An Encounter With Metacognition - Nibbrati Rathore

 “I cannot teach anyone anything. I can only make them think.” - Socrates.

If you could trigger thinking in children, you have introduced them to the first step of metacognition. Mostly the thinking process is concealed because people have little understanding of how they think. Concisely we can say - thinking is an internal conversation weighing up different viewpoints. And learning is just a consequence of thinking.

Here is a little story on how metacognition can help and how we are already using it in our classroom. Certainly, we can refine and improve our strategies.

CHAPTER: SHIVA

A student named Shiva took admission in grade 3 under the mentorship of Ms Priya. Shiva was a quiet and shy child. He was a loner, and to make him sit at a place was a nightmare for Ms Priya. He used to score low in almost all the subjects. But could solve grade 7 algebraic expressions on the board.

Does he remind you of Einstein?

Ms Priya thought and devised a roadmap to bring change in Shiva.

1. Connect with the Parent:  Despite her repeated efforts, Ms Priya could not make Shiva gain any interest in studies or sports. Sensing some family problems, Ms Priya invited his father, Mr Raman, for an interaction. Mr Raman came with his bullets ready, to which Ms Priya chose simply to listen and observe. She sensed a disruption in the family which led Shiva caged into his thought bubble.
2. Name it to tame it- Ms Priya started spending time with Shiva during lunch breaks, talking and sharing. When she felt Shiva has started opening, she took his storytelling sessions. Shiva used to set a narrative to which Ms Priya gave names, slowly Shiva started naming his feelings and emotions. And then he started illustrating the incidences which made him upset. Ms Priya knew that Shiva was running away from his feelings to stay normal, but this eventually made him rigid. The whole-brain approach of Ms Priya helped Shiva to connect with his inner unknown feelings and develop horizontal integration between the right and left brain. - By term 2, Shiva started becoming friends with his classmates.
3. Ringa Ringa Roses:  As Ms Priya could not get enough help from Shiva’s parents, she took other subject teachers and the H.M into confidence and shared about Shiva, H.M and all the subject mentors held each other’s hands, sat, and discussed ways to help Shiva. Keeping an account of Shiva’s work, his illustrations, his behaviour with peers and every minute detail was penned by the teachers as anecdotes. This gave teachers enough to support planning their strategies. And now it worked better. - A team is always stronger than an individual.
4. Responsibility – The day Shiva heard his name as “The Word Wall Monitor”, his face lit with joy. This was the first time Ms Priya could see all his teeth and a spark in his eyes. She understood, children need encouragement and validation. By now, Shiva has understood how he can make friends, why sharing lunch is so much fun, how to ask for help, and how to help someone with his homework. Also, by now, he could analyse that he could not understand few topics because of how they were taught.  - She learned that he understands best by writing. So he started taking notes, and that helped.
5. Budding scientist – Shiva made a model on the flow of electricity using conductors in grade 3. This amazed every teacher, and he was lauded for his work. Slowly Shiva realised that he can understand everything which has logic. - He started connecting even grammar topics with examples and logic. 

And slowly, we saw a bud unfurling and blooming.

Now Shiva is in grade 5, and the genius is scoring satisfactory grades but doesn’t leave a chance to amaze the audience with his writings and models. He loves to write now and can express and manage his emotions well. 

Our HM, Ms Priya, the subject mentors, didi - bhaiyya, and even Shiva’s classmates have contributed. 

Reflection
The way that we learn information is determined by the processes that we put in place, and if you are analysing how you are learning the information or how you are thinking about it, you are there. Here if Ms Priya had employed her strategies in any random fashion, it wouldn’t have worked. So for every child, there is a unique formula, which either he knows, or you may know, decoding the formula by the child is metacognition.

- Nibbrati Rathore is an educator at the Gyanshree School, Noida

Unity and Caring - Neelam Waldia

A human pyramid depicts focus, strength, coordination, practice, faith, and so much more, but the underlying values to any human pyramid are UNITY and CARING. Everyone in the pyramid cares for each other, ‘I can’t be at the top if I don’t care for the one carrying me’, ‘if I get careless, the one above me may fall and hurt. Taking Care of each other and the common goal of success unites everyone, forming a beautiful pyramid that reaches the height where we alone can never reach.

When we think of unity as a value, we think of people coming together to form a team, despite their differences. We imagine people working together in harmony, accepting and appreciating one another. Man is a social being, COVID-19 has shown us how being away from families and the pain of not meeting friends has affected our morale and mental health. Family, Friends, neighbours and colleagues are not only required to have fun or to talk; they all give us courage, strength, and hope, which keeps us all united. It was only the care offered by doctors working beyond their capacities, social workers trying to reach everyone in need, employers being empathetic & supportive, and families being strong and loving that united us all, even after the physical distance in between.

It is so true "United we stand, divided we fall." and we've known how vital unity is since our independence. People can easily break, crush, and hurl you if you're alone, but when you stand together, nobody can touch you, and we can only be united by caring for each other. Caring is to treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. I remember one of our students who would spend most of the time alone and was not part of any group, which was surprising because that is the age where we want to have affiliations and groups. She was in the infirmary due to fever; another girl from her class was also admitted there. This girl surprised us all by showing her caring side. She would put a blanket over the other girl if no one is around and she is sleeping. Help her to visit the washroom. She would do small stuff for her even when she could have easily called for help.

In the class, even in organizations, people feel unified when leaders create a culture of care. We expect our teachers to be always in their best self, calm, composed, joyous, and energetic, but teachers too are human beings with their struggles, shortcomings, and bad days. We started 20 minutes of "Tea with MD sessions" before the start of the first period. We would just sit, pick one value and share our thoughts and experiences on it. These unbiased, non-judgmental sessions helped us break the ice; people who were not very open initially also started opening up. We talked about happiness, positive thinking, the law of attraction, kindness and much more. We also shared that one thing, which we keep procrastinating but not able to fulfil, resulted in aerobics classes for the ones looking to get fit, music and dance classes for the one’s wanting to learn that and a lot more. This exercise showed that we are cared for and helped us unite and imbibed the value of being caring in us. Hopefully, when we are back at our school, we will start it again. A beautiful poem by Abdulla Saeed sums up it all-

Neelam Waldia
The Doon Girls' School

Unity and Caring - Chandralekha Negi

As kids, we're told to hold a discussion on the topic ‘Unity and Care’. First, they wanted to know why I was discussing these values. After getting a satisfactory answer that it is for their emotional and mental development, they came up with their thoughts and ideas.

Some say Unity gives strength and power, while some emphasise unity comes only when we care for each other. Some discussed  unity in Dorm while some discussed more unity seen in school inter- house matches or inter-school matches. Some agreed that unity leads to caring, while some argued that caring coming before unity. They could relate to the Statue of Unity being put up in Gujarat. For everyone’s awareness, it is the statue of Sardar Vallbhai Patel. The unity of the Nation shown by that man has led to the formation of a large country like India by combining more than five hundred princely states.

As a teacher, I made them understand that caring is one factor that leads us to be together, as we have confidence and faith that during tough times that person or group will be there to lean back upon. If one is unwell, he will be looked after by others. I further explained unity is an essential value towards building a successful institution and eventually a better nation. 

School and family settings have always been perfect for teaching all the important values in a child's life, including peace, love, and care. Unity represents togetherness. Therefore, it is standing together for every thick and thin matter.

Students were attentive and listened carefully to both the values and their relationship with each other. I emphasized that the families to communities and societies are glued by showing empathy, love, kindness, care, etc., towards one another. This enables us to forge bonds and sustain them. Caring starts from a very early age as you care for your pets, younger siblings, plants. It is a lifelong process and rewards in a profound way. Caring for birds and nature has its own impact. I explained the significance of Unity by telling them that staying united is good for our growth and the nation’s development. This is also good for the family in the particular and all-around development of children. When we work together, we are motivated and encouraged to work harder. Also, we push each other to accomplish the goals.

The children were very enthusiastic during the discussion. And they agreed that caring is truly the basis for Unity. Be it caring done in our own houses to caring for the community.

Chandralekha Negi

The Doon Girls' School

Unity and Caring - Kirti Bisht

If we talk about the past, we have come across many incidents where unity has changed the course of the history of certain countries and at the same time there have been incidents where lack of unity proved to be a blunder for others.

The American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Non-Co-operation Movement in India are the finest examples of unity; and history says it all that whenever people failed to unite in face of a foreign enemy, they have faced its consequences. For example, during the Turkish Invasion in India, the regional kingdoms did not unite which led to the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. On the other hand, we also know that the Britishers were able to colonize the Indian territories due to the lack of unity among Indians.

With this context, the words of J.K. Rowling can be put in the best light that “We are only as strong as we are united and as weak as we are divided.”

So, if we are fighting for a common cause or if we have a common goal, we cannot achieve it without unity.

“Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness or caring to change a person’s life”        -        Jackie Chan

Caring is paying attention to others, protecting others or being considerate. There are many ways through which we can show others that we care but I think the most important of them is taking out time for others.

If we link the above two values, we’ll realize that both go hand in hand. If there is caring, there will be unity or if people are united that means they are being cared for.

In an organization if the workers feel that the management cares for them, they will work in unity for the development of that organization and if they feel just the opposite then the workers too won’t care about the progress of their organization. They will work just for the sake of their living.

So, one should take out time for others, understand their problems, show them that they are being cared for. It will lead to unity……

Kirti Bhist
The Doon Girls' School

एकता और देखभाल - रेनू खंडूरी

एकता और देखभाल एकता में शक्ति होती है, ये हम बचपन से आज तक सुनते आयें हैं ।अच्छी सोच की एकजुटता से किया गया कार्य हमेशा सफल होता है और गलत सोच की एकता आपको नुकसान पहुंँचा सकती है ।जब हम किसी कार्य को अकेले करते हैं तो वह कार्य उतना अच्छा नहीं होता जितना हम उसे किसी के साथ मिलकर करते हैं । हमारे हाथ की पाँचों उँगलियाँ अलग-अलग हैं और अलग -अलग वह इतनी शक्तिशाली नहीं हैं परन्तु जब पाँचों उँगलियाँ मिलकर मुठ्ठी बनाती हैं तो यह बहुत शक्तिशाली हो जाती है, फिर ये किसी भी कार्य को कर लेती हैं। एकता के साथ देखभाल का गुण स्वयं ही आता है।हम एक दूसरे की मदद करते हैं ,एक दूसरे की चिन्ता करते हैं अपने हाथ को ही देख लो ,अगर किसी एक ऊँगली को चोट लगती है तो बाकी चार उँगलियाँ उसका ध्यान रखती हैं उसके कार्य को आपस में मिल कर पूरा कर देती हैं । हमें भी मिलजुल कर रहना चाहिए और एक दूसरे की मदद करनी चाहिए । तभी एक अच्छे समाज का निर्माण हो सकता है । एक दूसरे की मदद करने उसकी देखभाल करने में जो आत्म संतुष्टि मिलती है वो शायद ही किसी और चीज से मिले । 

ऋग्वेद के अनुसार : संगच्छध्वं संवदध्वं , सं वो मनांसि जानताम् । देवा भागं यथा पूर्वे ,सञ्जानाना उपासते ।। 

हम सब एक साथ चलें ,एक साथ बोलें हमारे मन्न एक हों, प्राचीन समय मे देवताओं का ऐसा आचरण रहा है इसी कारण वो वंदनीय हैं ।                                                                                                                                                 

रेनू खंडूरी
The Doon Girls' School, Dehradun

अपनी गलतियों को स्वीकार करें: सुरेश सिंह नेगी

आम तौर पर, इंसानों के लिए दूसरों की खामियों को पहचानना आसान होता है, लेकिन जब भी हम दूसरों को हमारे बारे में बात करते सुनते हैं तो हम हमेशा रक्षात्मक हो जातें हैं।

हमें यह स्वीकार करने के लिए पर्याप्त विनम्र होना होगा कि हम हमेशा सही नहीं होते हैं। हमें अपनी गलतियों के लिए स्वेच्छा से माफी माँगनी चाहिए और उनमें सुधार करना चाहिए।

यदि हमें अपनी गलतियों को समझने और स्वीकार करने में कठिनाई हो रही है, तो हम इन तरीकों को अपना सकते हैं:

1. अपनी गलतियों को स्वीकार करना और उनके लिए माफी माँगना कमजोरी के संकेत नहीं हैं। गलती को स्वीकार करने के लिए एक व्यक्ति को अपने प्रति ईमानदार होना पड़ेगा। जिन लोगों को अपनी गलती का एहसास होता है वे उसे स्वीकार करके माफी माँग लेते हैं। ऐसा करने से दूसरों का सम्मान हासिल करने की अधिक संभावना होती है।

2. दूसरों पर उँगली न उठाएँ। जब भी हम किसी की ओर उँगली उठाते हैं, तो हमारी चार अन्य उँगलियाँ वास्तव में हमारी ओर इशारा कर रही होती हैं। इसका मतलब यह है कि हमें किसी अन्य व्यक्ति को किसी भी दोष के लिए न्याय करने का कोई अधिकार नहीं है क्योंकि हमारे पास वास्तव में उससे अधिक दोष हो सकते हैं। इससे पहले कि हम किसी के खिलाफ शिकायत करें या बातें करें, हमें  पहले खुद को जाँचना होगा। क्योंकि हम यह नहीं कह सकते हैं कि हम उस व्यक्ति से बेहतर हैं।

3. खुले विचारों वाले बनें। बंद-दिमाग हमें हमारे दोषों को देखने से रोक सकता है क्योंकि इससे हमें यह लगता है कि हम जो मानते हैं वह सही है- और हमारे सिद्धांतों के बाहर कुछ भी गलत है। हमें  दूसरों की राय और विश्वास के लिए भी खुला होना चाहिए। हमें उन्हें स्वीकार करने की आवश्यकता नहीं है, लेकिन कम से कम हम उनका पक्ष सुनने के लिए तैयार हो सकते हैं। साथ ही साथ हमें यह भी स्वीकार करने की आवश्यकता है कि दूसरे भी सही हो सकते हैं।

4. अपना मूल्यांकन करें, अपनी गलतियों को महसूस करने का दूसरा तरीका है अपने कार्यों, शब्दों या निर्णयों का मूल्यांकन करना। ऐसा करने का सबसे अच्छा तरीका है कि हमें स्वयं को उनका रिसीवर बनना होगा। उदाहरण के लिए, यदि कोई आपके द्वारा आहत होने का दावा करता है, तो आप स्वयं को उसके स्थान पर रख सकते हैं और अपने कार्यों के प्रभाव को महसूस कर सकते हैं।

5. जब कोई हमारी त्रुटि की ओर इशारा करता है तो उसे विनम्रतापूर्वक सुनें। जब भी कोई हमें हमारी  गलती बताए, तो तुरंत रक्षात्मक न बनें। हमें इस बात से सहमत होना चाहिए कि दूसरे हमारे बारे में क्या बताते हैं या नहीं, हमको उन्हें सुनने के लिए पर्याप्त विनम्र होना चाहिए। अगर हमें पता चलता है कि उन्होंने वास्तव में जो कहा है वह सही है, तो नम्रता से उन्हें धन्यवाद देना चाहिए, और उन गलतियों के लिए क्षमा माँगनी चाहिए। यदि उन्होंने केवल हमें गलत समझा है, तब भी हमको उन्हें यह बताने के लिए धन्यवाद देना चाहिए कि वे क्या सोचते हैं। फिर, हम बाद में धीरे से अपना पक्ष स्पष्ट कर सकते हैं।

 6. रचनात्मक आलोचनाओं के लिए आभारी रहें। जब भी लोग हमें नकारात्मक प्रतिक्रिया दें तो आहत न हों। उन्हें टालने के बजाय, उनकी टिप्पणियों को रचनात्मक आलोचना मानना चाहिए। मूल्यांकन करें कि ये टिप्पणियाँ सत्य हैं या नहीं। यदि हाँ, तो यह स्वीकार करने के लिए पर्याप्त विनम्र रहें कि हमें बदलने की आवश्यकता है।

Suresh Singh Negi
The Fabindia School
sni@fabindiaschools.in

Unity and Caring - Rachna Bharrdwaj

Unity gives us power, strength, courage, a feeling of oneness, a feeling of togetherness. Proximity, similarity, respect, selflessness are some components of unity.

To create a word, we have to rearrange the alphabets. In the same way, to create a number, we have to rearrange the digits. If the letters of a word or digits of a number are far apart, it becomes challenging to read them. Bring them closer to each other and see the magic. Things have become easy to understand. This is the beauty of unity. When you bring certain units in close vicinity, you are establishing a visual unity of those units. 

Observe the given image; the dots are scattered, but joining them together in a planned way gives meaning to the image. Unity exists when your units agree. Unity can be seen as the single important goal of any plan. The important elements of our unity are giving respect, care to each other and living together peacefully and happily.

Ubuntu in the Xhosa (an African tribe) culture means: “I am because we are.”

How could any of us be happy if all the others were sad?

People who are caring enter their daily lives with an attentive perspective. They pay attention to what people do when talking to them, and they are sensitive to their needs and feelings. To be a more caring person, one has to appreciate the people in their lives as much as possible. Caring people focus on maintaining a healthy, positive relationship. Caring allows you to develop empathy for others and provide a listening ear without asking for a reward. 

Here I share one of my experiences. It was a sunny day, and class 5 students were playing musical chairs during their study time. I inquired and came to know that this was their reward for doing excellent work in the class. What surprised me, however, was the way they were playing. There was a twist in the game. For the class of 15 children, she placed 14 chairs in the beginning and told them they all had to find a place on the chairs. If one of them could not find a chair to sit on, all of them would be out. So when the music stopped, they grabbed each other and made sure that everybody got a place to sit. In that way, on the removal of every chair, they were helping each other.  Their excitement took the game to another level, and without any explanation, the teacher succeeded in sowing the seeds of unity and care in them.

Due to this, everyone took care of each other, supported each other and did not leave anyone alone. When all move forward together, everyone grows, everyone moves forward, and no one is left behind.

Rachna Bharrdwaj

- The Doon Girls School 

Story Of A Sailor - Arundhati Shukla

There was a young professor who went on a long voyage and being a professor, he took a stack of books with him. There was an old sailor on the ship, and he came to the professor and said that I am an illiterate man. On this long voyage, would you teach me? Professor said, of course. So on the first day when the sailor comes, the professor says,” Old man, do you know what Geology is?  

“I don’t know, never heard of it.”

He says,” You live on this Earth, and you don’t know Geology. 25% of your life is over.”

Poor sailor goes to his room rejected. 

The second day he is asked, do you know what Oceanography –never heard of it. You live on this ocean 50% of your life is over.

Third-day Meteorology – you don’t know Sun and stars. 75% of your life is over. 

On the fourth day, the sailor comes running and says, professor, do you know Swimology. 

He says No, never heard of it. 

Sailor says that the ship is sinking and 100% of your life is over. 

To me, Swimology is the art of living – a meaningful, joyous life and reaching out to others. 

Listen to the story in the words of Arundhati.

Learning Forward Podcast
Arundhati Shukla, currently working as a Senior Physics teacher and the Dean of Pastoral Care at Unison World School, Dehradun. With a rich experience of 29 years in boarding schools, she has evolved as a lifelong learner and trained herself and her students and colleagues in multiple aspects of pedagogy, public speaking, critical thinking, innovation, inquiry-based learning and pastoral care. 

https://anchor.fm/learningforward

Unity and Caring - Mezhu Chopra

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller

 In the year 2010, I received a distress call late evening from a student leader. He informed me that a student met with an accident, and they were going to the hospital. As I reached the hospital, the student was referred to another hospital because they could not tend to her injuries. A few of her friends and the student leaders rushed her to another hospital, where she was treated for the next seven days. As she was admitted, I was occupied thinking about who would take the responsibility of looking after her as she underwent various tests in the hospital. Before I could decide on a course of action, a few of her friends approached me, saying, "Aunty, we will take turns and look after her; you don't have to worry. We will miss a few classes in rotation and stay with her in the hospital". Hence, her friends and other students from the community took turns cooking three meals a day and accompany her to the hospital. As per the rules of the hospital, an advance payment was required to continue with the treatment. Upon hearing this, her friends and the students from the community pitched in whatever they could from their pockets and arranged for the advance payment till her parents reached Dehradun. Being away from home, the students learnt to stand together and care for each other. My heart was filled with joy as I bore witness to them selflessly doing whatever they could and responsibly taking decisions as a community.

Mezhyu Chopra is part of the LFIN PLP Joy of Learning 2020-21 Cohort

at The Doon Girls' School, Dehradun

'स्कूल सिर्फ़ स्कूल नहीं होते।' - Lakshmi Ghosh

औपचारिक शिक्षा की शुरुआत शायद लिखने की शुरुआत के तुरंत बाद लगभग 2000 ईसा पूर्व के मिस्र में हुई थी, कि लिख पाना इज़ाद करने के बाद उसे अगली पीढ़ियों तक पहुँचाया जाना सबसे ज़्यादा ज़रूरी था।

कहा जाता है कि स्कूल अपने आधुनिक रूप को सबसे पहले 1635 में अमरीका के बॉस्टन लैटिन स्कूल के द्वारा प्राप्त हुए। हालांकि विभिन्न देशों के इतिहास अलग अलग बात कहते हैं।

शुरुआती स्कूल केवल शासकों और उनके वंशजों को शिक्षित करने के लिए बने थे मगर धीरे धीरे वह सर्व सामान्य के हाथ आ सके। 

औपचारिक, अनौपचारिक, गुरुकुल पद्धति या अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय प्रणाली से संचालित, रॉयल या पब्लिक, ग्लोबल या नेशनल, ऑफ लाइन या ऑन लाइन स्कूल हमेशा से भविष्य संचालित करने वाली पीढ़ी के सबसे करीब रहे हैं और इसलिए उनका स्वरूप भी विकसित होता आया है।

स्कूल पढ़ने-पढ़ाने व सीखने-सिखाने को ज़रूर बने हैं, मगर वह कदापि पढ़ने-पढ़ाने व सीखने-सिखाने तक सीमित नहीं हैं, स्कूल सिर्फ़ स्कूल नहीं हैं!

'स्कूल सिर्फ़ स्कूल नहीं होते।'

एक वह जो चुप चुप रहता था

एक वह जो सबसे ज़्यादा बोलता था

वह भी जो रोज़ हेरबैंड्स के लिए डाँट सुनती थी

और वह जो सब टीचर्स की फेवरेट थी

सब हैं घरों में बंद

सब हैं इंतज़ार के दस्तयाब

कि इनसे पूछें तो पाएँगे

स्कूल सिर्फ़ स्कूल नहीं होते

वह जिसे कहीं भी बिठा दो चुप न होता था

वह जिसे इनफर्मरी में बैठे रहना पसंद था

वह जो लंच में खाना खाए बिना खेलने दौड़ पड़ता था

वह जो पी ई टीचर को देखकर छुप जाती थी

सब हैं एक पर्दे के पीछे

सबकी आँखों में वही सवाल

कि हमें कब आज़ाद करोगे

हमारा आसमान, हमारा स्कूल कब लौटाओगे

वह जो साइन्स प्रॅक्टिकल्स डे का इंतज़ार करते थे

वह भी जो सबमिशन्स के दिन क्लास बंक करते थे

वह जो कल्चरल्स के रॉकस्टार्स थे

वह जो एडिटर्स क्लब की शोभा बढ़ाते थे

सबकी हैं अपनी अपनी इच्छाएँ, अपने अपने कारण

स्कूल तक लौटने के

कि स्कूल कब सिर्फ़ स्कूल होते हैं

वह जो एक्टिवीटीज़ को प्राथमिकता देते हैं

वह जो पब्लिक स्पीकिंग को सुधारना चाहते हैं

वह जो अकैडमिक्स से आगे कुछ नहीं सोच पाते

वह जो खेल जगत में मुकाम बनाना चाहते हैं

वह तुम हो मैं हूँ या आज की अबरकूल जनरेशन ज़ी या अल्फा हो

स्कूल के चार्म से कब कोई छूटा है

कि स्कूल चाहे कोई भी हों कैसे भी हों

मगर वह सिर्फ़ स्कूल नहीं होते

किसी की ज़िंदगी का सबसे बड़ा टर्निंग पॉइंट,

किसी के बचपन के पहले प्यार के गवाह

किसी की दोस्ती की सौगातों के देनदार

किसी के सबसे यादगार क्षणों के साक्षी

स्कूल कभी सिर्फ़ स्कूल नहीं होते! 

स्कूल सिर्फ़ स्कूल नहीं होते

Lakshmi Tahiliani Ghosh, MPhil Chemistry, a post-graduate in Education and, an APS-CSB and CTET qualified teacher, TGT Science at Hyderabad for the last 6 years, worked as a lecturer for 2 years, and as a translator, content developer and editor in the Hindi language for 5 years.

Listen to the poem in Lakshmi's voice

Unity and Caring – Anubhuti Sharma DGS

 “A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring and sharing person inside” – Denis Waitley

Everyone must play a role in circulating beliefs and practices to the youth, giving them a sense of solidarity. We as teachers endure a unique responsibility as students spend hours in our classroom. We always devote a lot of time to creating a classroom environment that fosters values that help children work together as a team. Let’s take a glance at some other techniques we can strengthen personality development in our classroom. To create a collaborative and caring classroom, we need to help children promote values like Courage, Patience, Happiness, Tolerance, Honesty, Unity and Caring. I tried to incorporate these values into my syllabus to help children learn and perform and suggested videos to encourage their learning.

Unity is a strength Video.

(Tap on unity, Click on the right side and open with open hyperlink)

We know that achieving certain goals are not only the hard work of an individual, but it is the unity among each member of the group towards their goals. Let us know from our little ones (Class 4 Students), what they have learned from the videos and what they have to say about unity?

Ishwar- Unity is strength. Always help your friends. Never be scared. We may seem weak from the outside but are strong from the inside. It is said, “United we stand, divided we fall.” We should travel in groups. Always be kind to others. Don’t bully people.

Swastika Unity is essential for any team or group. Only when we are united we can enjoy the taste of success. Unity is the essence of a group’s happiness. We should always remember that “unity is strength”. Unity means oneness or togetherness. You can’t break a heap of bricks, but you can break a single brick. A family is called a family only when the members live together. If we stand together, we can fight any problem.

Aashita There is power in unity. We can win every hurdle with Unity. If we are united, no one can destroy or harm us. We can win every obstacle in our life.

Shaayna “Unity is strength” means stay together in all situations. Unity has great value in every work of life. Without unity, we cannot do a single work. If we stay united, we can do everything. The development of our society and country depends on this spirit. Unity protects us from evil doing.  Individual players do not win any match. It is the unity that helps to get a victory from the stronger team. So, we should always stay in unity.

Srijit This video teaches us that unity is strength. We need to work together in our society. Unity gives us courage, hope and strength. When we get support from others, we can get the courage to fight together. When we are united, we can bring change. If we stand together, we can fight any problem.  Unity is essential for any team or group.

Rriana-Both the videos show us that teamwork is essential. If all of us stand together, we can defeat our enemies. Weak people or animals become strong when they work together. When everyone helps each other, they feel happy. Ants are such tiny animals; they defeated a giant pig by standing together; that’s why we should travel in groups. We are confident when we are together.

Tenzin Khandu- In the first video, people try to get food for themselves. They all look hungry and weak. They fought each other to get food, but nobody got food. When they started helping each other to get food, everyone got food. This shows everything is possible if we work in unity. In the second video, a shark attacks a group of penguins. A group of penguins worked in unity and saved themselves. A giant animal and a large bird also attacked a colony of ants and a group of crabs. They worked together, and they were safe.

Chahak- We should help each other. We should be polite. We should be kind. Unity is essential for our life and strength. It is always better to work as a team. If we are alone, we can do so little, but we can do a lot if we are together. Unity gives us courage, strength, and hope. If we are together, we can defeat our enemies. We should help others in hard times.

Student can adjust or give their best in any group when they care for all in the team. So when children enter into a school, initially they always think about themselves, but slowly and gradually when they work together in a team, they start caring about each other. I shared my thoughts, explaining that respecting someone means taking care to not harm someone's feelings. I asked children what they think it means to care about someone or something. I told them, if you are caring, you express it by being cooperative and generous. When you care about another person, you are not harsh but kind. They expressed their feelings in drawings. I talked about the ways people show they care every day. I discussed the things the children can do, such as taking care of parents and grandparents, looking after helpers, watering plants, feeding a bird or fish, taking time to listen to a friend, etc. I asked children to make a Caring Card for anyone they care about. 

Let us see how these little hands have tried to present their ideas through drawings.  

	- Anubhuti Sharma Joy Of Learning Cohort 2020-21 Learning Forward Academy www.LFIN.Academy

Joy Of Learning Diaries - Unity and Caring

Please play the story - Unity and Caring by Mohini Chauhan 

Joy Of Learning (JOL) comes alive with heartwarming stories from educators at school. Mohini Chauhan @ The Doon Girls' School, Dehradun created this beautiful episode. Learning Forward India Academy Cohort of 2020-21 explores the future of education, built on immutable values alone: Appreciation, Caring, Co-operation, Courage, Freedom, Friendship, Happiness, Honesty, Hope, Humility, Love, Patience, Peace, Quality, Respect, Responsibility, Simplicity, Thoughtfulness, Tolerance, Trust, Understanding & Unity.

This program will inspire you by using examples of where the values are already being used by children and adults in schools and share practical tools to stimulate discussion and philosophical debate. Find out more www.brewingknowledge.com/

04:26

June 27, 202

Handling Pressure - Nikita Rajpurohit

You might have come around terms like depression, stress, anxiety, or any other similar negative terms. You might have read many intellectual articles reflecting the reason behind these negative feelings, but the only key reason common in all of them is Pressure or Stress. 

Pressures are of various types:- 

Physical pressure

Emotional pressure

Psychological pressure

Psycho-spiritual pressure

Everyone is going through some or other kind of pressure. The pressure of academic performance, the pressure of earning a good living in society, the pressure of feeding family, the pressure of making your own life successful, etc. And the fact is that no remedy can help you escape the pressures in life; you have to fight daily with these pressures and overcome them.

Some people become a conqueror and win over these pressures, while others lose their willpower and kneel before them.

Students are handling mainly three pressures in life:-

To achieve great academic results

To chase their aim and work accordingly.

To balance their skills between academics and other practical skills.

Learning healthy ways to cope and getting the right care and support can help reduce stressful feelings and symptoms. The symptoms may be physical or emotional. For example, if you are emotional and nervous or have trouble sleeping or losing appetite, it can all be normal reactions to stress.  It's very much important to handle stress to live a healthy life. 

Follow some tips to relieve yourself from the stress.

Take good care of yourself:- Eat healthily, exercise daily, sleep well and give yourself a break if stressed out.

Talk:- Talk about your feelings with your friends, parents, or the one you trust. Taking time to share your feelings and to listen and support others will go a long way.

Entertain yourself:- Watch a TV show, listen to music or podcast, watch a comedy show that makes you laugh.

Cook or bake something:- Just the thought of having something delicious to eat can bring you enough joy. 

You can't feed your mind well if you don't feed your body well. So during this unprecedented time, let us support and be there for each other.  Stay fit, Stay healthy, Stay strong. 

Nikita Rajpurohit

nra@fabindiaschools.in

The Fabindia School