ScooNews-July 2017-Digital Edition by ScooNews

Volume 1

Issue 12

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

July 2017 IGNITING MINDS

Margaret Mead

STRAIGHT TALK

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Nichola Pais

Coal & Diamonds

njoying this period of learning in Dept of School Education. The more I learn the more I discover how ignorant I am. So much more to learn.” Considering it’s the newly appointed Education Secretary Anil Swarup tweeting this, the flicker of optimism glows stronger. Only a severely misguided being would dare to presume that, with a flash of their ministerial wand, they could instantly right all that’s wrong with education in India. Inadequate funding, shortage of qualified educators, lack of involvement in and control of educational matters, are just some of the factors ailing the system. The challenges in the rural India are even more severe, compounded by lack of proper transportation, meagre incomes, dearth of basic infrastructure and ill-paid, unqualified, absentee teachers. The result is unsurprising: the bulk of the students ‘educated’ by the system remain uneducated, lacking in basic competencies. (A survey conducted by NGO Pratham showed that 31.4% of std. III children could not read words in their own language, 70.1% of std. III children could not solve a 2-digit subtraction problem and 51.8% of the std. V children cannot read a std. II level text). Despite the overwhelming odds, India’s education sector is sought to be positioned on a path of reform. Besides a 9.9% rise in outlay, which takes the spend to Rs.79,685.95 crore for the financial year 2017-18, a system is being put in place to measure annual learning outcomes in schools. Additionally, emphasis is to be given on science education and flexibility in curriculum in order to promote creativity through local innovative content, as FM Minister Arun Jaitley pointed out. It could well be Swarup - the ex-Coal Secretary credited with developing the successful model for coal mine auctions - who will action the overhaul of the education system. Maintaining the standards of education across a million schools and more across the country, making education accessible to all segments of society, ensuring costs stay low, and grappling with the social and cultural realities that challenge the implementation of education nationwide, will be a slow and arduous process. But that is no reason to lose hope. The task of equipping our children to flourish in the modern economy deserves every bit of effort and support. Even diamonds start off as lumps of coal, after all.

Published for the month of July 2017 Total number of pages 68, including Covers

FIND US ON

July 2017

CONTENTS

14 COVER

INNOVATION: Just Make It!

“Our focus has shifted from universalization of access to ensuring quality learning”

Maker’s Asylum, a collaborative makerspace, provides the tools and training to bring ideas to life. Warning: Highly addictive!

36 FEATURE STORY

Technology will be the real game-changer to enable better student learning and teacher training, says Anil Swarup, Secretary, School Education & Literacy

Just Blogging: Educational Buzzwords We Need To Know

Seeking Sporting Spirit! Chasing marks yes, but actual running? Hardly! It’s high time regular sporting activities and Yoga were encouraged to enable students’ holistic development

OPINION : Probing The Great Fee Crisis

EDUCATION: The Value of Authentic Learning

July 2017

YOURS TRULY GREAT IMPRESSION The first time I saw your magazine was at the Global Education Leaders' Summit 2016 at IIT Delhi in December 2016. I was one of the speakers for the teachers' assessment. I was impressed by your concept of win-win strategy of title page on both sides with reverse print which gives a message of being in front from wherever you begin. We have subscribed to your magazine for our library. The first copy was on my table yesterday. The collection and selection of different sections, into which the magazine has been divided, is superb. It will go a long way. I strongly feel that very soon this magazine would capture a very big chunk of the market. Best wishes to the ScooNews team for a great journey ahead! Dr Ravinder Singh Panwar, Principal, Podar International School, Dhule

JUST INSPIRING! I have just read through the June

2017 ScooNews magazine and it is one of the best issues you have published. The topics are timely and just perfect for educators to learn and be informed. The cover story on Teacher Warriors is inspirational and highly informative. L Vijay Singh, Manipur

REFRESHING CONTENT I would like to express that it has been a long time since I have read a magazine wherein the content is precise and directly related to useful information, keeping the wider range of readers in mind ie. from the perspective of educators, counsellors, parents and students. Re ScooNews April 2017, I liked the detailed information on all boards, the editor's point blank views on requirement of a single board in country, research on views of the new generation by Varkey's Foundation, focus on vocation in vacations, and information about a boy securing a top US university scholarship (motivation for others to start working in this direction).

In addition to these, I liked the pitch of unconference/ idea-sharing versus one-sided lecture approach in reference to your forthcoming global meet. Overall I enjoyed reading the whole magazine and look forward to its next edition. Thanks for a refreshing educational magazine. Appreciation for the whole ScooNews team! Anirudh Sachdeva, Director, Holy Child Public School, Rewari

INSIGHTFUL READ I feel intrigued reading your magazine. It is refreshing and insightful. The cover page is meticulously designed and presented which grabs the first attention of a school leader, followed by tangential articles, which is rare in magazines primarily focusing on education. Best wishes to you and your team. Dr. Nirmala Krishnan, Head of Schools, Shrishti Group of Schools

TECH THAT! You and your team are doing a great job maintaining and keeping the magazine interesting. I always turn straight away to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tech IT Out' section when I get the new issue. One thing I especially like is 'Did You Know'. The magazine is great so keep up the good work. Amol Mazumder, Pune

INSIGHTFUL PIECE I read you June issue with great interest as it featured something close to my heart - what we teachers are paid in India. The article was insightful and raised some important points. Rajani Panwar, Delhi

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July 2017

Please recycle this magazine and remove inserts and samples before recycling

TRENDING

Dalai Lama advocates ancient Indian knowledge

On the first day of teaching on Nagarjuna’s Commentary on Bodhichitta and Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo’s Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, the Dalai Lama addressed 528 students from 70 different universities and colleges from India, US and Netherlands. He spoke about the incorporation of ancient Indian knowledge in the education curriculum. “It is a matter of great urgency that we find ways to incorporate the ancient Indian knowledge of mind in schools’ education system. I look forward to the day when the younger generation will be more aware of their emotions, conscience and feel greater sense of responsibility towards themselves and the wider world,” he said, adding it is now up to the younger generation to make a better world than the one that has been bequeathed to them. He went on to talk about how the Tibetan people have kept the tradition of studying the ancient texts of Nalanda, and their immense faith and devotion to Buddhism. Even today when Tibet goes through troubled times, their spirit, strength and integrity remain strong, he reminded.

CM backs Bihar School Board Ganesh Kumar was declared a topper (Arts) for the Class 12 BSEB (Bihar School Examination Board) examination before being stripped of the honour as the board officials detected age forgery. The opposition demanded Education minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary be sacked for the fiasco. CM Nitesh Kumar however has held his stand in backing the school board, stating that it was they who detected the forgery. “Not the outsiders, but a few people from Bihar itself ruin the image of the state,” the CM said on the side-lines of his weekly Lok Samvad programme. “When the media was questioning his (Ganesh's) knowledge of music, the state government suspected his age. Accordingly, BSEB officials probed the matter and found him to be 41 years old. Action was taken against him thereafter. Thus, it will be wrong to say we were sitting idle on reports of malpractices,” the

CM said. Ganesh was thereafter sent to jail. The CM also said that the board implemented stringent measures to conduct a fair examination. “For instance, the answer sheets were evaluated by experts. Besides, there is an informal internal mechanism in the BSEB that the results of top 10 students in every stream are cross-checked followed by physical verification of the candidates,” Kumar pointed out. This year has seen only 35% of Class 12 examinees pass. The state government is assessing this matter considering various factors such as teacher availability and school infrastructure after which action will be taken against those guilty.

July 2017

ICWA announces topics for essay competition The Indian Council of World Affairs announced the second edition of ICWA Essay Competition for school students (1518 years) and undergraduate/ post graduate students (18-25 years) as part of its ‘Awareness Programme on Indian Foreign Policy’. The Junior Level (15-18 years) students need to write on the topic: ‘What India’s Foreign Policy means to Young India/ India’s Foreign Policy Priorities for the Youth’ with a word limit of 1500 words. The Senior Level (18-25 years) students need to write on the topic ‘Conflict, Religion and Foreign Policy’ with a word limit of 2500 words. The last date of submission of essay is July 30, 2017. They have also announced the prize money for each category. In the Junior Level, first prize wins Rs.15,000, second prize takes Rs.10,000 and third prize, Rs.5,000. At the Senior Level, the first prize bags Rs.25,000, second prize wins Rs.15,000 and the third prize takes home Rs.10,000.

Indian-American Ananya aces Spelling Bee

Nominations now open for Global Teacher Prize 2018

The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2018 applications are now open. The Global Teacher Prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Emir of Dubai. The Global Teacher Prize celebrates the work of #teachers every day, and now you can apply or nominate a teacher for the 2018 #TeacherPrize by visiting http://www.globalteacherprize.org/. The success of the Varkey Foundation’s US $1M Global Teacher Prize, has inspired National Teacher Prizes in over 20 nations. Maggie McDonnell, an educator from Salluit, an Inuit village deep in the Canadian Arctic was the Global Teacher Prize Winner 2017. Ananya Vinay from Fresno was the thirteenth consecutive Indian-American in a row to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The clincher, for the 12-year-old from California at a nail-biting final in Washington, was the word marocain, which is a type of dress material. She spelled it correctly to trounce her 14-yearold rival, Rohan Rajeev from Oklahoma. They had been going neck and neck, getting words such as cheiropompholyx, durchkomponiert and tchefuncte perfectly right. However, Rohan fumbled misspelling the word marram, giving Ananya two right words to win. Sounding thrilled about her win but none too stressed, Ananya shared that she felt ‘amazing’ after her victory, adding, “It was just fun to see how far it would go.” Proud father Vinay Sreekumar revealed that Ananya had a “deep passion for reading”. …An interest that is bound to have played its part in her winning the prestigious competition that saw more than 11 million children aged between six and 15 from all 50 US states, US territories like Puerto Rico and Guam, and countries like Japan and Jamaica, competing. The prize money of 40,000 USD, Ananya shared, she will split with her seven-yearold brother. No prizes for guessing that her own share will go into an account for her college education!

Free education to Ahmedabad’s poor

Dr Priti Adani, wife of industrialist Gautam Adani, runs Adani Vidya Mandir in Ahmedabad, a free school for poor children, who are given a platform to explore their talent and fulfil their dreams. Since the school’s inception in 2008 with just three standards, it has grown to Class 12 today with more than 1,100 students. According to students, the school is different from many others as the day starts and ends with a prayer, and students are taught leadership qualities, self-

defence techniques and are educated by the Learning by Doing concept. All the classrooms are equipped with the latest technology with separate computer classes, digi boards and projectors. Affiliated to the CBSE, students are trained to compete on national and international platforms. Though Gujarati medium schools run by the government are free, parents choose Adani Vidya Mandir as they want their children to be educated in an English medium school.

July 2017

TRENDING Obama encourages girls to pursue tech Speaking at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Michelle Obama stressed on the importance of encouraging young girls to pursue careers in technology. “It starts with education,” the former first lady said, adding, “And there's still millions of girls around the world who aren't getting an education, not just because of the lack of resources or not having access to schools... there are cultural barriers that are keeping young girls down.” As First Lady, readers will recall Obama launching an education initiative in 2015, called Let Girls Learn. The issue is clearly still top of the mind, as she said society has a long way to go when it comes to establish-

ing equality and access in the workspace. Joined onstage by Apple CEO Tim Cook and Lisa Jackson, the company’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives and former EPA chief under the Obama administration, Obama opined that it is important to teach girls to value themselves, and to make them aware

Sanskrit, yoga, performing arts compulsory in ICSE

The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education council (ICSE) has decided to make yoga and performing arts compulsory for Classes 1 to 8 and Sanskrit compulsory for Classes 5 to 8. According to council CEO Gerry Arathoon, Class 5 and 8 students of the ICSE will have to face Board examinations from 2018. He said that it will be just a periodical evaluation exercise to have an idea on the progress of the students’ learning after a particular level. He also said that the answer papers of one school will be evaluated by teachers of another school, the same way as Class 10 boards. Questions for both, the Class 5 and Class 8 board exams, will be provided by the board. In another important decision, all ICSE-affiliated schools will no longer have the freedom to decide the syllabi. All schools will follow a uniform syllabi as decided by the Board and it will be effective from 2018.

July 2017

that they can compete in all kinds of settings. Reminding the gathering comprised largely of entrepreneurs, of the importance of female consumers, she said, “Women are in charge of everything. We buy everything. We make most decisions in the household. Who are you marketing to? Who do you think is going to use these apps?”

Sachin, Beckham in Super Dads campaign A UNICEF initiative has been launched to highlight the critical role fathers play in children’s early development. Celebrities from the realm of sports and entertainment, including David Beckham, the All Blacks, Daniel Cormier, Novak Djokovic, Lewis Hamilton, Hugh Jackman and Sachin Tendulkar, are part of the Super Dads initiative to celebrate fatherhood, and draw attention to the value of love, play, protection and good nutrition in the healthy development of young children. Using the hashtag #EarlyMomentsMatter, families across 90 countries can post photos and videos on their Instagram and Twitter accounts, demonstrating what it takes to be a super dad. India’s pride, UNICEF Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar shared, “When I was a young child, my father gave me the right amount of love, freedom and support to shape who I am today. Every kid needs protection, love, good food and play to support growth and development, and it’s up to both parents to provide these.” Research proves that good parenting in early childhood, more so during the first 1,000 days, stimulates neural connections in children’s brains, and goes on to build the base for future success. Improved psychological health, selfesteem and life-satisfaction are the upshots of positive interaction of children with their fathers.

Arunachal sees low pass percentage

Student awarded for providing quality education

The numbers are worrying. From the 14,016 students who appeared for the 12th standard exam in Arunachal Pradesh, only 5,443 were successful. Interestingly, government-run schools in the districts of the state, that shares its border with China-occupied Tibet, have seen better results. It is time for the state to examine this anomaly. The reason for the dismal performance has been attributed to a shortage of teachers especially for subjects like science, maths and english. The no-detention policy for students up to class 8 under the Right to Education Act and non-creation of teachers’ post in schools upgraded to higher secondary, are touted as other factors leading to a general decline in standards. In an interview to a national daily, Marken Kadu, Joint Director of School Education, revealed that they have taken up these issues with the government, and are hoping they will be addressed soon in order to improve the exam results in Arunachal Pradesh, “possibly the worst in the northeast.”

Nikhiya Shamsher, a student of the Greenwood High International School in Bengaluru has received the prestigious Diana Legacy Award from the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William and Prince of Wales, Prince Harry for her exemplary achievement of providing quality education to underprivileged children. From among the 12,000 nominees from around the world, Nikhiya was the only Indian to receive this award. At the young age of 14 she has her own NGO registered and has started campaigns like ‘Bags, Books and Blessings' and 'Yearn to Learn Labs'. Witnessing that many children don’t have access to basic school necessities such as bags, uniforms, pens, sharing just one text book among 40-50 children and most walking

Coursera raises $64 mn

barefoot to school, she launched her ‘Bags, Books and Blessings’ campaign on January 2015 and has helped over 6,500 students. Her ‘Yearn to Learn’ initiative set up 15 laboratories and has served 3,500 students from various schools. This initiative has also sponsored school and college level education of 25 visually impaired children. Earlier this year she has launched an ecommerce website that sells quirky and unique products for gifting called Knicnacs.com, 100% proceeds of which go towards funding her initiatives. Nikhiya has many other feathers in her cap and is a source of inspiration and immense pride and courage for her exemplary work on an international platform, not just to her school and parents, but to the nation as well.

Redey to head Khan Academy Online learning star-up Coursera has raised $64 million in a Series D funding round, taking the company's total capital raised to date to $210.3 million. As per a statement by the company, majority of the funding came from existing investors like GSV Asset Management, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers (KPCB) and Learn Capital. The Lampert Foundation also participated as a new investor. The online education portal has begun offering fully-accredited online Master’s degrees to cater to all their clients’ educational needs. Since the success of the first two degrees they launched in 2015, they recently announced two more degrees—a Master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OMIE) from HEC Paris, and a Master’s of Accounting (iMSA) from the University of Illinois. Coursera has also joined forces with government and local institutions to prepare their communities for jobs since January. These partnerships have quickly scaled to cover efforts in a number of countries, such as the US, Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Vipul Redey, Director of Academics at Pearson Schools is all set to take over as the Head of School Enablement at Khan Academy India. At Khan Academy, he hopes to help schools make the most of their versatile pedagogy and online learning tools. He has a Master’s degree in education technology from Stanford University, USA, and an MBA from the Ivey B-School, Canada.

He was one of 30 innovators selected to the TED-Ed Innovative Educator programme by TED. At Pearson Schools, he turned analytics into a competitive advantage. Using real time analysis and sharing of data schoolwide after every assessment, he helped school management and teachers focus their future efforts. He will join the prestigious Khan Academy in August 2017.

July 2017

OPINION

Probing The Great Fee Crisis The regulation of fees would lower the standards of private schools by destroying the competition, feels Raman Bansal (Director), Scholarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pride Sr. Secondary School, Dhuri (Punjab).

writeback@scoonews.com

ndiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government schools are often mistaken to be the only option for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, private school enrolment has been increasing at rates comparable to government schools. The focus of private schools on English-medium education and the significance of English in the social mobility aspirations of the people is one of the primary reasons that poor parents prefer private schools. While parents increasingly send their children to private schools, they are also simultaneously affected by the increasing cost of living every year. Private schools charge fees based on demand and this serves as a method of eliminating competition to select students. This has created a situation wherein students from relatively better-off households get preference over children from economically weaker sections for school admissions. Since parents want their children to be educated in a private school, but cannot afford it, they have sought the help of the government to control the price of the service offered by private schools. It is in this context, that some states in India have started implementing laws to fix the maximum tuition fees that can be charged by private schools.

The imposition of fee regulation on private schools can be understood to be a reaction to the demands of some parents against large private schools charging high fees for their services. This can also be seen as a direct result of the assumption that these are the only types of private schools that exist, which is not the case.

Raman Bansal

While consumers are always seeking lower costs in any economy, the problem with the welfare state is that in its attempts to help the poor, it reduces costs at the expense of the producers. While this artificial reduction of price

July 2017

may be seen as a positive impact by the consumers in the short-term, in the long-run the effects will be disastrous for them as well. Producers, who see no chance of increasing prices end up having to cut costs, are unable to function efficiently and lose incentive to perform better. The regulation of fees therefore has the unintended consequence of lowering the standards of private schools, by destroying the competition in the market. One of the problems with setting prices at a lower level is that it creates an entry barrier in the market, thus leading to a shortage in the competition. In this case, that would mean fewer entrepreneurs will be willing to start schools since it is not profitable. It is also the case that existing schools will have to close down because they cannot meet running costs, and/or due to a lack of demand because of falling quality as a result of lower fixed fees. The intention of fee regulation is to decrease cost of education and therefore increase the access to education, the effect is that it creates a supply deficit which in turn ends up reducing the access to education for the very population it had hoped to help. The importance of education to a society is accepted and education is now seen as a necessary service. The attempts at increasing accessibility to these services, while justified, are misinformed. Schools are expected to offer services without expecting profits, as is made obvious from the legislation that requires schools to be registered as non-profit institutions. But the service offered comes at a cost and high levels of risk for the school management. With the imposition of the infrastructure requirements under the Right to Education Act 2009, potential investors are likely to find opening schools to be an almost certain loss. Existing schools have been closed down because they have not been able to meet infrastructure requirements at the low fees that they charge. Price controls on top of this, will make the situation more severe for the education market and ultimately, to the accessibility of a service that is fundamental to the growth of any society. The regulation of fees collected by private schools would seem like a reasonable move considering the mainstream understanding that all private schools charge high fees. But the problem with

the mainstream understanding is that there is a vast majority of private schools that charge low fees and cater to disadvantaged sections of India. What is also worth noting is that more and more parents want to send their children to private schools anyway but the supply does not meet the demand. This is why parents want the fees to be lowered. Private schools generate demand due to a variety of reasons from better learning outcomes, greater accessibility and English medium instruction to provision of extracurricular activities. Consumers want the price to be lowered because there are not enough private schools and the existing ones can charge higher fees and still attract enough demand. If, instead of taking measures to increase the supply of private schools and increase competition among private schools so that they lower the price by themselves to survive in the market, the government moves to force the prices down, it will only lead to a larger supply deficit which ironically ends up further from the consumer need that the supply should meet their demand. Once this scenario is understood, the regulation of fees seems puzzling, especially considering that private education across the world is autonomous and independent, while in India attempts are made to rein in the sector. For the record, private unaided schools are already burdened with a plethora of taxes. This includes Commercial tax for electricity/water, Property tax, Permit for school buses, RTE, Reservation, Lease, Salaries as per 7th Pay Commission, and land being given at commercial rates or auctioned. Over-regulations abound such as Regulation from education department, Regulation from CBSE, Regulation from Child protection commission and NGOs, Regulation from Income Tax department, Regulation from fee commissions and Regulations from the courts. The extra costs are not taken into consideration by the district committees which decide the fees to be charged by schools. What’s more, schools have to simultaneously fulfil several government regulations. In my belief, education, like health-care should see less of government interference. The government should function as a facilitator as opposed to a dictator. I see the recent Gujarat government fee bill as a stunt to gain political mileage.

Fact is that 90% of schools are not adhering to the fee ceiling. Additionally, it cannot be implemented across the country by the HRD Minister, as Niti Ayog is currently working on a 3-tier fee structure nation-wide. Readers may be aware that school promoters in Gujarat have also filed a petition against the Fee Regulation Act. They have formed a federation to together fight against Fee Bill. Unfortunately, in this battle, the real sufferers will be the parents. A majority of the parents whose children study in private schools are aware of the facilities provided and are not against paying the fees. The scenario has obviously added to the woes of schools struggling to fulfil all the regulations. It is time to tread the middle path. My suggestion to parents would be to accept the school’s decisions provided not overly commercialized. If the maximum hike is not more than 10% in tuition fees and not in transport charges, and if parents are satisfied with the quality of academics, safety and security provided to their wards, it’s in the parents’ interest to support the school. Don’t forget, schools are working for the benefits of society, parents as well as scholars. Parents, on the other hand, need to review their attitude which justifies splurging lakhs on coaching while resisting paying for quality education to schools. It is ironic that while private schools generate demand from parents because they meet their expectations of learning outcomes, the government continues to judge private schools based on input norms. Private schools will struggle to survive in an environment governed by policy, which is illinformed of the causes and effects in the education economy. Artificially keeping prices low would result in less competition, leading to a reduction in the number of players in the market. The controlling of fees, compounded by other unreasonable regulations that private schools are expected to meet, has led to a scenario where smaller schools are labouring to reduce costs, even as they are hit by a drop in performance. They would, in all probability, close down leaving the market to fewer private schools. Consequently, even as the government’s control of fees was intended to help the parents, the move will end up leaving fewer schools to choose from.

July 2017

COVER STORY

“Our focus has shifted from universalization of access to ensuring quality learning”

Parvathy Jayakrishnan writeback@scoonews.com

n an exclusive interview Anil Swarup, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, MHRD, Government of India, shares his plan of action for education in India.

The Indian education system is poised for a significant transformation and Swarup strongly believes that the solutions to our education problems are available within our homeland itself. Hopeful of bringing in reforms that will trigger change, he feels that we need to take examples of systems that work from within our own country and scale them through public-private partnership. As a start, the Centre plans to launch a programme where the attendance of

teachers will be tracked by a GPS device. Teacher absenteeism is 25 per cent on an average in government schools and it is one of the most important reasons for poor learning outcomes. The device will also monitor parameters like availability of drinking water, toilets and laboratories. He emphasises that the government has no intention of making NCERT books compulsory, rather it is only a suggestion that the books be made available in schools so that children are not forced to buy their expensive counterparts. Although, 64 per cent voted “No” on Twitter to his question of “Should CBSE affiliated schools source reasonably priced NCERT books?” It is indeed surprising that people want to deny a “choice” given to them. He takes pride in the fact that government schools are doing better than private schools as revealed by the CBSE

July 2017

results and he hopes to introduce schemes that will exponentially improve the quality of education across the country. Not long ago, the former Coal Secretary had tweeted “Underground mining and over ground mafia in coal sector were easier to handle. It is a tougher battle on with underground mafia in Education Sector”. It is a battle he is not shying away from. He is doing his best to make education affordable and accessible to all. Enthusiastic about the task at hand, he shares the government's plans for a large scale National Achievement Survey and the importance of assessing class-wise learning outcomes to improve the quality of education in India. The survey is the largest ever conducted and it hopes to assess 30 lakh children. Excerpts from the interview with ScooNews…

Technology will be the real game-changer to enable better student learning and teacher training, says Anil Swarup, Secretary, School Education & Literacy Are you a proponent of digital learning? If yes, where do we start in making learning in schools digital and how do we go about implementing it? We believe that technology can be a real game-changer to enable better student learning, teacher training and ensuring real-time monitoring of the schools. To implement this at scale, we are in the process of improving digital infrastructure, software and quality of content at all levels. We are providing tablets to every stand-alone school for which a pilot is being conducted in select districts. The tablet will contain applications to track progress of children on learning outcomes and will have training material for teachers. We have developed curriculum to better integrate ICT in teaching-learning and teacher training processes, which many states are already using. Further, we have launched resources like National Open Educational Resources (NROER), epathshala and MOOCs on various technology platforms (web portals, mobile apps etc.) to ensure digital learning in schools. Technology will also be used for streamlining the data collection exercise at school-level so that teachers are not overburdened with paperwork. The tablet will be used for tasks like checking attendance, uploading data for Mid-Day Meal and entering U-DISE data. The National Achievement Survey is scheduled in September-October. How is such a large scale survey going to be carried out and what do you aim to find out from the survey this time? National Achievement Survey (NAS) will be conducted across all the districts of the country and will assess approximately 30 lakh children. To ensure its effective roll-out, NCERT is providing detailed guidelines and will train states/ UTs on academic and technical aspects of the survey. A web-based technology platform will be used for easier entry and analysis of data. We are monitoring and tracking each step and have established a dedicated Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) to ensure coordination and support. Unlike previous surveys, NAS is based on the Learning Outcomes and will

provide district-specific reports as against state-specific reports which were released earlier. The results will be available in the same academic year so that states/ districts can create intervention plans to bridge the gaps in learning levels. Government schools fare better than private schools in the CBSE results. Why do you think this is so and what do you think private schools need to do to better their results? The data from CBSE does reveal that government schools, especially those run by the Central Government (Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya), perform better than private schools. Private schools will have to look into the causes thereof. You do not support the method of giving away free marks to students in the name of “moderation”? Could you please explain your stand? By giving “free” marks the true worth of the child does not get reflected. Many private schools allege that CBSE’s move in making NCERT books mandatory in all affiliated schools will bring down the standard of education. What are your thoughts on this? There is no move to make NCERT books mandatory for CBSE schools. Effort is being made to ensure that students are not compelled to buy expensive books for want of reasonably priced NCERT books. The mid-day meal scheme has proven successful in keeping children in schools, especially in backward districts of the country. Do you plan to introduce any more such schemes to promote primary education? As you rightly mentioned, Mid-Day Meal (MDM) has had positive impact on improvement of education and health indicators of children, especially of those belonging to poor and disadvantaged sections. We are in the process of conducting independent evaluation of MDM to further strengthen its components and make it more effective. Despite an enrolment rate of 96 percent in primary schools, the ASER report of 2016 reveals that only 42.5 percent of Class 3 students can read Class 1 level text. How do we bridge the gap? Poor learning levels are a major chal-

lenge for school education and our focus has also now shifted from universalization of access to ensuring quality learning. We have prepared class-wise learning outcomes (Class 1-8; languages, Mathematics, Environmental Science, Science and Social Science) which will indicate the expected levels of learning that children should achieve. These learning outcomes are now being shared with teachers and parents. We have also incorporated these learning outcomes in the Central Rules to the RTE Act, 2009 and have asked the states to do the same in their RTE rules. We are focusing on foundational literacy and numeracy skills in Class 1 and 2 with programmes such as ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’. Another focus area is Math and Science for Class 6-8 where, under Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, we are conducting mentoring sessions, organising math and science clubs and providing for professional development of teachers. Can the government put a solid system in place to solve teachers’ (SSA) woes of pending salaries? Paying salaries to teachers on time is the responsibility of the state governments. Under the 14th Finance Commission, states have received substantial additional funding. So they should have no problem in paying the teachers. What, according to you, is the biggest hurdle we face in achieving 100 per cent literacy in our country? We have launched Saakshar Bharat programme with a target of certifying 7 crore illiterates as literates by 2017. This is focused on districts where female literacy was below 50 per cent. This scheme is being implemented in the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) mode and is run through Preraks who lead community mobilisation and voluntary teachers who teach at the village level. The biggest hurdles we face are lack of proper infrastructure to run Adult Education Centres, meagre honorarium to community mobilisers and none to voluntary teachers, and lack of political will in some of the Panchayati Raj Institutions.

July 2017

COVER STORY

Thoughts Bright, brilliant and media-savvy to boot, Anil Swarup is widely followed on Twitter – 22.1k followers and growing. Here’s a selection of some of his views…

Anil Swarup @Swarup58 “Focus is on ‘making things happen’ & on implementing defined plan of action than on "what should happen".” “We recognise that mistakes have been committed and commit ourselves to ensuring that such mistakes are not repeated in future.”

“Majority favour choice but surprisingly 42% want to deny even the "choice" of sourcing NCERT books. Difficult times ahead.” “Govt has no intention of making NCERT books compulsory. Idea is to ensure their availability so that no one is forced to buy expensive books” “Solution to school edu problems are available within homeland & not in Finland, Holland or England. Plans afoot to scale success stories” “Underground mining and over ground mafia in Coal Sector were easier to handle. Tougher battle on with underground mafia in Education Sector”

“When one democratic institution pre-judges other institutions, it forgets that it may face similar "pre-judgement" someday.”

“Contrary to common perception Government Schools do better than Private Schools: CBSE Results provide evidence.”

July 2017

“It is happening in Maharashtra. Citizens Help 47,000 Primary Schools Go Digital. Worthy of emulation. “If the honest are hounded, the society & admn will be left with either dishonest performers or dishonest non-performers. The choice is ours” “Use of technology would be a game changer as attempt is being made to bring about a transformation in the delivery of school education.” “For an idea to fructify & sustain it has to be politically acceptable, socially desirable, technologically feasible & financially viable.” “Rajasthan Edu Board becomes the 3rd one after K'ataka & Punjab to announce results without spiking of marks in the name of moderation. Kudos” “Largest ever National Assessment Survey based on Learning Outcome parameters will help determine corrective steps.”

“Congratulations to Karnataka for taking lead in doing away with irrational spiking of marks across the board under the garb of ‘moderation’” “In the meeting held with State and Central Education Boards, consensus arrived at doing away with ‘spiking’ of marks through ‘moderation’.” “Innovation is the key to bringing about a paradigm shift in how education is delivered in the country.” “Teachers’ training key to reforms in field of Education. Commendable initiatives by NCTE to usher in this overhaul” “These government schools are more successful than Kota coaching classes at sending students to IITs”

July 2017

INNOVATION

JUST MAKE IT! Makerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Asylum, a collaborative makerspace, provides the tools and training to bring ideas to life.

WARNING: HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!

July 2017

Nichola Pais editor@scoonews.com

large wooden harp waiting for fingers to pluck at its strings which are invisible â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are laser beams, you see. A world map with countries marked out in vivid colourful leather. A robot encased in beautiful folds of origami. An electric vehicle being created from scratch. Dedicated drone customisation in a private area. Walls, a canvas of

July 2017

INNOVATION

creative expression. Furniture, including cheery yellow chairs, fabricated by members in-house… The cut-and-dried atmosphere of Andheri’s MIDC sector does not prepare you for the treasures dotting the Aladdin’s cave that is Maker’s Asylum! ‘A community makerspace to get your hands dirty and make your ideas happen,’ the Asylum has grown organically since its founding in 2013. Sheer power of word of mouth, combined with unsolicited press coverage in the Economic Times, the Mint, the Economist, and the History channel, draws at least 80 like-minded individuals each month to this six thousand square feet Mecca of Making. Complete with wifi, work tables, rooftop, and a pantry, the main attraction at the Asylum are obviously its ‘kickass labs for work and fun’. “A playground concept, Maker’s Asylum is known to be the first open makerspace in the country,” informs founder and Mechanical engineer Vaibhav Chhabra, his deep tones revealing traces of his Boston-back-

July 2017

S.T.E.A.M. School S.T.E.A.M. SCHOOL is an Indo-French partnership programme driven at shaping tomorrow’s India. This programme offers 100% scholarships for the ideal candidates along with a certificate of completion. It is an initiative to encourage hands-on education for social change. S.T.E.A.M. stands for Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics. These areas of education are the primary focus of this programme. The program helps look at global challenges with local perspective. There will be project-based learning in designing, prototyping and testing techniques. Participants will choose from existing Urban Challenges driven by UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. This programme gives candidates a unique opportunity to indulge in creative learning through Design thinking, Rapid Prototyping, 3D Printing, Electronics / IoT and AR/VR. The programme is designed in such a way that if a candidate wishes to develop a product in the area of the given challenges, he/she will be trained in the skills needed to build the prototype. This will enable the candidate to solve real world problems through prototyping and learning. Candidates will also be provided with support after the program if they wish to take their product development to the next level.

Rapid Prototyping A 3-weekend hands-on certified program, it helps build knowledge about prototyping techniques with engineers, designers, architects and artists. Participants will learn about the Laser Cutter, 3D Printer, CNC, Electronics and Power Tools. A chance to immerse yourself in learning modules, expert talks, experiments and projects on skills learned.

ground. “The labs in schools and colleges are usually very restricted in the way you access tools, where you could just go and build something. Where will you see a retired engineer or an IIT professor working with kids and entrepreneurs and professionals from various companies like Airbus? This only happens in a free environment/ playground. The profile of some of the people working here shows the diversity and the variety which is exciting.” Exciting is understating it when you have anyone from a teen to a greyhead get up-close and touchy-feely with the machines and materials in the Asylum. Breaking out of the shackles of restrictive curricula, it’s a wonderful high for kids aiming for robotic championships, and even Engineering college students to plunge in and gain hands-on experience. “There is no other space where you can do this welcome to our crazy world, the Asylum!” beams the articulate CEO Allan Rodrigues. “It’s the place you come to when you have a great idea but you need to know the tools to go out and prototype it.” And all in the true spirit of learning, collaboration and co-creation which is the bedrock of the Asylum. “When somebody makes something we have a tendency to say ‘This is mine’. But at the Asylum you get to say, ‘Hey you know what, it is just fun to do it together. It’s

Co-Working The Maker’s Asylum offers three options: Regular: Ideal for individual makers, students, or professionals who need a space to work or make a mess. Studio: Ideal for small teams or even individual designers, artists or anyone else who needs a small, dedicated booth. Private: Ideal for large teams working on hardware, software, social innovation or architecture.

Maker in Residence Have a great project in mind that has social impact but lack the resources to make it happen? Looking for a strong community to support you in this adventure? Maker’s Asylum is looking for people willing to create a positive impact on the world, with innovative ideas and a passion for making. This program is a 4 to 8 month residency at Maker’s Asylum, which gives you the chance to build your dreams in an environment designed to foster innovation and creative problem solving.

Maker Auto Bringing the excitement and energy of innovation and building things to the streets of Mumbai via collaborative workshops and projects, is the Maker Auto. Tools, materials, mentorship and the creative buzz of the maker culture roll in, showing the greater community that making and building things is an essential part of some of the best innovations.

July 2017

INNOVATION not yours or mine; it’s ours’. We each may have skills that the other might not have, and collaboration takes things further,” he adds. This spirit of inclusivity marks the core philosophy of the Asylum. “We function as a foundation, as a not for profit. We want the movement to grow. We are not in the business of profiteering; we are in the realm of communitybuilding and knowledge-sharing, as long as it is a sustainable model. When we open a space we will train the culture of the space. The model must be co-creating and sharing. Resources must be shared, everything must be standardised. That culture and community is what drives a makerspace,” emphasises Allan. Speaking of growth, after the setting up of the Delhi chapter of the Asylum, the next step is to move into educational institutions. “We want to run it as a pilot through curriculum, post which makerspaces can be set up. Making - like drawing or gym class shouldn’t be optional, provided you have the aptitude and interest. Honing those skills right from the lower classes and having spaces where kids can come and experiment is important,” avers Allan. “The internet is ablaze now saying that AI is going to take over our jobs, but we will require humans who use AI, rather than robots that use AI, because you are going to have to continue programming! Are our kids ready? I don’t think so. But that’s our mission - creating the right atmosphere to ensure kids get trained in the skill sets required for industry.” While the goal is to train people, spread knowledge, and get them to use tools, the Asylum never wants to lose out on the fun quotient. ‘What would you build if you had nothing to lose?’ – this phrase that Vaibhav generally uses at the end of his talks sums up their philosophy perfectly. “The Asylum is there to provide the safe ground for individuals to not just learn 3D printing, Electronics and Power Tools or Laser cutting but experiment with it, even fail at it… Some of the objects made at the Asylum are of no ‘use’; they are just personal expression. When were we last allowed to do that?” shoots Allan. If you needed that one point to tip the scales, this would be it!

July 2017

EVENT

# UNCONFERENCE 2017

10 Reasons to attend SCOONEWS GLOBAL EDUCATORS FEST Ravi Santlani

Unconference Format

writeback@scoonews.com

cooNews is organising the Global Educators Fest 2017 at Hyatt Regency Gurgaon on August 18 and 19, an ‘Unconference’ to encourage exchange of ideas and best practices between the best minds in education from across the globe.

These are exciting times for education. We hope that you have decided to attend the ScooNews Global Educators Fest 2017 (SGEF2017) and have registered for your delegate pass for both the days of the fest. However, in case you are still in the process of deciding whether to attend the fest or not, this article gives you 10 compelling reasons to definitely attend #Unconference2017.

Being an Unconference, you can expect not just information but also practical usable knowledge through live demonstrations, interactive sessions, workshops and exhibitions. An unconference is a pretty awesome format when you want a super-flexible and participant-driven agenda and structure. The overarching goal of ScooNews Global Educators Fest is to prioritize conversation over presentation.

Theme – Unlearn the Conventional This year’s theme is ‘Unlearn the Conventional’ which will question legacy education and introduce disruption. However, to achieve this, we need to be able to talk to the right audience while creating awareness, curiosity

July 2017

and enthusiasm in the education fraternity. ScooNews Global Educators Fest is our contribution to the meaningful dialogue needed to bring about the positive change required in our education system. This is vital to allow for it to evolve into a vessel of impact, not just for our educators but also the students and parents impacted by the change in mindset, viewpoint and approach along with the value and style of education.

Best Speakers #SGEF2017 features inspiring educators and thought leaders as speakers including The Kung Fu Nuns, Prof. Sugata Mitra, Sonam Wangchuk, HH Radhanath Swami, Shaheen Mistri, Dr Harish Chaudhary, and Matthew Raggett; to name a few. The complete list of speakers is available at http://www.globaledfest. com/2017/speakers.

Innovative Topics #SGEF2017 features some of the most interesting and unconventional topics on education. The topics include teaching for Social Awareness; Creative and Critical Thought; Design Thinking; New Tools for Teaching; Virtual Reality; Social Impact of Technology-driven Education; International Cooperation in Higher and/or Engineering Education; Flexible Classrooms; Use of Social Media; STEM/ STEAM and more. The tentative agenda for ScooNews Global Educators Fest 2017 is available online at http://www.globaledfest.com/2017/schedule.

Meet Experts & Influencers Face to Face #SGEF2017 provides you a chance to meet our speakers and attend personalised mentor hours with them. While undoubtedly you can learn a lot from experts and mentors via their books, websites or social media channels; nothing beats the experience of interacting in person with the experts and mentors themselves and being able to ask questions that are specific to your personal experiences and concerns.

Networking Opportunities #SGEF2017 provides opportunities for attendees to mix and mingle, form new relationships, and strengthen existing ones. Over coffee, lunch, or dinner, you may make a connection with the perfect provider or prospect. At a breakout session, you may find yourself sitting

next to your next customer or mentor. One way or another, an enriching experiencing for all!

Workshops with Certifications At #SGEF2017, you will find various workshops on Teacher Training, Technology-driven Teaching Tools, Design Thinking, STEM & STEAM, Institutional Branding, Revolutionary Technologies of the Future, eLearning and a host of other interesting subjects. We have tied up with industry leaders to provide actionable takeaways backed with certifications through these interactive workshops.

Participants from across the globe Over 800 participants from over 20+ countries will be participating in the #SGEF2017 Unconference and will include school administrators, thought leaders, principals, teachers, venture capitalists, edtech start-ups, media, education service providers, higher education fraternity comprising of vice-chancellors, professors, and government functionaries from various departments related to education and skill development. This brings a global perspective and sharing of experiences to the fest.

Resources & Insights Many educators we spoke to during the course of our research on SGEF2017 told us that they return from a live event with new ideas and approaches that makes them more

effective and efficient at work. In the Exhibition area, you will find companies showcasing tools, techniques and apps that help you plan better, learn better and help others learn better. Overall, you will find either a white paper, book, resource or an experience that will give you some sort of an edge.

Global Education Awards SGEF2017 culminates with the Global Education Awards Gala celebrating education’s best and brightest and shines a spotlight on the best solutions, innovations, inspiring leaders, and innovative trendsetters. Nominations are open and can be submitted online at www.globaledfest.com/2017/awardsintroduction/. Oftentimes educators need the space and time to become re-inspired and invigorated to continue their work, and what better circumstance than doing it in a supportive, curious community of peers in a beautiful and fun environment? SGEF2017 is interspersed with multiple fun elements like musical evenings, selfie zones, performances, storytelling sessions and much more to keep you entertained. By attending India’s largest education brainstorm, not only will you be a part of something iconic but also share two whole days with more than 800 of the world’s education leaders. Packed to the gills with interactive sessions, the agenda promises to leave you inspired and with new insights into how to make education more effective.

July 2017

TECH FOCUS

O T S Y A P WHY IT

S S E L H S A C EDUCATIONâ&#x20AC;¦ IN

ing n li m a e r t s e r a utions it t s in l a n ge of io t a t a s c a w Edu g in t a ic , erad e n li n o s t n nce in e ie m d u a pay r e id w hing a c a e r d n a , e im t lobe g e h t f o r e n r any co

July 2017

Anjana Deepak

service, enters their credit or debit card information onto the payment page and this information is then directed to the payment gateway.

writeback@scoonews.com

one are the days when we carried a wallet tucked and bursting with cash. Gone are the days when we had to stand in a queue to withdraw huge amounts of money and gone are the days when we had to be present physically to buy something or make a payment. What changed? Just one thing - introduction of technology.

Technology today is diverse and omnipresent. Its presence has leaked into the smallest of businesses. Do you ever wonder at how doing things now is so much easier with the presence of technology? How did we ever get by without it! The presence of the internet has helped mankind beyond all odds imaginable. Education is one such sector that sees technology being put to diverse uses; one of the newest being the payment gateway or online payment in education.

What is a payment gateway? Software that allows communication of information of a transaction is a payment gateway. They act as middlemen in the handling and transfer of funds between a bank of a seller and a customer. Sometimes payment gateways are confused with merchant accounts. To make payments online, both payment gateways and merchant accounts are necessary. A merchant account is where the funds are held

The second step is authentication. The payment gateway takes the payment information and sends this to your bank account through a shielded link. The next step is authorisation. At this point the information, regarding whether the payment is approved or declined, is received.

before they can be deposited into a bank, whereas the role of the payment gateway is simply to decline or approve a transaction. Some examples of payment gateways are CC Avenue, Instamojo, Citrus Pay, Direcpay, Google Wallet, etc These payment gateways are able to provide not just a means to make payments but also offer numerous valueadded services such as analytics, better success rates, faster processing, customised reports, large number of convenient modes of payments like accepting credit cards, debit cards, and large number of net banking options, mobile payments, etc.

Four steps in which payment gateways work The first step is collection. This is when a customer chooses a product or

The last step is settlement. Here the transaction is verified by the bank and the money for the sale or service is deposited into the account. Receiving the actual funds into the account will depend on the payment gateway and can take as little as real time or as long as 21 working days.

Payment gateways in the educational sector Allowing payments to be made quickly from anywhere, at any time, is what we require today. And the most important job for a payment gateway is to process these transactions securely while protecting the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s money and data. It is becoming a norm for more and more people to make payment transactions online. However, a key component required by an educational institute to accept online payments is the payment gateway. A good payment gateway that is available in the market and is capable of delivering value-added services and offering a secure system is crucial in the current times.

July 2017

TECH FOCUS

Amit Kapoor, CEO & Co-founder Airpay payment services, quoting the current CEO Amitabh Kant NITI Aayog, says, “While a significant majority of transactions in India continue to be done in cash (almost 86 per cent of them) there is an u n d e n i a b l e momentum in the transition towards digital payments solutions. Post the era of de-monetization, the educational institutes have higher percentage of penetration of the digital or electronic transaction. Millennial parents can easily pay fees or buy admission forms online through payment gateways (Debit/ credit/ EMI/ Net banking/ Wallet).

ing cash; tax-payers lose 1.7% of GDP. This is an unseen cost and the tax payer pays for it, while someone else makes a payment in cash. Cash also gives birth to black economy and unaccounted cash flow, especially in schools.”

•

Who has submitted the cheque or DD

“Airpay is a one stop omni-channel payment solution company offering both push and pull mode of payments. We have developed cutting-edge POS products that are on par with anyone in the industry. We have a reconciled real-time dashboard with refund facility on it which provides a bird’s eye view for financial analysis at all levels. We settle monies with the institute within 24 hours of the transaction being done.”

•

Has the school got the payment for “all” the cheque/DD

•

Do we know the remitter of each bank entry, if direct transfer was made

Kapoor adds, “Airpay is the only payment solutions company in India, offering an end-to-end solution for schools, colleges, universities and coaching institutes. We become the one stop shop for all the payment needs at zero investment as our solution gets integrated with the existing ERP or institutes can use our SAAS solution – SchoolPay, which works seamlessly on their website or mobile.” Speaking to Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of fonePaisa, this is what he had to say: “‘Why do schools need cash…?’ If this question is asked first, then more school managements would buy into the argument of going cashless. With higher cost of printing, distributing and safeguard-

According to Agarwal, today schools have an issue of handling volumes to collect multitude fees and charges; ranging from structured fees like annual fee, books, uniform fee to ondemand collections for late fees, damage reimbursements, picnic, or other ad-hoc payments. This complicates the life of their accounts. If a school must collect from 500 students, they need a dedicated accountant for weeks, only to reconcile:

The government of India has made it mandatory for schools to not accept cash for any payments. He adds, “At fonePaisa we offer value added services which are a secure payment gateway, which supports all domestic and international cards, NetBanking and most prominent ewallets. We also support ‘Virtual Account’ based collection and reconciliation platform; which benefits the schools in operational convenience, besides immediate realization of money. Using our virtual accounts, schools may collect and reconcile their fee within 24 hours. We also support RFID based SmartCards for access controls, which may be doubled for payments within the school premises. We may host a ‘Closed-loop Wallet’ for a school’s captive use. We also support ‘Split Payments’ for vendor collections; wherein a school might be collecting on behalf of a vendor. Example: If a school charges ?1000 for books from a parent; wherein ?50 are towards handling charges by the school; then we may split the collection from the parent straight between the school and book-vendor. This helps in easy-handling of the taxes and accounting for the school.”

July 2017

Payment gateways make it easy for educational institutes to manage their funds. Application forms, registration fees, hostel fees, tuition fees, etc. can all be paid easily by parents from their convenient choice of location or time. The transactions are transparent and are easy to track, making records simple to maintain.

The way ahead Like all sectors, the education sector too is going digital. Book purchases, elibraries, virtual classes, exams can all be done online. These can be paid for through payment gateways. These include online as well as mobile payments. Digitisation of payments would bring a number of advantages to the education sector. At the moment, students have access to local content or from books available from the library which are limited. Online content, though available, might not have specific information for a student. Students can get global exposure by being able to buy international books on a subject. Digitisation of libraries will help a wider number of students to have access to information through an online subscription for a fee. This can then be accessed by a student at any time as per their convenience. The most important job for a payment gateway is to process transactions securely while protecting the customer’s money and data. Ashish Mittal, CEO and CoFounder, Quikfee answers the oftasked question on whether online transactions are secure and how Quikfee ensure it. “Online transactions go through a stringent and highly compliant process that makes them secure. These standards are defined by nodal bodies and are audited on a regular basis to ensure that compliance is maintained. There are various principles and guidelines to mitigate fraud and risk in transactions. As a payment collection instrument, every system should comply with these standards. We follow PCI-DSS standards and 256

Bit SSL Encryption to make Quikfee secure. Quikfee is committed towards providing a secure fee payment alternative to parents. In light of this, we strictly adhere to the set standards and practices of payment gateways in India. All our urls run on https and are SSL secured.” On another level, we see large numbers of students from rural areas being deprived of an education or not receiving quality education as their access is limited due to the distance from good educational institutions. This is where virtual classrooms become a boon, making distance learning a possibility. Students can attend classes, listen to expert lecturers from around the globe and have practical classes through videos all through the internet. Keeping everything digitised, payments are also made online so the user has a virtual end-to-end experience without ever requiring the physical touch of money. Cash-based payment of fees will become a thing of the past. Spending time and money standing in queues can be utilised for better purposes. This will apply not only to online payments for those using debit or credit cards but also for the unbanked population who can make payments via Airtel Money, M-PESA, EcoCash, etc. Rudresh Pandey, Marketing, Feepal says, “Online transactions are very secure as they are governed by RBI and Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007 which takes care of the security of these crucial financial transactions. In fact, Indian Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007 is one of the best in the world and takes care of the security and privacy issues very strongly.” Talking about Feepal’s services provided, he informs that Feepal facilitates its partners to not just collect payments online but they can also co-create enabling payment environment. Feepal has innovated in the following ways to simplify online payments in the education sector:

Innovation : Course Manager :

Form Manager :

Utility for Online Payments Educational Institutions (EI) can themselves list different courses or fee heads for which they want to collect fee EI can themselves create pre and post payment forms. They can also customize post payment actions

Late Fee calculator :

EI can incorporate their own late fee collection logics

Bulk Data Upload :

EI can upload the student’s data with simple excel sheets

Video On Demand :

Ready to use Commercial Video on Demand portal with Online Payments as backbone

Integration with Moodle (LMS) :

Feepal has been integrated with world class open source Moodle to collect online payments

Though we see a rise in the digital trend of going cashless, many educational institutes have still not embraced the technology of accepting online payments. Though it is a favoured mode by parents and students, it is still taking time for a majority of institutions to enter the digital payment space. However, with time, online fee collection will soon become a norm as it is convenient, safe, easy, transparent, and a time-saving process. Educational institutions will only see gain in the growth of this mode of payment. Payment gateways are set to grow in leaps and bounds as the world moves towards going cashless.

July 2017

JUST BLOGGING

July 2017

Educational Buzzwords We Need To Know Buzzwords make an impact paving the way to learn something new, and creating value for and within the profession

Anjana Deepak writeback@scoonews.com

uzzwords have been making the rounds since a while now, with new additions being added on so rapidly, it is important that we keep up. People use buzzwords to impress upon others that they are well informed on a particular subject. They are fashionable words and are also known as buzz phrases, buzz terms, or vogue words. We are constantly surrounded by buzzwords. Though detested by some, they are still widely used by most.

The English language consists of readymade blocks. There are certain standards to which we answer questions. Over the decades, however, that

July 2017

JUST BLOGGING formula has changed. For instance, when someone says ‘Thank you’, the predictable response to it was ‘Don’t mention it’ or ‘Not at all’ which then changed to ‘You are welcome’. But now we hear people say ‘No problem’. Buzzwords usually originate from an industry or a company but have leaked into the mainstream population. Numerous words have been taken from the IT industry and also from social media like Twitter and Facebook. ‘Ping’ which usually means two electronic gadgets communicating with each other, is now being used by the common population as ‘Ping me later’ meaning keep in touch. Other words in our day to day conversations that are coined by social media include phrases such as trending, unfriend, hashtag, and tag, among others. Most times people confuse buzzwords with jargon and slang; however each differs from the other. Jargon refers to words or phrases used by a particular group of people or by a profession. These words are difficult for people outside the group to understand. These words do not have their dictionary meaning; they have a completely different meaning to the people who use them. The easiest examples to understand jargon are normal words like boot, net and web. These words have special meaning to people who use the computer, the internet and the world-wide web. Slang denotes words or phrases that are informal and are commonly used in speech rather than in writing. Slang is mostly used by a group of people of a certain age. It is an artistic expression of the lives or the life around the people who use it. Some examples of slang that are used in everyday life are, ‘My bad’ meaning that a person has made a mistake or was wrong. Take the word ‘busted’; it means being caught for something you shouldn’t be doing. Buzzwords are used in very specific contexts. They are existing terms used in a different way than they were in the past. Every industry has a different set of buzzwords. The educational industry also sees no less of these words making their appearance. Buzzwords in the educational world are sometimes referred to by some as ‘Edubabble’. Teachers and heads of educational institutions must keep abreast of

edubabble. These are some of the most commonly used buzzwords in education… Common Core - These are pre-set standards that provide teachers a guideline as to what skills or knowledge a student must have so they can prepare them for future success. It provides a clear and consistent understanding of what students must learn through an academic year. Cooperative Learning – This is the method of teaching wherein teachers help students process information quickly by having them work in small groups. This way each person in a group can help other fellow members learn the information. Instructional Scaffolding – This refers to the support a teacher provides a student when a new concept is introduced. They use this method to activate prior knowledge on the subject by asking students questions, making a model or conducting experiments on the subject. Guided Reading – As the word suggests, teachers provide support to a small group of students using reading strategies for them to be great readers. This is mainly used in primary schools but can be adapted across all grades. Brain Break – This is not a new concept. Teachers have long since been using this method. It refers to the quick short breaks a teacher gives her students at regular intervals. Physical activities are incorporated during these breaks to jumpstart the brain and help students have clear thinking. The Six Traits of Writing – This defines the quality of writing of a student. By following these six traits writers can be more critical of their work to help them make improvements. The six traits that are followed while writing are Ideas - the main message, Organisation - the structure, Voice - the tone, Word Choice - convey meaning, Sentence Fluency - the rhythm and Conventions - mechanical. This approach helps writers look at writing one part at a time. College- and Career-ready – This is something that comes up when every educated person prepares to enter their career path. There has always

July 2017

been a large disconnect with what students learn at school and what is required at a workplace, which includes critical thinking skills and communication skills. College- and career-ready is a phrase that implies that the student is ready to embark on their career course with all the skill requirements and armed with the necessary degrees. Right Brain Thinking – Educators encourage their students to have right brain thinking as it involves critical thinking and to think outside the box when given various scenarios. Real-World Projects – In order to bridge the gap between the education provided at school and real working environments, educators are asking students to work on projects that simulate real world issues. For example, a group of students in India came up with an out of the box solution of building a plastic roof for their school toilets using discarded plastic bottles. Students’ lateral thinking led them to come up with a simple solution for a real world issue. Disruptive Technology – Any technology currently available in the market that can revolutionize the way students learn is disruptive technology. This could mean an iPad or a mobile tablet. Any technology that can enhance the learning experience of a student falls into this category. Child-Centred Learning – Educators must teach the child and not the subject is what is followed here. Lectures and rote learning are rejected as this system believes that it ignores the child’s feelings and supresses their individuality. Discovery Learning – This is one of the core principles of modern progressive schools where children are asked open questions and with the help of prior knowledge and experiments, exploration and manipulation the child discovers the answer through this process. It is considered a constructive approach to education. Flipped Classrooms – This is where the traditional classroom is turned on its head. Students watch online lectures, take part in online discussions, carry out research at home and engage in concepts in the classroom with the guidance of an instructor. A good example of

flipped classroom would be the Khan Academy where video lessons are provided as content which leaves classroom time for discussions, research and indepth discussions. Design Thinking – This involves five stages, namely Empathize, Design, Ideate, Prototype and Test. A part of an enquiry-based curriculum empowering students to solve authentic challenges, its usage is growing in a number of schools worldwide. Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy – Created in 1956 under the leadership of educational psychologist Dr Benjamin Bloom, it promotes higher forms of thinking in education in analysing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures and principles rather than the usual rote learning of remembering facts. Flexible Classrooms – This approach removes students from passive learning environments and creates learning spaces designed to encourage student interaction. It involves engaging them in active learning techniques to help increase the retention and transfer of knowledge and have a deeper learning experience. Whole-Child Approach – This method addresses the social emotional state of a student’s learning. This approach does not just aim to improve a child’s academic performance but also contributes to their overall development. It ensures long term success in all areas of a child’s life by making sure they are healthy, safe, supported, engaged and challenged. Inclusive Education – This is a new approach to educating children with learning difficulties and disabilities with normal students all under one roof regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. This helps to promote a more tolerant society seeking to maximize the potential of all students. Personalized Learning – The future of education will be transformed from teacher-centred to learning-centred as at present education focuses mainly on performance instead of learning. All aspects of education such as technology, curriculum, etc. will focus on the learner and make learning personal for him/ her. Problem-Based Learning – A student

or usually a small group of students are given a situation or task and are asked to solve it based on their prior knowledge. They are required to determine by themselves how they need to go about solving the problem. This encourages students to be interdependent and independent. Peer Assessments – This allows students or their peers to grade assignments based on a provided benchmark by the teacher helping them better understand course materials and thus enhances higher thinking. Makerspace Education – This is where DIY meets education. The core of makerspace is to use a pre-given set of tools or/and technology and other material to let the maker use their imagination to create something out

of nothing and to explore one’s own interests. Open Educational Resources – It refers to any form of educational material that is freely available on a public domain where anyone can use, copy and re-share. It can contain texts, lectures, projects, audios, videos and assignments. There are thousands of buzzwords and with new ones being added every other day, they are here to stay whether the masses approve or not. The ones that are currently in use will change over the years and make way for new buzzwords. It is important to be up to date on these words or phrases as they have become a part of our daily language. Being aware of what is being used can only prove to be an asset to us.

July 2017

FEATURE STORY

SEEKING SPORTING SPIRIT! Parvathy Jayakrishnan writeback@scoonews.com

Chasing marks yes, but actual running? Hardly! It’s high time regular sporting activities and Yoga were encouraged to enable students’ holistic development

mparting physical education in schools is a value that the ancient Greeks and Romans upheld. Education in a ‘gymnasium’ was considered absolutely essential for participation in Greek culture and it goes all the way back to 386 B.C. at the great philosopher Plato’s school Akademia or ‘the Academy’. In fact, he is quoted as once saying, “In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection.”

It is quite a disappointing fact that in India, we do not attach enough importance to physical education in our schools. While we give more than the required stress on following books and curriculum, physical education is often neglected and considered a waste of precious ‘study time’. However, to enable holistic growth and development of a child, physical education is a must and it is high time we realised the importance of it and embraced it as part of our school culture. And, as we all know, it is the values that we learn in school that stay with us for life. This is slightly easier to implement in residential schools. “We dedicate three hours every day to sports; one hour in the morning and two in the evening. I can proudly say that our children are the all-India winners in athletics for the past seven years. We try to identify raw talent and encourage them to do

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well by giving them scholarships,” says Dr Jagpreet Singh, Headmaster of residential school The Punjab Public School, Nabha. “To cite an example, an 11-year-old girl from our school took part in the Patiala marathon and she won, even beating her seniors!” he proudly says. Imparting physical education in schools has a number of benefits that cannot be ignored. Firstly, it enables proper physical growth of the child. In this day and age when obesity among children is a looming problem, stress on physical education and the following of a proper diet can go a long way. Obesity is the start of more health issues like diabetes, heart diseases and hormonal imbalances in children. An hour of physical activity every day can help keep such problems at bay. Physical activity also provides stress relief to children. It is a good way to release some steam and get a good night’s sleep to wake up fresh the next day. Another important aspect is that physical education in schools can help identify future sportspersons. It is indeed a shame that in a country of 1.3 billion people, we hardly get any medals at Olympic events. This is certainly not because of lack of talent but because we have so much talent that goes unrecognised. Some children show deep signs of interest in sports at a very young age and they need to be properly guided and mentored at the school level to reach greater heights. A few hours of sporting activity a week in schools can help recognise talent, which can be encouraged. Excellence in a sport additionally builds confidence in children. It also helps children develop good coordina-

tion skills at a very young age. Sports inculcates qualities like leadership, discipline, sharing, teamwork, honesty, team spirit, tolerance and more among its participants, which are skills they need for life. There needs to be a balance between academics and physical education in schools so that the latter is not completely ignored. Parents too need to stop pushing their child further in the rat race and realise that it is not just the class toppers who do well in life. A child’s complete development needs to be focussed on and not just his/her grades. As the world celebrates International Yoga Day on June 21st, the least we can do in our country is to incorporate yoga as a mandatory part of our curriculum. Yoga has mentions in the Rig Veda and dates back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions. On December 1, 2016, yoga was listed as UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage. It is heartening to note that some schools are indeed embracing yoga as part of their curriculum. In 2015, HRD Minister Smriti Irani released course material and syllabus for yoga designed by NCERT for classes VI-X in an attempt to make it an integral part of the physical education programme in central government-run schools. Yoga is taught as an optional subject in government-run schools like the Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas under the activity of physical education. The National Council of Teacher Education has made yoga a compulsory training module to train teachers for the same. “We dedicate three hours to yoga every week and I have noticed a positive change in students who need extra help.

Their retention and concentration levels have improved,” vouches Dr Jagpreet. Prerna Ramanathan, a children’s yoga expert says, “For children, it is important to make yoga a fun activity so that they stay interested in it and then we can build on the interest. After birth and during the infant stage, muscles and tendons of a child are flexible. Regular yoga helps them maintain their flexibility and strength even when they grow older. Maintaining a particular yoga pose helps build body strength. Yoga is not only about maintaining physical strength; breathing exercises (like pranayama practices) help restless and fidgety children to focus and keep calm. Yoga is also a habit that can bring in the value of discipline like starting your day earlier and sleeping early.” She also advocates yoga for adolescents and teens. “For adolescents, who are learning and sometimes struggling to accept their developing bodies, yoga helps build body confidence. Yoga is a non-competitive form of exercise unlike other sporting activities. Here, you are only looking at yourself and how you develop and therefore you are focussed on improving yourself,” she maintains. Sometimes parents require to be convinced when it comes to teaching yoga to their children although schools are indeed now a lot more open to yoga than before. “International schools like Inventure Academy, Indus International, and Oakridge International School in Bangalore have yoga as a subject. Some other schools have yoga as a camp activity but definitely schools are taking a positive step to include yoga in their curriculum. Some parents object to yoga

thinking that it is religious and only related to Hinduism, but I completely disagree with that. Some also think that their children benefit only from sports as they are ignorant of the benefits of yoga. Such parents need convincing,” says Prerna. Taking a leaf out of our book, the western world started taking up yoga since the 1980s and today we have so many of them even coming to India to learn the techniques of yoga. They are even dedicated to sharing it with others through YouTube videos, which have millions of views, clearly indicating that people do want to learn the skill and make their lives better. Yoga brings in discipline and is a method of controlling the body and the mind. Apart from body awareness, yoga allows for children to maintain their body flexibility and posture, which will serve them well in the long run. According to a 2012 study published in The Journal of Behavioural Health Services & Research, students who performed yoga on a regular basis showed positive mood and attitude changes, increased energy and improved ability to relax, as well as improved posture as compared to those who did not. While our country is the birthplace of unique and effective techniques like yoga, which is being adopted all over the world, we often need to get help from professionals outside school to get our children trained in them. It is important that our schools strike a balance between academics and physical education. Including sports in our culture is necessary to nurture their social, emotional and physical well-being.

July 2017

FEATURE STORY

We celebrate ourselves from the

INSIDEOUT

July 2017

Certified Itsy Bitsy Yoga Facilitator and owner of Sweet Pea Yoga, Massachusetts, Alexandra De Collibus believes yoga is an essential life-skill that will help children navigate through social and emotional challenges in school and beyond

Parvathy Jayakrishnan writeback@scoonews.com

What are some of the key benefits of yoga for children? The benefits of yoga for children are plentiful. Through practicing yoga, children can develop skills that will serve them emotionally, physically and spiritually throughout their lives. By helping children learn regular meditation, intentional breathing, and a robust ‘asana’ practice, they are practicing patience and singleminded focus, improving their physical and emotional awareness, and cultivating resilience. As a teacher of children, I look at these as essential life-skills that will help children navigate through social and emotional challenges not only during their school years but later throughout their professional and personal lives. Yoga is something children and adults can practice anywhere—the breathing, the concentration, the way we choose to act or react to situations and conflict, the poses, the meditation, the constant self-discovery and inquisitiveness—it’s all portable. No yoga mat, clothing, or special pillow is necessary. Both children

and adults will encounter emotional, social, societal, spiritual, and physical challenges or conflicts. Though the context, the “stakes”, and the perspective may be different, both can draw from what they are learning through yoga to help them navigate the waters in a way that feels authentic and honest. How interactive is your method of teaching kids yoga? Once in school, children can begin to feel that the things that make them different from their peers (sometimes the very unique qualities that we adults admire and love about them), become things that they don’t like about themselves. As a yoga teacher, I try to facilitate a class where children can build up their inner resources and develop a strong sense of self. I always aim to introduce my young students to a variety of simple breathing and relaxation techniques, postures that can make them feel strong, calm, or joyful, and various meditation exercises. For example, after we practice a new meditation technique, I invite them to reflect on what they did or didn’t love about it, how it made them feel, whether there were

any surprises from the experience, when and how we apply and practice this meditation outside of our yoga classroom. I want my students to learn to trust themselves, their feelings, develop their own experiences. I invite them to think deeply about what it is we are doing— to pay close attention to how their body or mind responds to a particular mediation approach or breathing exercise. How the poses make them feel and why they like them (or don’t). In class, I draw attention to how their answers differ in response to a pose or mediation and celebrate that a child’s experience with yoga is not one size fits all - what Sarah is experiencing is different from what Arnav felt and there is no expectation that everyone will have the same "answer". Everything I teach in class is chosen as a way to help my students develop their own inner compass by asking them to bring their own attention to how a pose feels, how far to stretch, recognising in themselves when they need to challenge themselves, and learning how to care for themselves through relaxation, meditation, or movement.

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FEATURE STORY What is the response that children generally give to learning a new skill like yoga? They are thrilled! Kids love learning new things and they enjoy using their body. Although in yoga the goal is to nourish and strengthen ourselves internally, kids are more external by nature so it's not surprising they are most enthusiastic about physical practice of yoga--’the asana’. I introduce a variety of meditation techniques, concentration exercises, and breathing techniques (‘pranayama’) in my classes and kids love learning those as well but those things are harder for kids to put into words. So I try to explain the ‘why’ of these practices in a way that they can understand. I want them to have context for why the breath is so essential to yoga, why the concentration exercises benefit us in our meditation or balancing. I introduce these practices with no prior expectation for what they can do or what they will get the hang of. Kids are always full of surprises—they regularly surprise and thrill themselves with the postures they can do, and they soak up the mediation and relaxation techniques surprisingly well. Not every technique is easy for every child but with enough variety, it seems there is always at least one or two that a child will strongly connect with. Do the occasional conflict situations arise when dealing with children? I rarely encounter resistance to learning yoga but of course sometimes a child will grumble when he realises we are about to practice something they especially struggle with. Though most kids love meditation, it's common there may be a child or two in class who find the practice of sitting still and "watching the breath" very, very difficult because the act of stillness itself is challenging. I just remind them that adults find meditation challenging too and some days we can access that peaceful stillness and some days it's harder. I try to reinforce the idea that we are always changing and growing and we should accept ourselves when we can balance for 30 seconds in ‘Vrksasana’ (Tree Pose) and also not get frustrated when the next week our ‘Vrksasana’ can't seem to stop tumbling over. We have some days where things flow for us and other days which can be bumpier. It's normal. When I introduce a more challenging pose such as ‘Ardha Chandrasana’ (Half Moon Balance), the children seeing the demonstration of this pose for the first time may be nervous - it looks so complicated! They might be fearful of falling out or making a mistake...or feeling embarrassed in front of their peers if they can't do it. I remind them that we call it a yoga "practice" not a yoga "per-

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fect" and although there are certain alignment and safety measures we want to take in the pose, the pose is about maintaining the focus and steady breathing and finding a place where we ‘feel’ great in the pose...it's not how we ‘look’ in the pose. I remind them that falling out of a balance is not a mistake - it's an important part of learning the pose better and that it allows our body and brain to work together to figure out the puzzle of how to do the pose. Would you choose yoga over other sporting activities? I think it is important to mention that the number one reason parents name for why they are having their child take yoga is because of anxiety and/or stress. It doesn't matter whether the child is five or 12 years old, it's a common theme that many, many children suffer from anxiety and stress. Parents recognise their own stress and they care deeply about helping their child learn skills to help them manage and navigate stressful social, emotional, and/or academic situations. I don't think my students are unique in this regard - I do think what they are experiencing is also common among their peers who I might never see in my classes. Because anxiety and stress are serious issues for the emotional health of my students, I do take a serious approach to teaching yoga. Our classes are certainly joyful and fun but anxiety is a very real and serious thing and my students deserve to learn effective ways of dealing with it. To this end, I teach a classical approach to yoga by drawing on the thousands of years’ old tradition to help us guide our way towards inner peace and a deeper connection to the whole. My students learn both, the Sanskrit names of every pose as well as the common English names, and I aim to give them a strong foundation in yoga from which to grow throughout their lives long after they have graduated from my classes. In your experience, do kids balance yoga with other sports? Many of my students also participate in local team sports. At this age (5-14 years) it's very common in the US for children to play on seasonal soccer or softball teams. I also have many students who dance (mostly ballet) several times a week. When sports or dance is a student's primary interest, I might hear from the parent that their child has joined my class because they are trying to address a sports/dance issue - need increased flexibility, or performance anxiety. These families are not looking to replace their child's sport with yoga.

I also have many students who have tried many team or solo sports through the years and they just never enjoy them. These parents might be especially concerned that their child doesn't enjoy physical activity at all and they worry about their child's health or body confidence. In my experience, I have found these less-active students completely thrive in yoga. Yoga removes the competitive, performance nature of sports or dance, and places the focus not on the external but on the internal - nourishing oneself from the inside out. It is a rich environment for a child to grow confident in their body. We celebrate ourselves from the inside out. Have you tried yoga with children with special needs? Does it benefit them in any way? This is a great question. I have not taught yoga classes that specifically focus on working with a special needs population. I have seen these classes offered but very rarely in a private class setting (i.e. studio) and it is most common that there is a special needs-focused educator that will attain yoga certification with the aim of integrating yoga into the work she is already doing with her students at a school or private therapy practice. It is not uncommon to have a child or two in my class who may have a special need or a specific condition--these children might be joining class after a year of cancer/chemotherapy treatment, struggle with debilitating panic attacks, have childhood arthritis, have ObsessiveCompulsive disorder, or have autism. In most cases a parent will call me before registering their child to explain what they're looking for in a class for their child and I will explain how our class structure is, what degree children will need to participate, interact, etc. Children with more profound special needs will often benefit from a smaller class size or even a one-on-one setting. My classes typically include 8-12 students and each child would need to be able to participate with a degree of independence. When I share what an hour of my class is like to a parent, they can usually gain a sense of whether it's the right fit for their particular child. If we're unsure, we'll usually agree to a week-by-week basis with regular, honest communication about whether the class is a compatible fit for the child. In cases where my class wasn't the best fit, it's usually pretty clear that the child requires a smaller class size and more individual attention. The issue generally has nothing to do with yoga itself and more to do with class size and perhaps working with a yoga teacher who is also a special needs educator to best tailor the class to the child's needs.

More about Alexandra De Collibus… Owner of Sweet Pea Yoga in Massachusetts, USA, Alexandra De Collibus is certified in EmPowered Kids Yoga (EPK) and a certified Itsy Bitsy Yoga Facilitator (CIBYF). She developed Sweet Pea Kids Yoga for children for ages 5-14 years, where children attend class in a group of their peers without a parent. She feels strongly about honouring the long tradition of yoga with her students and her classes adhere to a more classical study of Hatha Yoga than most kid’s yoga classes in America. She has faith that American children can embrace a classical approach to learning yoga, and she hopes that they will carry on that tradition in a meaningful way. Yoga does not need to be simplified or reinvented as "play" in order for kids to be drawn to learning it and to build a deeply personal connection with the practice, is her staunch belief.

July 2017

MUSINGS

Teach Teens WITHOUT Tearing Up! Difficult - even unimaginable! - as it may seem, teaching teens can be fun and fulfilling

Nichola Pais editor@scoonews.com

eens face life-changing exams at a time when their bodies and brains are coping with serious changes. No, teenage years are not easy for teens... and definitely not for their parents and teachers, either! Teens can be a lovable yet aggravating bunch, who seem to contradict themselves on every level. They love acting like they know everything; yet sorely lack in experience. Constantly striving for individuality, they simultaneously crave peer acceptance and yearn to fit in. The confidence

July 2017

most teens project often masks a vulnerable insecurity. To top that, when they appear to get a kick out of testing and challenging authority, it makes an educatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job doubly challenging. Fact is, even though teenagers are dubbed an annoying section of learners who generally pose multiple difficulties to teachers, the secret to success in teaching teens lies in the manner in which we deal with them. As a teacher, you can guide them to navigate this tricky phase as happily and successfully as possible by understanding the changes and challenges they face. Yes,

it could imply more work for the educator but the rewards would also be that much sweeter!

Hitting It Off An educator’s sense of entitlement has to go. A teen is not going to lay gifts of respect and obedience at your feet just like that. It has to be earned. Building a rapport with teens is vital for success. And it cannot be faked – teachers need to develop an authentic interest in them and their lives. False concern or saccharine sweetness will have the opposite effect. Refusing to bother to

make the effort would most likely result in learners who learn nothing, and criticise and whine about everything you say or suggest. It isn’t all that difficult either; connecting briefly with teen students at the start of class, chatting informally about their lives and interests can go a long way in establishing a rapport and building a bond.

Beating Boredom Variety is truly the spice of student life. Easily prone to boredom, an educator can use variety to keep teens interested. Varying topics and types of

tasks would bring an element of unpredictability into the classroom and attract a teen. Even changing the order in which tasks are generally conducted can inject a dose of freshness into the proceedings. Put a little effort into coming up with original and unexpected tasks – an online search can help. Remember the few times in our childhood when we enjoyed a class that didn’t take place in the classroom? Try changing the location on and off – after intimating the higher authorities of course; a grassy garden, the school library, even the school terrace. Plan a different class with specific tasks in

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MUSINGS offbeat spaces. Keep them hooked!

Interest Factor It is worth investing time getting to know your teenage students’ interests. Conduct surveys preferably at the start of the year to figure out what actually appeals to them. The results would help you plan better. The answers as to the teens’ preferred activities, whether listening to music, watching films, or YouTube videos, will help generate content for future classes. Topics that are chosen by majority of the teens can form the crux around which you weave engaging sessions. Yes, the preordained syllabus can prove restrictive but what’s to stop a good teacher from organising reading, listening and speaking tasks around these topics of interest?

Choice Matters Allowing teens to do just what they please could create mayhem! So how do you offer them that all-important element of choice? You need to identify and set the main objective of your task. That is non-negotiable. The choice comes in as to how the teens could choose to do it; the tool they use or the way they present it. For instance, if you want the students to write an essay, providing alternative titles for then to choose from gives them the power of choice.

Alternatively, if the students need to make a presentation on a particular topic, they could choose the tool they want to use to make the presentation; a poster, a video, even Powerpoint.

Truth & Dare Teens thrive on challenge; the right dares can keep them keen and even captivated. Avoid playing it safe. Raise the difficulty bar when it comes to creating tasks. Assignments which require more concentration could raise their interest levels and increase their engagement. You can make the classroom an even safer and more secure environment for such ‘risk-taking’ by letting them know that they will not be mocked or condemned for their mistakes. Competitions are a smart way of getting teens involved in the classroom. The whiff of a competition element would most likely see all teen students plunge into tasks – kicking tail is a huge high at that age! Competitions can be made a regular monthly feature, as you keep track of points. Add prizes and you’re in business!

Teen Challenges Help teens achieve better self-control by limiting distractions during times when concentration and memory are most required, such as pre-exam revision. Talk to your students about what distracts them and reach a realistic compromise on issues such as time spent with their mobile phones. Sleepdeprived teens? You could discuss the importance of sleeping well by talking about common sleep mistakes and tips for getting a good night’s rest, which leads to better grades.

Beyond Classroom As educators, creative exploration in teens should be encouraged even if it does not seem practical or syllabusoriented. Organised youth activities such as camps, teen tours and recreational programmes can help teens build deep connections and deal with their issues. They engender a sense of positive belonging. Teens need to have opportunities to enjoy good, clean fun that they would not be ashamed to talk about the next day. With teens it’s vital to help them see their special gifts and their potential rather than their limitations. Discussing inspirational figures in different fields can be a motivating trigger. Bottom-line: A good teacher in the classroom could well be a great motivator in life!

July 2017

“No monologues; interaction is key” Sandra Lee, Head, Department of English, Sophia College, Ajmer shares her tried and tested tips on teaching teens… Never be judgemental; each child is different. As teachers we know only the brilliant or the naughty; we must get to know the in-between. Children need to be challenged to think critically and creatively. No monologues; interaction is key. For projects, encourage interviews and surveys but no cutcopy-paste. Check for plagiarism using relevant software. Every student should be given a chance to speak. Be available always for guidance; even personal emotional counselling. I personally even pray over students. Go beyond the text to teach values, relationships, character. Share testimonies and anonymous stories; encourage discussion. Match the level of the students but also stay updated as kids today are way ahead. Remain young in spirit and thought. Give them your time and love, love, love. As teachers we spend more time with them than even parents sometimes. Our personality can impact them, so values can be caught not taught.

“Offer solutions rather than make life more difficult for teens” “All teenagers come with their bunch of concerns; I don’t call them problems. If a teacher meets their needs in a desirable manner, then learning really becomes fun! Today, we cannot become as visually impactful and work at the speed that children have been witnessing via smartphones, laptops etc. But if a teacher goes well prepared and is well read, automatically when she pumps in more knowledge or some interesting facts, learning becomes interesting for teens. Zeenat Bhojabhoy, Principal, Jamnabai Narsee School, Mumbai

“What’s more, we are all in a rat race today. Remember how our teachers made life easier for us through mnemonics and other ways, especially for subjects like history and geography which are very factual? Teens love it when you give them little prompts and cues on how to remember things. Otherwise the pressure is tremendous. A teacher should always go well prepared and always have something to offer that is more interesting than what the child already possesses. “There should be a clear blend of conventional practices as well as multimedia as too much technology doesn’t help in the long run either. Our children are losing touch with reading. If you have heard about the concept of Flipped Classroom, the student plays the role of the teacher and comes well

prepared to class on a certain topic, and shares it with his peer group and then there is brainstorming, with lots of ideas coming up. “Children are hungry for more. We don’t need to throw out our old practices. Going to the library to pick up reference books should be encouraged. We don’t want rote learning in today’s age; learning should be more application-based and demonstrative. We need a change in our teaching strategy. Content the world over is the same but it is the teaching and evaluation practices that makes life easy for the children. “Teenage is such an age when there is a lot of revolt due to outside pressures. We, as adults, are the ones who are mature. We should know how to handle them. We have to offer solutions to them rather than make life more difficult for them. Children eat out of your hand when they know you love them. So authority is necessary but at the same time we also have to be malleable. We have to adapt to their trends. In fact, as a teacher of both Middle and Senior school, I have never had a problem with any of my children. It doesn’t come naturally; we have to make a dedicated attempt to reach out to them. Everyone is not a born teacher.”

July 2017

EDUCATION

The Value of

AUTHENTIC LEARNING From Gurukul to Montessori and syllabus-oriented learning, we have experimented with several methods of learning hoping to find the one that suits the learner best. Authentic learning is not a term we are very familiar with but it is certainly one that is grabbing the attention of educators worldwide.

July 2017

Parvathy Jayakrishnan writeback@scoonews.com

n a traditional classroom set-up, knowledge is merely a set of facts that is verbally transmitted from teacher to student. More often than not, there is no engagement and students do not even show interest to enquire more about what is being taught, as the topics may not catch their interest.

Authentic learning, on the other hand, describes learning through applying knowledge in real-life contexts and situations. It is absolutely contrary to the rote learning system or the system of reading and learning from textbooks. It focuses on learning from experience and does not rely on textbooks or exams for evaluation. This method of learning targets realworld problems or simulated problems and their solutions beyond the four walls of a classroom. Here, the educator provides his students with a motivational problem along with timelines, planning and other resources required to solve the problem. It allows students to create a meaningful, useful and shared outcome.

The idea is as simple as this: For a person who wants to learn swimming, he can read as many articles and watch as many videos available on the internet about swimming but to actually learn the skill, he really needs to get into the water. Authentic learning believes in the same principle. It supports learning from experience. According to Steve Revington, a pioneer in authentic learning and recipient of the Prime Minister’s award for Excellence in Education in Canada, “Authentic learning is the essential setting that education requires to move towards sustainable, meaningful, relevant learning in the 21st century. It is not the latest strategic vessel to explore education’s ocean - authentic learning is the ocean.” He believes that our greatest shortcoming in education these past few years has been to ignore the brain research that is richly available to us that affirms that implementing multi-sensory activities, pursuing meaningful tasks, and exploring a variety of skills with real world applications is optimal learning - and that it needs to be practiced regularly. In the authentic learning method, a real-life problem or a simulated task is provided to students by a teacher.

July 2017

EDUCATION

They are provided with the necessary resources, guidelines and timelines to complete the task at hand. Students produce a product/ solution and share it with an audience outside the classroom, to be critiqued. This allows for the learner to be reflective, take in new opinions and ideas and, as a result, learn more from the group. Assessment is also therefore integrated within the learning task, thereby eliminating the need for exams to evaluate learning outcomes. It has been proven that students who follow authentic learning exercise higher levels of thinking and are better equipped to face the world on their

own. Teachers also need to give them problems to solve that will test their boundaries and help them achieve more. According to Steve, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A student sitting at a desk, taking notes and regurgitating curriculum content uses approximately 3 per cent of their brainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity. In general, students learn to sit quietly, respond in turn, follow instructions and complete tasks for the evaluation of a control teacher. If all we do is sit at a square table, with a square piece of paper, in a square room with departmentalized lessons and timetables, then what are our education systems really producing?

July 2017

Brain-based research shows that using all senses maximises the learning experience. Interacting, manipulating, exploring, collaborating, discussing openly and sharing for meaningful reasons while having ample time to nurture a greater depth of reasoning and creativity, is optimal learning. It's learning that sticks. It's learning with roots.â&#x20AC;? Authentic learning has a number of characteristics that gives it an edge over the traditional learning method. It enables students to engage in exploration and inquiry. Learning, most often, is interdisciplinary. It requires integration of content from several

disciplines and leads to outcomes beyond the domain-specific learning outcomes. Students are inspired to analyse, synthesise, design and evaluate information on their own, of course, with the help of a guiding mentor. In this method, students are forced to think and the outcome of the learning experience is not predetermined. In fact, different students may come up with different solutions to a given problem and sharing the outcomes helps them learn from others too. They develop flexibility to work across cultural and disciplinary boundaries. Since learning is studentdriven, they are more likely to develop interest in what they are doing.

The learning journey that authentic learning provides is often life-changing as it does not rely on short-term memory skills of a student; rather it focuses on the long-term learning outcomes. The content that we have formed as a syllabus for our schools is definitely important but the way it is dispensed to the students is what needs rethinking. In this day and age when an answer to each and every problem is available on the internet for students to access, the role of a teacher reading out lessons in class becomes redundant. Our schools can provide a better

environment for students to enhance their knowledge by allowing them more creative licence. They need to provide a setting where learning happens not just inside a classroom but outside too, where they will have to ultimately learn to live on their own. It would be too much to ask schools to completely move into the authentic learning method but what they can positively do is dedicate a few hours in a week to this kind of learning and see the results. We need to prepare our students for the future, to face the world with confidence and it is knowledge that comes from solving real-world problems that will help them do that.

July 2017

TECH IT OUT

Using Virtual Reality for Real World Educational Solutions

July 2017

Ulla Engestrom, CEO & Founder, ThingLink, shares insights into the use of Virtual Reality and 360Â° videos for educational solutions

What is the need for professional development of VR in the classroom? The goal of VR in the classroom is to support the development of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) that in education are best applied to solving realworld issues. Without a framework, students will just zip around in a 360 environment not knowing what they are supposed to learn, which is a waste of everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time and money. Professional development for integrating VR in education is thus as important as the technology itself.

Photo credit: Vincent Desailly

What is the difference between 360 Videos and Virtual Reality? It is the view mode: Regular 360 images and 360 videos can be viewed on desktop and mobile devices. All you need to do is to move your phone or swipe the image to look around. Services such as YouTube and ThingLink also offer a mobile VR view. This means that if you have a headset such as Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear VR, you can put your phone inside the headset, select a stereoscopic view of the image or video, and look around the 360 image or video by moving your head. Can virtual reality be used in the classroom only using special hardware? Mobile VR and console VR such as Oculus or HTC Vive are two different things, and depending on what you choose, this has a big impact on costs. Since hardware develops fast, our recommendation for classrooms is to save money and use the devices that are easily available. For example, if students have tablets or they can access smartphones, they can use the free Google Streetview app to take 360 photos, and

July 2017

TECH IT OUT

use ThingLink to augment the images with additional information. Or, a school can purchase one consumer 360 camera such as Ricoh Theta and share it with multiple classrooms. They can upload the images to ThingLink and edit them with laptops or tablets. For mobile virtual reality viewing there are lots of headsets available for under $30. For school use we do not recommend cardboard headsets for hygiene reasons. Plastic is easier to keep clean. How will virtual reality help students learn better and more? VR in the classroom supports contextual and embodied learning. 360 lessons and field trips are particularly suitable for learning about complex systems and global issues such as human rights, gender equality, climate change, population growth and food production. This is

because 360 photos and videos offer the student a projection of a real-world place or location, where they can make observations and construct meaning for the things they see. This way, even if the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view is anchored at the centre of the 360 image or video, the experience stimulates engagement and learning as efficiently as a physical field trip. What are the unique features of Teleport 360 editor and the Teacher Premium account as compared to other solutions (if any exist)? Focus on production, not consumption: Our VR solution for education is based on the idea of the student as an active content creator, not just a consumer. Teleport 360 mobile editor and ThingLink 360/VR desktop editor make it easy for teachers and students to create their own interactive experiences to mobile VR. They can augment 360

July 2017

images with text, close-up photos, audio, video and other services such as Google Forms and Maps. Global 360 learning environment: During 2017 all the thousands of VR lessons from around the world will connect into a global learning environment that can be accessed with any laptop or mobile device. Professional image library: Teleport 360 Editor includes a collection of hundreds of curriculum-aligned professional photographs. For example, students can choose to visit any capital city in the world, or even state capitals in the US. This is a wonderful experience, even if you are just viewing the images from your computer or tablet! Low price per student: The Premium Teacher account includes 200 students, and the price per students is 60 cents. All the students can access and use the

image library, or upload their own photos. Schools who want to activate ThingLink for a group of teachers or the entire school, can contact us about a school account.

More about Ulla Engestrom… Ulla Engestrom is the founder and CEO of ThingLink, a platform for augmenting images, video and 360 media with additional information. Engestrom started her company as a doctoral student in education at the University of Helsinki, Finland, where she got interested in the role of hyperlinked images in web browsing and learning. Today thousands of businesses and 2.5 million students and teachers from elementary schools to universities worldwide use ThingLink to create interactive maps, infographics, 360 degree virtual tours and lessons. Focusing on the future of immersive learning and mobile VR, Ulla Engestrom lives in Palo Alto, California, with her husband and three children. Engestrom is a Huffington Post contributor, and an advocate of global women’s rights.

Most of the students’ perceive VR to be all about games. How can this perception be corrected? Your students are right. Console VR is still mostly about games and entertainment. But mobile VR is a window to the next generation internet that we will use the same way as we use the web today: for search, social, learning, entertainment and shopping. It is just more visual, and the navigation in the 360 web will be different. It is true that the console VR experiences are more impressive than mobile VR, but it is also good to remember that as exciting as it is to be standing on a ledge atop a huge skyscraper, or meeting with a T-Rex, even the most stunning VR experience as such will not necessarily teach you anything. The goal of VR in the classroom, like I mentioned, is to support the development of higher order thinking skills that in education are best applied to solving real-world issues. Can human bodies and minds cope with VR? How? This is a constant challenge for console VR game developers, and there are many studies showing that people feel sick in a moving computer generated environment. Interactive 360 images and videos offer a less daunting way to approach virtual

reality as it projects places in the real world. For example, we see schools from Hawaii to Finland creating fascinating virtual tours to historic places, nature, or even people’s homes. Students may record short explanations and add them to the image, making the images personal and engaging. When you view these stories in a VR headset, it feels as if you were there too. What are the barriers to mass adoption of VR in education? A tipping point for any new technology comes when it becomes possible for anyone to become a content creator. Most VR in the classroom solutions still focus on consuming stories created by others. This is a missed learning opportunity. Best learning happens during the planning and production of a virtual reality story: it develops the new 21st century literacy, a combination of research, critical thinking and digital presentation skills. Three to five years from now, when 360 cameras will be integrated to smartphones and tablets with automated image/video augmentation, we will be moving to a new kind of immersive web with virtual learning assistants. Can you share a framework for a lesson plan? 360 degree photos and videos can greatly support learning through contextual orientation. They can transform abstract global or local concepts into observable practical settings anywhere in the world, and this way, contribute to understanding and solving real-world problems. Here is a simple framework we have used for a lesson plan: 1. SET LEARNING TARGETS: Introduce questions you want students to think about during the virtual experience. 2. SELF-PACED EXPLORATION: Let students explore the virtual field trip materials at their own pace, at school or at home. 3. IDENTIFY ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS: Develop higher level thinking skills by providing students an opportunity to collaboratively develop solutions for issues they have identified during the field trip. 4. DEMONSTRATE LEARNING: Let students demonstrate their learning by editing or creating new virtual field trip materials that include their own observations and solutions.

July 2017

TAKE2

Numbers Matter! The City Montessori School in Lucknow, India, is the largest school in the world in terms of number of students, with more than 32,000 students.

Old School The world's oldest school is in Canterbury, England. The King's School, as it is named, was founded in 597 AD. The school is up-todate with quality equipment and supplies and provides modern education. The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest English-speaking university is the University of Oxford, which is believed to have been founded in 1096 AD. Interestingly, teaching from the Oxford location goes back even further. The honour for being the oldest, continually operating school in the world goes to the University of Karueein, established in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco. Founded by Fatima al-Fihri, a woman, the school was originally a mosque. India wins mention for the Nalanda University, considered to be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest university founded in the 5th century AD.

July 2017

Model Students Kids in Japan are the most independent of the lot. They travel to school alone, clean their own classrooms and even carry lunch. There are no janitors or canteens in the schools.

No Entry! Harvard and Stanford turn away about half of their applicants who score 800 (a perfect score) on the SAT!

Education For All Since 2001, the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan has worked towards getting around 20 million students into schools, most of whom are first generation learners.

July 2017

TAKE2

READ

What Great Teachers Do Differently Book by Beth Whitaker and Todd Whitaker This book describes the beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that form the fabric of life in the best classrooms and schools. This book focuses on the specific things that great teachers do ... that others do not. This book is Todd Whitaker's response to readers requesting a follow-up to his best-selling WHAT GREAT PRINCIPALS DO DIFFERENTLY for teachers

Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement... Book by Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with ideas for building a growth mindset school culture, wherein students are challenged to change their thinking about their abilities and potential. With the book's step-by-step guidance on adopting a differentiated, responsive instruction model, teachers can immediately use growth mindset culture in their classrooms.

Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day Book by Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann Learn what a flipped classroom is and why it works and get the information you need to flip a classroom. You'll also learn the flipped mastery model, where students learn at their own pace-furthering opportunities for personalized education.

July 2017

WATCH Real Genius (1985) The film is set on the campus of Pacific Tech, a science and engineering university similar to Caltech. Chris Knight (Val Kilmer) is a genius in his senior year working on a chemical laser. Mitch Taylor (Jarret) is a new student on campus who is paired up with Knight to work on the laser. Teenage geniuses, they deal with their abilities while developing the high-powered laser for a university project. However, when their professor intends to turn their work into a military weapon, they decide to ruin his plans. Val Kilmer is a scream in this film. He mentors the young kid who skips ahead to college. It is interesting to see what the pressure of being a "genius" can sometimes do to a person.

Dangerous Minds (1995) Based on a true story, it showcases the dedication of a teacher in an underprivileged school. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the real-life LouAnne Johnson, an exMarine, who is hired without really being informed of the kind of class she is to teach. Her students are not interested in learning, are disrespectful and the class is basically in chaos. At first she almost gives up in frustration. Once she has made up her mind that she is going to win over the students, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;battleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; begins. Once more, we have a movie about a teacher who breaks as many rules as it takes. In the end, the class is completely won over. In fact, they not only start learning and enjoying it, but they also come to love and respect their teacher along the way.

The Breakfast Club (1985) A coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes, the plot follows the lives of five teenagers, who are members of different high school cliques. They happen to spend a Saturday in detention together, during the course of which they realize that they are a great deal more than their stereotypical images. The film explores the pressure on teenagers to fit into their own areas of high school social constructs, in addition to the high expectations of their parents, teachers, and other figures in authority. The film is also a reminder that no matter how one might perceive a student to be, there is a good chance they have some darker parts they are just waiting to share. Sometimes they just need someone to ask.

Dead Poets Society (1989) Set in a privileged private school for boys in 1959, John Keating (Robin Williams), an alumnus of Welton Academy in Vermont, comes back to his alma mater as an English teacher. His first act of business is to invoke the Carpe Diem theme and thereby to encourage his students to live in the present and to love poetry. His asking them to tear out the introductory pages from the textbook is another brilliant move. His unorthodox teaching methods inspire his students to "make your lives extraordinary". His approach attracts the attention of strict headmaster Gale Nolan. However, after a series of unfortunate events, he is deeply touched in the end to realise that his teaching has left a lasting impact.

July 2017

FEATURE STORY

DELIVERING

DIGNITY

July 2017

Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya’s low-cost sanitary napkins’ manufacturing unit, spearheaded by Principal Nishi Misra, has engendered a host of positive outcomes

Nichola Pais editor@scoonews.com

t is heartening when schools fulfil their larger purpose as institutions of learning and change. The idealism of youth, powered by the proactive guidance of dynamic educators, can lead to dramatic social transformation. SKV-Sankalp, the initiative by Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya (SKV), Gwalior, is a classic example. SKV has established a manufacturing unit to produce low-cost sanitary napkins to provide an unbroken supply to 250 women in an impoverished village of snake-charmers in Madhya Pradesh. Alongside, the project has helped break taboos, improve standards of women’s hygiene, inculcate gender-sensitization, boost indigenous machines, provide jobs in an entrepreneurial venture, and encourage community service. Here is how they went about it…

Research The girls at SKV Gwalior, under the guidance of Principal Nishi Misra, sought opportunities to provide meaningful community service in and around their city. With her help, they conducted

July 2017

FEATURE STORY

research and surveys for over 15 months. Their data showed that a large population of Gwalior lives in slums, with no access to basic services like water and sanitation, imposing severe hardship, especially on the female population. Hygiene and cleanliness, which is vital to women’s health, is poor and on the lowest priority. Awareness and availability of hygiene products like sanitary napkins is absent. When satisfying the basic needs of life is a constant struggle, buying expensive sanitary napkins available in the market is out of the question. As a result, the women resort to unhygienic alternatives ranging from rags, to leaves and even sand!

Project Identification The Principal and the students recognized this problem and applied themselves to finding a way to supply sanitary napkins to the underprivileged women of two villages. After intense brainstorming and research, they identified a low cost sanitary napkin manufacturing unit. This fully indigenous machine was designed, created and tested by A. Muruganantham of Jayaashree Industries, Coimbatore. The machine uses bio degradable materials like banana fibre to make low cost sanitary napkins and can be run by students after minimal training. The Principal travelled to

Coimbatore to inspect the machine. Convinced of its efficacy, she set the ball rolling to procure it.

Funding Excited at the prospect of this hugely meaningful service, the team set about finding ways to finance this machine and the first consignment of raw material. Funds were raised from funfairs, house sales, contributions from alumni and from The Friends of Round Square, an international organisation, of which the school is a member. The machine arrived and was installed amidst great curiosity and enthusiasm among the students and staff. The simple training for working the machines was imparted to a pioneering group of staff and students.

Manufacturing The simple machines are laid out on 8 stations - each the size of a student’s study desk. The process begins with tearing the raw-cotton sheets and mixing with binding cotton in a Mixer Jar. The material is weighed and 12 grams of material is portioned into moulds, which are compressed under an air-powered stamp. After inserting a water-proof strip, this initial napkin is sealed into absorbent tissue-cloth. An adhesive is

July 2017

applied and covered with a strip of oilpaper which can be stripped off to set the napkin in place. A maternity version with longer ‘tails’ is also being manufactured. At the end of the assembly line, the napkin is sterilised in a UV chamber. Sets of 8 napkins are packed together with cling-film and are ready for distribution.

Distribution The team targets the distribution of the napkins to 250 women in the village of Zagra on the outskirts of Gwalior with a sustained and unbroken supply. The Principal created batches of students whom she trained to spend time with the women to educate them about the use and disposal of the napkins.

Entrepreneurship Model Many hospitals, NGOs and Missions have approached Principal Nishi Misra, expressing interest in purchasing this product on account of its unbelievably low cost. The huge demand for the product has set her thinking of working out a small scale industry model in order to make it self-sustaining. The Principal commissioned her Commerce students to develop a Business Model Summary to set up the unit in villages as an entrepreneurial venture. The women of the village are organised into Self Help Groups

around this undertaking. They gain livelihood as well as raise the standards of hygiene over a larger area.

Outreach The first unit has been set up in Jarga. The Davies Peace Project has recognised this initiative and funded units for one more village: Veerpur. Mrs Misra has been awarded the Alexander Award by the Commonwealth Association for Science, Technology, Mathematics & Education (CASTME) for this initiative.

Gender Sensitization Though SKV is an all-girls school, Mrs Misra encourages students of both genders to contribute ‘shramdaan’ (service by labour) and earn ‘volunteer hours’. She has invited boys and girls of many schools in the country and abroad, to sign up for the ‘shram-daan’ by building it as an activity during Youth Festivals that are held at the school. She has trained the school Biology teacher to impart a briefing and sensitisation regarding the menstrual cycle of the human female and its implications to students of both genders. They work on manufacturing the napkins and assist in their distribution at the village. This will certainly go a long way in gender sensitization of the youth. The initiative of setting up this unit to produce and distribute sanitary napkins to underprivileged women, is named SKV-Sankalp - which in Sanskrit means, a resolution taken by SKV to help women live with dignity.

Breaking Taboos There are several taboos attached to menstruation in our country. Nishi Misra shares, “We experienced this first hand during the planning and roll-out of this project. Curiously, it was not the young students or the young village women who had issues regarding it. It was the middle-aged women, both in the village and at school, whose reactions ranged from hushed tones to outright derogatory comments. Some of my own female staff in our school spoke to me about it in hushed, almost conspiratorial tones, saying, ‘Why are we putting up this machine where men will be able to see it?’ At the village, an elderly woman shouted at me, ‘Don’t you

have any shame items like this?’

distributing

“At first, I thought that this was the case only in our country. But when I was making a presentation on the project at an international conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, several women came up to me asking for more details. When we were planning a time slot for me to address

their questions, a teacher from Australia said, ‘Let’s have the session when the men are not around!’ “The taboo is obviously present across classes and countries. But the most astonishing was the fact that this was the reaction only of the women, not the men. What’s more, the students and their parents have all been very open and excited about the project.”

July 2017

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FEATURE STORY

Why Do TEACHERS

QUIT ? Anjana Deepak writeback@scoonews.com

Teachers nurture precious minds. A quick and permanent solution is needed to ensure they continue on that journey

July 2017

eachers across the spectrum are largely devoted to helping students acquire knowledge, competences and values. Yet many of them quit. Before looking into the reasons why they do so, the history of teaching plays an important role in understanding what changed over the years...

History of education In India, early education was under the supervision of a ‘guru’ (teacher) and was open to all. In the early times it was considered that being educated brought people ‘Moksha’ (liberation). As time progressed education was

imparted based on caste. The Kshatriyas learnt about warfare, the Vaishya learnt commerce, the Brahmins learnt the scriptures and religion and the Shudras, considered to be the lowest caste, were denied an education. Children were taught by the gurus in traditional schools known as gurukuls. These were supported by large public donations. Once the British took over, the gurukul system began to decline and more English primary schools came into being. Literacy in India grew as more and more people were being educated and was no longer based on caste. This required more people being trained in subjects so they could impart their knowledge to others, in turn. This led to the opening of a whole new career option - teaching.

What makes a good teacher? Teaching is such a great profession. The satisfaction in knowing that they help others grow by learning has no bounds. But there has to be a certain skill set that every aspiring teacher must have. They have to be empathetic, good communicators, have patience, be adaptable, have love for children, be creative and possess the desire to pass on information and knowledge. It takes years of experience to become a great teacher but the start of it is to have the right degrees in hand - a diploma, or a Bachelors or Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in Education. Being armed with the above, why is it

that we still see attrition rates for teachers on the rise?

Reasons why teachers quit Teaching has had a facelift over the past few years. With technology being introduced the present generation and everything around them is linked to technology, education being one of them. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, in the recent past we have seen a shift in the number of teachers either opting to get into another field or not take up teaching altogether.

New teaching methods Many well-established teachers are unfortunately unable to cope with the

July 2017

FEATURE STORY new teaching methods. They are old school and have continued to use tried and tested methods that have worked best for their students. In the past, a teacher could make extra time to help those students who were lagging behind or use a different method of explanation to make a concept easier to grasp. If the students were being disruptive the teacher could rest assured that, if they sent the child to the principal, he/she would back them up 100% and the child would be disciplined additionally once they got home by the parents. However, with growing sensitisation, the old methods of dealing with a student have had to change. Teachers now have rules and regulations set in place, which have to be followed without question.

Low Pay Though most teachers do not join this profession solely for the money, for some it is their livelihood. Most schools especially in India do not pay their teachers well. There are no stringent policies in place to ensure that teacher payrolls are fair.

Exclusion from decisionmaking policies In the bygone era of education, teachers planned lessons and tests, grading those tests and sending the report cards home. But now they have little or no autonomy in these decisions. With bureaucracy in full force they are unable to comprehend or have a say in the curriculum.

established schools as these new age schools double and triple their salary.

Lack of training Teachers in India are not all qualified to be teachers. Some of them are from other backgrounds that are in no way connected to teaching. The job qualification in a number of schools in the country does not make it mandatory to have even a teacher’s training diploma in hand for the job. This makes it difficult for the teacher, as well as the students, to grasp the concepts of teaching and understanding as they have no experience in the methods of teaching.

No more an art

Coaching over teaching

Teaching used to be an art form. But in the present schools, methods have been set in place for them to follow. Teachers used to be instinctive to their students’ needs but now the concept of ‘one size fits all’ has made it inflexible for them to opt for a different approach taking the child’s interests, abilities and obstacles into account. Teachers are not allowed to bring in their personal strengths while teaching.

Another major reason for the lack of enthusiasm for this profession is because of the emoluments offered to school teachers, be it in private or government schools. It doesn’t mean that the youth are not interested in a teaching job; had it been the case, the huge coaching industry that offers good money would not have flourished in the country. It is essentially because of the lucrative pay offered in these coaching industries that many are choosing the private coaching option over the relatively low-paying school teaching.

Poaching With international schools popping up in every corner of the country, which provide the best of everything to their students for an exorbitant fee, these schools look at getting the best from other schools. The best teachers get picked up from various other well

Schools become businesses Recent times have seen a substantial

July 2017

increase in the school fee structure. Most schools look at making profits rather than the quality of education. With guidelines and rules being enforced, teachers are made to follow it to the ‘T’ and are given targets and timelines to complete their portions. Having no wiggle room, to stray from the set rules, leads to negligent ways of teaching. Not having a free rein makes it difficult for teachers to do justice to their job.

Behavioural changes in children Children’s attitude towards their teachers is deteriorating with every generation. Teachers were once feared for their disciplinary actions that made sure that the child did not put a toe out of line. Today teachers are no more in control of their class and have to often endure poor behaviour from students, as they are unable to correct them due to new policies set by schools (to avoid law suits). This drives some of the best teachers out of the profession. Good teachers are difficult to come by. Holding on to them is of utmost importance. This is possible if the schools and the government make sure that teacher rights are set in stone. Giving teachers their proper due and moral support will only work in favour of everyone involved in the system of imparting and receiving quality education.