Small steps for larger school reforms

Usha Raman
How can teachers ensure that classrooms turn into spaces where gender inequalities and biases are mitigated, how can teachers make sure that children get a feel about what it means to live in an equitable society? These are questions that every teacher must ask herself and in the process take those essential small steps to bringing in larger school reforms.

A future without schools

Aditi Mathur and Ratnesh Mathur
Can we envisage a future without schools? A future where learning is happening on the go, all the time ? Where there is no syllabus,

Mothers and “map of India” chappatis

Geetha Durairajan
Learning happens at all stages in life and everyone learns, both children and adults. When learning does happen, there are things we learn by ourselves and there are other things which we learn with the help of others. By taking the help of others, our own actions in learning cannot be belittled, neither can we discount the contribution made by others. In the end, what must be valued is the achievement.

Integrating to learn, learning to integrate

Ravindra P. N.
Can learning happen only in classrooms or laboratories? Can reading be the only way to learn? So many different concepts are learned at school. Can all these be integrated? Students need to be guided towards learning that is broader and less marks- oriented and this can be achieved by making simple and small changes to the usual pedagogic methods. This article helps in drawing up a lesson plan for teachers to use in addition to the existing methods that they follow.

It all depends on the teacher

Kaivallya Dasu
What is classroom culture? It is an environment created by both teachers and students to build a space that is collaborative. And despite the collaborative effort, it is the teacher who has the power to remain open and supportive, focus on learning and accept all kinds of learners. Here is a student’s view on what classroom culture is all about.

Questions in search of answers

Nimesh Ved
Environment education in our schools has been far removed from reality and except for the occasional reference in the social studies textbook, there was not much importance given to it although of late, some schools do have a separate curriculum for EVS. This book is a guide to textbooks and has been put together by a team comprising members with diverse experiences from across the globe. It proposes embedding sustainable development across subjects. Four subjects have been discussed at length. Read on to know more about the book.

Where school is free

Arun Elassery
The story of Poorna Learning Centre with its simplicity and magic is sure to inspire many readers to hopefully start their own little school. Nearly 50 per cent of Poorna’s children come from underprivileged backgrounds, and the most visible aspect of this school is the openness and the freedom that the children display.

The flies from the forest

Geetha Iyer
This is the last article in the Nature Watch series, and as before, this article too deals with the amazing biodiversity that India has. Here the author talks about insects that reside deep in the forests. These are ‘ useful insects’ and the description ranges from the net- winged insects, the lacewing insects , the mantid fly and the scorpion fly. Biology teachers will be sure to find this information useful and also make their classes more interesting.

Visible reactions

Yasmin Jayathirtha
Chemistry is all about reactions. The reactions are first seen at the test tube level and then students try and make sense of what is happening at the larger level— where the reactions are actually happening—in the atoms, ions and molecules. Teachers need to really pass on this skill to students, to help them see a reaction, write down the observation and then visualise it at the level of the particles