LFIN RETREAT 2019 - 10 Delegates only

LIMITED PERIOD OFFER, ONLY FOR 10 OUTSTATION DELEGATES

Transformative Learning Journey’s’

Transformative Learning Journey’s’ & #AFRICAMYCLASSROOM 
ticks all the boxes

Given that The Holidays Are Coming! we will be delighted to work with a proactive & progressive school that would like to offer  this program to its students

#AFRICAMYCLASSROOM, 
from Cape Town to Johannesburg & from Gandhi to Mandela to Game Drives to School Immersion to Environment Conservation to Cooking to Sightseeing to Malls & Shopping everything has been included into this amazing program to give your students the distilled essence of South Africa!!
The cost is economical & is based on a small group of 15 students + 2 teachers on a complimentary basis, for program details please click here

#FestivalsofLearning!

Tinkerly - Learning By Doing

Tinkerly (Formerly known as SRJNA) is the brainchild of qualified IIT and XLRI graduates who realized the need for practical learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects.

Students can prepare right from their first grade to meet any challenges thrown at them in the competitive educational ecosystem. They have developed creative and interactive learning tools and methodologies for the interest of children to enhance their learn and experiment. Tinkerly’s strong R&D team and technology powered operations help us to keep the content fresh and relevant for 21st-century competencies with supreme experience. 

In just 4 years since inception, Tinkerly has become Best STEM learning solution provider in India via providing an end to end solution for STEM labs in 180+ schools benefitting 75,000+ students across 25 cities in 15 states. Tinkerly believes in not just following the traditional education path but to tinker with it employing new technology and methodologies. 

The word ‘tinkerly’ means experimenting and creating improved innovation and make the learning easy with the help of its products like Tinkering Labs (ATL), Innovation Labs, STEM Learning Kits and Let’s Tinker mobile App.

Taking Learning Forward : RP Devgan

Rajinder Pal Devgan

Chairman Learning Forward India

rpdevgan@gmail.com

Learning Forward India (LFIN) in the last three years has been doing very useful work in schools in India and established itself as a worthy Associate of Learning Forward, USA. Our contributions have been appreciated  Internationally and at this year’s Annual Conference we are to present our original ideas innovation “My Good School - Experiential Learning For All".

LFIN and its educators are bringing in a pleasant and happy change in learning at schools. It is now imperative that we as educators pause to think of the direction we are pursuing. We need to be careful in the use of Technology. It must not be overused and become an obsession. About 140 Waldorf Schools in the USA catering to the children of employees of Apple, Microsoft etc do not allow the use of any gadget in school till the age of 12 years. 

Today when everyone is talking about technology and AI, we must not forget the human factor. Educators as role models must groom children to be good human beings, who bring happiness to others and themselves. Gratitude should be ingrained. Being grateful brings a sense of balance to one’s personality. One’s feet are firmly on the ground. Parents who raise us, deserve that gratitude. 
Our educators must encourage the habit of reading and keeping fit. These two should become a way off life. 

It’s important that children are compassionate, kind and have a care for others. They must also develop a love for the environment and live in harmony with nature. Having lived in Bali, Indonesia for some years, I realise the value of the Balinese philosophy of respecting the elements and living in harmony with nature and fellow human beings. A truly happy and peaceful society.

I hope LFIN will spread this message of happiness, peace and caring through the educators and students. One must remain optimistic about the future and the younger generation. Without neglecting the effort needed for studies, sports and other activities connected to the school curriculum, children can be achievers and bring about a positive change by being good citizens of the world.

I look forward to LFIN spreading the message of Happy learning, Happy teachers through our programmes of "Professional Learning" and "My Good School.” Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?, The Value Of Values and other programs, all add tremendous value to the schools in transformation.

I am optimistic about LFIN bringing a change for the better in the lives of educators and students who come in contact with our programme and do the community and country proud.

With near five decades of experience as an Educationist and having served as a School Leader for schools in India and overseas, Mr Devgan is now working to strengthen Learning Forward India.

Reading: A Healthy Diet for Mind: Monika Vaishnav

Everyone should develop a habit of reading because it is a habit which provides you with a  lot of knowledge. It can help you survive and handle different situations in life.

When you read your mind becomes peaceful and at that time, you create a peaceful environment for the people around you. When you read, you engross in your own world.

Reading is more about inner satisfaction rather than outer.  It is like food for the mind to feed it with knowledge, patience and joy. A healthy diet makes our body healthy, the same way reading makes our mind healthy. Reading increases our vocabulary and improves pronunciation. The teachers should take their children to the library to create a culture of reading and parents also should put their efforts to read and make their children read at home too.

Our surroundings have an impact on us, so if we elders do not read and do not create such an environment for them, the children will not show their interest in reading. So, if we want to develop any good habits in our children, we must develop it in ourselves first.

When you read anything, you definitely think about it like whether it is logical or not, whether you agree with the content or not, so it makes you a thinker. When you start thinking about something, you develop your own views, thoughts and opinions. Hence, reading gives you freedom of thinking and makes your mind-independent.

Reading explores the whole world to you, it can make you feel what is not happening around you, it can take you to the place where haven't gone ever. It helps you imagine beyond the materialistic world. We not only gain knowledge by reading but also gain values and become well being in life.

Libraries play a main role in developing the habit of reading because it has treasurer of knowledge as they have a variety of books there. One can choose the book of his own interest. People should read books in whichever language they are comfortable and they love to read. Reading gives you more ideas and different view about anything and that makes us more creative in life. When the habit of reading becomes your hobby, you can gain more than before. It helps you to lead and become capable to take the decisions in life. 

 Monika Vaishnav

The Fabindia School, Bali

mvv4fab@gmail.com

Reading – A Must: Prerna Rathod

Reading is an essential part of our learning. It helps us to understand others views, keeps us update on topics of past, present or future. It also enhances our personality. It helps us to express our views to others or keep our point of view in front of others. It will help us to gain fluency of the language. It increases our confidence level.

Reading can be done in any language in which we are comfortable. This habit should be inculcated right from our childhood. To start with, parents can read to their children aloud in their mother tongue some small stories. This will give the child to listen attentively and he/she will be able to grasp the correct pronunciation of words and thus he/she will always use it properly. If poems are read to the child with the proper way of expressions they will learn to express themselves very nicely. A child’s mind is able to pick up anything you read or show to them very quickly. Thus, this will sharpen their memory and one thing is for sure they will never forget it throughout their life.

Learning is a never-ending process and reading is one of the basic steps in learning. Reading is necessary for individuals irrespective of his/her age. Parents must set an example for children by keeping a habit of reading daily. Once the child goes to school, then it is the responsibility of the teacher to keep continuing the habit of reading. At first, the teacher should read aloud and then with time the students can be given to do reading under the supervision of the teacher. Reading in school by teachers and by parents at home will make the child think and ask questions to clear his/her doubts.  

Reading aloud makes the children feel that they are cared for both by parents and teachers. Once the child develops an interest in reading he/she can take it as a hobby. So, reading will be continued through his/her life.

Prerna Rathod

Educator: The Fabindia School

prd4fab@gmail.com 

वाचन मस्तिष्क के लिए सबसे अच्छा आहार: राजेश्वरी राठौड़

किसी महापुरुष ने कहा है तुम किताबें भले ही मत पढ़ो पर घर में किताबें जरूर रखो किताबों की खुशबू से ही घर का वातावरण बदल जाता है। इसका अर्थ है कि जब हम किताबें न पढ़ कर उन्हें देखने से सकारात्मक सोच आती हैं। इस कारण जब हम प्रतिदिन उन किताबों के साथ अपना मेल -जोल बढ़।ते है। हमें उनकी आदत होने लग जाती है और यही कारण है शिक्षक एवं माता-पिता अपने बच्चों  से टेलीविजन बंद करके एक अच्छी किताब पढ़ने की सलाह देते हैं। वाचन के अनेक फायदे हैं। अच्छी पुस्तक पढ़ने से हमारा आत्मविश्वास बढ़ता है। वाचन से हमारे मस्तिष्क का व्यायाम होता है। हमारी भूलने की बीमारी खत्म हो जाती है। स्मरण शक्ति बढ़ती है। नए विचार आते हैं, मन शांत होता है। आचरण में बदलाव आता है । बच्चों में वाचन जोर - जोर से करवाने  से उनकी  भाषा में विराम चिन्ह, स्वर के उतार-चढ़ाव का लय जो उच्चारण पर ध्यान देने व कविता   वाचन  को लय,  स्वर आदि से गाने के ज्ञान में वृद्धि होगी । बच्चे की बातचीत करने की क्षमता बढ़ेगी । नए शब्दों को समझने की क्षमता विकसित होगी।

शुरुआत में यह कठिन लगेगा पढ़ने से एकाग्रता विकसित होती है। भाषा में सुधार आता है।पुस्तक पढ़ने से न केवल बच्चों में मानसिक विकास होता बल्कि शारीरिक सकारात्मक ऊर्जा भी प्रभावित होती है, जो बच्चों में  व्यक्तित्व को और निखारती है। हमें हमेशा एक पुस्तक अपने साथ रखनी चाहिए अपने खाली समय में उसे पढ़ते रहना चाहिए।  जिससे हमारा मस्तिष्क केंद्रित( स्थाई)  रहेगा और सही रहने के कारण ज्यादा अच्छी   तरह से कार्य कर पाएगा।

Rajeshwari Rathod, The Fabindia School, Bali

rre4fab@gmail.com

Reading: First Step Toward Learning - Ajay Vijayvargi

Reading is one of the most vital disciplines in life. Reading, put simply, is the ability to decode words, symbols into something meaningful and is a part of language processing. Reading is a virtue, which can be attributed to every successful person around us and for this reason, it is important that this virtue is developed in students from their early stages, since their childhood.

During the childhood years, when the children are unable to read themselves, parents should be the guiding light and focus on reading out loud, even during the toddler years. Reading out loud should not necessarily be in English but in the most comfortable language of the parent and child and should have different subjects like fiction, non-fiction, of studies and others. This will help students eventually have hands-on over two languages and further, as an incentive, the bond between the parent and child strengthens, as the personal touch while reading out loud will always be there for the child. Further, the child’s listening and observation skills will also be boosted, which enhances the overall learning process and growth of the child. This will also become a first step in the process of ‘Learning by Doing’.

Reading out loud exercise can be continued for an extended period as it benefits the parent alike. Not only this, but early exposure to the reading newspaper at home will also inculcate and mould the reading habits amongst students and their awareness about the country, world and its happenings. In the teen years, students should be exposed to reading quietly and spending time in libraries, where books of various genres are available. This helps in faster comprehension and develop skills like speaking and writing.

Combined efforts at home as well as the school for promoting reading and developing reader skills certainly boosts the child’s overall development. While parents at home should ensure that both parents and child exchange relevant articles that they read in books, newspapers etc., teachers at school should regularly organize activities like debate, extempore which leads to the sharing of knowledge.

To sum up, reading should be continued at every stage of life in different forms. Reading makes a person complete. Global-mindedness, awareness, a better understanding of complexities, solution-oriented approach are few of the many qualities a vivid reader has and such people command a respectable position in society.

I am reading Matthew Raggett's book How Your Child Can Win In Life.

Ajay Vijayvargi, The Fabindia School

avi4fab@gmail.com

Independence is Brewing Knowledge!

SCHOOL CULTURE TRANSFORMATION
Transforming professional learning, increasing educator capacity, and improving student achievement. We focus on school transformation with an emphasis on culture as a service. We'll design a plan that meets your unique needs and improves teaching and learning in your system.

My Good School - We help our partner schools to work for the personal and social development of an individual by offering an environment where experiential learning is made possible through activities beyond just study. The program helps measure the improvement in student learning at school. #MyGoodSchool

Happy Teachers - The Learning Forward India Professional Learning Program focuses on building professional learning communities. The program leverages the best in adult learning, research on organisational change, and practical experience to create capacity for sustained improvements in educators. #HappyTeachers

Schools Can Change -  Upgrading or setting up a school, we closely work with the client organisation, to further the vision and mission of the promoters. We assist the school in finding and mentoring the right people to help build a good leadership team. #SchoolsCanChange

Call now +919811133900

Learning Forward India Retreat 10-13 Oct 2019

*Open for 10 delegates on the first-come-first-serve basis, only.
Annual Learning Forward India Retreat, fostering professional learning and social interaction for empowering learning communities.

Registration for the Learning Forward India Retreat 2019
Annual Learning Forward India Retreat, fostering professional learning and social interactions for empowering the learning community. 

Sign up information on page 3 of the presentation to Register, only *10 delegates, the three-night stay will cost you about 10,000.00 INR.
Link to the Registration Form
https://form.retreat.com

#HappyTeachers #LFINRetreat2019 

Conventional vs Contemporary Teaching

“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.”

Education has evolved a lot in the past few decades. It has totally changed the way of imparting knowledge. The educational institutions now a day’s prefer an educator who is all-rounder, one who can not only teach the subject well but can handle young minds sensibly.

Those days are gone where the school was only Brick and Mortar, where the students use to sit in the class and learn through lectures delivered by teachers. Teaching was totally teacher-centric and the students were the passive learners.

As the world has changed, schools now a day’s prefer to be different from the crowd. They want to prepare the young ones for facing the upcoming challenges of their life. Educators are more dynamic, interactive and empathetic. They impart knowledge by giving opportunities to the students to learn by doing different things. This helps them to develop their critical thinking.

“The role of a teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than providing
ready-made knowledge”

– Understanding  Icons
The Iconic School Bhopal
The Educators at The Iconic School are reading Kavita Ghosh’s Book for the Level II of the Learning Forward India three-year Professional Learning Program. 

भावना शर्मा : पारंपरिक शिक्षा तथा आधुनिक शिक्षा

एक कहानी के अनुसार: एक पारंपरिक गुरु तथा उनके साथ थे एक आधुनिक युग के  गुरु दोनों परम मित्र थे l दोनो ही जंगल के रास्ते जा रहे थे तभी उन्हें किसी खतरे का आभास हुआ । पारम्परिक गुरु ने तुरंत ही एक तख्ती तैयार की और उस पर लिखा कि कृपया यहीं रुकें आगे न जाये आपका जीवन संकट में है । उस तख्ती को कोई भी नही देख रहा था सभी चलते जा रहे थे तभी एक कार गुज़री और आगे जा के धमाके के साथ गिर गई गुरु बोले जैसी प्रभू की मर्ज़ी । जब कोई दुर्घटना हो गुरु यही बोलते । अब बारी आई आधुनिक गुरु की गुरु जी ने एक और तख्ती तैयार की उसके बाद एक भी दुर्घटना नही हुई । क्योंकि उस तख्ती पर लिखा था कि आगे न जाएं आगे पुल टूटा हुआ है ।

यही सोच पारम्पारिक और आधुनिक शिक्षा में फर्क करती है । पारम्परिक शिक्षा का मुख्य उद्देश्य था विद्यार्थियों को उनको परम्पराओं और संस्कृति से जोड़ना तथा पीढ़ी दर पीढ़ी इस रिवाज़ को आगे बढ़ाना । विद्यार्थी पूर्ण अनुशाषित वातावरण में शिक्षा प्राप्त करते और अपने जीवन मे उन सभी शिक्षा प्रद बातों को ग्रहण करते । उस समय कागज़ कलम और पुस्तकों से पढ़ने के बज़ाय विद्यार्थी का चरित्र गठन करना और जीवन में उसे दूसरों को हित करना ही शिक्षा का मुख्य उद्देश्य था । समकालीन अर्थात आज की शिक्षा का मुख्य उद्देश्य सभी को जीवन में आगे बढ़ने सफलता प्राप्त करने के समान अवसर प्रदान करना है|

हर बच्चे का अपने जीवन में कुछ अलग करने का सपना होता है जैसे कुछ को संगीत में रूचि है तो किसी को खेल कूद में , किसी को नृत्य में । ये सभी कार्य विद्यार्थी अपनी शिक्षा के साथ ही जारी रखते हैं । जो कि आधुनिक शिक्षा में ही संभव है । वर्तमान शिक्षा का तंत्र अब पूरी तरह बदल चुका है । इस शिक्षा प्रणाली को और अधिक मजबूत बनाने के लिए जरूरत है ऐसे शिक्षको की जो कि अपने विद्यार्थियों का उचित मार्गदर्शन कर सकें उनकी मुश्किलें और कठिनाइयों को आसानी से परिवर्तित कर सकें । एक अच्छा दोस्त बनें, एक अच्छा सलाहकार बनें क्योंकि परम्परागत और आधुनिक शिक्षा का एक ही लक्ष्य है और वह है, "एक शिक्षित समाज की स्थापना"|

भावना शर्मा 

Responsible Icons, The Iconic School Bhopal

The Educators at The Iconic School are reading Kavita Ghosh’s Book for the Level II of the Learning Forward India three-year Professional Learning Program. 

Curious Icons: A 21st century education

Growing up with an immense level of technology means growing up with a completely unprecedented amount of information at your fingertips. There are kids who have never been more than a few seconds away from the answers to their questions, with everything just a quick search away.

A 21st-century education is about giving students the skills they need to succeed in this new world and helping them grow the confidence to practice those skills. With so much information readily available to them, 21st-century skills focus more on making sense of that information, sharing and using it in smart ways.

A 21st-century educator needs to put the focus on life skills rather than textbook knowledge. Life skills include creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, the ability to communicate and collaborate, along with personal and social responsibility that contribute to good citizenship – all essential skills for success in the 21st century, both for healthy societies and for successful and employable individuals.

If students who are the citizens of tomorrow are to become genuinely involved in public affairs, then a more systematic approach towards citizenship education is essential. It enables them to make a positive contribution by developing the expertise and experience they need to assert their rights and understand their responsibilities while preparing them for the challenges and opportunities of adult and working.

- Curious Icons, The Iconic School Bhopal
The Educators at The Iconic School are reading Kavita Ghosh’s Book for the Level II of the Learning Forward India three-year Professional Learning Program.

Kaushal Singh: Backbenchers’- makers of their own destiny

We are in the modern era and our skills are the major sources of our survival. We always categorise people according to their learning, thinking level and according to their adapting ability. We want to change this curbing situation. We want to provide a child with multiple opportunities that he/she excel themselves. Our school education is the first step which provides the child with skill-based learning where they experience by doing. Educators in the classroom are able to recognise the multiple skills of the students and of a child are proffered with the platform to traverse their skill or talent. It is a myth that backbenchers would not create history.

The famous quote by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam proves a point - “The best brains of the nation are found in the last benches of the classroom”.

Sitting in the last row and being in the backbenches does not mean that you are not involved in gaining knowledge all the time, but if a student sits in the backbench and never listens to what is going on, that’s a trouble. The backbenchers enjoy a lot but at the same time, they learn more than the first bench. The thinking level and creativity of backbenchers are always having high IQ than that of first benchers. They just need the right direction to move on for a better future. The first benchers are reading history. 

We agree with the statement of Bill Gates that “If you want to pass ask first bench students but if you want to gain success ask the last bench students”. At the same time, last benchers are creating history by curving their benches with memories. 

- Kaushal Singh, Caring Icons, The Iconic School Bhopal
Her point of view -  Chapter 1 of Kavita Ghosh's book, as a part of the Level II for the Learning Forward India PLP. Explains the role of a contemporary teacher.

Reading- A Thirst of Knowledge: Bharti Rao

What is Reading? Reading is a means for language, communication, sharing ideas and information. Reading books help you to increase your knowledge and look smarter. Reading helps you to grow mentally, emotionally and psychologically. Every book that we read gives us an opportunity to learn new things and explore new ideas.

Parents are a child’s first teacher. They can inculcate the habit of reading from home itself by using simple things and share the joy of reading. Language is no barrier to reading. To inculcate reading in a child we can start with their mother tongue. Listening helps a child to create an interest in reading. To create interest in reading in students you need to start by reading aloud. Children are always excited when they start reading and beginners are always eager to do anything themselves.

Start by reading aloud for that always affects a kids brain which will boost the child’s reading skills. Then help the student to read by finger point reading and always prompt the child when he gets stuck. Allow a child to read at his pace. Activities can be planned to identify letters, sounds and words in kids to create interest in Reading. Reading is important for kids because it will help them to enhance their reading skills which will help them to improve their communication skill. Reading helps us to build our vocabulary and enhances thinking and understanding skills. If you read you understand which helps you to know if you know something you learn something which helps you to achieve success.

A child who is fond of reading books and enjoys reading is not only good at languages but is good in all subjects. Reading leads to curiosity and so the kids start questioning. Schools give importance to reading and so they carry out various activities to strengthen and develop reading in students.  

Bharti Rao

bro@fabindiaschools.in

ईमानदारी (HONESTY): Jaffer Khan

वास्तव में ईमानदारी एक अच्छी नीति है क्योंकि यह एक उचित तरीके से काम करने वाले रिश्ते की नींव रखती है।  इतना ही नहीं, यह कई तरह से लोगों के जीवन को पोषित करता है।  भरोसा किसी भी रिश्ते का आधार है जो ईमानदारी से प्राप्त किया जाता है। 

आमतौर पर लोगों को ईमानदार होना कठिन लगता है क्योंकि ईमानदारी को बनाए रखने में काफ़ी मुश्किलों का सामना करना पड़ सकता है।  ईमानदारी का मतलब जीवन  सभी पहलुओं में सच्चा होना है, कहीं इसका पालन किया कहीं नहीं किया ये तो स्वयं के साथ भी धोखा होगा।  इसमें किसी से झूठ नहीं बोलना, बुरी आदतों, गतिविधियों या व्यवहार के माध्यम से किसी को भी चोट नहीं पहुँचाना भी शामिल रहता है। 

ईमानदार व्यक्ति कभी भी उन गतिविधियों में शामिल नहीं होता है जो नैतिक रूप से गलत हैं।  ईमानदार व्यक्ति कभी किसी भी नियम को तोड़ते नहीं है, चाहे कितनी बाधाएँ क्यों न आए।  अनुशासन में रहकर अच्छी तरह से व्यवहार करें, सच बोलें, वक्त के मुताबिक चलें और ईमानदारी से दूसरों की सहायता करे। 

ईमानदारी का अर्थ यह भी है कि अपने कर्तव्यों का ठीक से निर्वहन करें।  देश के प्रति जो दायित्व है उन्हें भी निभाना इसी का हिस्सा है।  सम्पूर्ण रूप से ईमानदारी का परिचय दें, तभी एक शिक्षक के रूप में अपने छात्रों को नैतिकता का पाठ सिखा सकेंगे। 

Jaffar Khan 

jkn4fab@gmail.com