LOVE: A BLESSING FOR ALL...

Love is pure, vibrant, indestructible and priceless. It is a feeling that penetrates even the most abrasive soul in the universe. It acts as an aid for the abatement of the brimming lava of abhorrence, revenge and despair bottled inside man towards the persistent presence of evil in the society. Love has the infinite power to convert a radical into a soul that pledges to revolutionize the constant, stagnant, perishable state of morals in the society.

Love has wide arms in which it beholds indiscriminately the creatures of life created by the supreme God. It is an infinite force that sweeps away a weeping soul into the brightness of a weeping soul into the brightness of fresh, healthy, glee and cheerful surroundings. It is lovable, wanted and the dream of every breathing soul in the universe to be loves or cared for. Conversing with the roadside beggar rudely shatters his dream to be shown respect to, but is still richer as he has his doting kids and caring partner for whom the love is infinite than his abuser who returns to his lavish house grim by the darkness of lies and deceit. Loving and being loved is therefore the greatest gift to mankind by the almighty.

About the Author: The Author is Ms. Neetu Satija, P.R.T. Educator, Meenakshi World School

www.meenakshiworldschool.com

THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME...

There are many sayings about time. No one can deny its importance in his or her life. It plays an important role in one’s life. God has created this world for a reason and if we closely observe Nature, we would find plenty of things that come on time. The sun, the moon, the stars and the planets continue their motion in specific orbits and on a fixed time. The high tide and the low tide as well as the season totally depend on time. We always panic on hearing the word “time- table”. But it is the most organized and systematic way of doing our scheduled work. It briefs you about the approximate amount of work you can do within a limited time you have. It is very well said that “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. So making a time table for your daily routine can change your life completely. It helps you to utilize your time effectively and efficiently.

If we are not managing our time- table and working accordingly to a proper schedule we will face problem in the end. So time management is extremely important for all of us. If a student does not come on time it means that he does not realize the value of time. If a farmer does not cut the crop on time, then he also does not realize that he is wasting his own time. Luck always knocks the door of that person who realizes the value of time. Try to be punctual in everything as time is the most precious thing in the world because time once passed becomes your past and the past can never be revived. Only those who value time reach the summit of success in life.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Harsita Chittora, PRT Educator, Meenakshi World School

www.meenakshiworldschool.com

Engaging Younger ones into Reading and Role of public Libraries...

For the infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers, the focus is on setting a firm foundation for functional literacy so as to inculcate a reading habit in a child’s early years. The Early Read agenda aims to bring together educators, parents and librarians working collaboratively to impart beneficial pre- reading skills to children.

Learning to read starts long before a child enters school and there is a strong connection between the development a child undergoes early in life and the level of success that he will achieve later in life. For instance, infants who have the pre-reading skill to distinguish the building blocks of speech at six months are found to better at other more complex language skills at two and three years of age. They are also noted to be better at acquiring the skills for learning to read at four and five years of age.

A child’s success in school and throughout life depends largely on the ability to read and children will usually learn reading skills when they begin pre-school. One concern is that children may not be entering formal schools equipped with the fundamental pre-reading or early literacy skills to actively participate in the learning process. There are few free-extra-curricular reading programmes for pre-schoolers outside of childcare and kindergartens. In addition, not all adults understand how important it is to develop skills required for reading in very young children. Such parents are not aware that early literacy skills in children are needed to ensure that they are prepared for learning when they start formal schooling. Hence, raising public awareness of the importance of early childhood literacy is integral to helping young children acquire reading skills.

The Public Libraries is in a strong position to drive these initiatives for the following reasons. First, early literacy development requires direct engagement of parents, and Public Libraries have established robust engagement and programming platforms with families. Second, libraries can provide proportionately more learning time outside of short formal schooling time for pre-schoolers. Third, reading in the early years involves family, social and emotional engagement that is better supported by recreational reading in libraries than a purely academic acquisition of literacy skills in pre-school.

The Early Read agenda has a three-prong approach:

·         Implement measures that support and guide parents and educators understand and adopt early reading habits, equipping them with competencies and toolkits that inculcate good reading skills and habits in children;

·         Establish a strong foundation in the area of reading literacy from a young age; and

Sustain interest in reading as an important lifelong skill to have in all children.

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Pooja Kataria, PRT, Meenakshi Public School
www.meenakshipublicschool.com

SPORTS...

Sports are the preservers of health. Sports keep a person physically and mentally fit. They keep us away from disease of heart, mental stress and sleeplessness. Sports not only keeps us fit but also instill a spirit of self-confidence, self-reliance, justice, discipline and fair play. Sports provide us with recreation and enjoyment. We are familiar with “Health is Wealth”, “A healthy mind lives in a healthy body” but these can be true only if more and more people start participating in sports and games actively. A healthy person can work cheerfully for a long period of time and face the danger boldly.

Sports are the part and parcel of education. But the schools and parents of this generation generally want their children to focus on education and thus neglect sports. But they don’t know that “Books develop mind and soul while games develop the body.” The aim of school is not only to make a student mentally fit but also physically fit. Sports teach us the art of leadership. Each and every player has to make a habit to follow his leader. In this way sports produce the best citizens of tomorrow. Sport makes a student well behaved and disciplined. It teaches us the skill of team work. A school can make a student all round performer. Most of the schools have no proper arrangements of sports. Education without the sports is incomplete. In order to make a complete man of a student, school should give due importance to sports and games as well.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Saloni Sharma, Class XII, Meenakshi Public School

www.meenakshipublicschool.com

THE BEST WAY TO PREDICT FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT...

“The best way to predict future is to create it”. This seems to be a very simple sentence but when we ponder upon it we feel it’s real essence and discover that this statement hold true in every sense. It is human tendency to worry about the future. Some people say that their luck controls their lives and hence they go through ups and downs in their lives. Can we just blame our luck for our downfall? NO. I certainly do not subscribe to this view. In the court of the Almighty we are showered with the fruits that we deserved and nothing more than that or even less than that.

Having said all this the question that arises is how can we shape up our own future? If a person works with integrity, sincerity and hard work then he/she is bound to succeed in life. We should always remember that every great achievement actually started with a small step. Hard work never tires anyone. In fact a day spent doing one’s work with sincerity and dedication is the most rewarding and satisfactory one. We should always remember that our tomorrow depends on our today. Whatever we do now we would find it’s reflection in the future.

It would be clear now to all inquisitive minds that sowing the seeds of hard work would always bear the ripe fruits of success and fulfillment. A popular saying goes:  “When you are born, you cry and the whole world rejoices. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.”

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Shashi Yadav, PRT Educator, Meenakshi World School
www.meenakshiworldschool.com

CORRUPTON IN INDIA...

Everyone must be aware of corruption, as now it has become a part of life. In my opinion, corruption is when a civil servant or any person holding powers misuses them to provide benefits to him or others by violating the laws. Today’s society is totally wrapped around corruption. 

Corruption in India is a serious topic

One can even write on it a great epic.

We all talk about corruption but why corruption is so widespread? According to me, the basic reason behind corruption is imbalance of job opportunities, everyone knows about the reservation of seat in politics and jobs in government offices which was done to progress the weaker sections of our society. This reservation is taking another form in today’s society as it is contributing towards hampering the country’s development. Due to this reservation, a high post is acquired by a less than what he deserves. This is the root cause for corruption at lower level as the intelligent one will try to get more as he was not offered the job as per his intelligence. Thus, whenever someone comes to get his work done the more intelligent one, by taking bribe or any other benefit, get the person’s work done as he knows that the person above him has not so much of capability. Moreover, corruptions at higher level has more impact in increasing corruption as the less intelligent, without judging the gravity of the work and for a small benefit, do the work. This clearly signifies that corruption both at higher and lower level is increasing continuously. Environment, politics or any other field is totally corrupt. Now a days everyone wants a comfortable and cultured life, more and more people wish for respect/ honour in the society which gives rise to competition among people. Due to greed and jealously, people use wrong methods to earn more money and reputation in the society. This competition even spoils an honest person.

Thus, corruption is the basis not only for the destruction of India’s developments but also for the values like honesty, humanities, integrity and character. Citizens of India choose their representatives in elections to run the country. In other words, we choose the parents of our country but if they too are corrupt what will happen to the country?

Scams and scandals are so common in the newspapers in which politicians, industrialists and capitalists are involved and best example is A. Raja. As Rajiv Gandhi said if 1 rupee is given to the government only 15p is used for the welfare of the people and the 85p goes in corruption. It’s really true.

We say corruption chokes

Then why we Indians breathe it?

We say corruption kills

Then why we breed it?

It widens the gap

Of poor and rich

Then we continue the same

Without any hitch…….?

Just to talk about corruption is not its solution. If we really want to eliminate it from India, strict actions should be taken. Firstly, I would suggest everyone should be given whatever he/she deserves on the basis of his/her talent and capability. No matter how rich a person is, he is a magistrate or a politician, industrialist or simple common man, laws should be same for all and cases should be filled against them. Strict implementation of laws and a little peace of mind while electing representatives in elections before casting their votes would be useful.

Corruption can be removed if the whole country and government put more efforts to eradicate this cancerous disease from roots of India.

To finish corruption is my plan

If you join friends I am sure we can

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Komal Agarwal, Head Girl, Class XII, Meenakshi Public School

www.meenakshipublicschool.com

FRESH HORIZONS OF LIFE AND DIGNITY...

Prosperity of a nation depends a lot on dignified living and not just development in terms of material success. If we talk of dignified living the first issue that comes into our mind is rights of an individual. Amongst all other rights an important one is right to a dignified living. This means any person shall not face violation in terms of sex, caste, creed or colour. In the present context of political and social turmoil it is important to establish peace and order so as to ensure a person’s dignified and peaceful existence.

In India stigmatizing people on the basis of caste and religion has been a common issue since many years and the innumerable steps taken to do away with such vices have failed or have been partially successful. It is indeed ironical hat a country that attaches everything to religion does not feel the importance of ensuring the privacy and protection of heir female gender. On the other hand they are brutally tortured and their human rights violated at several junctures. People belonging to the so called lower caste are denied their basic existence. While manifold solutions can be suggested to tackle these issues the most important solution o the problem is to enlighten the new generation. Science has broadened the horizons of this generation so it is time the society wakes up and tries to usher in positive changes. The best place to begin is from schools where a child puts his/ her first foot on the journey to a brand new world free from vices. Let us all therefore open our doors and windows and let the fresh air of peace and freedom come in.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Payal Dan, PGT English, Meenakshi World School

www.meenakshiworldschool.com

Biggest of Mistake is Not to Use Mistakes as Part of the Learning Process...

Finding Value in Error

Teachers, like doctors, are expected to be mistake free. Administrators, parents, and even other teachers judge them very negatively for making mistakes. Yet when a teacher forms strong relationships with another teacher or two, they share their problems freely, ask for and give advice, and learn from each other. This also happens in schools where mentor teachers share ideas with new teachers.

9 Ways to Teach With Mistakes

The problem for students is not that they make mistakes. The real problem is that teachers don't use those mistakes to allow and promote learning. Because shame is currently attached to mistakes, students are afraid to take chances, explore, and think for themselves. As a clear example of how damaging this view can be, look at the makeup of most gifted and talented programs. In far too many schools, the students in these classes are not the most creative risk takers or unique thinkers. They are the students who scored the highest on standardized tests. Therefore, we label as gifted or talented the students who make the fewest mistakes. I believe that it's a mistake to think of mistakes as something bad. When mistakes become learning opportunities, everything changes. Students take more risks, think in new ways, cheat less, and solve mysteries that had previously eluded them.

Here are some things that we can do in the classroom to change this defeating way of thinking, including both formal and informal evaluation processes:

Stop marking errors on tests and papers without explaining why they're wrong. Give enough explanation to help your student understand what went wrong and how to fix it. A big red X is insufficient.

Give students a chance to correct their mistakes and redo their work. This allows mistakes to become learning opportunities.

Improvement must become a significant factor in the evaluation process. The more a student improves, the higher his or her grade. Nothing shows learning from mistakes more than improvement.

When a student makes a mistake in a class discussion, don't say things like, "No, wrong, can anyone help him?" Don't just call on someone else without further comment. Instead, ask the student, "Why do you think so? Can you give an example? If you could ask yourself a question about your answer, what would it be?"

 If a teacher asks, "Who was the first PM of the India?" and a student answers, "Narendra Modi," instead of saying, "You're wrong," try saying, "Narendra Modi is a PM, you're right about that. However, he wasn't the first. Let's go further back in history." Even silly answers can be responded to in this way.

If a student needs help with an answer, let him or her choose a classmate to help. Call the helper something like a "personal consultant."

Instead of (or at least in addition to) walls filled with students' achievements, have a wall where students can brag about their biggest mistakes and what they learned from them.

Have biweekly class meetings where students share a mistake they made, what happened after, and what they learned.

Be sure to tell the class about your own mistakes, especially if they are funny, and what you learned from them.

I would love to see a sign on every entrance to every school that says, "Everyone who enters here will learn." Learning means not being afraid to examine mistakes that teachers make and encouraging students to think in ways that might produce mistakes. Use all these mistakes to learn from, to improve, and to feel good about individual progress.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Nupoor Batra, Meenakshi Public School

www.meenakshipublicschool.com

VALUES – An integral part of Education...

Our epics such as ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Ramayana’ tell us the true story of our being Indian. The Indian values are world known for our tradition, our respect for others be it elders or youngsters.

Are we loosing that most integral ingredient of building a personality of being Indian, ‘the values.’ These used to be time when once a person makes a promise, he fulfills that even at the cost of his life. ‘That’ used to be the strength of Indian values. I’m wondering, where that indianness has vanished? Why do we see that these values slowly loosing its importance in one’s personality and why people have become more self-egoist and self-centered.

I believe, the solution to bridge this gap lies to ensure teaching values as a subject to indicate qualities of a balanced personality. No doubt, Value is a very vast concept. What all it includes has to be taught. So why not values to be included in the curriculum itself. I know, today’s generation is in the run of development and progress. They are more practical and futuristic. They are under the notion that of they are qualified and educated they are up-to-date but they forget that values acts as a garnish to every end- result. It adds on the grace of anything. Values make person more civilized. It inculcates the true value of living.

Value of values is now-a-days more important. In the materialistic world human are not becoming literate but getting inhuman. While running on the path of success they tend to forget what the true success is? Ask your ownself, whom would you call a perfect human, one who is educated or one who is educated as well as having values in himself.

Indeed, teaching value is not as easy as it sounds. It is much more than that. Today’s generation is more pro western culture and compromise majority on their values. I know today kids want to be global. Even we want India through these kids as an integral part of the world, but being global doesn’t mean that leave our culture, our values behind.

We need to lead the world, our generation (view) have everything. They are bold, not afraid of taking risk and have the desire of touching the sky, if they are given the touch of ‘values’ through their education. They will become unbeatable like the ‘Great King Ashoka’ and we will again have ‘Indian Epics’ of course modern ones having their space in all civilization.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Anandita Chauhan, PGT Commerce, Meenakshi Public School

www.meenakshipublicschool.com

Parent Involvement to Parent Engagement...

It is often a debatable topic that who has more influence, Parent or Teacher on children in becoming a better student and a good citizen of the country. To be honest I have no intention to start the same debate again. Infact I want to draw attention to something which has not been taken cognizance yet both by Schools and Parents. Before I tell what is that, let’s talk a little about 'Early childhood programs' and what schools talk a lot about parent involvement but what that means is often not clear. And one major involvement program is PTM (Parent Teacher Meeting). Well, I define PTM (Parent Teacher Meeting) as the minimum involvement program a school does with parents on monthly or quarterly basis to keep them informed of children progress. What is the real outcome of these meetings is well known to all of us, and again honestly I'm not critical of the outcome because that in itself is quite a progress made in last two decade or so.

However, the point of contention here is how we make further progress by moving from Parent Involvement to Parent Engagement.

First, one needs to understand the difference between “Parent Involvement” and “Parent Engagement”. Though there can be a positive result from both, I believe the most trust can be developed through engagement.

Simply put, parent involvement is often more of a "doing to," while engagement is a "doing with." With involvement, schools tend to lead with their mouth -- generally telling parents what they should be doing. Engagement, on the other hand, has schools leading with their ears. By listening to parents' ideas, and by eliciting from them what they have found works best with their children, we can develop a more genuine partnership that is helpful to young people.

For me this thought of parent engagement is coming from 3 major observations of my 12 years of teaching experience:

1. The students who need more help, the parents are not available to talk or they will not really listen.

2.  Low income, uneducated parents are less involved due to their lack of confidence and abilities than middle or high class, educated parents.

3. Parents who actively promote learning in the home, have direct and regular contact with school, have children who demonstrate positive engagement with their peers, adults, and learning.

I believe there lies a great opportunity for schools to move from Involvement model to engagement model. How it will be done? Who will do it? What to expect out of it? Are obvious questions but I think teachers, management, psychologists, Councillors and parents if sit together can certainly design and decide the scope of the new engagement program.

For me, we shouldn't "make" parents do anything they don't want to do. The notion that we should "make" or force someone to do something implies some hierarchy of power, where we are higher on the hierarchy and they, the parents, are lower than us. This premise will not result in a positive reaction from parents and only further obstructs any relationship we hope to foster and nurture with our parents. Parents are teaching partners and should be embraced as such. Teaching partners work in a symbiotic relationship based on mutual respect, trust, and consistent communication. When we as teaching professionals acknowledge and accept this relationship, we'll be better prepared to support all students and families in any learning capacity.

In this trusted environment, teachers and parents share information about the child’s development and what he/she is learning in the classroom and in the home. Assessment data is shared with parents and learning goals are set together. When parents are engaged, children are enjoyed and celebrated, they are not ignored, children see that their family values learning and are able to relax and learn knowing that their grown-ups will support them. Parents learn about their own strengths as parents, their power to influence their child’s school and advocate for their child, are more informed about community resources, and have more strategies for meeting their child’s needs.

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Poorti Sharma, PGT Commerce, Meenakshi Public School
www.meenakshipublicschool.com

TRUTH IS THE SOURCE OF GOOD REPUTATION...

Today ‘Jealousy’ and ‘Ego’ have become prevalent without any limit in the entire world. If one of the students gets first class, the other students become jealous of him. Similarly, if somebody is healthy and happy, others feel jealous of him. A pauper feels jealous of a wealthy person. The same can be said of birds and animals also. Cranes make fun of swans. The melodious singing of a cuckoo is like cacophony to crows. Wordly people are like crows. Therefore, people who are on the path of truth should not bother about what others say; they should make efforts to lead their life on the righteous path.

Without bothering about the barking of dogs, the elephants to move forward majestically. Where the elephant is and where the dogs are! There can be no comparison between the two. Likewise, a cuckoo bird continues to sing melodiously without bothering about the cawing of the crows. Does it stop singing just because the crows are cawing at it? No. In the same manner, people may feel jealous of your goodness, progress, wellbeing and purity. But you should continue to keep your heart pure without taking any notice of them. You should not be dejected or depressed by their negative feelings and criticism.

“If the feeling behind an action is good, it is bound to be fruitful.

If the feeling is polluted, according the result will be negative.”

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Neetu Shukla, PRT, Meenakshi Public School
www.meenakshipublicschool.com

Collaborative learning viz. Community Building...

“It is not what you do for your children,

But what you have taught them to do for themselves,

That will make them successful human beings.”

Ann Landers

Strengthening its base with fast pace in education industry, Collaborative learning is a teaching style in which students team together on an assignment. In this method students can produce the individual parts of a larger assignment individually and then “assemble” the final work together, as a team. Students are individually accountable for their work but also for the work of the group as a whole, and both products are assessed. They can be assessed: individually, by team, by role, by work product?

This works well by placing students in groups that have between four and seven members. Here group can share ideas, teaching strategies, and solutions. It can be an effective teaching strategy for several reasons:

Firstly, students develop the skill for how to work together and support each other in learning and discovery.

Second, becoming effective and productive team members allows students to develop their independent learning skills by working individually on a portion of a group project that makes them accountable not only to the instructor but also to team members.

 And finally, integrating teamwork into a course can result in adding structure to out-of-class time and increasing student accountability for their learning.

Some activities or assignments well suited for collaborative learning include:

• Case studies

• Discussions

• Student-moderated discussions

• Debates

• Collaborative writing

• Collaborative presentation

• Games

• Demonstrations

The idea of an educator will be to help the team to develop

Purpose, goal, and mission of the team—what the team will accomplish

 Expectations for the team as a whole as well as for individual members

Roles for each individual

Meeting schedules and deadlines

Although there are always the two sides of the coin so are the anticipated issues or challenges attached with this learning style. Some difficulties that the instructor or students might encounter while working on a collaborative project are workload issues, meeting deadlines, combining their individual pieces into one, work distribution, and so forth. With little diligence an educator can help learners overcome all of them.

Through a variety of collaborative activities, starting early and persisting throughout the course, participants can foster and encourage community, collaboration, and team building among their students.

About the Author;

The Author is Ms. Sumita Gupta, Coordinator, Blooming Buds

www.bloomingbudsmws.com

MORAL VALUES - A MUST HAVE...

“Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind & astound the other.”

It is rightly said that – Man is an amalgam of virtues and vices. He is the supreme creation of God who created man in his own image. With the advancement mankind has undergone drastic changes. It is very much hard to compare the present generation with our past legends who were uncomparable  and unmatchable in all respects. Everybody knows that our history is quite glorious in the past as they were social, honest, generous, obedient, committed and they all have left behind their footprints to be followed by the young generation. Unfortunately, the world has progressed in the field of science and technology but the moral values have degenerated.

The present generation has lost the moral values and become materialistic. They want only money and success, relationships have no values for them. They can commit crime at the drop of hat. This all is because of various reasons. Undoubtedly the main reason is media which gives a lot of information and fails to provide the right way to use it.

It is not easy to inculcate the old pattern, culture in the mind of generation X, while our old teachings are still having a peculiar space in day-to –day human life. The whole world is following our old traditions and culture and adopting very speedily and finding their ways of life. It is a matter of surprise that our gen X is changing their life style very rapidly and westernizing themselves. In the current scenario gen X is not much interested to bear and keep alive our logical and fruitful traditions where they can surely find mental peace as well as easy going life.

It is being observed regularly that the moral values are losing their impact and significance in the life of gen X, respect for others, ethics and etiquettes have become the things of past. The nuclear family structure is adversely affecting the society as well as reducing the volume of positive thoughts towards the old traditions of our society & golden history.

We can easily observe the frequently changing behavior of new brigade in their daily pattern of life. Modern era is characterized by a lot of frustration and disappointment due to not being able to achieve the desired goal. A race to reach at the top and to please others always create a cloud of negativity, resulting in loss of peace of mind. Everybody is racing for their own achievements and wants to entertain in short span of time resulting in selfishness and even not care for others.

Inculcation of moral values since birth is very necessary. The time of our breeding likewise, so that they can understand the importance of these values and carry them further to their next breeding to make their future peaceful, bright and path making for others.

Keeping in view, the importance of moral values, the time has come to introduce a subject on importance of moral values in school curriculum which will help in preparing our PROCREATION. This will definitely help the upliftment of mankind and a better world.

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Pooja Saraswat, TGT English, Meenakshi Public School
www.meenakshipublicschool.com

Progress of a nation lies in the literacy rate of that nation...

Yes, this is true because education has an impact on all the aspects of our life. Our way of living, standard of living everything is affected by our education. One extra year spent in school can increase our monthly income. Educated people get better opportunities in life then an uneducated one. So education brings economic prosperity.

Education brings awareness. It helps in overcoming orthodox norms of the society and even superstitions. As a result a society with more number of literate people is more capable of fighting with social evils.  In fact education helps you become a useful member of the society. An educated member certainly has a greater chance to contribute to his community.

Today we are living in the era of technology. World is really growing fast in the field of technology. An educated person is much more aware of the latest technologies and all the changes that are taking place in the world. It is difficult for an uneducated person to adapt to all these changes.

Education also helps us in gaining confidence and earning respect. Educated people express their views with confidence. They are also able to guide their society. An educated person who helps others by his knowledge is always respectful for others. So educated people are like precious gems for the society.

That nation has more scope of growth in which more people are contributing towards its growth.   

It is well said by Mahatma Gandhi, “What is really needed to make democracy function is not knowledge of facts, but right education.”

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Shalini Sharma, Class Educator, Blooming Buds

www.bloomingsbudsmws.com

Students and Teaching today...

In today’s scenario, it appears a new education system has to be evolved. The curiosity the students and the aspiration among teachers has led to the onset of new era of learning. Gone are the days when books held all the knowledge. The technology has replaced the search of information to explore knowledge just a click away.  Classroom dictations have transformed into discussions and dialogues. The pursuit of knowledge now leads to expansion of minds and questioning rather than simply accepting the facts. ‘Why’ is the new keyword for all understanding of concepts. Class-work is now modified into an ever learning audio visual experience and homework is more reasoning than duplicating textbooks on the paper. Learning and teaching has become more of discovering than simply transferring of discovered knowledge. Students and education today has changed the TEACHER into TEACH- HER. Students today want to learn fast at the same time share fast. Role of teachers is more demanding rather it was ever before. Teacher is no more the one with text-books and handouts. Now students get problems and solutions to the teacher way ahead she completes a topic in the class. Class-rooms have now been converted into interactive sessions rather than lecture rooms. Technology has advanced the students and opened new horizons for everybody. Now questions seem to be less with four fold availability of answers. The thoughts and thought process has emerged a new level of inquisitiveness among the future generations that unattainable word seems to be deleted soon from our dictionaries.

About The Author:

The Author is Ms. Deepshikha, Pre-Primary Educator, Blooming Buds

www.bloomingbudsmws.com

SELF IMPROVEMENT...

A student is the future leader of a nation, so it is necessary for him/her to think on how he/she  can improve himself/herself?

First of all, set a target and have confidence to achieve that. Sometimes people are suffering from lack of confidence due to which they can’t do their work with full potential. There are few tips so that we can improve ourselves such as:-

Meditation:  Meditation gives positive energy. It helps to calm you and increase your concentration.

Discipline: Discipline is a tool to become successful. In this way it always plays a great role throughout the life.

Time management: also plays an important role; So, a student requires to manage his time & achieve success in life without facing any problem.

Behavior  and Etiquettes: Behavior and  Etiquettes speak a lot about the kind of person you are.

Concentration: In the  new generation a major problem is lack of concentration. It is most important to  concentrate fully on the task which you have at hand.

Learning Style : Every student has different learning styles  so they should choose best style of learning to improve themselves .

Quit a bad habit: Are there any bad habits you can lose? Oversleeping? Not exercising? Being late? Nail biting? Smoking? Try to quit the bad habit you have.

Learn from people who inspire you: Think about people you admire, people who inspire you. These people reflect certain qualities you would want to have for yourself too.

Reduce the time you spend on chat programs: Reduce the time you spend in chat programs because it is a waste of time. This time can be much better spent on other activities and become fruitful for you.

Put someone up to a challenge: A healthy competition is one of the best ways to grow. Set any challenge such as weight loss, exercise, securing good marks etc. and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first. Through the process, both of you will gain more than if you were to set off on the target alone.

Get out of your comfort zone: A comfort zone is negative for your growth. Real growth comes with hard work and sweat. So it is necessary to come out from the comfort zone and expose yourself to a new context, you’re literally growing as you learn to act in new circumstances.

Do one good work daily : You can serve your society by doing a good work such as help the poor  or a needy person on daily basis .It gives you  a lot of  self satisfaction .

Work as a social worker: Students are good follower of social activities. They should convey the important messages to our society such as say no to crackers clean your city, respect women, save water, save electricity.

By following the above tips we can improve ourselves. At last, a good advice for all students is to adopt a well said proverb in their life that is “Simple living and high thinking “

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Radha Verma, Pre-Primary Educator, Blooming Buds
www.bloomingbudsmws.com

MODERNIZATION – A NATION HAZARD...

“Modernization has come to mankind itself in several ways, Some say it’s good, some say it’s bad.”

Modernization refers to a model of programme transition from a pre-modern or traditional to a modern society. It looks at internal dynamics while referring to a social and cultural structures and adaptations of new technologies. Modernization seems to have main phases of its course at a certain point which carries institutions and values of the modern society. But beyond some points however modernization began to breed discontent on an increasing large scale. This is due to rising expectation provoked by early success and demands of people, Groups tend to make escalating demands which becomes very difficult to meet. India is one of the pioneers of modernization and will continue to be. It supplies its new resist technologies in countries like USA, Pakistan, Germany etc. but negative consequences of modernization are reaching height.

We invent a device for making our lives comfortable and then another to safeguard it and then another to safeguard the last one, and in this journey from good to better- better to best there is no full stop on inventions. It is not said that stop modernization and start caring for the nature, but if we cut seventeen fully grown trees for making a ton of paper, then we should plant 70 more trees there. Just imagine carrying heavy oxygen tanks on our backs will not be fun. We all know that a tree can reduce pollution created by a car driven for about 18,000 km. Modernization has affected our nation in fields of fishing, agriculture, food production and power management of power resources.

Coming to the topic of culture, Indian culture is always a salute as Indians have been caring for years.

 Points to change are accepted but not in cost of losing its heritage and its trait.

Listen – “To be modernize does not mean to be rich in wealth or status but it means to be rich is wisdom.”

About the Author:
The Author is Nitish from Grade 8-C, Meenakshi Public School
www.meenakshipublicschool.com

The right of a child: A safe and happy child

The birth of a child brings happiness and prosperity to house. It brings a new meaning to a man and woman. It completes and make them parents. It bring two families together. As a child grow a parent also grows.

Since the day we bring a life in the world for our happiness, it is our responsibility to protect them , educate them, secure and nurture them with love and care. A child is like a wet cement; what we write or what impression we give it, creates an image . To create a better human being the base is from the birth . It is very important for a child to have cooperation from the society and family. The impact on a child can make and break the child. A human brain since the evolution is curious to know and explore. So the right information and from the right source is important. Here comes the role of a school where the child is groomed to have a better personality. “It is the right of every child to have a safe and happy childhood”.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Shilpi Gupta, Educator, Blooming Buds

www.bloomingbudsmws.com

SAVING LIVES...

"Life is a miracle not a mirage."

I was leaping bounds and was at cloud nine when the results of the QUIZ 2013 was announced, I was among the few who got an opportunity to see the wilderness of my friends aware of my devouring fish, advised me not to eat uoncella. I could not comprehend. Uhh! Vegetarians!

Sailing in the ship of joy and happiness, I reached Peru’s South Eastern Amazon which is infamous for illegal gold mining. To my utter surprise I found World health Organization has reported that children, women and even unborn were exposed to alarmingly high mercury levels. All thanks to mercury which is being dumped into the river. The ‘lethal’ has entered the food chain and human beings are bearing the dire consequences because of these innocent creatures called Doncella or Zungaro through gold miners. Now I remembered my friend’s advice and thanked him.

The heinous act of dumping tons of mercury in the river is a serious health hazard. Remembering UN Secretary, Ban Ki Moon’s words, “Are we leaving a scorched, dry planet for our off springs?”

Amazingly, Yes! Till we pledge to improve the worsening condition. Educating the masses is one such best accoutrement. Creating general awareness through slogans, posters etc. for the localities would also help. I insist that increasing employment opportunities will do wonders for Peru. In addition to these, treating water scientifically and a strict no - no to outlawed mining would be appreciated.

Reiterating the words of Margaret Thatcher, ‘we are the tenants and we have borrowed the mother earth form our upcoming generation holds true in the context. Every life on this planet has to be saved.’

 About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Sonjuhi Khare, PGT English, Meenakshi Public School

www.meenakshipublicschool.com

Youth can bring about a revolution in the political scenario of India...

Renowned American educator & civil rights leader, Mary Mc Leod Bethune once said, “We have a powerful potential & we must have the courage to change the old ideas & practices, so that we may direct their power towards good ends.”

To begin with let’s go back to the pre-independence era of India. During the struggle for independence Indian youth imbued with the desire to attain freedom threw themselves in hundreds & thousands into the turbulence of revolutionary politics. Their active participation in the struggle against British rule gave this nation the fresh taste of freedom. Politicians like Suresh Kalmadi, A Raja have degraded our country morally & hollowed economically.

None would have thought that this taste of freedom would turn bitter with the passage of time on the account of our so-called politicians who are poisonous, contaminated &illiterate modern goons. Present day politicians or the leaders governing the country are obsessed with the monomania to loot the country & fill their own coffers, for whom ethics are the most traumatic joke. Power by hook or by crook is their only motto which leads them to conspiracy & forging a network of like-minded politicians & bureaucrats.

On the wake of such disastrous situation, our hope solely lies on some honest, dedicated & devoted youth who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the welfare of the nation. It’s high time when a gang of young, talented, easy-going, open minded, technologically advanced & enthusiastic people must step in.

Albert Einstein once said, “It’s the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. So, a sense of positivity should generate in the well-educated young minds in India towards making politics as a first preference career option.

Thanks to a fresh batch of leaders like Arivnd Kejriwal, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora & many others who stepped in & set forth examples moves to exemplary politics with their reformative moves to eradicate corruption, crimes &criminals.

I personally &rationally believe that the level of political awareness among Indian youth is much higher than adults. Their active participation in politics can lead this nation towards the path of peace, prosperity & development.

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Monira Sultana, Educator, Meenakshi Public School
www.meenakshipublicschool.com

EXAMINATION WOES...

“Your child is extremely stressed. Please take care that he is not left alone and let him do the things he likes to do”, said the counselor at school. Deepti was extremely worried. How can a child merely ten years old be depressed and stressed? This is the most beautiful time of any individual’s life and all that children need to worry about is the games they are going to play the next day or plan the next prank for the teacher. Deepti was actually flabbergasted like a lot of other parents who face the same problem. After pondering for a while she realized that it was none other than she who was to be blamed for this condition of the child. She had forced him to shun all his activities and just concentrate on studies and it was her son who was facing the brutal consequences.

This is not just the case with Deepti and she can’t be blamed too. The systems of examination have actually deprived the child from his basic rights of playing and enjoying life. What parents and teachers are concerned about is studies and only studies. However they cannot be blamed too. In this highly competitive world the only savior for a child is good education. Never the less the problem remains and the vicious circle seems unending. One solution can be to establish a balance between the teacher, student and parents’ relation. If all work in a proper coordination no one will be over burdened. Being experienced people the teachers and parents should understand the feelings and the ability of the child. Everyone cannot be good in academics; so why not try to encourage the child to do something he/ she is good at. The motto of the society should be to build a strong foundation where a child will be able to feel confident about his/ her own capabilities and is not jealous or let down by someone else’s success. Life is after all not a bed of thorns but is more like a bouquet of roses where some thorns are there as a part of the rose itself. 

About the Author:
The Author is Ms. Payal Dan, PGT English, Meenakshi World School
www.meenakshiworldschool.com 

FDI: A Catalyst to Autonomous Economy...

In Bengal, Siraj-ul-daulah lost the battle of Plassey. Quoting Reverend Tagore, I can say, ‘They came as traders  and became bings: Does America and Europe want to duplicate.’

A very warm and cheerful morning to everybody present here. Baptised as Raveena Lamba, I represent Meenakshi Public School. Reverend Judges, Respected teachers and all my fellow mates, I am against this perception that FDI is a catalyst to economic autonomy.

As investors search the globe for the highest returns, they are often draen to places endowned with bountiful natural resources but are handicapped by weak, ineffective environmental and government laws and India led by Manmohan Singh in corset of Sonia Gandhi provided a very bright option to Foreign Direct Investors.

FDI in mutual funds business, in insurance and in banks have been in existence for a long time and FDI in retail is being sold as a magic wand that will solve all of India’s problems.

I believe that FDI is a new form of colonialism in this world of globalization and the age of IT. I agree with it that many countries in recent years have signaled that FDI in their respective territory but to me it is not only the direction in which the world economy is moving.

FDI emphasis that by the means of foreign capital the backward economies can be estimated for further growth, but the supporters of the FDI must acknowledge that no foreign investment can be done keeping in mind the interest of the particular nation which is investing in any country.

We should not forget that unless the local capital is given a space in the country and people are taken into confidence, all foreign investment will be useless. We should even not forget that when East India Company came to India the mughal rulers could not realize their dangers which later on become very clear. So do we want to follow the neo colonialism for our economic growth?

I would say No and Never!!

Our friends Indian economy has swing from being a daring of the world to a damned nation.

FDI in the mutual funds business did not being in any ethics. They enjoyed the support of their home government because they resorted to illegal and unfair practices. The success of FDI in insurance is a question mark. In LIC world, you deal with boring product and slow service and in FDI ruled insurance, you are dealing with better services but questionable practices and products. FDI in banks have not done well though they are selling products.

When FDI retail hit Thailand, 60,000 small shops closed. Next Barack Obama is a supporter of small retailers in his own country but lobbying for Walmart in India and that is a paradox.

Despite the country wide speculation on the plight of various stakeholders, trading associations, politicians have given various arguments against FDI in retailing based on perception.

Current Independence stores will be compelled to close.

Big players can knock-out competition.

Entry of global gaints will force the Indian Tradition Kiryana stores to shut down their business.

The constitution emphasizes on providing equal opportunity to all, the foreign universities would be hardly affordable to the underprivileged sections.

Those who can oil the system through FDI can it cure the problem of price rise of onion and tomato? Or would a home - grown Amul the architects of the milky white revolution, solve the problem?

When the price of onions or wheat surges, the farmers go to another crop. Can FDI change this cyclic nature of production? Would a retail firm with a nice ambience solve this problem?

FDI in retail and the foreign owned mutual fund houses partnered and made the system worse.

Thus foreign ownership is no guarantee of better and transparent system. Self reliance is the key word, given to us by Gandhiji.

Thus I would strongly oppose FDI and foreign is fair is the unsaid claim. World has no money to invest in India, a damned economy which missed the bus thanks to a spineless government.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Raveena Lamba, Student (XII Sc. B), Meenakshi Public School

www.meenakshipublicschool.com

Childhood - ‘The spring of life’

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. Childhood is a wonderful time... a fantasy world of our own with our own ideas... curiosity... the pleasure and excitement of discovering something new... a world of dreams.

It is truly said that children are like the wet clay, they modify themselves as we want them to.

Childhood is an important period of our life. It is the time where the main part of our personality is developed. For a not small amount of people, childhood is the time we struggle to earn a living and learn how to survive in the world. However, from my experience and the major part of those friends around me, those years in childhood are definitely memorable and full of happiness and caring. The main reason is that childhood is the time we receive the love, caring from a lot of people. Another reason is that childhood is a time that we live so freely without any worries.

The greatest poem ever known

Is one all poets have outgrown:

The poetry, innate, untold,

Of being only four years old,

If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older. The childhood shows the man

as morning shows the day -

At last I would like to say that

I’d give all wealth that years have piled,

The slow result of Life’s decay,

To be once ore a little child

For one bright summer day.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Archana Sharma, Educator, MeenakshI World School

www.meenakshiworldschool.com