upto 5-7 days. They sometimes don’t even get up to ask for permission to go to the toilet! They also, at times, soil their pants since they are unable to assert their needs of the teacher or ayah present.

In a forty student class it does become difficult to spot kids who need extra care or move to go to a school specialized for them, but an experienced and trained teacher can do so in spite of the pandemonium.

In order to identify special children when they are enrolled in a regular school the teacher needs to employ observation skills and ‘diagnose’ from her experience

awareness. Having said that it is extremely difficult for any parent to be willing to embrace the fact that their darling child requires additional professional attention. After all, every child is perfect in the eyes of their parents. As teachers, we have to be extremely sensitive while counselling parents when we spot irregularities in a child’s behaviour and activities or deviations from normal growth patterns. Some disabilities have physical manifestations in case of Downs Syndrome or Polio and on the other hand, some disabilities have absolutely no effect on the child’s physical appearance. The child might appear to be normal and healthy

The hardest part is in making parents realize that their children are unlike other children of the same age. We also need to make them understand that we are not intending or implying that the child has a ‘disease’ and that we are just trying to convey that he or s/he needs attention and help from an expert who knows how to make the child’s disability his/her advantage and cope with it during the early stages of learning. They need to understand that together (a teacher who has expertise in the field of disabilities and the parents) can work towards the improvement of the child.

I have seen many children diagnosed with autism, being more successful in higher levels of education with proper care and love given at the initial stage itself. Parents need to be made aware that although mainstream studying can be difficult for some children; s/he may excel in other fields like music, sport and art and carve a niche for himself/

What is the next step after identifying such kids?

The next step after identifying children with special needs is counselling parents. I have dealt with a broad spectrum of parents throughout my career.

Some are educated and some are not. There are also some educated parents who lack

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June 2016

herself. I personally reinforce the idea that their child is nothing short of perfect and needs a lot more love and support from their side, during my counselling sections.

Children with special needs are sometimes hyperactive and/or aggressive or are at times aloof, subdued and less interested in things happening around them

Do you face situations where parents are unwilling to accept the pronouncement given by you after careful observation?

Although we live in the 21st century India, the topic of learning disabilities can still be a taboo and it is unfortunate.

There are many parents unwilling to accept the advice that we give them about their child’s probable disabilities.

Parents living in cities tend to be more accommodating to advice for the simple reason that they are probably just more aware.

In industrial belts and industrial townships, although parents are educated, they are often unwilling to accept the diagnosis we give them. I have had parents who are even unwilling to accept that the fact that their kid might have problems with vision as s/ he is unable to see the board!

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Even such a seemingly trivial deformity is unacceptable. This sometimes makes me reflect on the kind of high expectations parents have with kids these days, that anything apart from being ‘perfect’ is unacceptable.

I have also had parents breaking down when I suggest that their kid will probably require a professional’s help. Some are even stubborn and do not want to take them out of regular school being fully aware that a teacher handling at least 40 students will not be able to give as much attention to their child who needs it desperately and soon. Such children get promoted from elementary school but face a lot of difficulty in higher classes and sometimes take a lot of time graduating high school. For parents who are not receptive to advice, we sometimes let them observe their child with the other students without the child’s knowledge and give them a detailed report of the progress the child is making in exams. Sadly, I have had a low rate of success with counselling parents in spite of employing all known methods and continue to have such kids literally struggling in my forty student class. There is only one solution for this glaring issue and that is increased awareness.

Are there any innovative methods that you use to help children with special needs cope with a diverse class?

Children who find difficulty in reading, writing should be provided help at the grass root level. With the right help the disability can be overcome with time. Some of the methods that I use in my class for students to develop writing skills and for good pencil skills are listed below: • Clay work- clay or dough (prepared with wheat flour and salt) helps develop motor skills by strengthening hands and figure and gives a lot of scope for creativity.

• Sand box- children are given a lot of time to play with sand where they can manipulate their finger in a sand tray to write a particular letter. They are encouraged to manipulate the letter over and over again so that even if they are unable to write with a pencil with the necessary dexterity they are able to memorize the pattern of the letter and remember the character. The texture of the sand is enjoyable for most kids and at times they love putting it in their mouths! In case a sand box is not convenient a sand paper can be used.

• Velcro and wool thread- A technique I picked up at an Arvind Gupta workshop in Delhi has proved to be extremely effective.

The child is encouraged to form a particular letter on a Velcro patch with a woollen string.

The woollen string sticks to

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learn to be patient with their friends who need additional assistance which is a beautiful thing to see. Children in my class sit with different children on a rotational basis, so they learn to adjust with everybody and no one feels neglected or is made to feel that he or she is different or incompetent.

Do you have any success stories you would like to share with us?

the Velcro beautifully and the child makes the letter effortlessly. • Doing regular chores- The child is encouraged to do regular chores like buttoning a shirt, picking up pieces of paper from the ground or sharpening pencils to develop motor skills.

There is only one solution for this glaring issue and that is increased awareness

A polio affected child with disability in her hands in my class, showed good prognosis with love and care from those around her. Although slower than the rest of the class she started writing, solely because she felt confident doing so. I have advised her parents to give her typing classes which will make note taking easier in higher classes when the bulk of writing increases. Another student of mine with acute learning disability, especially when it came to English and literature was made to sit with some of the best students in her class who helped her by dictating to her when she slowed down. Surprisingly, she became competitive in their presence and started working harder

and showed an exceptional increase in marks and passed all subjects. Although, the success stories are not many, the ones that I have been a part of, make my being a teacher extremely rewarding and all the effort worthwhile.

Listed below are some good resources on the subject for reference: http://ncse.ie/wp-content/ uploads/2014/10/ ChildrenWithSpecialEdNeeds1.pdf. http://epathshala.nic.in/wp-content/ doc/NCF/Pdf/special_ed_final1.pdf.

I also try to develop a sense of community and unity in my class among the students so no kid feels neglected or inferior.

In a classroom of 40 students the regular children are taught to be helpful to their friends who do not complete work as fast as they do. Those who complete their work faster help their friends who lag behind by dictating the work given. I have seen surprising improvements in listening abilities of children by using this method. Children

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megha.moturi@gmail.com

COVER STORY

IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE Mrs Jaskiran Harika

Mrs. Jaskiran Harika started her career as a teacher in 1978 in DAV Public School, Chandigarh, she later became the coordinator and is now heading the same institution. With 37 years of teaching experience to her credit and 10 years of being the most sought after Principal she has had a tremendous impact on the school. She was selected as a member of educational team by DAV organisation in 1999 to visit schools in England to study their educational pattern and evaluation system. She is also member of the educational audit team for DAV organisation schools and in this piece to MENTOR, she shares how DAV Public School has helped in shaping her personal and professional journey.

Looking Back Years have rolled by and time refuses to wait. Being a keen learner myself along with the passion and fascination I have always had, for the teaching profession, I stepped into the world of education. The passion still persists and always will.

The teacher in me stills makes its presence felt. This has definitely been one of the major reasons for me to continue as an educator, even today. Adding to that is the fact that this profession allows me to touch the lives of so many children. I completed

my elementary education from the prestigious Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh and later completed my post-graduation in in Psychology from Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Education is passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.

I strongly feel education should lead human souls to what is best!

Welcome to a journey through DAV Public School, a school that has entered its 38th year landmark. The school started

its journey in 1978 as a primary school and was later upgraded as senior secondary school in the year 2003. These years have given us, the much needed experience and wisdom to help our learners introspect, so that they may accentuate their potential of learning, thus enabling them to succeed through paramount endeavours so as to shoulder the responsibilities as good citizens and human beings.

Beginning from a miniscule on the map of Chandigarh, we are now a duly acknowledged education body in the landscape of the city’s educationists, officials and public alike for the multifarious achievements of the students and the teachers in the varied scholastic and non-scholastic areas. With absolute landmarks in CBSE examinations, science projects, technology - aided learning, sports like table tennis, basketball, chess and performing arts, we have mapped the national and the international arena.

The purpose of education is holistic development of the child. Children here, are

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parents who look after their academic, financial, social and above all their emotional needs.

Year after year as a part of joy of giving week, parents, students, staff have been donating liberally (various items like stationery, bathroom slippers, and towels) to Snehalya Orphanage, Blind School and Kusht Ashram.

Respect for elders and senior citizens are our priority. Students participate in various activities for Helpage India and Old age homes. provided with an environment which helps them enhance their critical, creative and analytical thinking skills. A wellequipped library, computeraided teaching material and a panel of experienced teachers, give the necessary foundation and exposure to the learners.

Academic excellence takes place when learning comes with a variety of challenges blended with interesting and engaging activities which would lead to deeper levels of understanding for the learner.

way of living. The traditions of passing on spiritual values and the inculcation of divinity to the youth continue at DAV. Yajyas which are carried out throughout the year transmit divine vibes which further help the young minds connect with their inner self.

I see an increase in the number of student exchange programmes, which I feel is a step towards global learning

More than 100 children, who are under privileged, are benefitted under the ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumb’ program. We nurture their dreams, hopes and aspirations to be at par with the gifted ones.

We provide them with foster

The School is committed to inculcate values and help students improve interpersonal relationships. Each student must be given personal attention and scope to discover their talents to ensure a healthy atmosphere.

Stepping forward for a noble cause, DAV Public School, in collaboration with ‘The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), set up a Kindness Club with the aim of instilling compassion and benevolence towards animals.

Every week, students from one class collect and send items such as milk, porridge, chapattis etc to SPCA. Intellectual Awareness The School should be an arena of motivation and equality, the principle, being that in a spirit of healthy competition, each student in the process is spurred to greater heights.

The art of teaching is an art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.

Instilling Vedic Traditions At DAV, we have incorporated the pivotal DAV philosophy that acknowledges not only the best that modern western education has to offer, but also the basic values of India’s ancient cultural heritage. We have set a trend to harmonize the school ambience with the “havan” or “yajya”, so as to generate a pious and pure

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June 2016 Books are mental fodder, through which one acquires knowledge and wisdom. In this endeavour, the school lays importance on reading so as to inculcate a reading habit in the students, which unfortunately is taking a back seat now-adays. Books take them to a fascinating world, enhancing the power of imagination in them and preventing them from being caught in a web of misconceptions, prejudices and distorted facts. To get joy in the world of books, every year the activity of ‘Reading Together’ is looked forward to and enjoyed by all. The school has developed a well-equipped library for the students and if used wisely, the students are sure to benefit from it. The ‘Public Speaking and Debating Club’, ‘Quizzing Club’, and ‘Reader’s Club’ followed by literary activities like slogan and caption contests, creative writing, jam sessions and group discussions help the students shed their inhibitions and pave way for developing critical, analytical and problem solving skills.

Teaching them young The younger lot of children need a secure environment, space

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to learn, to play and grow. Our kindergarten faculty accepts the challenging task of rearing the tender minds with delight. The teaching-learning process is child-centric, activity based and imparted by playful methods so as to develop confidence, social skills, verbal abilities and motor skills in every child.

making India a cleaner nation.

Teachers feel, that the students must be taught about the need to maintain basic sanitation and cleanliness in all aspects, only then will they be able to replicate it in their homes too. Need for having a clean and beautiful city.

Wellness

Being a Principal is about being a teacher amongst teachers and a learner amongst learners

The school organises activities such as green day, learning shapes, save water, yellow day, visit to post office, teaching transport, save energy, no purchase day, save earth and red day to inculcate social skills while they are young. Moreover, to appreciate the hard work of our helping staff, they are presented with ‘thank you’ cards and sweets.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, launched on October 2, urged people to join the mission of

Keeping in mind the health of the trio i.e. body, mind and soul, we lay great emphasis on rigorous and supervised physical training early in the morning, yoga training for meditation and various ‘asanas’ and chanting of ‘Gayathri Mantra’ by one and all making the school environment calm and serene. To achieve the goal of promoting physical health of the students, we provide the students with lots of opportunities like various indoor and outdoor games and special coaching for different games by qualified coaches.

Creativity, imagination and free expression are given their due importance through a wide range of carefully designed co-curricular activities. The school has in its arsenal wellequipped high-tech multimedia lab with a large movie screen for

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the child’s holistic development through hand-outs and activities monitored by experts and master trainers.

Each teacher is committed to read at least one book based on education / child psychology per year and bring forth the ideas to cater to the needs of each student.

projection of movies for the kids.

The provision further enhances technology aided learning.

Looking into the future ‘The best way to predict future is to create it’. The School is committed to provide the best infrastructure and learning resources to students so that they are updated with latest knowledge trends.

Everything around is changing at a very quick pace. The school immediately understands the role of technology and ensures that the students are given the necessary resources to keep up with changing times. The school is associated with the British Council and University of Cambridge in England and our students are exposed to international exams like YLE [Young Learner’s English] – a direction towards valuable language development.

In the upcoming years, I see an increase in the number of student exchange programmes, which I feel is a step towards global learning.

Once a month, all teachers (subject wise) have clear and goal-directed discussions for their planned course of activities which is formalised by a ‘Faculty Meet’, to get a direction to the future.

A recent book that I have read is ‘The Lamp’ by Jim Stovall. This book explores the relationship between wishing, hoping and believing in reality. The book reveals the biggest dream you ever had and what is required to manifest the same into reality.

Being a Principal is about being a teacher amongst teachers and a learner amongst learners.

It is about your workforce and assuring all members of your assistance are constantly learning and growing with you.

If you need to grow, it is important to keep adding something new to your mind every day. And if you need wisdom, you must keep deleting unwanted things from your mind every day.

Under the special program of in-service growth of teachers, we reserve three days during summer break for workshops/ seminars on psychology, on multifaceted aspects related to

To designate duties to teachers as per their talent, interest and providing opportunities for free hand experience is what makes a good and trustworthy atmosphere at DAV. In the

learner, tomorrow a leader’ is a phrase that aptly suits the need for internal sustained growth of teachers who have to keep pace with the changing times and get updated in all aspects. If they learn, unlearn and relearn, only then can they lead students to the path of success.

Life-long learning- That makes a difference Self-improvement is a never ending process. ‘Today a

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June 2016 beginning of the session, the teachers are guided to take up responsibilities and gear up afresh by introspecting and identifying their weaknesses and eventually finding ways to overcome and eliminate those.

Working on strengths, learning and growing without fear helps the teachers to give their best.

Challenges Students today are the centre focus of everyone’s attention.

Every nation has high aspirations from them. Parents live a world of joy through the fulfilment of their dreams, teachers strive untiringly to mould them into unique healthy individuals, all this because they can be made the wealth of the nation and become the joy of parents and pride for teachers. One of the major challenges that we face today is the inability among the society, parents and intellectuals to groom students to make them global citizens keeping intact, the morals in the foundations laid by our ancestors. A good value system will always help the child to stand the test of time and we as teachers and parents have to be real role models for the children.

Concluding thoughts Education is all about expanding horizons.

“The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil”. It cannot be restricted to the four walls of the classroom.

It does not stop at just learning what books tell us, but in modern parlance the emphasis is on ‘EDUCATION FOR LIFE’. The aim is to inculcate the basic elements of value education, perseverance, humanity, the virtue of patience and the idea of global citizenship so that they may be able to compete with the challenges of the world!

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tête-à-tête

QUICK

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MENTOR in conversation with Ms. Jaskiran Harika 1. I would describe education as….

Preparing the child for a better tomorrow. It is important to arouse curiosity and ensure education leads to the child being a good human being.

2. You’ve been both a teacher and a Principal, which one do you enjoy more and why?

As a teacher, I have felt wonderful while receiving unconditional love from the students. It just feels very motherly. A Principal’s task is more challenging while s/ he deals with mature minds. It is perhaps, being the teacher for matured individuals.

3. Three key takeaways from your visit to schools and educational pattern in England...

That was back in 1999 and what I felt worked well there were: • Continuous Evaluation (Now incorporated in our system too, as CCE) • Creativity is acknowledged • Storytelling is used to solve issues 4. What are the 3 key skills that a student must be taught in school to prepare for the world outside school 1. Time Management 2. Interpersonal Relationships 3. Respect and Values

and what will be most helpful would be student exchange programmes which involves knowledge sharing and intermingling of cultures.

6. Your biggest learning from life has been…

Being in this profession for so long and working with students, teachers and parents really nurtures one’s tolerance and patience levels, which I feel has been my biggest learning in this space.

7. Balancing work and family life as a woman; what are the 3 things required to strike the perfect balance.

I would say that the three things required are: • Punctuality and the right attitude • Commitment and dedication • Will power and strength The task is not an easy one I must say, but it teaches you a lot as you journey through the various emotions at work and back at home. Just keep moving and people will join you. You will always find support around you!

5. The best way to predict the future is to create it… Give us one technological advancement in recent times that you think has changed the way in which children learn. Why is it important?

I think what is most important

jaskiranharika@gmail.com

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES IN TEENAGERS Ms. Sharmila Chatterjee

Ms. Sharmila Chatterjee is an educationist who stands dedicated and committed to promotion of child-centric education. During her illustrious career of more than two-anda-half decades, she was the Principal of Delhi Public School Ghaziabad, Vasundhara, and Principal of Blue Bells Model School, Gurgaon. A master trainer in life skills she spearheaded integration of life skills in curriculum. She is a practitioner of Multiple Intelligence approach to learning and Total Quality Management in education.

She has undertaken many outreach programmes to help the education community and sensitize students and teachers towards addressing issues concerning community development. She firmly believes in inclusive education and upholds that each child is unique and that the educational system should facilitate and address the uniqueness and individuality of each child.

In this well thought of article for MENTOR, Ms Chatterjee, currently the Principal at Billabong High School International, Noida, highlights the role of parents in dealing with behavioural changes among students.

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Parenting, is a journey of lifelong learning and evolving. It is almost like growing up all over again with old experiences revisited, stories retold, emotions repeated and memories retraced with the difference that now, we see them from a parent’s perspective.

May be that is the catch! What happens if we start looking at each situation and expectation from the same standpoint as we had seen it years ago as children ourselves? How did we feel when mother wanted us to wear a particular dress which we were not willing to? And why did we not want to? If I look back in time, I possibly had a reason to not like that but surely I could not explain it to my mother at that point of time.

Many times, we as kids also made choices which were hard to explain and equally hard to understand the parental differences on those. The

responsible reasons to our behaviour could be many ranging from need of freedom to emotional needs or simpler needs of clearer communication or more.

Having lived through the 2a.m feeds, it could be time for toddler tantrums, back-to-school blues, or handling your teens. Their brains have an immense growth spurt when they are young and by the time they are six, they already have 80-90% of adult size brains. Which is precisely why these days, early learning is stressed on by researchers, educationists and psychologists across the world.

The child’s brain remodels itself intensely during adolescence continuing through mid-20s.

Teens actually experience significant developmental changes within themselves when the unused connections in the thinking and processing part

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June 2016 The Five pillars of compassionate parenting are – understanding, freedom, love, expectations and communication.

of your child’s brain are ‘pruned’ away while other connections are strengthened. This is the brain’s way of becoming more efficient, based on the ‘use it or lose it’ principle.

What happens if we start looking at each situation and expectation from the same standpoint as we had seen it years ago as children ourselves?

With growing years, your child is likely to become more selfconscious about physical appearances, changes and their self-esteem is often influenced by that. And like in toddler years the teen is also continuously learning about consequences of their decisions & actions and are still developing their decision making skills. Parents would also have to be alert of their child’s search for identity which can be influenced by peer group, cultural background and family expectations.

for independence just keeps growing which is likely to influence the decisions your child makes and the relationships your child has, with family and friends. The teenagers are likely to engage in more risk-taking behaviour while at the same time, they are still developing control over their impulses.

From pre-teens to teens, you may notice your child’s strong feelings and emotions at various times. Even the mood is fluttering and unpredictable. These ups and downs are partly because your child’s brain is still learning how to cope-up and control emotions in a grown-up way.

Standing by them and being empathetic to your child is the foundation of compassionate parenting.

Understanding is one of the most important aspects that we all should learn as a parent. When we understand our children we become more effective in guiding and nurturing them as they blossom into mature individuals. A good way to develop an understanding of your child is to start observing as they sleep, eat, or play and look for the consistent traits, like what activities do they like best or is adjusting to changes easy for them or is she less verbal about things or what is her way of expression or what is his/her interpretation of a feeling and many other such details? If not God, surely secrets of good parenting lie in understanding these details.

Being aware and showing faith in the competencies of our children build their faith in themselves and their faith in us.

A pre-schooler would fight over these while a teenager could be fighting to go to a nightclub alone. It becomes imperative to understand the peer pressure the teens go through and communicate the parental fears across before dictating the big

As children grow out of toddlerhood, they start seeking independence in their own little world. And the demand

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‘NO’. Given the understanding and available choice of decision making, children appreciate the responsibilities, be it a toddler or a teen.

even daily tasks, freedom to ask questions, freedom to express, and freedom of decision making are the inherent human expectations which we often miss out considering in children.

If required always feel free to seek professional help because the child is yours and everything about you is going to impact the child

Freedom means letting go of decisions which are not critical in a child’s development like it is ok if your child wants to decide what to wear to a friend’s party or a family gathering or it is ok if your child decides to finish her studies after the playtime. What is important is that you offer enough thoughtful choices and let your child know the rationale of your selections.

From the toddler years, children learn to gain independence through the developing motor skills or any of the developmental milestones. As parents one of the most important goals is to raise children who become independent and self-reliant.

Parents should be mindful of this fact and appreciate the individual space and freedom required to raise such a child.

The parenting need is to find ways and means to offer freedom within set boundaries and keep expanding the boundaries as they grow older. We have to encourage each child to develop a strong positive sense of self and equip them with the skills necessary to live happily and successfully in a changing world.

Parents often forget that sometime or the other, children have to fight their own battles in life. So, offering life on a silver platter is just a digression from the realities. Giving children this freedom we let them learn better,

Freedom and independence do not mean complete freerange parenting or giving in to everything children say. Freedom means offering choices and offering the freedom to choose and decide. Freedom of choice, freedom to attempt activities &

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June 2016 help them accept their emotions and teach them accountability.

Love never spoils a child, what does is indulgence.

Knowing someone loves you unconditionally and will be standing with you through thick and thin makes you so much more confident of self and life overall. Perspectives change.

As a child I would be more prone to own up my decisions or mistakes if I know that would not change the love for me or affect my relationships.

Parents would also have to be alert of their child’s search for identity which can be influenced by peer group, cultural background and family expectations But the moment this love makes way for indulgences, its meaning changes. It becomes convenience. Handing over the TV remote to the child because s/he has been crying or flooring all over and the caregivers does not have the patience to divert the child’s attention is not love. It is immoderation. Unconditional love does not need to prove itself with gifts, toys, chocolates, giving in to every tantrum or

through any conditional reaction.

Children, no matter how smart & intelligent they are, they thrive on love. And just loving them is not enough. Expression of love is equally important. When we kiss or hug our children when they are asleep, they do not feel our emotions. But the same expression gives a remarkable boost to their confidence, their emotions when they are awake.

And when we love someone, we also have expectations from them, a lot indeed! Expectations are never ending if we let them be. Setting the realistic hopes for your child is as important as your own. As a parent, it is important to set reasonable expectations that are high without setting your child up for failure or causing undue stress on them when they are unable to achieve those.

And it can happen effortlessly when we appreciate them as themselves and can make the appropriate guidelines for them.

Parents should not set expectations based on their own childhood. If you may have been lousy at a subject, does not mean your child should be lousy too, and even your aspirations cannot be dumped on the child.

Expectations should be realistic, achievable, long-term, and in sync with the child’s aspirations.

Communicating with each other in this world of virtual flutter

and stressful lifestyle is not just important but imperative to stay connected.

Being a child is difficult. Growing up, is even more difficult.

So how hard must it be for a child to live through incomprehensible communications and emotions till they reach your age to understand the perspectives. It must be hard enough!

Let’s not make it more difficult by giving them a world of ‘NO’ or a world of ‘FEARS’. Negative fears or negative emotions create long-lasting impressions in a child’s memory, impedes a lot more in growing up than we usually think and thus contributes to the final make of the child to individual. Communicating the reasons behind your ‘no’s’ will be more helpful than dictating a no or instilling the fear to keep your child away from something.

Communication with your child about the freedom you gave, about your worries around them, about the expectations, about the limits and the fact that you care for them makes the BIG difference.

Parents need to be aware that they are not just raising children but raising future parents and treat them accordingly. If there is any easier way to parenting children of any generation then I believe parents should never stop returning to their childhood and continue learning and adapting. If required, always feel free to seek professional help because the child is yours and everything about you is going to impact the child.

Rest keep sharing!

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reading,

keep

principal@billabongnoida.com

EMPATHY, LEADERSHIP, DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY Mentor Reports

The demands on the head of a school are by no means simple.

The Principal is not only an instructional leader but also a media-savvy, parent-friendly, tech-expert, student-empathetic resource of ideas and inspiration. S/he is not expected only to administer and run the school, but also lead a team of energetic, enterprising teachers and students. Additionally, the ideal of ceaseless innovation is a hard one to live up to. Yet, great ideas exist in little corners waiting to be spotted and picked up.

LSIx Leaders, held this year on 05 April at Hotel Sea Princess, Mumbai, is a focussed, oneday workshop exclusively for school Principals and education leaders to reflect on their leadership approach and renew their skills through expert-led sessions on topics pertinent to everyday challenges. The sessions were based on the three interconnected pillars of Empathy, Leadership and Design and Technology and was curated by Avnita Bir, DirectorPrincipal, R.N. Podar School and Ronen Habib, Founder, EQ Schools and Director, MERIT Program, California. It was attended by educators from across the country.

Setting the Context through Mindfulness and Play Ronen set the context to the day through a mindfulness exercise, inviting participants to focus their energies in the present and set a personal intention for the day.

He started with how leaders care

the most about success, which leads to happiness. But turn it around: it is actually happiness that leads to success. However, only authentic happiness leads to long term success. He further broke down what leads to authentic happiness - Play, Mindfulness and Relationships.

Playing leads to Positivity and this in turn leads to Creativity.

Mindfulness gives one a clear mind, which again allows for Creativity and building of Emotional and Social Skills.

Lastly, meaningful relationships are the strongest determinant of one’s long-term happiness.

For a leader, each of these has a role to play while creating Effective Teams. Trust, holding each other accountable, no aversion to conflict and commitment to team success are what make teams effective.

A leader that shows his/her people that s/he ‘gets them’ and leads with compassion and models being vulnerable by

How does a leader take his/her mind off the many pressures that pursue him/her and be open to bright new sparks that come along? LSIx Leaders, organized by R.N. Podar School, was a day of opening the mind to possibilities; a day when educators put themselves up for radical questioning and a rethinking of their approach.

MENTOR takes a quick review and brings the best learning experiences from the summit.

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June 2016

owning up to failure and learning from it encourages his/her team to become comfortable and practice the same behaviour.

Ronen got the audience to play a few games lifted straight from his classroom, through which he invoked creativity, curiosity and social skills in his students. Participants loved turning into laughing, playing students and felt the impact of a few simple games. ‘Games allow vulnerability to show up in a safe way’, he concluded, encouraging educators to play and make their students play as well Whole-System Innovation Avnita Bir shared the origins of the three pillars – Empathy, Design and Technology and Leadership, and their relevance for school leaders today. She suggested embedding data with real stories that give the data a human context and face and therefore relatable.

Leadership in Action One of the most challenging topics to cover if one wants to go beyond banal theories, this session taken by Vishnu Swaminathan, South Asia Head, Ashoka Innovators for Public, turned out to be energizing and refreshing in its approach. He started with Ashoka’s principle of ‘Everyone a Change-maker’ and said that would happen when the solutions exceed the problems we have. We live in fast-changing times where digital consumption is exploding. How does one create new leadership in this scenario?

Today, leadership is about empowerment, not control.

One’s idea has to become greater than the organization or individual and only then will the impact be at scale. He asked leaders what that one idea was

for them that they were willing to let go of and allow to grow larger than themselves that it may scale. ‘What can you stop doing so that others can do it better and you can do something else?’ he asked the leaders.

The leader needs to stop and face the fragility that comes with learning something new, and learn it anyway.

In the break-out session, he left groups with one big question each.

The groups, after intense discussions and frantic brainstorming, came up with responses to the questions Q.1 How to inspire teachers to go beyond academics?

• Walk the talk as a leader • Teachers need clarity of objectives • Measure milestones

Gaurav Podar, MD, Podar Education Network, shared stories from the Podar classrooms that have used Integrated Learning by weaving different subjects with Yoga, Music and Games; all the while keeping the student at the centre.

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other leaders • Engage in stakeholder-led goal-setting; let each member take up what s/he identifies with

The Kabir Cafe • Cushion teachers from failure to increase experimentation • Teach aesthetics and beauty to students • Let students have the ability to question teachers, including on processes • Teacher internship Q.2 What are the ways in which teachers can interact with external stakeholders?

• PTMs, Open Houses and virtually with parents • Build the element into lesson plan • Award students for empathy • Take informal inputs from all quarters: firemen, beggars around the school Q.3 How do we empower teachers to do the things they want – giving themselves permission? What to allow and what needs permission?

• Create an enabling culture • Closed loop system for creative criticism • Create a self-moderated space for teachers, like Wikipedia for instance • Processes and procedures are important when you let go; strengthen those Q.4 How do we get teachers to collaborate with each other?

• Let teachers be seen, noticed; everyone likes being noticed • Open space technology

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(physically): go flat • Create a ‘culture of cohorts’, ‘culture of error’ • Teaching as leadership: micro-teaching • Create a structure, give it time • Take away Fevicol leadership: don’t get stuck • Have eating meetings where food is shared • Move from Copyright --> Right to Copy Q.5 How can teachers better participate in students’ social change projects?

• Burst bubble (wrap) through plays, projects • Get students out of their cocoons • Explore ground-realities in the classroom • What matters to kids is what they can engage with; ask yourself what this is • Bring in interconnectedness, mutual respect, not ‘tolerance’ • Explore fears that emerge while engaging with social issues, build trust • Help them move from Reaction --> Response; start with their ‘locus of control’ • Make internal shifts; introduce self, peer, family assessments.

Child’s struggle is important Q.6 How to bring in distributed leadership and what is the school leader’s role in the same?

• A leader is one who creates

Vishnu, insightful and sharp, concluded by highlighting that we are a lucky generation indeed, to witness mindset shifts in our own lifetimes. Each one of us can create a mindset shift. The question is how we are changing it and allowing our kids to change it. We remember leaders who change mindsets forever.

Dhai Akshar Prem Ka...

There was a surprise in store for the audience just after lunch – Kabir Cafe! Neo-folk band, Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe belted out music of the 15th century weaver-poet Kabir, fusing it with pop-rock, R&B and Carnatic flavours. They interspersed their peppy, upbeat music with insightful, thought-provoking commentary on each of the songs, giving everyone Kabir’s wisdom in modern language.

The performance had the audience on its feet – dancing, clapping, and rejoicing.

E for Empathy...

The session on Building Happiness and Emotional Intelligence among Teachers and Students was facilitated

by Sonali Ojha, Founder and

In your shoes - Sonali Ojha

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June 2016 Dreamcatchers Foundation. It was one that is hard to describe given its experiential nature. She first started with the example of the Mumbai blasts in 1992 – how among the first people to rush in to help, regardless of the danger involved, were the street kids.

She shared how children have a natural sense of empathy, and there is something in the structure and system we have put them in that has taken them away from this natural instinct.

They have been pushed into a corner, isolated from each other and living in a buffer zone, because we are allowing them to transact without their natural state of empathy. The process of ‘building empathy’, therefore, is more a process of understanding and eliminating the barriers that keep children from practicing their natural empathy. ‘A huge part of empathy’, she says, ‘is to allow vulnerability to exist.’

Control is an illusion, the effort to control is mythical; instead, can we just encourage our children to embrace their vulnerability and lack of control and show up in the moment to what is.

Within a classroom of 4560 children there exists a microcosm. We don’t need to learn any history, geography if we, rather our students, just understood where each was coming from – the culture, social norms, traditions each was a

Design Thinking - Willibrord George

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part of. We would understand our nation and the diversity we belong to. But how much of our time is actually spent exploring that diversity? She questioned the educators.

For a school, happiness and emotional intelligence could be about as simple as bringing back personal connections, creating spaces for people to relate to each other and step into each other’s worlds. ...D for Design Good design is at the heart of any intervention that works.

However, as leaders, we need to constantly use Design and Systems Thinking to approach a problem from the stakeholder affected, to see if the solution really works for the end beneficiary. In the process, there are intended and unintended outcomes that need to be accounted for. The session on ‘Using Design Thinking to Harness Education Technology’

by Willibrord George, CEO, Willibrord Group of Schools used examples from his own chain of highly effective, low-cost schools which use technology and design thinking to solve their student and teachers’ problems.

With passion and conviction evident in his speech, Willibrord shared how an incident in his school when a child was

slapped by his parent on seeing his report card made him feel like he had let the child down and led him to overhaul the entire assessment as well as reporting system. Today, at his school, students explain multiple performance graphs to their parents at the PTMs. Using Design Thinking, he managed to change power equations between children and parents, and put control in the hands of his students. He reminded educators that it was not about them, it was about the students.

If they genuinely care about their students, they will solve their problems. It is as simple as that.

And until you manage to solve it, you keep at it. But the first step is to feel the student’s pain, then understand her problem and eventually use a design thinking process to come up with a workable solution.

The speaker also provoked the audience into questioning themselves – ‘Am I going to be okay with being average or am I going to set a new standard?’

Because it is very easy to do the former. A problem well-defined is half-solved. In absence of that definition, you might be solving the symptom and not the cause. To embed this system of thinking, he said, allow people to see your process – people pick up processes. ‘Take your time to solve problems; even God took time to create you!’ he quipped.

Integrating Tech into the School Shabbi Luthra, Director, R&D and Technology, American School of Bombay brought forth her expertise and shared steps to integrate technology into the school system. Starting with a TED talk by a 12 year old who develops apps for a hobby, she highlighted the pace and ease at which children are taking to technology. She advocated

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connection, compassion, joy.

‘Who wins the battle?’ ‘The one that you feed’.

Shifting pedagogy - Shabbi Luthra designing a system to not just introduce, but also support technology use in the classroom.

At ASB they use a systematic process that covers everything from Leadership and Curriculum to Infrastructure and Operations.

There is a well-defined techintegration curriculum that enriches student learning.

Appropriate, relevant, on-going professional development for staff supports successful integration, she shared.

Amongst other things, she advised that tech-support should be promptly available else the teacher will not trust technology in the future. It takes tech support a lot of time to give up control, but it must be done; teachers need to be empowered to manage minor issues. Access to reliable, stable, ethical tech resources and policies, and supporting infrastructure is important for end users.

Building Creative Confidence The idea and stimulation-rich day was concluded by Ronen Habib, who took a powerful reflective session on building creative confidence – the idea that each one of us can be creative. What we need is the confidence.

Confidence, he said, comes from emotionally feeling confident, not intellectually thinking about it. We need to allow ourselves to feel difficult emotions like

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shame, guilt. And let emotions move us to action, so we go from emotion --> motion. He shared Roger Bannister’s inspiring story of breaking the 4 min-mile record, and how many others went on to do it once he had managed to break it. With this he asked the audience to reflect on what their own 4min mile was – that dream goal which would stretch them, but would feel exhilarating to achieve. Through a written exercise, he brought participants face-to-face with their critical, self-defeating inner ‘gremlin’. ‘Your gremlin is the strongest when you allow it to hide’, he said, ‘and so, expose it, listen to it, become aware, and then choose your course of action’. Our gremlin sabotages us; students need us to attack this gremlin and move forth to feed the ‘second wolf’ in the legendary story of the two wolves that live inside us – the first one symbolizing shame, envy, anger, hatred. And the second one that stands for love,

Three ways to ‘feed the second wolf’ are to remember that you are not your inner critic; to surround yourself with social support; and learn to trust yourself with self-compassion.

As an extension in the classroom, we need to create a safe space for kids, a community to support each other. One great way of doing this is through theatre because ‘suspended disbelief’ comes easier to kids.

One can create scenario for them and allow them to explore difficult emotions, confront inner gremlins and negotiate real-life dilemmas in a safe space.

Not Just another Conference In all, the day left participants feeling energized, challenged, comforted, and inspired to go back and put into practice their new-found understanding of age-old concepts. The shared commitment and camaraderie of the group made the process of learning together a joy. The high quality of speakers and experiential format of sessions coupled with confronting real dilemmas of school leaders as humans gave it a unique flavour. The educators parted on the note of shared excitement and energy, with the resolve to return to this vibrant community with experiences and renewed learning.

info@mentormagazine.net

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

SCHOOL POLICY Mrs Vyshnavi Raj

FORMULATING SCHOOL POLICIES

Mrs. Vyshnavi Raj. H.N is an academician and head of the New Cambridge International Public School, Bengaluru.

She is a Post graduate in Mathematics and has dedicated her time encouraging and motivating children in the areas of activity based learning.

Mrs. Vyshnavi Raj is the winner of Shaikshanika Seva Prashasti form Pandit Deena Dayal Memorial in the year 2011 and has also undergone many workshops and seminars conducted by empanelled agencies of CBSE. In this article to MENTOR Ms. Vyshnavi, sheds some light on the basis of formulating school policies and it’s importance in the smooth functioning of the school.

Policies and Procedures are the strategic link between the organisation`s vision and its day-to-day operations.

So why is this important to all employees? Simply put, wellwritten organisation policies and procedures allow employees to clearly understand their roles and responsibilities within predefined limits. Basically, policies and procedures allow the management to guide operations without constant management intervention.

A ‘policy’ is a predetermined course of action, which is established to provide a guide toward accepted organisation`s strategies and objectives.

Policies identify the key activities and provide a general strategy to decision-makers on how to handle issues as they arise. This is accomplished by providing the reader with limits and a choice of alternatives that can be used to ‘guide’ their decision making processes as they attempt to overcome problems.

Some of the Policies which schools should adopt are:• Care for children and love to be with them, understand children within social, cultural and political contexts, develop sensitivity to their needs and problems, treat all children equally.

• Perceive children not as passive receivers of knowledge, augment their natural propensity to construct

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meaning, discourage rote learning, make learning a joyful, participatory and meaningful activity.

• Critically examine curriculum and textbooks, contextualize curriculum to suit local needs.

• Do not treat knowledge as a ‘given’, embedded in the curriculum and accepted without question.

• Organize learner-centred, activity-based, participatory learning experiences – play, projects, discussion, dialogue, observation, visits and learn to reflect on their own practice.

• Integrate academic learning with social and personal realities of learners, responding to diversities in the classroom.

• Promote values of peace, democratic way of life, equality, justice, liberty, fraternity, secularism and zeal for social reconstruction.

This can only be achieved if teacher education curriculum provides appropriate and critical opportunities for students and teachers alike • Observe and engage with children, communicate with and relate to children.

• Understand the self and others, one’s beliefs, assumptions, emotions and aspirations; develop the capacity for self-analysis, self-evaluation, adaptability, flexibility, creativity and innovation.

• Develop habits and the capacity for self-directed learning, have time to

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effective inclusion.

think, reflect, assimilate and articulate new ideas; be self-critical and to work collaboratively in groups.

• Engage with subject content, examine disciplinary knowledge and social realities, relate subject matter with the social milieu of learners and develop critical thinking.

• Develop professional skills in pedagogy, observation, documentation, analysis and interpretation, drama, craft, story-telling and reflective inquiry To achieve the above mentioned policies the below mentioned steps should be taken:Revamping Teacher Education for Quality Teachers Competence of teachers and their motivation is crucial for improving the quality. Several initiatives are being taken for addressing teacher shortages, shortages of secondary school teachers in mathematics, science and languages, improving the quality of preservice teachers and inservice teacher’s professional development, enhancing the status of teaching as a profession, improving teachers’ motivation and their accountability for ensuring learning outcomes, and improving the quality of educators. The objective of this theme is to assess the existing scenario and provide workable

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solutions to address the gamut of issues in teacher education in the school sector.

well-written organisation policies and procedures allow employees to clearly understand their roles and responsibilities within predefined limits Enabling Inclusive Education – education of Girls, SCs, STs, Minorities and children with special needs The issue of social access and equity are far too complex. While the gaps in average enrolments between disadvantaged groups like SC, ST, Muslims, girls and children with special needs and the general population have decreased, there is still a considerably large gap in learning levels with historically disadvantaged and economically weaker children having significantly lower learning outcomes. Large and growing learning gaps threaten the equity gains achieved on the enrolment front because children with lower levels of learning are more likely to drop out. We need to examine current interventions in bridging the gender and social gaps and identify focused strategies for

Improving the quality of regulation Present regulatory systems tend to stymie the quality and growth of our institutions. What reforms are necessary in the existing regulatory agencies and their methods so as to give greater academic, administrative and financial autonomy to our institutions so as bring about quality enhancement.

Developing the best teachers Teachers are the cornerstone of any educational system.

Developing the teaching talent and incentivizing best teachers, retaining good teachers are all significant to improving the quality of teaching. Views are elicited so that our higher education institutions can nurture good faculty who in turn can propel higher standards in our students.

Comprehensive Education – Ethics, Physical Education, Arts and Crafts, Life Skills Our students need to have a holistic development which cannot be achieved only through information and instruction.

Knowledge needs sensitization to values, ethics, appreciating arts, physical education, sports and life skills. This theme invites views and suggestions for concrete methods and tools for integration of sports, physical education, arts and crafts, functional skills for livelihood and value education in school curriculum.

Ranking of institutions and accreditations There has been a growing concern on the poor performance of our Universities in World Ranking and Global ratings. What changes could be suggested in the accreditation systems of our country so that

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June 2016

our higher education institutions acquire better global rankings!

Focus on Child Health There is a need to improve access to child health services.

The Ministry of Health is focusing on promoting child health through appropriate interventions. Presently, the Department of School Education and Literacy, MHRD addresses the nutritional needs of school going children in the age group of 6-14 years through the MidDay Meal (MDM) Scheme. The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) under WCD also addresses the issues of child health. There is, however, a need to synergize the multisectoral interventions taken by the relevant GOI Ministries.

The existing schemes need to be examined for their outcomes and impediments in implementation, including those of coordination. This theme seeks views and suggestions on how to ensure greater focus on child through improvements in existing schemes and suggest new holistic interventions.

Integrating skill development in higher education India has a demographic advantage of the largest youth population in the world.

Integrating skills within the higher education holds the key to reaping the demographic dividend. What steps and

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actions are needed to effectively achieve this harmonization of skills in here.

Extending outreach of Secondary and Senior Secondary Education With a dramatic growth in elementary education enrolments and improvements in retention and transition rates in recent years, particularly amongst the more disadvantaged groups, there is an increasing pressure on the secondary schools to admit more students. With the enforcement of RTE Act and further improvement in retention and transition rates, demand for secondary schooling will grow rapidly in the coming years.

The objective of this discussion group is to assess the extent to which we have made quality education available, accessible and affordable to the target population in the age group of 14–18 years. How we can increase access to post elementary education across the country in a manner so as to ensure no child is denied the opportunity of completing his/her school education.

In particular, how can we address the geographical and social disparities in secondary education?

Strengthening of Vocational Education There is a greater emphasis on integrating skills in

education and a renewed focus on vocational education in secondary education. The National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) has been aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).

The objective of this group will be examine the issues of enhancing acceptance of vocational qualifications, difficulties in implementing VE , ensuring horizontal and vertical mobility, availability of teachers. Some States have been effectively integrating vocational education in mainstream education.

How can these be adopted or adapted across other States?

Ensuring Learning Outcomes in Elementary Education Several studies have shown that school children do not seem to acquire age appropriate skills in reading, writing and numeracy. There is a need to explore the various approaches to improve teaching–learning at the elementary stage. The objective of this theme is to understand the issues of low learning achievement levels in elementary schooling, assess the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation and suggest ways and methods of improving the learning outcomes of school children which would result in enhancing the quality of elementary education.

School standards, assessment and Management systems

School School

There is a need to put in place a School Quality Assessment and Accreditation System to cover all aspects of school functioning, including scholastic and co-scholastic domains, physical infrastructure, faculty management, school leadership, learning

outcomes

and

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systems Several schemes of students financial assistance are being implemented at Central and State levels. Have they really served the intended objectives?

Some critical views are invited on the existing schemes and what changes will improve the quality of financial support systems for our students so that every aspiring learner can enter here. satisfaction of pupils and their parents/ guardians.

Better governance structures in schools include striking a balance between mandating and persuading, training of district and block-level education officers as well as head teachers for better management practices on using data to better monitor and support school performance and to mobilise community resources and efforts to improve school performance. What are the current experiences and how can they be bettered to achieve tangible result?

A ‘policy’ is a predetermined course of action, which is established to provide a guide toward accepted organisation`s strategies and objectives

Bridging gender and social gaps While the general participation rates in higher education has been steadily increasing and today our HE GER is 21.5%, this is not evenly spread across social groups and women.

Equitable growth is essential to sustain higher GER rates and hence what kinds of affirmative action could be suggested

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to reduce gender and social disparities in here.

Why these policies guidelines are important?

Opportunities for technology enabled learning This theme seeks to understand the complexities around having a robust framework for technology enabled education. Do we have the human and infrastructural facilities that can fully exploit the opportunities of TEL. To what extent do our institutions leverage the potential of ICT for improving access and quality of general and technical education and also faculty development.

• Employees are provided with information that allows them freedom to carry out their job and make decisions within defined boundaries.

• Employees understand the constraints of their job without using a ‘trial and error’ approach, as key points are visible in well-written policies and procedures.

• Policies and guidelines enable the workforce to clearly understand individual & team responsibilities, thus saving time and resources.

Everyone is working off the same page; employees can get the “official” word on how they should go about their tasks quickly and easily.

• Clearly written policies and procedures allow superiors of the institutions to exercise control by exception rather than ‘micro-manage’ their staff.

• They send a “We Care!” message. ‘The organization wants us to be successful at our jobs.’

• Clearly written policies and procedures provide legal protection and the company has better legal footing if challenged in court.

Reforming School Examination Systems Examination reforms that focus on problem-solving, critical thinking and reasoning skills are critical to improving quality at the secondary level. Such reforms will change the teaching– learning processes and improve learning outcomes. In recent years, CBSE has introduced Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), a change from the existing structure, so that the students are assessed on an ongoing basis for their holistic development, a system of grading in place of marks has also been introduced. The objectives are to look at the existing systems and suggest reforms which would help in better assessment for students.

Sustaining

student

and

support vyshmadhu@gmail.com

INNOVATION

THE TRIAD Dr. Smita Desai

The Triad: STUDENT -PARENT -TEACHER

Moving away from the usual ongoing discussion about the ill-effects of the overuse of technology in our lives, the authors explore how technology could actually be put to better use to facilitate communication between the school and parents of adolescents thereby strengthening the studentteacher-parent triad and ensuring effective learning for the child. As supported by research, students perform better in school when their parents are involved in their lives and that education works best when teachers and parents work closely with one another. With the above as food for thought, Dr Smita Desai, founder Drishti, (an organization catering to growth, development and education of teachers and students) in Mumbai and Ms Vasundhara Kaul, Program Director, Training at Drishti, share their thoughts and views.

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As a psychologist who has been dealing with children, parents and schools for over two decades now it has been proven more often than not during the course of our work at Drishti that children learn better when their parents stay involved in their learning process.

Bob Beauprez put it very aptly when he said - “Education is a shared commitment between dedicated teachers, motivated students and enthusiastic parents with high expectations.”

As much as young children of today may want to convey independence through the “I don’t need you to tell me what I must do at school or what subject option to take” and other such statements, the truth always is that children will always be emotionally distressed if you are not there to help them with these decisions.

Parental bonding helps a child feel safe, secure, nurtured and loved and has deep impact on the psychosocial development of the child. However, with the constantly changing dynamics of society it does become difficult for the busy working parents to spend time on a regular basis with their child, let alone finding the time for their education related activities. Today, where even project work making and completing homework can be outsourced to “professional

service providers” we do have interactions with principals and school administrators of partner schools on a regular basis who point out that parents are too busy sometimes to stay involved in the lives of their children. Thus, leading to the most favourite topic for a parent orientation program being - “the negative impact of technology leading our lives today”.

Information is a critical first step to increasing parental involvement, and technology provides schools with fast and reliable ways to get important information to parents However, can this technology not be used as an advantage - as means of getting involved and keeping one updated about one’s child? Parents and teachers have a common goal: to facilitate the best educational experience possible for students. When parents and teachers communicate with one another, they are able to work together towards this common goal. Modern technology can make communication between home and school more efficient, and improved in both quantity and quality.

The Shifting Paradigm There has been a paradigm shift from the old family-school

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parental involvement, and technology provides schools with fast and reliable ways to get important information to parents - whether it is the grades on the latest test or information about an upcoming parent meeting various technology-based strategies can be used for staying connected. relationship which was more about “We’re the professionals and we know best. Let us do our job” or “I have sent my child to school and now it’s up to you teachers to teach my child” to now which is more like “We need to work together so each of us can carry out our responsibilities effectively.”

Although research shows that parental engagement in education has increased over the past 25 years, engaging parents continues to be a hurdle for many schools (Metlife, 2012).

Despite the fact that some teachers struggle to engage parents, today given the kind of schedules they maintain, many parents demand that schools provide them with timely information about their child’s academic progress.

Parents have come to expect that this information will be

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communicated to them regularly and early, and not wait for term end discussions so that issues can be addressed in a timely fashion. Most parents say that their child, individual teachers, and general written communications from the school are either very important or absolutely essential sources of information about their child’s school (Metlife, 2012).

Technology can have benefits for Parents !

Proactive involvement does not require parents to be physically at their child’s school, the question of how technology can be used to keep parents involved in their children’s academic lives becomes important. As access to technology continues to expand, the capabilities for connecting parents to schools will continue to grow. Information is a critical first step to increasing

Modern technology can make communication between home and school more efficient, and improved in both quantity and quality

Ongoing, two-way communication is associated with students’ academic success (Weiss, Caspe, & Lopez, 2006; Caspe, Lopez, & Wolos, 2006/2007; Kreider, Caspe, Kennedy, & Weiss, 2007) and lays the foundation for many other forms of family involvement (Lunts, 2003). However, family– school communication can be challenging for logistical, emotional, and cultural reasons (Lightfoot, 2003). Educators

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June 2016 can ensure that the child has a more comfortable environment once back at school. Teachers should likewise let parents know if issues arise at school for the student, such as noticeable changes in behavior or deficits in academic performance.

Teachers may send an e-mail to the student’s parents so that together, they can determine whether the student needs extra support. Together, as a team, parents and teachers can work to create the best possible environments to foster physical, emotional and intellectual wellbeing for students.

often ask, “How can we promote more frequent and meaningful communication with families?”

Parental bonding helps a child feel safe, secure, nurtured and loved and has deep impact on the psychosocial development of the child In the Information Age, internet technology represents an opportunity for increasing communication between families, schools and students.

Internet-based communication methods, including e-mail, websites, and newer social networking technologies such as blogs, present new opportunities for family–school communication. Research has found that the internet represents a promising but largely untapped opportunity for promoting family–school communication.

Internet-based family–school communication is associated with higher achievement and

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higher educational expectations.

Students whose families used internet-based school communication demonstrated more positive outcomes. These students were also significantly less likely to drop out of school, though the magnitude of this relationship was small.

(Bouffard, S., 2008) While many parents and teachers may view technology as danger for the 21st century, it does not necessarily have to be one. Unlike previously, technology can enable better communication and relationships among parents, teachers and adolescents.

Schools should encourage parents to be involved and become effective partners of the child’s education as it does not happen automatically. For example, parents can send teachers an e-mail to let them know when the home learning environment may be (temporarily or otherwise) holding back a student’s progress. For example, if the student has been dealing with the death of a loved one, sending a teacher a short e-mail to let them know

Live Updates - Breaking News An e-newsletter is an interesting and effective way of sharing information about what is happening at school, website updates though picture talks and relevant updated reports, blogs adds to the ways in which schools can build a stronger relationship with the parents.

Essentially, the idea is to build the strongest possible triad between the student, teacher and the parent. The more news about a child the school is able to share with the parent - the more updated a parent stays - ensures better psychosocial and emotional development for the child. Therefore, in the best interest of all - technology should be used to maximize parent involvement.

drsmitadesai@drishtionline.com

AN IDEA CAN CHANGE A SCHOOL Dr. Vidya Shetty, Editor-in-chief MENTOR A Principal wrote to me recently about how he observed FED( Future Entrepreneur Day) as an annual event targeting students from grades 7-12 to be young business men and make their own business projects according to their vision and plans. What a great thought and an idea!

While heading Manipal K-12 and PEARSON K-12, there were certain ideas that my team and I encouraged schools to build on year on year and subsequently share them as best practices amongst the 40 schools during the annual Principals meet. Let me share some of these thoughts and ideas with you, ideas that are based on celebrating success of a school with parents: It is important that we plot a day in our academic calendar as a day every term to celebrate success of the school. On the day one could have showcasing of the student work class wise, best work across sections subject wise, school newsletter sharing with parents, display of the newsletter in the school lobby, ensure enough work is displayed in the parents’ waiting lobby for parents to browse through.

It would be a great idea to organize curriculum evenings across levels: Early years, Primary, Middle and Secondary School. This would be a great idea to involve parents in the academic rigour of the school.

A graphic organizer capturing all the important elements, milestones of the curriculum offered by the school would

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have enough buy in from parents and this will make curriculum transaction smoother across the school.

Websites speak rich about a school. I remember how much of emphasis we placed on developing the websites for each of our schools at PEARSON and every effort was made in building parents’ and students’ resources sections.

Celebrating success is an equally important goal for a school leader today

A school survey using ERP, would be a good indicator to freeze the point at which the school has started the new year and would be a great idea to share the findings with parents at the end of the year of the achievements of the school. A great trajectory to form!

Important that the SDP (School Development Plan) is in place beginning of the academic year and a review of the SDP periodically by the steering committee of the school along

with the authority in concern would build a lot of transparency across the school and serve as a navigator for the year ahead. A fortnightly random feedback with a parent or a group of parents would help in sharing feedback and progress of the school.

What else calls for showcasing in academics with parents: Great classroom helpers, helpers across the school who are trained, polite and are sensitized to the needs of the children, are neatly dressed, security who are politely good, smartly dressed and vigilant, reflect the ethos of the school.

It is important that we have a cluster of very important parents (VIPs) who not only visit school occasionally, but do help around or assist in some way in the school. A mention of this on the display board, assembly time gratitude expressed and of course images on display in the corridor. I have come across schools which also host Monthly Parent Coffees - educational topics, curriculum, social media, how to support your child while I was leading schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. …to be continued vidya@edumedia.in