SHOWER OF ROSES TO ALL TEACHERS

Henry Adams said " The teacher affects eternity. One can never tell where his or influence stops" Shower of Roses to all Teachers...May the Roses never fade so that the sweet fragrance fills your heart with pleasure and appreciation that you bloom like a flower throughout the year and spread sunshine into the lives of children. Dr. Radhakrishnan said once "A good teacher must know how to arouse the interest of the pupil in the field of study for which he is responsible. He must himself be a master in the field of study and be in touch with the latest developments in the subject, he must himself be a fellow traveller in the exciting pursuit of knowledge

As put in the words of Sri Aurobindo " The aim of education is to help the child to develop his intellectual, aesthetic, emotional, moral and spiritual being." Childhood years are vital to our total existence. Overloading the child with too much memory oriented learning and formal writing can cripple a child’s sense of wonder. There should be creativity, a ‘Free Progress’ - each child developing and flowering in an absolutely spontaneous, inwardly centred and self directed process. A school makes a break through if it creates a learning environment but it is a parent to make an active choice for kids and to nurture their talents. It is in their hands to recognize their potentialities and offer them an Alternative Education, a commitment, hard work, responsibility, learning the basic skills of reading and writing at own pace with creativity and open minds in open surroundings in tune to environment, blooming naturally!
So, be a helper, be a guide, instil faith, motivate, inspire and encourage!

I'd like to thank all the Parents of present & past students of "Swagat Children Library" (1990-1999) who enthrusted me the responsibility for educational, creative and overall development of their children. As I experience imparting educational feedback and provide Library facilities to children, Interaction with parents and kids have given experience of  close encounters with problems faced by either and  solutions has proven a challenge!  This site reflects on 'Parenting Feedback' for parents alongwith quoted examples related by Parents, Children & Teachers. If you have any concern, burning issue, experiences, tale to tell or just helpless feelings to cope up situations, Share your revelations!

"What Educationists Say"

MRS.GEETA RAMBHADRAN

SR. EDUCATOR - N.R. PRIMARY SCHOOL (GLS)-Ahmedabad

The word ‘Compete’ means to seek or strive for something in rivalry with others, to contend for a prize. What sort of competitions should it be? Undoubtedly, a healthy and free with no restraints of selfishness, jealousy or malishness. Competitions in schools vary from reading, handwriting, slogan writing, elocution, essay writing, etc. which bring out the hidden talents of the pupils which otherwise, parents or teachers are not able to fathom. It cultivates sportsmanship and removes stage fear. Students gain confidence to face the audience. Children learn fair play, friendly opposition and hard struggle. It teaches and conveys a message that ‘If you don’t aim at something, you will never hit anything’

Schools must conduct different competitions to develop the scholastic abilities of students. Games however, should not be missed out. They should be given utmost importance. The ultimate source of physical strength is mental strength and that, in the final analysis, it is the mind that governs matter. So Competitions are meant to develop physical and mental capabilities.

An idle, inactive, unoccupied brain is prone to dangerous and destructive thoughts which eventually lead to evil actions. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Apart from the curricular activities, extra curricular activities keep the children engaged. It is the responsibility of the Teachers to see that the students are kept mentally and physically active in the pursuit of achievement. Even though success eludes some, it is not in vain as competitions, makes children wiser to be better human beings and this itself is Success.

SUNANDA SHAH

Principal, N.R. High School, Ahmedabad

There are three kinds of actions - Action with thought, Action with speech and Action with Body. Action with Body is less harmful. For example, when irritatation forces your action to raise your hand to slap a person, it is an instinct and you soon tend to forgive and forget. Your next reaction towards the same person may be a kind gesture or loving feelings which is a mild form of action. Sometimes, your speech is harsh for any disappointing and irritating action by someone. This will hurt and give malign feelings to him disturbing his surrounding environment too as it plays on his mind. This is the reaction of Speech. But the very important is the Action with Thought which is powerful. Thoughts linger on the mind and creates an impression which influence the whole world around you. Sometimes you have a strong desire to harm someone but your action restraints you as the thoughts accumulate, resulting into mental torture to your ownself as well as harnessing the peace of the other. When you throw a stone in the pond, it creates ripples in the pond which reaches the border and from there, returns back from where it started. Similiarly, our good or bad thoughts influence the world around us in more or less quantity.

It is such a powerful media of action that a person who is locked in the prison can continue influencing people with his power of thought. Hence, humans can do positive work for the world with their concerned Action. One need not have the riches nor power. Neither it is required to meet people or move in society. One can sit erect, be positive, think positive and influence people around with good Thoughts and good deeds. By this way, one can change the world and enemies can turn to be friends. To sum up, "Thought is a slow process but effective" as said in the words of Madame H.P. Blavatsky from the teachings of Theosophy.

MS. VANDANA MEHTA, Educationist, N.R. Primary School, Ahmedabad

HOW TO MAKE LESSONS INTERESTING IN CLASS

It is said "A great teacher is not simply one who imparts knowledge to his students but one who awakens their interest in it and makes them eager to pursue it." In modern era, teaching is not a mechanical process. It has become an art. Teaching is no longer simply giving lectures in the class or to make the students learn or write but overall Teaching means, making subjects interesting, easy to learn and understand. A teacher is a spark plug not a fuel pipe and so, applying various teaching techniques in the classroom makes a big difference for the development of the child.

Story telling is the most effective method to attract a child’s attention. They grasp the concepts of teaching very effectively through story telling. They can be inspired, encouraged and motivated through this indirect way of communication. They can form good habits, instil faith, have courage, learn moral values and also learn simple mathematic calculations and word play. Children learn by way of Charts and simple Projects which makes learning more interesting. Poems can be taught with action and with aid of audio cassettes. Debates has prooved to be a better communication system encouraging the children to voice their views and pick up the language to speak flawlessly. Another way is the group activities encouraging the kids to answer a set of Questionnaire in a quiz form.

To sum up, Teaching in Classroom demands specific talents to tackle with the behaviour patterns of children and not only in the classroom, grooming kids is a delicate process and should be performed with love, care and understanding.

MS. VAIDEHI HARKARE-Educationist

N. R. Primary School, Ahmedabad

HOW TO TACKLE BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS OF STUDENTS

A child is like a mirror. Whatever comes his way, falls and creates an impression upon his mind. Behaviour, as such, is an expression of a child with respect to a particular situation. These expressions vary from one child to another. This variance is attributed to various factors like his upbringing, family background and his relation with his parents. Behaviour patterns vary in school and at home. The behaviour of a child in school defines his nature as a student. Some typical behaviour of children in school pose hindrance to their learning process. Some case studies can be explained as below:

Diffident Child : These types of children always keep themselves away from any kind of discussion or competition due to lack of confidence. This slows down their learning process. The reason that can be attributed to such type of behaviour could be over dominance at home by elders and lack of encouragement to express themselves. These children need a very high level of motivation and confidence boosting dosage from parents and teachers. They can be encouraged to participate in various debates and competitions. They should be appreciated for their achievements or praised even for simple efforts. This action would encourage them and make them more confident.

Mischievious Child : Such children try their hands with all kinds of pranks. These children are destructive minded and are difficult to control them. Over freedom by parents make such kids have no fear. They possess over superiority complex and are over confident. Such kids behave normally with teachers like the way they behave with their parents. The sure way to control such naughty children is to keep them occupied with some activity or the other. They can efficiently manage to monitor the class, help the teacher with small classroom tasks which might make him aware of certain responsibilities. Pampering such children means inviting trouble for him and for others too. Pampering should be avoided even if he is a single child at home as for a teacher in school, all students are equal and unreasonable demands are not fulfilled in school.
Afterall, the behaviour of children are not intentional but the root cause needs to be identified. It is necessary that parents and teachers should have a good understanding for betterment of a child.
 

MS. HARITA RAVAL-Educationist

N.R. Primary School, Ahmedabad

ROLE OF A TEACHER IN DEVELOPING READING HABITS

The Book, once considered to be the best friend has now aquired a status of much dreaded foe. There was a time when children used to love reading books, storybooks, comics and novels. Nowaways, kids shy away and refrain from picking books to read. With the advent of satellite channels, a child is exposed to digital trash. In search of quality entertainment, they stick like glue to TV Sets watching silly comedy and stupid cartoons. Whereas, Reading develops innovative thinking in children unlike TV wherein children see what it offers. Books provide a greater freedom. A child can decide what he or she would like to read. Unfortunately, reading habit is dying very fast. If a Library is equipped with books, it is the responsibility of a teacher to see that the children make use of the library to the fullest and make a long lasting friendship with the books. This can be accomplished by a teacher who is devoted to books. She has to be a book lover and an ardent reader. It is difficult for an overburdened child to take interest unless the child is motivated for reading by the teacher. A teacher can cultivate reading habits and build a child’s character. By narrating interesting stories, a teacher can inspire the kids. A teacher must play the required role to instil moral values by mastering the ancient art of story telling and also provide good selection of reading material to the children. Parents too can contribute towards forming reading habits in their kids. They are the ones who can purchase books for them, narrate stories and form a regular habit of reading every day.

SHEHNAZ PATEL- Educationist

N.R. Primary School

DISCIPLINE

Discipline is necessary in every organisation but children are now always in a position to understand the necessity of rules and regulations. They should be inculcated in them with love and care. Corporal punishment brings in fear without understand.
As an ideal teacher, we would set an example by doing things which we would like our students and collegues to follow. ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ is an adage of the past times. Instead of using rods in the classroom, as a wise, caring and understanding teacher, we should tactfully deal with classroom problems. A teacher must make herself interesting, tolerant and win over the hearts of her pupils. She should possess the power to diver their spirits towards serious studies. Punishment only leads to aggressiveness in the child.  Hence, in my opinion, rational behaviour of a teacher and morally clean atmosphere are the essentials to be aimed at.

MRS. NUTAN PORI- Educationist

N.R. Primary School

Education

Education begins with life. A teacher as a person is more important than a teacher as a Technician. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson "The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil" Each child has self respect. If a teacher keeps this in mind, lesser will be the Classroom problems. All students are not alike. Some needs more warnings whereas some need repeated attention. It is said "To teach is to learn twice" and so, at the time of teaching, a teacher is fully engrossed in explaining and 98% of the class is fully concentrating but if a single child plays mischief or disturbs the link, the whole class is disturbed. No doubt, the teachers is annoyed and quite like a human feeling, would like to thrash the child. Just because of 2% of the students, 98% should not suffer! Fear grips them for their negative behaviour once the teacher is annoyed.

Students should be made to understand the right and wrong, class manners, school rules and than even after this, a student does not pay heed, he should be punished so as to arouse fear. The fear should not be aroused at such an extent that the student refuses to come to school or has a school phobia or becomes a psychic patient. Sometimes, it becomes necessary that the Teacher goes against the proverb ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ Some kids are ill mannered, confused and frustrated. Their family atmosphere plays a major role, they are severly punished at home and naturally, they would pour out their outbursts in school and become stubborn. Teachers should be considerate, have sympethatic attitude to such children. However, as it is said "Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them, makes an impression" - True, Impressions last on the memories for a life time. So is the relationship of teacher-student that lingers in memory to be remembered with fondness for the close ties all through the years.

COMPETITIONS - Cup of Love!

MRS. CHANDNA SEN
SR. EDUCATOR - N.R.PRIMARY SCHOOL (GLS)-Ahmedabad

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! This known saying fits well in case of competitions too. Striving for academic excellence with no scope for healthy competitions makes one stagnant with no room for further development. Competitions are most essential and are a part and parcel of education. Without it, knowledge is incomplete. Healthy Competitions in longer run, develops all round personality, increases thirst for knowledge, flourishes talents, builds self confidence and acts as window to the open world. It is obvious that various Competitions, Projects and Programmes are held throughout the year. Fair judging by the Judges would produce galaxy of stars among students, draw the potentialities in them and expose their hidden talents. Internal and external competitions play a vital role in a child’s progress. Internal competitions like Fancy dress, music, poety recitation, story telling, handwriting, reading, rangoli, etc.
inspires and encourages children for participation bubbling joys within for achievements and gives a feeling of accomplishment. External competitions exposes them to the outer world, thereby nourishing their interests and leading them to guide to wuthering heights of success. This inculcates thirst for educational activities and creativity, thereby changing their attitude for their overall personality.

As a plant in the nascent stage needs a congenial environment for further nourishment, similarly students need a congenial atmosphere to attain perfection for their real intellectual development. The creation of real human being comes through actual participatory learning process.

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