ScooNews-November 2017-Digital Edition by ScooNews

Children must be taught how to think, not what to think

Volume 2 Issue 4 November 2017 CHANGING TEACHERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; LIVES EVERYDAY, EVERY WAY!

Margaret Mead

STRAIGHT TALK

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED by Ravi Santlani on behalf of EduPulse Media Pvt. Ltd

Editor Nichola Pais Deputy Editor Parvathy Jayakrishnan Assistant Editor Anjana Deepak Reporter Ashima Sharma, Anuj Kr. Website Team Vaibhav Ramchandani, Pranav Sharma, Ojas Godatwar, Gaurang Mandhana Art Direction Rexsu Cherry Design CP Sharma Editorial Advisor Shobhita Rajgopal, Meenakshi Uberoi, Neeta Bali Pics Pressfoto Pixabay, Shutterstock

Founder & CEO Ravi Santlani Vice President Operations Vinay K Singh Vice President PR Vanya Bhandari Manager-Sales & Marketing Virendra Kashyap Asst. Manager Business Development Abhishek Tomar Asst Manager Back Office Jaspreet Kaur

EDITORIAL OFFICE EduPulse Media Pvt Ltd, J-3, Jhalana Institutional Area, Second Floor, Jaipur 302004 India Email: editor@scoonews.com RNI No. RAJENG01042 FOR ALL SALES QUERIES Virendra Kashyap +91-9953219439 Abhishek Tomar +91-9811756705 sales@scoonews.com FOR SUBSCRIPTION +91-7240517913 subscribe@scoonews.com PRINTED AND PUBLISHED by Ravi Santlani on behalf of EduPulse Media Pvt Ltd PRINTED AT Jaipur Printers Pvt Ltd, MI Road, Jaipur 302001, Rajasthan, India and PUBLISHED AT EduPulse Media Pvt Ltd, J-3, Jhalana Institutional Area, Second Floor, Jaipur 302004 India Published for the month of November 2017 Total number of pages 56, including Covers

Nichola Pais

Teacher Training Made Accountable

ig changes coming up in the realm of teacher education...some would call it a clean-up operation, no less. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), the apex teacher education regulator in India functioning under the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, will no longer spare the rod. In a move to curb the growth of poor quality institutions and bring about transparency in teacher training, more than 3,000 errant teacher education colleges could be barred from admitting fresh students in the new academic year. This exercise is part of TeachR, the new system of ranking institutions to revamp academic excellence across India. The key objective is to build a regulatory framework which will work as a blueprint for institutes producing teachers pan India. Top priority now will be the measurement of outcomes of education over the inputs available to impart education, to assess if teachers are school-ready. With this framework, NCTE aims to unlock the potential of all teacher education institutes, to provide better learning outcomes for their student teachers and eventually for all students in India, as Dr. A Santosh Mathew, Chairperson, NCTE, puts it. The four checks of this assessment method will give weightage to physical assets, academic assets, teaching and learning quality and student learning outcomes. B.Ed colleges will be ranked in four categories - A, B, C and D; colleges falling in the last category will be asked to shut down immediately, while those falling in C would have to meet the standards within a year. Even the degrees awarded to teachers will come with a QR code, to weed out the fakes who erode the quality of education in India. With these and other changes that are sought to be introduced, the sector is hoping to witness a much-needed improvement in learning outcomes. Studies continue to reveal depressing truths about overall learning levels among Indian students. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) of 2016, published by education non-profit Pratham, shows that one in two Indian students cannot read books meant for three classes below â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and this status quo has remained unchanged since 2009. Effective teacher training could make all the difference.

FIND US ON

November 2017

CONTENTS

16 COVER STORY

22 FEATURE : Making the Classroom Dyslexia Friendly

A Guide To Teacher Training and Development Students benefit most from high quality instruction and not necessarily highly qualified teachers. Effective teacher training makes all the difference

Innovation : Teacher Auditing : It All Adds Up!

With early detection and the right methods, a teacher can make a world of difference to a child with dyslexia

30 TECH FOCUS

SPECIAL FEATURE : MY SCHOOL MY WAY Forget about what students ‘need’. Students themselves tell us what they want! Are we ready to listen, minus judgement?

48 Tech–Teacher’s New Pet! In the classroom of 2017, educators across the country adopt tech to inject efficiency combined with fun into the learning process

November 2017

EVENTS : Bettasia showcase Top Innovations Inspiring Change in Education

YOURS TRULY The cover story on safety measures that need to be implemented in schools was very relevant and informative. Safety is sometimes taken for granted and that should not be the case. We should have more stringent laws when it comes to safety in schools so that avoidable mishaps can be evaded. Malavika Suresh, Hyderabad The Tech Focus section opened my eyes to the wealth of tech available to keep students safe in school and in buses. It was heartening to see many schools already implementing many of these options. I do wish school managements and parents would come together to use tech to safeguard every aspect of the innocent child’s world. No cost can be bigger than the safety and well-being of a child. Junaid Ansari, Ajmer Thank you for the most wonderful information regarding the future of education. It is indeed heartening to know that five Indian innovations include Dr Mitra’s SOLE (Self Organized Learning Environments) feature in a global innovation list (read this online on your website). I just love reading each issue of ScooNews from cover to cover. Wonderful, beautiful, informative, lovely. The website is equally engaging. Prem Nair, Nagpur

There is nothing about this magazine that doesn't please. The photos and drawings are delightful, and the articles are so interesting, especially the Take 2 section with snippets that most of us would never know otherwise. Even the quality of the paper is fantastic! K Ravi, Mysore Music therapy as an aid to learning was an eye-opener. We know about the therapeutic properties of music but to take it to the next level and help improve education is something that needs to be followed in schools in India. If you notice, most children love music and it is something that can be very well brought into the classroom for learning. Suraj Mishra, Bangalore I love your issues. They are so informative and full of details of the wonderful work and initiatives in education across the globe, it's great! Thanks for the good work. Pawan Kumar Singh, Lucknow Read the September issue of your magazine. I would like to say that it was great to see that ScooNews were hosts to such a big educational event. The coverage was done really well and it felt like I was present at the event. It was great to see the perspectives of so many individuals from the educa-

tion field. I would like to make a suggestion, me being a parent and on behalf of other parents it would be nice if you could have parents on board for such events so our perspective can also be heard. Ramya Valsaraj, Bangalore I was very impressed to see the biggies from the field of education sharing their views. It was refreshing to read Anand Kumar’s interview. The ScooNews Global Education Awards and the Teacher Warrior awards was a nice gesture to acknowledge the school and teacher contributions in the industry. Hope this is an event that will be hosted every year. Good job, ScooNews! Arjun Maroli, Pune We live in an age where technology is increasingly about anticipating future need as well as meeting current need and a more personalised education is linked to better content delivery, teacher empowerment and solving cultural issues. I would urge the ScooNews team to continue the good work and provide information and tips on technology adoption and challenges for schools. Ravi Kumar, Vizag As Dr. Seuss said, ‘Reading can take you places you have never been before.' How wonderful. I so enjoy reading your magazine and look forward to more and more. Parvin Kumar, Bhatinda Thank you for the very informative article on teaching history differently. Educators like me would find it extremely useful in planning more interesting classes for our students. History is a beautiful subject and this piece showed how it can come alive for young minds. I am definitely putting some of those wonderful tips into practice! Elba Rebello, Mumbai

TALK TO US

SEND AN EMAIL: yourstruly@scoonews.com Please do not send attachments

SEND A LETTER: Letters to the Editor must include writer’s full name, address and home telephone, may be edited for purposes of clarity or space, and should be addressed to the nearest office:

JAIPUR: EduPulse Media Pvt Ltd, J-3, Jhalana Institutional Area, Second Floor Jaipur 302004 India

November 2017

Please recycle this magazine and remove inserts and samples before recycling

TRENDING

UNESCO says teachers shouldn't be blamed when system is faulty

Explore more than dozens of planets and moons through Google Maps

Google Maps added over a dozen distant planets and moons to its repertoire, using half a million images taken by spacecrafts including Cassini probe. You can re-create the journeys of Cassini and other spacecrafts by zooming out of Earth and into other moons like Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth largest moon which is thought to have water underneath its crust. Astronomical artist Björn Jónsson put together maps of Europa, Ganymede, Rhea, and Mimas using images from NASA and the European Space Agency. Pluto, Venus, and several moons were also added to Google Maps.

November 2017

UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report stresses that governments are responsible for providing universal quality education. They also highlighted that accountability is required in achieving this goal. The report states that disproportionate blame on any one actor for systemic educational problems can have serious negative side effects, widening inequality and damaging learning. According to the report, blaming teachers for poor test scores and absenteeism is often both unjust and unconstructive. They cannot be held accountable for outcomes that depend on the actions of others. The risk of corruption is also higher in education as compared to the building industry as in the European Union in 20092014, 38 per cent of education and training tenders had only one bidder as compared to the 16 per cent of tenders in the construction sector. It is the lack of accountability that opens the door to corruption, it was pointed out.

‘Ignite My Future in School’ launched by TCS in partnership with Discovery Education TCS, an IT major, and Discovery Education, a digital education content provider, together launched ‘Ignite My Future in School,’ a multi- million dollar initiative to transform US education by implementing computational thinking and problem solving into core school subjects. ‘Ignite My Future in School’ will engage 20,000 teachers and more than one million students over the next five years. Starting this year, it will be rolled out in school districts in 10 US cities and will also be available across the US through a virtual digital platform. More than 3,000 TCS employees will be involved as mentors and support the building of local coalitions in each city. “Innovation occurs at the intersection of disciplines, and digital technologies are transforming every business around the world, from manufacturing and banking to retail and healthcare,” TCS President, North America, UK and Europe Surya Kant said. “Computational thinking and digital fluency are critical skills to succeed in careers across all sectors. Combining our industry knowledge, technology and mentors with Discovery Education’s educational resources, we can empower educators and schools to ignite the spark to prepare a whole new generation of students for brighter futures,” he added. Commenting on the partnership, Discovery Education CEO Bill Goodwyn said, “Together, we are developing and delivering to educators dynamic digital resources that support the growth of critical computational thinking skills”.

Stephen Hawking’s PhD crashes Cambridge University’s website!

Properties of Expanding Universes, the 1966 thesis of Professor Hawking when he was a 24-year-old postgraduate was made freely available for the first time on the publication’s section of university's website at 00:01 BST. Over 60,000 have accessed his work so far. The now 75-year-old’s doctoral thesis is the most requested in the Cambridge University’s library. Tens of thousands of people had accessed the academic's work in the first twelve hours after the university put the paper online. The demand to read the 134-page document was so high, that the website intermittently crashed. Previously 65 pounds was charged by the University library to scan a copy or to physically read the thesis at the library. Prof Hawking was asked whether he wanted to make his PhD available to all and he agreed almost immediately, says Dr Lauren Cadwallader, Deputy Head of Scholarly Communications at Cambridge University. Prof Hawking said by making it available he hoped to "inspire people". He added: "Anyone, anywhere in the world should have free, unhindered access to not just my research, but to the research of every great and enquiring mind across the spectrum of human understanding. It's wonderful to hear how many people have already shown an interest in downloading my thesis hopefully they won't be disappointed now that they finally have access to it!"

ICFAI University confers honorary doctorates on eminent personalities

The ICFAI University, at their 7th convocation ceremony in Hyderabad, awarded 1,466 degrees. Delivering the convocation address, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri and Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems, Defence Research and Development Organisation highlighted the importance of the spirit of learning leading to research, resulting in technologies that benefit mankind. The University conferred Honorary Doctorates to three eminent personalities - Child Rights Protectionist Prof Shantha Sinha, Social Entrepreneur Sonam Wangchuk, and Indian Sand Artist Sudarsan Pattnaik. Prof J. Mahender Reddy, Vice Chancellor presented a report on

the progress made by the University during the year 2016-17. He informed that during the year the faculty members of the University published 245 papers in professional journals of repute of which 25 were in A*/A Journals listed in Australian Business Deans Council Journal Quality list and 159 in Scopus listed journals. Dr C Rangarajan, Chancellor of the University, called for radical changes in higher education. The reforms in higher education, he said, have three dimensions – access, equity and quality. For ensuring quality he called for focusing on modernization of curriculum, efficient teaching, attitude of the students and reforms in examination system

Mysuru schools at loggerheads with DPI over textbook supply delay Private schools in Mysuru allege that the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) have delayed the supply of textbooks and workbooks. More than half the academic year is over and schools are still waiting for the textbooks they have ordered. But department officers are denying these allegations and claim that the private schools are responsible for the present fiasco. In this blame game, it is the students who are suffering without textbooks. Some schools even send a teaching faculty to knock at the doors of DPI offices to ensure that they receive textbooks when they get news of arrival of new stocks.

November 2017

TRENDING

Ten Indian kids nominated for International Children's Peace Prize 2017 “You don't need to conform to a religion or speak a particular tongue to be educated; interest and curiosity to learn is enough to acquire knowledge,” said 12-year-old Sakthi, the youngest nominee of the International Children’s Peace Prize 2017. An economically-deprived school dropout, Sakthi today creates awareness among children and their parents about the importance of schooling. Sakthi is among the 10 children from India who could win the prize, awarded by the Kids Rights Foundation to a child who fights courageously for children's rights. Last year, UAE based Indian teen, Kehkashan Basu had won the award, while Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai had won the same in 2013. Om Prakash Gurjar was

Donate, and Padma Lakshmi will match it! Padma Lakshmi has been a staunch advocate of women's rights, besides being a talented entrepreneur. A first generation US immigrant hailing from Kerala, she regularly uses her celebrity clout to promote social causes, from birth control to children's education. This Diwali she shared via Instagram, a special gifting initiative that she was launching. Padma Lakshmi shared a photo of a letter written to her by a former student of Shanti Bhavan, which is a residential school for the underprivileged in Bengaluru. Along with it, Padma wrote, “Who could feel low after reading this! This beautiful love letter is from a graduate of @shanti_bhavan, a school I have been supporting for years. Divali is a festival for everyone but centered around children. This Divali holiday I ask you to consider the children less fortunate and donate whatever you can to this amazing school. Shilpa just published her first memoir “The Elephant Chasers Daughter”. I just read the first chapter and the writing is so good I was in tears. Shilpa is living proof that with an education, a child is capable of anything! They are raising funds to build another school. I can think of no better way to celebrate Divali than to give them a chance to expand their programs and help the neediest children. And create more Shilpas. Mention my name when you donate and I will match it.”

November 2017

the first Indian to win the award in 2006. Among the nominees from India this year are Shailendra (17), who crusades against child marriage and child labour, Nidhi (15) who is the leader of a children's group which deals with children's rights issues; Sumitra from Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) who is a rugby player and has been training her juniors since the Touraid Under 13 Girls International Rugby Tournament in London where she led the team to victory; Saleha, Poonam, Anand Krishna, Aitisha, Nikhiya and Kiran who have been advocating right to education, denial to child labour and creating awareness for hygiene practices. True winners, all!

Learning app Toppr raises Rs.45 crore from investors The Mumbai-based learning app Toppr, which offers personalised learning solutions for school students, has raised a considerable Rs.45 crore in its Series B round of funding, procuring the same from its existing investors, SAIF Partners, Helion Ventures and FIL Capital Management. As part of its plan, Toppr is evidently targeting 20x growth in its junior grades and 15x growth in its senior grades subscription by 2021. This would make it a company with over USD 500 million in revenue in the next four years. Zishaan Hayath, CEO, and founder of Toppr, said in a statement, “It is the reflection of our healthy unit economics and reinforcement of the belief that the investors have in us. This capital will be used to expand the geographical footprint and accelerate user acquisition. We expect this capital to take us to full profitability.” Toppr is on a path of aggressive expansion, as it reaches out to students across the

HRD Minister announces new educational policy in December Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shri Satya Pal Singh has said that the new education policy is in its final stages and it would be announced in December. Dr Singh at the National Academic meet in Thiruvananthapuram said the policy would aim to 'correct' the course of education system in the country that has followed a colonial mind-set. He stated that the biggest challenge that the Indian education system and the government is facing is how to decolonise the Indian mind and that’s what the government is working on. Another challenge is improving the quality of education from the primary level, making higher education affordable and making it accessible to more students. The major focus that the government has is on skill development. He said accessibility to higher education in the country is only 25.6 per cent while in USA 86 per cent Germany 80 and in China 60 per cent. To prevent students from moving to foreign countries to seek higher education, he says that education institutions should develop the standard of Centres of International Excellence. Dr Singh also says that the Right to Education Act lacks conviction. Though the Act provides the right to compulsory primary education, “what if parents do not send their children to school, what would be the solution for that?” he asked. The academic meet was organised by Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram as part of the Navratri celebrations of P Parameswarn, Director of Vichara Kendram.

Chandigarh Ed Department may try out “No bag day”

Now a school renamed after former President APJ Abdul Kalam A North Mumbai Welfare Society-run school, which has merged with the South Indian Education Society, will now be known as SIES Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial High School. The 3,250-strong school saw 87 students unveiling a life-size six-foot statue of the late ex-President of India, at the school entrance. SIES President V. Shankar unveiled the renamed school plaque and also inaugurated an exhibition ‘India at 70,’ which comprises 70 panels dedicated to topics like ‘Least known facts about India’, ‘Things India has given to the world’, ‘To make a modern India’, and ‘Great achievers of India’. It was announced that the renaming of the school was in honour, memory and acknowledgment of the significant contribution that Dr Kalam, who was the Principal Patron of SIES and also recipient of SIES Lifetime Achievements Award, had made to ignite young minds. Though satellite stations, roads, educational programmes, and a bacteria ("Solibacillus Kalami", by NASA) have been named after India's Missile Man, Shankar pointed out that this was probably the only institution to name a school after Dr Kalam who was fond of children. Dr Kalam’s influence will be pervading, via a display of books authored by the late President, called 'Kalam Ki Kalam'. Quotes by Dr Kalam will also be on display all day long at a kiosk at the school entrance. A fitting tribute!

A random check on the weight of schools bags in Chandigarh revealed that children from classes I to IX were carrying almost 5 to 10 kg every day. This is around 15 - 20 per cent of their body weight. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recommends that the weight of a schoolbag shouldn’t exceed 10 percent of the child’s weight. The PGI doctors had recommended a few years ago that the load should be 5% of the child's weight. The Chandigarh Education department is looking into the problem and the prospect of replicating the ‘no schoolbag day’ idea of Tamil Nadu and Haryana. According to the Yashpal Committee recommendations, textbooks should be treated as school property and there should not be a need for children to purchase all textbooks and carry them daily to school. A separate time-table for the assignment of homework and the use of textbooks and notebooks needs to be prepared by the school and be made known to the children in advance.

November 2017

INNOVATION

Teacher Auditing:

Joyanto Mukherjee, Founder-CEO, TNT (Tutored And Trained) explains the multiple pros of teacher auditing

November 2017

It All Adds Up! Nichola Pais editor@scoonews.com

ave you ever noticed that ‘Teacher’ is invariably missing altogether from the list of professions that feature in career guidance sessions? Low professional esteem combined with far from competitive salary scales, and lack of genuine accountability, contributes to a drastic drop in teacher quality. Considering it is the teacher who is the actual one running the show, why the surprise when outcomes invariably fall short of the mark?

In a scenario marked by soaring levels of teacher attrition, serious drop in teacher quality and a deficiency of safety standards for students, TNT (Tutored And Trained) attempts to systematically address these multiple concerns. Pioneering the concept of auditing schools and colleges across India, TNT uses several different services to help in Teacher Evaluation, Policy Review, Safety Audits and to create revenue streams for clients. The result is educational institutes implementing progressive ideas, better teaching practices, and more involved and effective staff, which helps infuse new life into old institutions, and help newer institutions flourish. Founder and CEO, Joyanto Mukherjee explains how it works…

Auditing Systems At TNT we use a combination of Behavioural Science, Industrial and Clinical Psychology to systematically review systems. Firstly, we audit the

working of the school’s academic system. Then we audit all members of the organisation from the teaching staff, to management and non-teaching staff. This enables them to increase their revenues, their PNLs and ROIs, and helps improve their way of running the school. Incidentally, we have been conducting a safety audit in schools much before this spate of problems of violence against children in schools. We monitor the physical and mental safety standards of a child inside a school. Ours is hands on approach. We do a minimum of three days of audit in a school. Once we have given the presentation to the management, we hand over a file on every teacher and recommended changes, and return every quarter to check progress - a total of five visits to a school a year.

Assessing Teachers We emotionally audit teachers, as it’s important to remember that the teacher is also an individual person. Teachers are human, they need to be heard. In the teacher audit, called Teacher Behavioural Analysis (TBA), we sit with each teacher for at least 45 minutes to an hour. Besides the analysis which is based on evidence based Industrial Psychology, we also identify her subjective emotions and take into consideration her views and opinions. The analysis is therefore both qualitative as well as quantitative.

The Next Step We then present back to the management our findings. We do cluster findings. Hypothetically speaking, we might find 40% of teachers are motivated, 30% have an issue, out of which 10% feel that the salary is not up to the mark; 90% might feel that the

principal is not up to the mark! Post this, we recommend wholesome changes as well as individual changes. An entire section of the report with individual teacher analysis will provide customised solutions based on each teacher’s individual problems. This could include recommending certain YouTube videos which we have already shortlisted, which help improve their speech or even recommending a modification of policies by the management.

Preventing Attrition We give a highly extrapolated S.W.O.T analysis of the teacher to the management. One of the main aims from our analysis is to prevent Teacher Attrition. Often a teacher joins one school, takes a salary raise, and immediately shifts to another school. TNT specializes in understanding the behavioural and policy drivers that lead to teacher attrition and help the school in curbing these drivers. We have had an immense 93% success rate of identifying and helping school drastically reduce their teacher attrition rates.

Winning Trust Initially, the teacher is hesitant because they feel targeted. However, the tests are designed in such a way that the teacher eventually just pours her heart out. We create a very comfortable environment during the auditing process as well. Though we record them on camera, we inform them that if they are uncomfortable with any question we can stop recording, so they know that we are on their side again. We would also protect the teacher’s interests in case we find something that is negative towards the principal or the management. We would not mention that explicitly in the report because that could create a rift between the management and the

November 2017

INNOVATION

Present a plan of action based on our Audit

4 Post-Audit

Conduct 2-5 day audit (V) Management Audit Optimally Sheduled For Teachers

(IV) Policy Review

Approch Institute

(III) Educational Institute Safety Audit (EISA)

Institutional Analysis

(II) Integrated Classroom Evaluation (ICE)

3 Interview with Management

Excute the solution Plan and Monitor Progress

(I) Teacher Behaviour Analysis (TBA) Scheduled Post-Audit Vists

Our Analytical Tools:

Reevaluations Unveil Problem Areas

teacher. Only red flagged information, wherein immediate action is required, is informed directly to the management or principal. We have seven open lines which we share with teachers in the report itself, offering them the facility for one-onone communication if they so desire. The aim is to support the teacher throughout. If we feel that a teacher is edging towards an urgent need of counselling, we immediately recommend the same. We have in-house counsellors on board who are called in to take separate sessions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at no extra cost. We also sign a non-disclosure agreement with both teacher and management, which obviously means we will not use these findings outside without extrapolation and stratification, which effectively makes the data into a bunch of anonymous numbers.

Behavioural Edge The tangible gain that the institution gains, which can be applied for several years, is an insight into decision making and process development as part of our policy review process. Here is where we use behavioural science to optimize decision making processes within the school, such as hiring and remuneration choices, promotion ladders and overall choice architecture modification for the school. Application of behavioural science, in this manner, is something that is not done by any other institution pan-India, and creates tangible gains for the institution at effectively no-cost for the foreseeable future. Of course, like all our other processes, we overview and ensure correct implementation of the same during our follow up visits each quarter.

Finding Success When

managements

learn

about

teacher auditing, they feel that this is what has been missing in the whole jigsaw of improving teachers. They feel they get taken for a ride when it comes to teacher training because they cannot see outcomes. Here they see measurable outcomes. All managements we have encountered are in favour of it but they want to pace it out because it is a cost. Also planning has to be done to give their teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time to us. Managements want to spend cautiously because at the end of the day, these are not businesses where they could increase supply tomorrow and get an ROI on it. Even an attempt to increase of Rs.10 in fees is met by opposition from parents. They want to spend wisely. They definitely want happy teachers but they are cautious because what if the teacher leaves after they have invested in her? This is where they find our services most useful.

November 2017

COVER STORY

Teacher Preparesâ&#x20AC;¦

A Guide To TEACHER TRAINING and DEVELOPMENT

November 2017

Nichola Pais editor@scoonews.com

Students benefit most from high quality instruction and not necessarily highly qualified teachers. Effective teacher training makes all the difference

he long-neglected realm of teacher training is finally getting the attention it deserves, even if partially motivated by the threat of termination. Come August 2019, all teachers who lack the minimum qualifications mandated under the Right To Education Act, 2009, will be barred from continuing in service. That’s as far as certification goes. The real relevance of teacher training goes much deeper. It is an acknowledged fact that no education system in the world has excelled without making a significant investment in building a cadre of quality teachers. Attention is shifting from quantity - ensuring all children are in school - to providing quality education. And it is this weak link in the Indian education system that needs to be improved, sooner rather than later. With teacher training often considered important only for procuring a job, quality invariably suffers. If teacher training is to be an ongoing process - to improve the quality of teachers, and thus of students - on whom does the onus lie for the effective training of our teachers? And what are the resources best recommended by educators to effectively train teachers? Read on for an assessment by industry leaders…

Need of the Hour “Keeping in mind the modern pedagogy and responsibility of a teacher today, it is imperative that the teachers should have the requisite qualification to be a teacher,” says Nisha Rana, Principal, BRCM Public School, Bhiwani. “Teaching qualifications typically involve subject matter expertise, psychological awareness and classroom management. To provide teachers with the greatest chance of success, they need to have completed a teacher preparation program that provides them with knowledge, experience, and guidance. When this does not happen, we not only risk teachers leaving the profession quickly, but more importantly, we risk the education of entire classes of students. With the changing scenario, there is a lot of change in

the curriculum and teaching techniques. The day-to-day innovation in technology has tremendously affected the teaching techniques and become the integral part of teaching. Students deserve the best we can offer them. We definitely want those with a natural aptitude to go into teaching, but that aptitude needs to be refined and developed through proper training. I feel the April 2019 deadline is a long-due corrective remedy and teacher training is finally getting its due.” “The framing of the New Education Policy (NEP) provides us with an opportunity to review and redesign the current teacher education programmes,” affirms Shalini Nambiar, Vice President, GEMS Education. “Teachers need to be viewed as professionals who require multiple skills to do their job, and accordingly professional standards need to be built into all teacher education programmes. These programmes must focus both on building an essential knowledge base, as well as skill sets required for making a difference in the classroom. Importantly, they must locate the professional development of teachers within the larger socio-cultural, economic and political context of contemporary India. Teachers need to be made more accountable through enhanced involvement of the school management committees, recognizing the need for supportive supervision and incentives to ensure teacher performance and accountability.” “Not just teacher training, most professions require on-going updation of knowledge and skill,” vouches Seema Handa, Director, Eklavya School, Jalandhar. “It is encouraging that finally attention is being focused on teacher training. Highly trained teachers with regular upskilling will help the Indian education system to finally catch up with the rest of the world, somewhat like we have in the field of digital and internet technology.” Harpreet Randhawa, Director, VInspire Training & Consultancy Pvt Ltd adds, “Teachers who do not fulfil the minimum qualifications mandated are given the appropriate opportunity to

November 2017

COVER STORY undergo upgradation of qualification along with training and skills development. With the right approach, appropriate need analysis, and fixing of timelines, teacher training will get its overdue recognition.”

Deeper Relevance Beyond the need for certification, teacher training has a deeper relevance. As Fatema Agarkar, Co-founder, KA EduAssociates, one of the most sought after teacher training institutes for its skill-based and customised training to cater to 21st century learning, explains it, “As a nation, we need to recognise that schools are responsible for shaping our future as these children eventually take their place in the world and will be leading decisions that may affect us economically or politically. So those shaping their world today, simply need to be highly capable of managing children and their individual needs - get them to create and ideate more so that they can think of solutions for problems that exist today. Qualifications alone do not define this qualifications give you a base, but there is a lot of skilling required thereafter and in a sustained manner to ensure that teachers cope with a changing world and its competitive demands. So in a way, this corrective step (and I won’t get drawn into a debate of late or early because I have more pressing concerns) is one way of looking at addressing the current situation that warrants better teaching learning processes.” Fatema affirms that she has interacted with several teachers as part of various NGO volunteering programs, who are perhaps more inspiring than qualified

and experienced teachers simply because their passion to make it simpler and decode the subject is far greater than the need to deliver facts or simply test children. “They are looking for that spark in the child and working towards it. So personally, I believe that skilling a teacher, sustained teacher training is what I am more excited about and this is with or without qualifications.”

Quality Improvement “At the crux of the education system is the most important person - the ‘Teacher’, who is also the most neglected person in our system,” points out Shalini Nambiar. “People are spending crores to build a great school, with fancy building but the amount of funds allocated to teachers is peanuts. First and foremost to attract good quality teachers one needs to pay them well; after all, if we pay peanuts we will only get monkeys. The framing of the New Education Policy (NEP) provides us with an opportunity to review and redesign the current teacher education programmes. Teachers need to be viewed as professionals who require multiple skills to do their job, and accordingly professional standards need to be built into all teacher education programmes. These programmes must focus both on building an essential knowledge base, as well as skill sets required for making a difference in the classroom. Importantly, they must locate the professional development of teachers within the larger socio-cultural, economic and political context of contemporary India.” She believes teachers need to be made more accountable through enhanced involvement of the school management committees, recognizing the need for supportive supervision and incentives to ensure teacher performance and accountability.

November 2017

Savita Venkat, Chief Development Officer, Bombay Cambridge International School, Andheri (W), adds, “Teacher training, teacher upgradation programmes, and teacher credibility is to be tested and done periodically. We need to establish a clear cut recruitment policy with competency matrix, have an almanac for teacher training. The area of training is confirmed at the time of yearly appraisal where gap and growth can be identified and the institution organizes training and upgradation in these programmes. Having a monitoring and supervision plan in place will surely help in gathering quality teachers.”

An Ongoing Process According to R K Ranavat, Principal, Oxford International School, Rajkot, the government’s NEP makes it critical to focus on teachers and teacher education to ensure quality education. “Teachers need to be made more accountable through enhanced involvement of the school management committees, recognising the need for supportive supervision and incentives to ensure teacher performance and accountability, as well as use of technology to monitor teacher attendance and curb absenteeism. New teachers have many challenges that they face each day. Teacher training helps prepare new teachers for these challenges. While teacher training and student teaching won't completely prepare new teachers for every issue they will face, it can help them feel more confident about many

common problems that arise for teachers each day. Without this background, teachers might feel like failures and eventually give up,” he opines. “It’s a teacher who builds the nation. It’s the cadre of transformational teachers who have the power to change the outlook, thought process and character of an entire generation of our young citizens and therefore it’s not just our responsibility but an inevitable necessity for us to invest in building innovative teachers, productive teaching, holistic curricula and child-centered schools,” avers Anuradha Govind, Principal, J M International School, Dwarka. “The education system of our country needs loads of accountability and tons of integrity with the vision for nurturing 21st century skills in our children. For that we need to break free of conventions and think afresh. No education system in the world has excelled without making a significant investment in building a cadre of quality teachers, is a fact. But before investing, we also need to first ensure what we understand by ‘Quality’. We must begin with understanding our aims for our children. What kind of citizens do we want to produce? To make this possible what kind of knowledge and skills should our children possess? For such 21st century knowledge and skills, what kind of curricula, learning resources and teachinglearning methods will be required? What kind of wisdom, proficiency, ability, skills, talents, personality, value-systems, and knowledge base do we need in a teacher who could be able to make all our children happily acquire all of that? We need to keep in mind our goals and redesign our vision, education system,

curricula, learning resources, learning environment, methods of teaching and assessment with a shift from ‘teaching’ to ‘learning’, from ‘marks’ to ‘excellence’, from ‘degree’ to ‘ability’, in order to ‘rectify’ this ‘weak link’ in education and develop some awesome teachers who would develop an amazingly skilled sensitive, responsible and dignified generation of 21st century global citizens.”

Taking Onus Anuradha Govind likens it to a bitter pill to swallow, when she maintains that most of the teacher training courses like and B.Ed, NTT and many of the institutions which offer them, are not being able to play a role bigger than offering a certification for a job. “Sadly, there is hardly any vision for anything other than some redundant text to be crammed and writing a set of stereotypical exam, which is nowhere about any kind of ‘productive’ learning, excellence or ability to be the teacher who will produce a generation of thinkers and problem solvers with all round personalities.” The truth, she says, is that most of the ‘eligible’ degree holders do not enter the education arena with an ability, intent and passion to make a difference. “Let’s admit the fact that the outlook mostly is towards ‘a job of convenience’; nowhere close to a ‘mission to transform lives’. The onus for this lies on our entire system and everyone who is a part of this machinery,” she avers. “We have been so far failing to attract the right kind of talent towards a career in teaching. We have not been able to give the teaching profession a sought after and desirable status in the minds of our people like that of engineering, medicine and many others. We, on an urgent basis, need to restructure our teacher training programmes and the constant learning, ongoing training,

brain-storming, and motivation are as vital to the quality of education as is oxygen for living.” Now that is an indication of the passion needed to take onus and take it forward dynamically! Dr Swati Popat Vats, President Podar Education Network believes it is the schools that should take on the responsibility for conducting refresher courses for teachers. “There is so much changing in global education trends that schools must ensure that their teachers are up to date with latest research and practices. In IB board accreditation process they check what trainings the staff has undergone in the last few years, similarly the other boards should make it a mandatory point in their accreditation process.” Seema Handa avers that with the tech revolution already in place, cost and availability of tech is no longer the major issue. “India’s challenge remains its huge numbers! Pockets of excellence exist but to scale up in a vast country like India with its geographical and demographical diversity, requires both government and individual endeavor,” she points out. “SchoolsTeachers-Parents are engaged in the same enterprise; that of educating young children. This triangle is duly supported by the government, non-government, public and private enterprises. So the onus lies on all of us – the government, society at large, the schools, and most importantly on the parents. As long as the parents remain focused on premium brands or infrastructure, the quality of teachers and the quality of education will continue to suffer. As soon as the focus shifts to the quality of education being impart-

November 2017

COVER STORY

ed in a school, we shall see a major upswing in the quality of teachers and hence their teaching,” she states, adding, “At the same time, the government and policy makers need to give direction to the change being sought.”

“Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model.”

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

“As a decision maker in school, it is critical to take stock of the situation and know your strengths and challenges and create a road map ahead for what the priorities are,” maintains Fatema Agarkar. She believes that the responsibility cannot rest solely on the shoulders of the management. “Teachers must take responsibilities independently to upskill and upgrade themselves which shows commitment to your passion too. This partnership of organisation and self may get quicker results that a one sided approach and ultimately, whether you part of the management or a teacher, there is an unwritten rule in the education code of the conduct and that is we owe it to that unassuming child to deliver content is the best and most effective way possible. Hence, it is everyone's responsibility.”

The Way Forward Fatema Agarkar recommends “a combination of online and face to face sessions, hands-on case study discussions, exposure to an alternative industry or industries as grounds for learning how to manage time etc.” She adds, “Social media makes it so easy to partner other educators via closed and open books to get help in case you are stuck with a problem etc. Time spent in research and how to research effectively will be an

November 2017

important resource tool. Teachers need to be trained by experienced trainers who combine best practices and research, hands-on, implementable strategies and their own personal expertise of being in a classroom. The quality and flexibility of the trainer makes all the difference as teachers need to know how to apply the knowledge amassed in the context of their classrooms.” As Dr Swati Popat Vats puts it, “Teachers require a minimum qualification that prepares them to teach their subject matter, prepares them about understanding children and also supports them to understand lesson and curriculum planning and implementation with different types of learners in the classroom. Also we do include special education but are our teachers really equipped to deal with all kinds of learning delays and difficulties and gifted and talented children in the class? It is time we really respected our teachers and it can be done with the followingRevamp the present B.Ed. program so that globally relevant practices like brain research, dealing with challenging behavior, life skills are all included. Ensure that teachers undergo a refresher course every two years. Keep a minimum wage benchmark for both government and private schools. Teachers should not be allowed to

take tuitions unless mandated for a child by a special educator. It is commercialization of teaching that has brought down the standards in the classroom and the respect value in parents and society for teachers. Teachers to be not used for other government related work like elections etc. Teachers to be given minimum facilities like free travel, free medical and access to computers and internet and library for their research and curriculum planning Harpreet Randhawa advocates a fourpronged approach - “Teachers active in the profession should undergo face to face soft skills and behavioural skills training as we do in other professions. B.Ed/ M.Ed also needs to be upgraded, and aptitude tests and assessments made mandatory. Teacher training institutes by the government should be instituted and the right people be selected to run and implement the courses. Finally, academicians should be involved to ensure the quality is maintained more than the promoters. I do understand it is the number game and a business model without doubt, but like health sector, education sector needs to be secured by the government for coming generation to produce teachers. Else we shall have robots programmed to teach and who knows an applied version of e-schooling would be developed wherein you need no school, no teacher and institutions are run remotely!” “Access to technology can be a great

equalizer,” believes Seema Handa. “With government support, linked with private enterprise, pedagogy and best practices from around the world can be adapted and implemented in the Indian context. Identifying the ground-breaking work already being done in certain pockets of India and bringing it mainstream will be another resource which can be tapped. We must tap into India’s huge reservoir of traditional wisdom and value-based education system, and reinvent the present education system, making it relevant in the 21st century.” According to Shalini Nambiar, a “welldeveloped PD programme with internal and external resources is key. Each teacher must observe at least two of her co-workers classes per week. Internal trainings are most effective as the school knows its needs and can plan individualized programmes to effectively train the teachers.” Key resources, according to Savita Venkat, would be the Cambridge teaching and learning diploma for teachers, HUB trainers for education, subject specific training by authors and subject experts, IBDP teacher training, teacher training conducted by NCERT and ICSE boards as well as enrichment programmes by the British Council. Dr Ranavat recommends approaching the challenge of poor quality education and growing shortage of teachers by connecting qualified teachers to develop their own teaching practice to inspire and empower communities of teachers around the world. “Our teacher training should lead teachers

through cycles of workshops, observations and coaching to enable them to become self-reflectors and continuously improve their own teaching and encourage colleagues to do the same.” Teaching and learning go hand in hand, which makes it necessary for the schools to have teacher training modules which are well knit in the curriculum and should cater to the demands of teaching fraternity which may arise during the teaching learning process, opines Nisha Rana. “A good teacher training program should be like a support for teachers to sharpen their tools as and when required. It is important that schools recognize the importance of well-structured teacher development programs which are in tandem with the teaching learning requirements of the schools. Teacher development programs should be given their due importance in the curriculum as they have a great role to play in the students’ performance and development. There is also great need to understand and research various models for the same and simultaneously let them voice out their requirements to enable better teaching learning practices.” Among the measures she recommends are web based resources, regular training sessions to hone computer skills, frequent in-house motivational workshops to be conducted by head and senior teachers, regular counselling sessions by motivational experts and subject experts, proper annual assessment of all teachers, and provision of opportunity given to teachers for their self-improvement. Dr Swati also recommends that teachers invest in their own training. “Teachers should read books written by educators like Alfie Kohn, John Holt; become members of teacher discussion groups and forums; connect with educators on LinkedIn and Facebook; read essential blogs by educators; invest in magazines like ScooNews, Education World, and Brain feed etc. and stay updated; and attend workshops, seminars, and conferences both online and face to face. As Rana summarises, “Remember; every teacher who is not learning and growing will result in students who are not learning and growing at some level. Poor and ineffective professional development hurts teachers. It hurts their students. It hurts their community and, since quality education is so highly correlated with economic growth, it hurts their nation.” …Still think too much of a fuss is made of teacher training?

November 2017

FEATURE

Making the Classroom

DYSLEXIA SE FRIENDLY

November 2017

With early detection and the right methods, a teacher can make a world of difference to a child with dyslexia

Parvathy Jayakrishnan writeback@scoonews.com

ur culture has always upheld the position of a teacher/ guru as equal to that of God (Guru Devo Bhava). The role of a teacher is indeed indispensable and it is filled with immense responsibilities and extreme challenges. They provide children with knowledge, satiate their inquisitiveness, they even provide answers to all their queries and guide them to do the right thing; sometimes taking on a role bigger than their own parents. One can only imagine how the responsibility and challenges of teaching a student with a learning disorder would be felt many times more. It is a miracle how some teachers possess the innate ability to understand and help them and boost

their self-confidence to levels where they do as well as or even better than a child without a learning disorder. As American journalist Charles Kuralt rightly put it, “Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students.” That is the power of a good teacher. Thanks to films like Taare Zameen Par, awareness and sensitisation towards learning disorders like dyslexia has grown in our society. The government of India has, for the first time, recognised dyslexia under the category of ‘specific learning disabilities’ in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which is a sign of increased awareness. Problems that were brushed away as hypothetical have today gained the attention and acceptability that they truly deserve. It is important to under-

stand the problem thoroughly first before attempting to tackle it. The biggest problem that our society faces is the lack of knowledge about a problem and the biases and taboos that accompany it. The even bigger struggle is getting a parent to accept that their child is suffering from a learning disorder and sadly it is the first step to finding the solution. Only when there is an acceptance can there be positive moves to help the child overcome the problem. Parents sometimes prefer to be negligent and often blame their children saying he/she is just obstinate, dull, or lazy, resulting in a wrong label which the child is stuck with forever, thereby affecting their self-confidence.

What is Dyslexia? Dyslexia is defined as an unexpected difficulty in learning to read. Dyslexia

November 2017

FEATURE takes away an individual’s ability to read quickly and to retrieve spoken words easily and it cannot be cured - it is lifelong. It is important to note that this does not dampen the child’s creativity and ingenuity. Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist at Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai explains, “Dyslexia is an artefact of an imperfect system. Our educational system focuses only on reading and writing. Some can answer orally, some can draw answers, some can answer in poetry and prose. There is cognitive diversity but there is no diversity in teaching. Similarly, there is learning diversity but there is no assessment diversity. Our world revolves around question-answers.” In fact, many people with this disorder have gone on to do great things in life. What is most important is that the condition needs to be diagnosed and tackled by the parents and teachers together, so that the child can learn and work out the problem. An early intervention and change in the method of instruction can make a lot of difference to a child with the condition. DALI or Dyslexia Assessment for Languages of India is a screening and assessment tool for dyslexia in regional Indian languages that was launched last year. DALI was developed at National Brain Research Centre and this study was supported by Department of Science and Technology. DALI contains screening tools for school teachers and assessment tools for psychologists to identify dyslexia. The tools are currently available in four languages namely, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and English. Dr Poorva Ranade, Consultant Psychologist and Counsellor at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bangalore says, “Early identification through proper assessment tools is extremely important. Secondly, communication is equally important because the issue is equally sensitive to the parent, teacher and child. Knowing how to talk to children is of prime importance. There should be a continuous and regular teacher - parent interface to communicate how the child is doing. In this case, we work only by focussing on the strength of the child rather than on his weaknesses. We are not trying to fix the broken, we are nurturing the rest.” Reading requires our brains to connect letters to sounds, put those sounds in

the right order and pull the words together into sentences and paragraphs we can read and comprehend. It is a complex activity. People with dyslexia have trouble matching the letters they see on the page with the sounds those letters and combinations of letters make. And when they have trouble with that step, all the other steps are harder. According to Dr Shetty, “God is a champion of diversity. Man is a champion of structure. Man wants to create and slot things into one structure. If you notice, some children who can’t do well in writing the long answer formant do well in multiple choice question answering. Each brain is different and we respond to things differently.”

per cent of words. Sadly, most schools don’t realise the importance of teaching phonics.”

Ways to make a classroom dyslexia-friendly

Children and adults with dyslexia struggle to read fluently, spell words correctly and learn a second language, among other challenges. But these difficulties have no connection to their overall intelligence. In fact, dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading in an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader. While people with dyslexia are slow readers, they often, paradoxically, are very fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities.

Teachers should be made aware of the condition: Teachers should spend time understanding exactly what the learning difficulty is and the effects it can have on the student’s ability to learn, perform and interact. Many still assume dyslexia to simply be a condition which causes children to reverse letters, and while this is a sign, there is much more to it than that. Ultimately, the better understanding you have, the more you can help your students. “Children with dyslexia often feel left out because they struggle to be part of a peer group. Parents can arrange for their child to play with his/her peers outside school too so that they can grow up together. But since a child spends most his waking hours in school, teachers have a major role in shaping them and building their self-confidence, and schools should train teachers for the same,” according to Dr Ranade.

Laurette Reynolds, Special Educator at Christ Church School, Mumbai and Inspirium Holistic Care asserts, “Reading has to be taught to all children in a way that includes all the senses and it should include phonics. You cannot rote-learn how to read. If you know phonics, you can read 75

Early screening for a learning disorder: Schools should screen children and identify a problem, if any exists. Dr Ranade asserts, “From my experience, I see that early detection does not happen in most cases. There is no early intervention because of no early detection. It is easier to work with a

November 2017

child when the problem is detected early. Often there is absolute denial from the part of parents. This is also because schools also lack the ability to give guidance and support to the parents. Schools are in a hurry to remove children with learning disorders, rather than trying to include them into the system. I’ve seen many cases where parents keep moving their child from one school to another but that is of no use. Child should be the focus here, not the schools. They should understand why the child is behaving in a certain way or is unable to cope with lessons taught in schools. This is often unnoticed.” Work one-on-one: Giving one-on-one attention can go a long way in understanding the deficits and supplementing what is required. Teachers should understand where exactly a student with dyslexia is at the start of the term in terms of reading, writing and speech. They should create a plan and keep track of their progress. Praise achievements: Teachers and parents need to give adequate praise to even the smallest achievement or progress made by a child with dyslexia as it is very important for the child to feel confident that he/she can progress in whatever task they undertake. Use dyslexia-friendly fonts and overlays: Most of the recommendations come from associations for people with dyslexia and they agree in using sans-serif fonts. The British Dyslexia Association recommends the use of Arial, Comic Sans or, as alternatives to these, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, and Trebuchet. Laurette Reynolds promotes the use of overlays. She says, “Overlays which are coloured transparent sheets can be placed on paper to help children read better.” Give one step directions at a time: This helps children lower processing time and caters to memory deficits. Giving multiple directions may confuse the child and will hinder their progress. Provide visual representation of an oral instruction whenever possible: Children with dyslexia learn and remember better when there is a visual stimuli attached to a verbal instruction.

Dyslexia – A Brief History In the 1870s, Adolf Kussmaul, a German neurologist used the term ‘word blindness’ to describe difficulty in reading properly by people who also had a neurological impairment. In 1887, a German ophthalmologist, Rudolf Berlin, was the first to use the word ‘dyslexia’ in place of word blindness. The condition was described as ‘dyslexia’, from the Greek meaning ‘difficulty with words’. In 1896, W. Pringle Morgan, a British physician, from Seaford, East Sussex published a description of a reading-specific learning disorder in a report to the British Medical Journal titled "Congenital Word Blindness". This described the case of a 14-year-old boy who had not yet learned to read, yet showed normal intelligence and was generally adept at other activities typical of children of that age. In 1925, an American neurologist Dr Samuel T Orton emphasised the dominance of one side of the brain and he believed that dyslexia is caused by the failure to establish hemispheric dominance in the brain. Orton and psychologist Anna Gillingham later developed an educational intervention called the Orton-Gillingham approach that pioneered the use of multisensory instruction.

Use coloured backgrounds: Allow children with dyslexia to write on

November 2017

FEATURE coloured paper (purple, blue or grey) as this minimises their symptoms. When using smart boards or computer screens, change the background colour to something besides white, and dim the screen slightly for the benefit of students with dyslexia. You can even print worksheets in coloured paper for children with dyslexia. Train children to read each paragraph or question twice: Most of the time when a child with dyslexia is reading text, he/she is trying to read it completely without putting much thought into the meaning of it. Reading twice can help them understand the meaning of text better. Create dyslexia-friendly classroom lighting: Fluorescent white lights are very difficult for children with dyslexia. Use yellow lights or keep windows open so that the natural light balances out the artificial lighting. Preview and review whatever is taught: Previewing the day’s activities help children organise, prioritise and filter information. Have buddies or peer mentors: Allocating a peer to mentor his/her friend can give the child that additional support and can help him/her focus and learn better in class and supplement their deficits. Speak slower and focus on pronunciation: Children with dyslexia need more time to process information. Speaking slowly and pausing in between gives them the time to process what is spoken and comprehend better. Create a space for high?frequency words: This can be a simple way to ensure that dyslexic students can focus on other skills rather than trying to piece together vocabulary. It can be a big challenge for dyslexic students to learn new words, and this allows them to always have a reminder at hand – you could create sheets for each subject for students to reference. Schools can take support of a counsellor: Schools can take the support of a counsellor or a psychologist to train teachers to be sensitive to children with a learning disorder. There has to be special educators on board to enable inclusive education. Special Educator Ms Reynolds says, “Teachers identify problems in a child and come to me. Then I do an informal assessment of the child to identify what exactly is the issue the child is facing and if needed an intervention is

planned. I work with children right from the play group level up until the 12th standard.”

children who have scholastic issues. They must also work with a counsellor to provide the best for the child.”

It is also important to note that each student learns differently and all students with dyslexia cannot be taught in the same way. So teachers need to differentiate and adapt in line with these needs. We cannot define a fixed set of rules that need to be abided by while teaching a child with dyslexia. Teachers need to study the student first before they can start teaching them.

To prove that dyslexia is never a deterrent to success, we have celebrities like Steven Spielberg (movie director), Whoopi Goldberg (actor), Cher (singer), Octavia Spencer (actor), Kiera Knightly (actor) and Jamie Oliver (chef), just to name a few, who have made it big in their career by never letting dyslexia be a deterrent.

Dr Shetty says, “Children with dyslexia should attend a regular school which supports inclusive education. Schools should slowly harness the inclination and skill sets to make the classroom inclusive. Most importantly, the teacher has to be skilled to deal with each and every child.” He also advises teachers to look at the space between the teacher and the child when a child is not doing well. “Never attribute motive or blame on the child. Look rationally for reasons. Fever or failure, diagnosis is the key. Teachers should spend more time with

November 2017

Most importantly, it is the teacher who can make a huge difference by identifying a problem, altering the mode of instruction and by being sensitive to a student with the condition. Dubaibased Curriculum Expert Rashenah Walker says, “Children with a learning disorder can learn and become successful just like their peers. It is just that they may not learn something the conventional way. They learn differently. They may need more time to grasp a concept or they need to be instructed with more visual aids but they are capable of learning it in their own way and it is up to the teacher to make that happen.”

CURTAIN RAISER

Early Childhood Education Colloquium

Don't Miss It!

There is much to consider when critically reflecting on the influences to well-being and learning during the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early years. arly childhood practitioners and researchers have been pondering and studying this concept throughout time. Currently, representatives from many fields and professions, including psychologists, medical professionals and scientists are weighing in based on their research and experience. As an early childhood practitioner, what should you know about well-being? What questions should you be asking a child? What does the research tell you and what does it leave out? are the questions to bring that change which is a priority.

Early Childhood Association, under Presidentship of Dr. Swati Popat Vats is organizing Early Childhood Education

Colloquium on December, 16, 2017 at India Habitat Centre, NEW DELHI. The idea was presented to many reputed schools in Delhi Ncr and each one of them felt that the emotional well-being and a nurturing environment of infants and young children is a major consideration in our country. Dec. 16 is going to be a great day for Delhi as the hub of eminent school principals and early childhood education experts, are going to shower their wisdom and are going to prove that with the increase in brain development, the understanding of the links between this development, relationships and well-being is also one area of major focus.

Early Childhood association is going to host the array of eminent educationists presenting their views, which includes. 1. Dr. Swati Popat Vats (President Early Childhood Association) 2. Mr. Ashok Pandey (Principal, Ahlcon International School, Former Chairman NPSC) 3. Ms. LataVaidyanathan (Director, Terri Prakriti School) 4. Ms. Susanna Goho (Artist and author of Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pictures books) 5. Dr. Swaroop Sampat (Member- Central advisory board of Education, Actress) 6. Dr. Kamini Rege (Asst. Professor dept. of Human Development College of Home science)

7. Ms. Sonal Ahuja (Early Childhood Education expert, House of learning) 8. Ms. Bina Kapoor (consultant-NCERT, Author- CBSE, ICSE, Children fiction) 9. Ms. Anuradha Govind (Director, Vatsalya Legacy Pvt. Ltd) 10. Ms. Vandana Midha (Principal, Global Indian International School) 11. Dr. Bhavna Barmi (Sr. Clinical Psychologist, Fortis) 12. Dr. Priyanka Mehta (Principal, Amity International School) 13. Ms. Preeti Kwatra (Director, Petals Pre school)

November 2017

INTERVIEW

Decoding DISL... DYSLE... DYSLECT... DYSLEXI... DYSLEXIA! Dr Philip John, Sr. Consultant in Psychiatry, Peejays Neurocenter, Cochin explains the causes and effects of Specific Developmental Disorders to Parvathy Jayakrishnan

November 2017

What is the cause of learning disorders? Dyslexia is just a part of learning disorders. When the babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brain develops in the womb, there are changes that occur to the brain cells as they grow. Those changes are predetermined by the genes. In some individuals where there is a family history of some of these deficits, the problem occurs. There are two types of deficits that we talk about in terms of brain development. They are called developmental delays. Since two years now, the terminology is renewed and it is called neuro-developmental disorders. Specific Developmental Disorders (SDD) come under this category where the intelligence of the child is normal or sometimes even above normal but the child has specific developmental delays in some areas of functioning i.e. specific functions like reading, writing, arithmetic, attention and concentration, language, ability of motor coordination.

What are SDDs? Firstly, SDD is the disorder of language. Some children know what they want, they know what to say, they know the answer, they know what happened in the bus when two of his friends fought but when you ask them to say it, they are unable to bring it out as words. There is difficulty for the child in communicating. The second SDD is the disorder of scholastic skills. They are called learning disorders (LD). Unfortunately the current government has brought in a new Act wherein they are calling this a ‘disability,’ which is wrong. Disability is when there is no response to intervention. The third SDD is co-ordination disorder. Here the child is unable to hold his pen correctly. He holds it too tight or near the nib and hence he can’t write properly. Due to this, he cannot write quickly, or he cannot write when the teacher is dictating notes. Could you explain LDs? Learning disorders are difficulty in reading, writing and arithmetic. There are areas in the brain on the left side which predominantly control these functions. When a child has developmental issues in these designated brain areas, he ends up with difficulties. Dyslexia or difficulty with words is one of the problems. There can be a situation where the child can listen and learn very quickly because any child with an SDD has a normal IQ. The problem is he cannot express on paper what he can answer orally. A child with dyslexia cannot read and understand but he can listen and understand. Reading comprehension in controlled from the left brain areas whereas listening comprehension in controlled from the right brain areas. The crux of the story of learning disorders is the gap between what a child knows in the head and what he can write on paper. So they perform poorly in class. Such children suffer tremendously because they know that they know the answer but they don’t understand why they can’t write it. In fact, they are very good at creative skills like painting, acting, mimicking, cooking, sports, bringing up pets, farming etc. They are good with computers too, which is another reason why they are blamed when they score low marks. Basically, anything other than academic skills like reading and writing, they are good at. This is why often such children are labelled as being ‘lazy’ or just ‘pretending’. Their visual and auditory skills are very good too. They will not forget their way, they remember faces and names. They can be very street-smart.

Dr Philip John was instrumental in bringing in the right-brain based provisions in CBSE exams. He worked with the then CBSE chairman Dr Ashok Ganguly and Director in Academics in CBSE Dr G Balasubramanian for four years to bring in the change. He has written a handbook for teachers called ‘Poor School Performance in Children’ published by the CBSE. Can they cope well in a mainstream school setup where reading and writing is a mandate? It is absolutely wrong to put them in a special school because their intelligence is normal or above normal. It is his right to attain inclusive education! He has to be given extra provision to fulfil his education. All the educational boards have been given the mandate to give extra provisions for children with learning disorders so that they can choose the subjects related to the right brain like home science, foundations of information technology (FIT), music, painting, physical education. CBSE and the CBSE examination bye-laws 23, 24, 25 gives them the right to choose these subjects. They get one hour extra time if they cannot hold their writing instrument properly. We are not giving them a privilege by giving an extra hour. It is the time he will take to write down what is there in his head. You are letting him take home science as an option because he is good with his hands and head. He may make a good chef one day! We tell children not to focus on their skill deficits because they need them only till their school is over. After that, they will bloom! Can any medications help in providing relief to this problem? Of course, there are medications that can provide an instantaneous connectivity between the right and left brain that can help but from my experience, the moment you prescribe medications to a child, parents google it and come back to me citing the side-effects. They don’t look at the benefits that the child gets from the medication when used as a support mechanism. Sixty to 70 percent of children with learning disorders have an associated ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Without treating ADHD, it is futile to get them to sit down for an adequate period of time to learn a task. They get disturbed by the slightest noise or movement around. At the same time, if you give

him a mobile phone, he can sit with it for more than two hours at a stretch without being disturbed because using a mobile is a right brain skill. How can we identify a child with a learning disorder? I did a study with World Health Organisation (WHO), a couple of years ago. There are 25 questions to relate to the difficulty the child is facing and based on the response, you can mark him as “always present”, “sometimes present” or “almost never present”. This is an inventory which we developed with the WHO country office. My work here shows that among Indian children, learning disorders are present in almost 15-18 percent of children. ADHD is present in equal number of children. What is the ideal way for educators to deal with dyslexia in students? The first thing is to identify that the child has no intellectual disability i.e. if he walked normally, spoke normally and attained all his milestones normally. If he has normal intelligence, you may notice that he is not functioning at par with his normal intelligence. Teachers need to identify it when there is a discrepancy between what the child knows and what he writes on the answer paper. If a child makes too many spelling mistakes, you may suspect dyslexia. A child who is good at arithmetic may do a sum correctly at the working column and make a mistake while writing it back at the answering column (transposition of numbers). Teachers may shrug it off saying that the child is just careless in math whereas if this problem is occurring frequently, it needs to be attended to. The best way a teacher can help is to identify a problem in a child. A teacher’s awareness has to be good and they need to get the parent on their side. Parents are usually hostile and defensive when it comes to problems with their children. They need to accept a problem and try to get help.

November 2017

TECH FOCUS

TECH – Teacher’s NEW PET!

Anjana Deepak writeback@scoonews.com

lackboards and chalk are so passé. Classrooms have converted themselves into a futuristic space that we would have thought impossible a mere 10 years ago. The way we learnt is very different from the way our children learn. It is like the brain’s development is at a breakneck speed to absorb and process as much informa-

November 2017

In the classroom of 2017, educators across the country adopt tech to inject efficiency combined with fun into the learning process

“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important.” - Bill Gates

tion as it can in the shortest amount of time! The pros are enormous. According to Yatharth Gautam, Head – Marketing, Birla Edutech, “Technology has brought efficiency, and fun into the process of learning. Students who struggled to gain a better understanding of aspects that cannot be visualised such as vibrations of particles and how they interact with each other, now

have the platform to virtually see those interactions. Research has time and again proved that cognitive learning plays an important part in ensuring our brain registers new concepts and learnings. Through technology today, the process of learning has evolved from the days of memorising text from textbooks towards a more holistic approach of visualising, interacting and practising. This ensures that the process of learning is never mundane and the students have assistance in learning from teachers and technology!”

Neeta Bali, Director-Principal GD Goenka World School Gurgaon, opines, “Technology allows students to exercise independent choices in learning. Consider a book report delivered with Prezi, Glogster or a video. Students make a decision as to which approach is best suited to their communication and learning style. Also, students become active learners, not just consumers. Technology makes

November 2017

TECH FOCUS that happen by asking them to publish, share and collaborate.” Rohini Aima, Principal cum ViceChairperson, Jammu Sanskriti School, Jammu shares, “We, as education leaders and academicians, have adopted technology to deliver concepts better which has given birth to the desire to achieve efficiency through digitization, the power to deliver one on one learning environments to our learners.” When we talk about a classroom, our minds immediately conjure up a room in a school/ university, but today we have various classrooms that are not physically present in a building. Classrooms can be anywhere. With the growing popularity of online or distance learning, virtual classrooms are sprouting in all corners of the world, helping millions of students to access teachers, lectures, expert opinions and information on subjects online.

Classroom tech gadgets and their uses The only technology that we probably experienced during our time of learning was the calculator. Today, there is a plethora of gadgets being used to enhance the teaching and learning experience. Educators are spoilt for choice, given the range of options available to make the classroom smarter and to help fast-track the process of learning…

Tech Tools Hariharan Bojan, CEO, Sirena Technologies, which provides new age tech solutions for classrooms to enhance the students’ learning experience, avers, “As part of SKIP, Sirena Technologies implements the complete Robotic lab in the schools. As part of the lab, we introduce students to Nino - the first Indian Humanoid Robot developed by us, robotic kits, robotic ARMs, software tools, 3D printers and hardware tools. In the lab, we offer two models as part of the package - SKIP inquiry, where students get to learn about Robotics through lab exercises and programming; and SKIP inception, where the students get to learn from our Robots - Nino delivering Science, Maths and English classes and

assisting teachers. Nino is the study buddy who is going to be introduced to kids in schools and eventually become very personal to each kid and help in interactive learning.” According to Neeta Bali, “Staff are encouraged to enhance learning through 'Connected Learning' - a model of learning that holds out the possibility of re-imagining the experience of education in the Information Age, which draws on the power of today’s technology to fuse young people’s interests, friendships and academic achievement.” Education in the true sense is adaptation to change and many schools have tried to keep pace with the changing scenario, by integrating technology in the implementation of curriculum to facilitate learning. Some of the areas in which technology has been implemented successfully and the teachers have been trained are Wiki Spaces, Google Classrooms, Khan Academy.com, Course Era.com, British Council Programme, and Connecting Classrooms.com. According to Poonam Arora, Principal, Bombay C a m b r i d g e International School, “The teachers’ support CIE website is being accessed by teachers to upgrade their knowledge and keep abreast of the latest in education.” Smartphones: Though controversial as to whether smartphones are actually of use or more a distraction, there are various ‘smart’ uses for this gadget

November 2017

in a classroom. Students can use it for on the go online research. A dedicated Twitter feed can be set up by the teacher where they can post assignments and due dates. They can move on to share newsfeeds or track hashtags on a particular topic as a class project to examine and discuss contrasting viewpoints. Setting a calendar app on students’ phones is a good way to learn the essence of time management for class assignments and test preparations. Photos and videos can also help in augmenting class assignments in interesting ways and can be uploaded to sites such as YouTube or Vimeo. The audio recording app can help students to record lectures or add in an audio recording with their photos or videos. Smartphones are compelling tools in the hands of students. Tech savvy educators using them in classrooms, provides new opportunities for students and teachers to work together on leveraging these devices. Laptops and tablets: Forget about a backpack stuffed with books, it is now the era of laptops and tablets making their way into the traditional school set-up. Though some conservative educators are apprehensive about the use of this technology, others say that it is a revolutionizing versatile tool helping in delivering instruction. There are over 15,000 educational apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play is not far behind. These gadgets are not only easy to use but help in connecting all stakeholders: students, teachers and parents. It forms a live knowledge base where students can access information in a cou-

ple of taps and is available at their fingertips. Teachers can also use the device to deliver a lesson in different ways thereby catering to the different learning paces of children, be it fast or slow, by using videos or playing edu games. These devices also cater to the differently abled students who will appreciate its flexibility, freedom of access and tailored curriculums. Students become creative forces rather than being passive knowledge recipients. It also solves the problem of conserving the environment to a large extent by encouraging going â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;paperlessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Interactive Whiteboards: With an interactive digital whiteboard, instructors have the capabilities of a computer, including web access, as well as the ability to draw, make notes, and share ideas with the classroom.

Classroom applications for using interactive whiteboards include Multimedia lessons and presentations including audio and video Collaborative problem solving Showcasing student projects and presentations Virtual field trips Recorded lessons that can be used by substitute teachers Documentation of student achievement Interactive whiteboards provide an extraordinary opportunity to create classroom environments where students with different learning styles can engage and learn from each other. Some leading brands of this technology are SMART, Promethean, Mimio, Numonics, eInstruction, Polyvision etc. This easy-to-learn technology ensures that both students and teachers are developing 21st century skills. Document Cameras: These are an amazing addition to classrooms. Teachers can help students look at objects in a more interesting and fun way. Small objects can be zoomed and can be viewed by the entire class at once rather than having to pass around an object. There is no need to make copies of a particular text. The book or

November 2017

TECH FOCUS

passage can be placed under the camera and students can discuss it without the need for excess papers. Great news for the environment! Digital copies of students’ work can be taken, which can be uploaded to a classroom website to be accessed by teachers or parents. The record feature also plays a major role in sharing of information. Digital field trips can be taken helping students and teachers connect with one another around the world. Podcasting in Classrooms: The term ‘Podcasting’ comes from the amalgamation of the words ‘iPod and Broadcasting’. A podcast can be created with the help of a digital device, microphone, an internet connection and the topic that needs to be podcasted. There are various sites for creating podcasts. The two popular sites are Audacity and Garageband. Once it has

been created it is then saved as an MP3 and can be played through any program that accepts this kind of file, eg. SoundCloud, Windows Media and even Google Drive. Podcasts ensure easy accessibility to information where a student can download the information required at their time and on a device of their choice for later use and this requires basic technical knowledge and skill. This can also be a boon for students who miss a lesson. They can access the information directly without depending on others. Similarly, if a teacher misses a class, they can post the lesson online and make it available to the students. Podcasting enables easy sharing of information to all its members. It stimulates different types of learners, as students can learn visually through videos and PDFs, auditory through audio clips, and also by the very act of

November 2017

doing it physically. Thus students are motivated to learn and excel. The above mentioned gadgets are just the top few that are presently being used in classrooms all over the world. Ragini Bhatnagar, Principal, Modern Defence Sen. Sec. School, Luhakana Kurad, says, “Using technology in the classroom gives teachers and other faculty members the opportunity to develop their students’ digital citizenship skills. It's one thing to use mobile devices, it's a completely different thing to know how to use them correctly and responsibly.” Saadhana Malik, Principal Bodhi Taru International School, Greater Noida maintains that technology has played an active role in her school. “It has

greatly helped my students in learning the subjects and gain additional knowledge. It has greatly helped in teaching the students by all the three methods; Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic (VAK). Technology helps in the satisfaction of student curiosity and they can now explore the subjects with greater enthusiasm.”

Is There A Downside? As they say, there are two sides to a coin and technology also has its cons. Kamaljeet Yadav, Principal, Subodh Public School, Airport, Jaipur talks about some of the negatives of technology in school… Misuse of technology by young learners Students’ diversion from the main motive, lack of focus, not giving satisfactory performance

Students wasting time Leads to bad handwriting; breaks the writing habit and reduces speed, which is important for development of motor skill at a young stage Can lead to temptation – adopting technology for cheating in exams and other sinful acts Possibility of students becoming lethargic Possible behavioural changes like loss of respect for elders and moral values, leading to over confidence and aggression. Overdependence on technology, which in harmful

Future Classrooms Ever wondered what the future holds for classrooms? Some predictions would be that the layout of the classrooms would change, VR and AR will change the educational landscape, the

introduction to flexible assignments will accommodate multiple learning styles and MOOCs and other online learning options will impact secondary education. Due to the rapid advances in technology students, teachers and parents have limitless technological tools at their disposal to make learning a lasting experience. Though with technology we see a huge difference in learning, it is not enough that these tools are used - it is critical to develop a plan for their use and have regular checks to ensure that a student is gaining the most value possible and is not becoming overly dependent on these tools. Though the advancement in technology in classrooms is promising, the human touch is still required, where teachers play a huge part in getting the kids together, motivating them and enabling them to use the tools of technology. And in this scenario, as Bill Gates pointed out, the teacher is most important.

November 2017

SPECIAL FEATURE

My School

MY WAY Forget about what students ‘need’. Students themselves tell us what they want! Are we ready to listen, minus judgement?

Team ScooNews writeback@scoonews.com

rom the government to the management to educators to parents – everyone seems to have a say in the school system but for the main stakeholders: the children themselves. As Children’s Day (November 14) approaches, ScooNews throws open its pages, inviting this long-neglected and most important segment - children - to tell us exactly how they envision their dream school. Read on, educators, there might be nuggets of value for us all in here…

November 2017

A boarding school on a mountain cliff by the sea…

My school will focus on two things: coding and sports

Omkar Mantri

Pranav Ramanathan

School, a place which we all have a love-hate relationship with! There are days we love it and days we don’t. School can be annoying, boring but on some days it can be exciting and nice. But can you imagine that perfect school or a perfect school day? How much fun would it be to play board games or eat pizzas in school every day?

My dream school would be located in the hills where the climate would be very cold. This would help the students who are interested in sports to adapt to the cold weather which will help them play in all conditions and progress in their field of sport. The teachers must go through training at the end of which they must appear for an exam. Teachers who score 95% and above will be the chosen ones, who will teach at my school! If any student is lagging behind then the teachers will be held responsible and could be suspended. This will allow the teacher to work harder and make sure that they do their best to make sure that no student fails. There will be over 10 subjects from grade V - ITC, Math, English, Javascript, C and AI. The school will focus only on two things: coding and sports. There will be different kinds of sports such as American football, soccer, rugby, basketball, cricket, tennis, baseball, swimming, water polo, polo, athletics, kho-kho and kabaddi.

If I could design my perfect school, it would be a boarding school in the middle of the woods or what would be way more cool and mystical is if our school was perched on a mountain cliff by the sea. That way, we would have amazing views from our classroom windows. Imagine this school with a huge library with all kinds of books and no one to tell you what you can or cannot read. Field trips would not involve long bus rides on Bangalore roads, but rather we can apparate to different interesting places. This incredible school will allow us to bring pets and our favourite toys. Sports activities could mean a variety of board games instead of getting sweaty on a basketball court. Obviously there would be no homework and exams will be discussions with our teachers where they will actually have to pay heed to our opinions (don’t think that will ever happen!). Lunch breaks would be awesome with pizza delivery straight to our classrooms from our favourite pizzerias and food from all over the world. We wouldn’t be forced to eat watery sambar and rice. Our curriculum would not include mundane subjects that can be looked up on Google, but rather more interesting things like ancient scriptures and scrolls or ancient magic that proficient people will come teach. But can such a school exist? Is it even possible to make schools that let children decide what they want to know, and how they want to learn? Oh well, it sure was nice to imagine that perfect school. But till then let’s keep imagining and let our dreams be made of perfect schools and perfect schools days, after all dreams do come true! (Omkar Mantri, 12, is a student of class VII, Vibgyor High Bangalore.)

I hope we will be treated in a way that we rightfully deserve Nicole Fernandes

The reason I am adding a lot of sports to the curriculum is because when you think of a topper you think of a fat boy drinking soda all day and getting good marks. So in my school it will be made compulsory that every student plays a sport and that all students must score above 90% and that’s the only way you can stay in this school. I recommend that you send your child to my dream school from pre-KG so they are accustomed to the lifestyle of sport and study. As many of you will know, the mission of Olympics is to combine academics, body, will and mind… and to live in this world we would need these four attributes. (Pranav Ramanathan studies in grade VII at Yellow Train, Coimbatore under the IGCSE syllabus. His passions are football and computers)

If I had the opportunity to have my own dream school, wow, how wonderful childhood would be! Just imagine, I would go and come from school with glee. I would not have to take the burden of a heavy bag, as everything would be digitalised. The classrooms would have the comforts of home as they would be well-furnished and air-conditioned. I wish there were no exams at all, just a simple evaluation. At the end of the day, it is our knowledge that has to be tested, not our by-hearting skills and patience. I wish all teachers would be sweet and child-friendly, with proper teaching skills and would handle the class with etiquette… rather than treating us like a bunch of animals. I hope that soon people realise the value of education and ensure that we get the proper ambience for the same, and will be treated in a way that we rightfully deserve. My dream school is not just a dream but a possibility. And I hope it comes true one day; if not for my benefit then at least for the next generation. (Nicole Fernandes studies in class VII at St. Joseph’s School, Malad, Mumbai)

November 2017

SPECIAL FEATURE Love and acceptance would radiate all around Diya Menon In an ideal world where the possibilities are endless, there would be things like “dream schools.” But what would a dream school look and be like? I believe, the campus would be filled with students walking around together in harmony with genuine smiles on their faces. There would be teachers with their classroom doors open for students to come in, learn, inquire, bond, and step into a realm of endless opportunities. There would be clean facilities, a clean campus, clean bathrooms, clean cafeterias, clean people, and more for students to be safe and healthy. Positivity, love, acceptance, and happiness would be radiating from all around, causing the vicious waves of cruelty brought on by things like bullying, racism, and discrimination, to fail to survive. Students would learn every day and be inspired to learn more. They would learn to challenge and question many of society’s norms. They would learn not just the facts, but how to apply these facts in the real world. They would master crucial life skills. They would be able to dive deep into their area of passion, whether that be by getting the opportunity to share their emotions through music, convey their thoughts by writing in the school newsletter, or channel their excess energy into playing a sport. A dream school would be somewhere people can interact, motivate, teach, learn, share, make an impact, laugh, and discover themselves. A dream school would have a strong support system for students, with programs that help students that are not as socially or academically gifted as their peers. It would provide a strong foundation for every aspect of life, the humanities, STEM, and more. It would have days where you can relax and take a breather. It would have fun field trips, dances, socials, even games. A dream school should be a home away from home, somewhere people can feel safe, loved, and happy. It would teach you not how to become the smartest in a class, but how to become a good person, someone who can make a positive impact on society. There would be clubs of all sorts, a place where every single student belongs. A dream school would be a place where kids find their purpose, a place where the future leaders of the world are born.

Chrisanne D’Souza

My dream school would have a swimming pool, playground and a place for very young kids, with lots of toys for them. There will also be seesaws to play on, and dance classes. The older and younger children would play together.

My dream school would be fun and interesting. There would be various types of activities for all kids. The lesson periods would contain fun learning and less writing. The playground will be extraordinary, with swings, slides, and even fountains! During recess, we would go to the cafeteria where different types of snacks would be served. The uniforms will be colourful and we will be allowed to wear party clothes once a week – or have costume days. The teachers should allow us to speak out our minds. School bags should contain very few books, which will be easy to carry. There should also be a classroom for pets, where kids can interact with animals.

(Qiana Shu, age 7, studies in class I at Vibgyor Roots and Rise, Mumbai)

(Chrisanne D’Souza is in class V, St. Anne’s High School, Malad, Mumbai)

(Diya Menon is a freshman - IX grader - at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, CA. She is passionate about academics, music, and writing. She aspires to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, but also wants to pursue her love for the humanities, singing and writing. She has written a book, available on Amazon, called Unfolding Love in Oppression and hopes to continue to develop her writing and singing skills with any opportunity that comes her way.)

There will be seesaws and dance classes Qiana Shu

Teachers will allow us to speak out our minds

November 2017

Children will live their childhood because it will never come back Atulit Singh Kushwah Schools are our second home. We spend most of our time in school. School helps us to build the foundation of our future lives because we learn to read, to write, and to understand the difference between good and evil. School helps us to build confidence in ourselves. School makes us smarter, more curious about knowledge and determined to find our place in the world. My dream school would have good teachers. The teachers here are kind and helpful. They are not only our teachers but also our good friends. In my dream school teachers will emphasis on other activities also rather than studies only. Other activities like music, dance, theatre, sports are equally important. I want children to be free and learn through fun-based activities. My dream school will have a good canteen facility with healthy food to refresh ourselves. It would have classrooms, labs, library, pools and a beautiful garden also. The school building would be surrounded with many kinds of flowers, so the sweet fragrance spreads all around. Every student should be provided tabs, so that the heavy bag would be avoided. All notes and lecture classes could be stored in tabs. We need not do a lot of homework. In the school of my dreams I want children from all backgrounds whether rich or poor, of any caste, religion etc. I wish children to live their childhood because it will never come back. I want their childhood to be free from tensions and worries in my dream school. We will grow up to be happier there. (Atulit Singh Kushwah studies in class II, DPS International School Singapore)

We would be allowed to bring our pets to school

Exams should be banned!

Aayushmaan Singh My dream school would have timings of 8 am to 1 pm and there would be two continuous periods for games. We would have an annual Speaking Day. There would be art and karate competitions every month and we would have Saturdays off. The school would replace our heavy bags with tabs. There would be a biology lab and astronomy lab and we would learn these subjects through experiments. I would study about the universe using the telescope in our school. We would be allowed to bring our pets to school and have a special class for training them. My dream school would have a world class kitchen with cookery classes and where the students will take part in cookery competitions and also be the judges. This kitchen will feed the school mess.

I like my school very much but there are some things which I would like to change in my school to make it the perfect place to study. I want my teachers to be friendly and they should not give us any homework. When we all come to the class in the morning it’s very clean but when it’s time to go home the classroom is all messed up. I want us all to keep our classrooms clean so the school will look beautiful. Maths is a difficult subject for me and some of my friends so I want the teachers to find ways to teach the subject so it becomes easy to understand. My school should be very colourful and we should be allowed to play a lot of games so we can have fun with our friends. I wish we have more fun in class and have some class parties, as now it is only reading and writing in class. I want my teachers to give us free periods at times. I wish there were more sports at school than studies. I don’t want any school to have any exams. Exams should be banned!

(Aayushmaan Singh is a student of class VII C, Sanskar School, Jaipur)

(Ahana Patnaik studies in class III, Euro School North, Yelahanka)

Ahana Patnaik

November 2017

SPECIAL FEATURE Uniforms will be in our favourite colours

They should let us wear dinosaur costumes

Inika Patwardhan

Siddharth Anoop

I would like my dream school to be in a valley, surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. My school will have rooms for singing, dancing, and lots of other activities. I would like to have a room full of paints, crayons and papers to draw and colour whenever we want. I would also love to have a swimming pool so that we can all learn how to swim and play in the water. A garden and three sports grounds will keep us fit and healthy, so I would like that in my school. The school should also have a big trampoline in the garden. In my current school they give us food - roti, two vegetables, dal and rice. They also give us Chinese which I hate, so on that day I would like the school to allow us to get a tiffin from home. We get sweets on Friday and that is my favourite day. I would like to have sweets every day in my school. I love to write. I want all the children to wear uniforms but the uniforms have to be in our favourite colours. Instead of the school bus, my family should drop me to school. I like studies and I would like my dream school to have a class to study cartoon characters. It must also have lots of game time, where there would be lots of games and toys so I will not have to repeat games and get to play new games.

I want my school to be like my home with a toybox full of toys. I want Vaishali aunty to be my teacher because she sings rhymes well. There should be a lot of singing and dancing in school. Teachers should give us paints and we should be able to draw on the walls. There should be lots of chocolate and gummy bears in school which we can eat all the time. There should also be chocolate ice-cream which we can eat whenever we want. There is a TV in my school and my teacher should let us watch cartoons every day. They should let us wear dinosaur costumes and I will be T-rex because he has an angry face and he is my favourite. My school should have a huge playground with swings and slides and sand toys. It should have colourful kinetic sand because then my hands won’t get dirty. Every day when I go back home, my teacher can give me a lollipop for being a good boy.

(Six-year-old Inika Patwardhan is in class I at Vidya Valley School, Pune. She loves going to school)

(Siddharth Anoop studies at Pitter Patter Pre-school, Bangalore)

Each class would have freshers, juniors and seniors Arjun Sahai

My thought for an ideal school would be one with only fun and excitement. The school would be circular in shape and blue in colour. There would be no particular dress to wear, and children would have the permission to leave whenever they wanted. There would be exciting sections like a petting zoo, a swimming pool and a park. There would have also been a fairy tale room with different fairy tale characters. To eat, children would have to go to the ‘fairy tale food restaurant’. In this restaurant, there would be foods that one reads and sees in fairy tales like rainbow ice-cream, insect pizza, wizard pie, dinosaur popsicle and dragon’s drink. This school would also have a reading room with different sorts of books and it would be painted in different colours. Each student could go to any room whenever they wanted to. Each student would have to pay Rs.10 before entering a room because the money would help to make more exciting rooms in the school. There would be different sports fields and courts in the school. There would be only a few teachers in this school, some strict and some fun. The strict teachers would like discipline in the classes, and the fun teachers would let the children do whatever they liked. In each class, there would been three batches – freshers, juniors and seniors – so that children could make friends with children elder to them. I would love to go to a school like this. It would feel like a being on a holiday! (Eight-year-old Arjun Sahai studies in class III, at National Public School, Bangalore)

November 2017

Class time would be approximately 20 minutes

Behaviour must come before studies

Shreya Menon

Arhan Raj Patnaik

Schools are meant for learning, and to be honest, I would like a school where there is actually more focus on sports, and physical activity. Many schools need more physical activity, and the students are getting frustrated. The school that I currently go to does not even have a gym yet! They are working on getting a gym by December, and this is really annoying, because we have to learn about health, and that is NOT fun.

I want my school to be simple. It should have a lot of activities which involve every subject. I want a school which does not assess our performance by exams - in simple words no pressure of exams should be there. I believe behaviour must come before studies. Many students get spoilt with gadgets and are lost in the tech world and they do not know that there could be bad consequences of overusing gadgets. The school should take the responsibility of educating its students on what the cons of using gadgets are. It should be secure for students and should be the safest place for the kids. School should be a place to make friends, and learn good things. We have seen poor children who can’t afford to pay the fees. I want my dream school to give free education to under-privileged children. There should not be any comparison between students like rich and poor in my school.

Another concept that would be applied to my dream school would be that the class time would be approximately 20 minutes. The reason why is because kids can find school a little tedious if the lessons are stretched for a long time. Also, school HAS to start at 12:00, because all of us do NOT like to wake up early. My school bus comes at 6:55! At my dream school, nobody has to wake up that early. Also, my school must only teach adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying. There is no need to learn about algebra, calculus, or anything else for that matter. Tell me, when are we going to use this in our life? Teachers also must have a fun type of curriculum. Some schools need to have more free time, and that is what I am going to give them. Teachers and students need longer break-time! Both complain about how their time at school is all about teaching and learning, and there is no time for themselves! This brings me to another topic… HOMEWORK. Homework is something NOBODY enjoys, and I feel that teachers sometimes go a little over-the-top with homework. Like yesterday, (October 27), I had 72 math questions online, and I had to show work for it, and I had to finish all of them by 11:59! Don’t you think that is going too overboard? Honestly, teachers should think that the students have a life too, and not of just learning! That’s why, at my dream school, there would only be homework one day of the week, and that would be Wednesday. That being said, the homework MUST be only one page per class, and the page should not be double-sided. Teachers sometimes do not think that students may have afterschool activities, and that they may have their own plans. Students often complain, and I am one of them, about their own activities, and how their life is overloaded.

(Arhan Raj Patnaik studies in grade VIII B at Ryan International School, Yelahanka)

We could do organic gardening every day Sharanya Ghosh

A concept that is vital to the school that I dream of would be that there would be three days holiday per week. Students need their own free time, and they dread the last day of their weekend, knowing that they have to go to school the next day. That is going to change. School should have only four days of learning, and not five. People need more rest from school.

My ideal school would be big enough to fit a huge play area, trampoline, football field, classrooms and our own garden. For an hour and a half every day we could do organic gardening, and the fruits, veggies and herbs that grow could be used for cooking for the children at our school. We could divide the day into playtime, gardening time and study time. In school, it would be nice to have a movie theatre, where we could sometimes watch movies. We could have no uniforms and wear just coloured clothes to school. I would like the teachers to be sweet and kind, but also be a little strict sometimes. We could have a cold room, which could have an ice skating rink. We could go there during our playtime with a buddy. I would like to have sections till 'J' and have only 10 kids in each class, so that every kid got equal attention. I like the way my school is, but I also wish I could study in a school like my ideal school.

(Shreya Menon is 12 and studies in grade VII, at Central Jersey College Prep, New Jersey, USA)

(Sharanya Ghosh, age 8, studies in class III at Inventure Academy, Bangalore)

November 2017

SPECIAL FEATURE A good counselling centre will be available to students Tanya Amrita Jaishankar

My dream school is where life begins, which is full of passion and liveliness. The teacher not only grabs the students’ attention but keeps them on the edge of their seats wanting to know more. My dream school would be complete with amazing facilities like classroom, labs, pools and gym. A good canteen facility with healthy food is a must for students as they get deprived when spending long hours in school. A good library, a combination of arts and crafts would help develop the inner talents of students. An awesome sports facility will bring out the great athletes among students. A good counselling centre must be available to students so they can get help at any time. The school should have its syllabus modulated in such a manner where it should be interactive and have a perfect blend of theory and practical oriented classes. Visualizing helps in better understanding and therefore the methodology should also change from text books to tabs and hitech gadgets for easy understanding. Every student should be allotted tabs, so that the heavy bag or sack system would be avoided and all notes and lecture classes could be stored in them. Though schools are the best thing that’s happened to mankind, there is room for improvement for better and interactive education. The syllabus must be relevant; it would impact significant impact fields like environmental studies, political views and economic struggles. It would grab the attention of students and lead them to action. Improving schools would require international collaboration. This would encourage dialogue and lead to common standards. Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the great engine of development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that the child of a farm worker can become the president of a great nation.” Education can bring change in someone’s future. The struggle to keep fulfilling that observation must be made by us. Students need to be inspired, amazed and be aware of endless opportunities. We can choose our favourite lessons to learn. We can spend more time doing some outside reading. The students do after-school activities for one and a half hours every day. We needn’t do a lot of homework and we are happy to stay at school. My dream school will look like a big garden. The teachers here are kind and helpful. They are not only our teachers but also our good friends. The students are polite and friendly and we all know how to keep our school neat and tidy and there is no litter around. My thought and belief is if teachers stick to high expectations for all, then all students will succeed. The core to my dream is broken up into three components: the teacher/staff, students and parents. I love my dream school and we’ll grow up to be happier there. (Tanya Amrita Jaishankar is in grade XI at Vivekalaya School, Coimbatore)

Why does school have nothing else but studies? I am not saying it should not have studies but I think it should have more playtime and less of studies. I want two periods of art every day and I wish my English teacher would not be so strict. I want to be the class monitor for a whole year. I think my present school will look a lot better if it wasn’t so big. I want my dream school to have a big beautiful garden with birds, butterflies, flowers and plants. I want to go to the computer science lab. These are few of the things I would like my dream school to have.

I want two periods of art everyday Vyshnavi Arun

(Vyshnavi Arun studies in class II at Delhi Public School (North), Bangalore. The 7-year-old loves nature, animals, art, listening to stories, reading Roald Dahl, and playing with her friends.)

November 2017

My dream school students will make the change others want to see… Arnav Bachheti "School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.” - Lon Watters

What the child thinks should get jotted down on the smartboard Tavishi Saxena Tweet-tweet, buzz-buzz; such melodious and peace providing sounds which help to concentrate with an increasing ease, is what I want as the environment of my school. The magnanimous, technophile and ecofriendly classroom with extra relaxing, cushioned sofas should be a classroom. This would keep the children content and lead them to study without being pressurized. For me, my dream school should have escalators and the attendance should be by a face detector. There should be glass walls and when swiped the scenic beauty should be changed. The smartboards should be linked in a way that what the child thinks is jotted down on the screen giving a great exposure to the thinking of every child. I would like to have different study methods like for humanities we can have a play and enact the people to get a better and fruitful understanding. The educators should teach with a great passion and encourage the children by bringing out talents that are not only in direction of science but a fusion of scientific and artistic mind. Thinking and passion for learning should be the basis of a child’s genius. Smart classes can be more fun to learn and movies related to the subject should also be projected. We can discuss a lecture on Facebook or create a google hangout to talk about a class assignment. Play and laughter are said to simulate the imagination and to increase the neuro-transmitters for memory and alertness so, we should have a positive learning environment allowing us to play in between to shape our brain, revitalise our soul and open our imagination. Home assignments should not be based on absorbing large amounts of factual knowledge but it should have the three Cs: critical thinking, collaboration and creativity. Now we come to the most favourite part that every child adores and it’s none other than FOOD! The ambrosial and fresh smell of the yummy food should activate the olfactory senses of the children. The kids should be given a few intervals to eat their loved food and this would help them to study with a refreshing mind. All these things, according to me, should be added in the school but at the end a school also has some moral values and I do not want them to be removed. The children when being given so many comforts should not find it difficult to follow the rules and principles of the school. (Tavishi Saxena, 13, studies in grade VIII, Jayshree Periwal International School, Mahapura, Jaipur. Her Instagram/ Facebook page Swirlingbrushes@tavishiart displays her passion for art)

The school of my dream would be like a haven for the students. Everyone would be treated equally. There would be no fee, and midday meals would be provided to them. My dream school would be an ordinary school but the difference would be in the students and their thinking. Every single activity would be there. There would be no force to study. If a child thinks his career is in sports rather than in academics he /she will be encouraged. I wish for a school that teaches its students to be a little mischievous and naughty yet well behaved and grounded. There would be picnics and excursions. National and international trips would be held. Annual Day and Sports Day will be held where many reputed persons would be called as chief guests. The school of my dream would have three playgrounds, one swimming pool, one roller rink, and much more. Children would learn that if they are not willing to learn, no one can help them but if they are determined to learn no one can stop them. My dream school students will make the change others want to see in this world. They will prove themselves to the people who think that average people can't do anything. My school would have evening practice classes for sports and other co-curricular activities. On certain days teachers would not come to classes. Students themselves will be the teachers, educators and facilitators. Students will learn collaborative skills, group management skills and, above all, social and thinking skills. They would have the best technology, including laptops and educom. My dream school would definitely make me say in future - “School life is the best phase of life.” (Arnav Bachheti, a student of Army Public School, Birpur, Dehradun, studies in class VIII.)

November 2017

Subscribe to Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Largest Circulated & The Most Read Education Magazine TODAY Year 1 2 3 4 5

No. of Issues 12 24 36 48 60

Stand Price 1200 2400 3600 4800 6000

Offer Price 1200 1920 2800 3648 4500

For online Subscription: http://www.scoonews.com/buy

Savings 0 480 800 1152 1500

You Save 0 20% 22% 24% 25%

EVENTS

showcase Top Innovations

INSPIRING CHANGE

in EDUCATION

Eve Harper, Event Director - Bett Asia, says that the focus is on understanding how to make powerful tools accessible and impactful on a larger scale

November 2017

Nichola Pais

learners to fulfil their potential.

editor@scoonews.com

ett Asia believes in creating a better future by transforming education. Their mission is to bring together people, ideas, practices and technologies, in order to enable educators and learners to ful?l their potential. At the upcoming Bett Asia Leadership Summit and Expo, over November 15-16, 2017, more than 1,700 education policy-makers, leaders and experts from 40+ countries will come together to discuss the transformation of education and to discover the innovation that will inspire change. The transfer of knowledge, training and best practices will be facilitated as leading minds of Asia’s education community congregate to share latest trends, challenges and advancements in education and technology, with a distinct focus on Asia Pacific.

How does Bett Asia envisage the transformation of education? Transformation of education is anything which fundamentally improves the opportunity for all educators and

What does Bett Asia see as the top innovations that will inspire change in education? At Bett Asia, we are excited by the innovations in technology. From 3D printing to VR and AI, we have entered a new era of possibility. It’s now about understanding how we can make these powerful tools more accessible and impactful on a larger scale. We are excited by the innovations in techniques, from new approaches in STEM Education, to Design Thinking, to BYOD, to Teacher Training. As we transition towards more student-centred learning the opportunities become endless. We are excited about innovations in partnerships. Whilst the idea of partnership is in itself not new, the widerreaching partnerships being formed across different sectors, verticals and countries show huge potential for transforming education. From industry to early years education partnerships that seek to address the growing employability and skills gap, to institution-to-institution partnerships that are working to upskill educators in new

ways, new collaborations are inspiring change and paving the way to truly transform education. We will be showcasing many of these innovations and how to leverage them at Bett Asia, along with our partners, so be sure not to miss: An opportunity to get hands-on with Minecraft in the Microsoft Teachers Academy HundrED’s Leadership Summit session on ’Global STEM Innovations – A Snapshot of the Best STEM Innovations from Around the World’ Exhibitor VCFGL’s remote teaching presentations from Malaysia to Uruguay and Brazil The Genovasi Foundation’s case study on The Design Thinking Innovation Ambassador Programme F1 in Schools STEM Challenge in the Expo Students getting to grips with the latest British EdTech in live lessons in the Great British Classroom

November 2017

TECH IT OUT

11 FREE ONLINE

Courses for

TEACHERS

Learning to Teach: Making Sense of Learning to Teach This free course, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Making sense of learning to teachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, is the first of four courses which comprise the Learning to Teach course series. It draws on collective experiences of the course designers about how people learn to become teachers. It explores the different approaches to teacher education and the different routes into teaching. It will help you to understand the philosophical and practical differences between the different approaches. http://bit.ly/2z82JSe

Vinay Singh writeback@scoonews.com

With the advent of the internet age, free online courses are becoming increasingly popular. Teacher Education is one of the avenues where a number of useful courses are offered by some of the leading academic institutions. Read on to learn which teacher education courses are available, what topics they cover and how they will benefit you:

Bullying Prevention Training Course Discover your role in bullying prevention! This training provides guidance on how to take a public health approach to bullying prevention through the use of long-term, community-wide prevention strategies. This USA Government website has important tips for teachers on preventing Cyberbullying too. http://bit.ly/2jF8EGm

SWAYAM SWAYAM is a programme initiated by Government of India and is designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality. The objective of this effort is to take the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. https://swayam.gov.in/

November 2017

Inquiry in the Science Classroom Supporting Children with Difficulties in Reading and Writing This course from Coursera is for teachers to learn why some children have so much difficulty with reading and writing, often called 'dyslexia', and to learn more about best practice in teaching literacy to all in light of recent scientific discoveries. This 6 -week online course has been created by the University of London, UCL Institute of Education and Dyslexia International. http://bit.ly/29QhLMP

This course from Intel Teach helps teachers transition from textbook science to authentic inquiry and also explore ways to develop students’ scientific thinking and practices. Intel® Teach helps K–12 teachers of all subjects engage students with digital learning, including digital content, Web 2.0, social networking, and online tools and resources. http://intel.ly/2xpnhRA

Project-Based Approaches to learning Via this course from Intel Teach, explore the features and benefits of project-based learning with classroom scenarios that help you to engage students with self-directed learning. http://intel.ly/1M7BH9S

Put Design Thinking to Work Virtual Crash Course This virtual course from the d.school (a part of Stanford) helps you put Design Thinking to work and shows you how design thinking can be used for diverse work, but it is most easily adopted for the discovery phase of a project: when you are still seeking the meaningful problem to work on, or the right solution to pursue. https://goo.gl/EJ5n9z

Creative Writing: A Master Class

Quick Classroom Management Tips Download this free guide to remaining calm and responding right when a student challenges. This guide from the Center for Teacher Effectiveness helps you learn how to maintain your self-control, avoid power struggles, defuse tough situations and keep your focus on teaching—and the students’ focus on learning. http://bit.ly/2zF98QQ

Becoming a Better Teacher: Exploring Professional Development Grow your skills as a teacher and learn more about professional development for teachers with this online course on FutureLearn. This course has been developed by British Council in association with UCL Institute of Education and focusses on helping you develop your reflective skills and improve your practice in the classroom. http://bit.ly/2zPJUQC

Delve into the world of creative writing and hone your skills and knowledge on the craft with Creative Writing: A Master Class eCourse. Featuring a multi-media eTextbook, Creative Writing: Learning from the Masters and nearly 40 audio and video podcasts containing unique insights from more than 30 authors, this course pulls back the curtain on the writing process. Please note that this course material is only available in the iTunes U app on iPhone or iPad. http://ow.ly/PYLL30g8QzJ

Teaching with Technology and Inquiry: An Open Course for Teachers This online course is designed with K-12 teachers in mind. Teacher candidates, higher education instructors, and other educators may also find it relevant. In six weeks, you will discuss some of the major themes and challenges of integrating inquiry and technology as a community of practitioners. http://ow.ly/4gsm30g8QBW Select one of these courses from our carefully curated list of online courses for educators, sit back and let the learning begin.

November 2017

TAKE2

Teaching On Your Feet; 10 Lessons On Being a Master Teacher

The Most Important Year: PreKindergarten and the Future of Our Children

By Rita Pierson

By Suzanne Bouffard

The aim of this 2-CD set is to provide teachers with practical strategies to generate both personal and professional self-improvement. Stand up and be proud! If you are a teacher, you ought to say with vigor that you teach and you are proud of it. There isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any more powerful profession than teaching. Everyday teachers change childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds and help create the future.

Journalist Suzanne Bouffard takes us inside some of America's best pre-K classrooms to reveal the sometimes surprising ingredients that make them work and to understand why some programs are doing the opposite of what is best for children. This book also chronicles the stories of families and teachers from many backgrounds as they struggle to give their children a good start in school. This book is a call to arms when we are at a crucial moment, and perhaps on the verge of a missed opportunity: We now have the means and the will to have universal pre-kindergarten, but we are also in grave danger of not getting it right.

How to Teach So Kids Can Learn By Swati Popat Vats This book is a must-read for both teachers and parents. It presents good educational and child development practices. The author is the president of Early Childhood Association and uses her extensive experience as Director with Podar Jumbo Kids in presenting information and tips to guide teachers and parents interacting with kindergartners.

November 2017

TED TALKS FOR TEACHERS How I stopped the Taliban from shutting down my school

Teachers need real feedback

When the Taliban closed all the girls' schools in Afghanistan, Sakena Yacoobi set up new schools, in secret, educating thousands of women and men. In this fierce, funny talk, she tells the jawdropping story of the two occasions when she was threatened to stop teaching — and shares her vision for rebuilding her beloved country.

Until recently, many teachers only got one word of feedback a year: "Satisfactory." And with no feedback, no coaching, there's just no way to improve. Bill Gates suggests that even great teachers can get better with smart feedback — and lays out a program from his foundation to bring it to every classroom.

http://bit.ly/1KtkRmb

http://bit.ly/OJoU58

Sakena Yacoobi

Bill Gates

Nadia Lopez

Why open a school? To close a prison Our kids are our future, and it's crucial they believe it themselves. That's why Nadia Lopez opened an academic oasis in Brownsville, Brooklyn, one of the most underserved and violent neighborhoods in New York — because she believes in every child's brilliance and capabilities. In this short, energizing talk, the founding principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy (and a star of Humans of New York) shares how she helps her scholars envision a brighter future for themselves and their families.

Christopher Emdin

http://bit.ly/2di5kuX

Teach teachers how to create magic What do rap shows, barbershop banter and Sunday services have in common? As Christopher Emdin says, they all hold the secret magic to enthrall and teach at the same time — and it's a skill we often don't teach to educators. A longtime teacher himself, now a science advocate and cofounder of Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. with the GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Emdin offers a vision to make the classroom come alive. http://bit.ly/1hszLxd

November 2017

TAKE2

READ

THE

M ST

Punjabi/Lahnda Primary Country – Pakistan Total Countries - 6 Speakers (millions) - 119

SP KEN LANGUAGES IN

7 Portuguese

THE WORLD

Primary Country – Portugal Total Countries - 13 Speakers (millions) - 219

5 1

Bengali

Chinese

Primary Country – Bangladesh Total Countries - 4 Speakers (millions) - 242

Primary Country – China Total Countries - 37 Speakers (millions) - 1,284

Hindi Primary Country – India Total Countries - 5

Spanish

Speakers (millions) - 260

Primary Country – Spain

Total Countries - 31 Speakers (millions) - 437

English

3 Arabic

Primary Country – United Kingdom Total Countries - 106 Speakers (millions) - 372

Primary Country – Saudi Arabia Total Countries 57 Speakers (millions) – 295

8 Japanese

Russian

Primary Country – Japan Total Countries - 2 Speakers (millions) - 128

Primary Country – Russian Federation Total Countries - 19 Speakers (millions) - 154

Source – Simons, Gary F. and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2017. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twentieth edition. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.

November 2017