Time for reflection?

Usha Raman
When teachers interact at national level meetings, there is much learning happening since they get to meet people from different states and communities. At such meetings, personal biases and perceptions are changed because of the direct experiences. In classrooms too, teachers need to provide that space to children since they come from varied backgrounds and it is important that they talk to each other.

Classrooms in nature

Nabanita Deshmukh
Children can experience language in myriad ways by using the surroundings they live in. To make learning more enjoyable and experiential, the outdoors can be frequently used. Encouraging students to explore and observe their surroundings on their own is a great way to teach a second language because children love spending time in nature and thereby learn faster.

Parents: A forgotten treasure?

Neeraja Raghavan
How can parents get involved in their child’s education in more deeper and committed ways? While there is no single formula that may work universally, a workable model can be developed for each one’s context. This month’s research paper offers a rich reading experience especially for school teachers where parents either play a minimal role or none at all.

Public education and its social accounting

Alex M. Thomas & Varun Nallur
How much does the Government spend on education? Should school leaders and teachers engage themselves with this exercise to know and learn how their own schools allocate their funds? Does a lower allocation mean that there is a learning crisis or even a shortage of teachers? The manner in which this kind of data is collected, classified and analyzed can yield useful insights.

Tackling disruptive behavior

Shivani Mathur Gaiha and Spandana Kommuri
In the second of our series on ‘problem cases’ in the classroom, the authors talk about disruptive behavior that students indulge in to seek attention and how this can be tackled with sensitivity.

Spirits of the deep

Nina Subramani
An interdisciplinary lesson on any subject has a lot to offer the teacher who wants to make learning interesting and relatable. The study of our coastline can keep students engaged for a month or more. It leads to a deeper understanding of why coasts are important – as an interface between land and sea, as a crucial component of our ecosystem.

Bringing empathy into the classroom

Deepali Barapatre
How can teachers bring empathy into their classrooms so that students learn to build better social relationships, become better listeners, lead with compassion and be happier in life? Here are some activities that can serve as energizers before the class begins or can even be integrated into any subject or language class. This way there will be more magical moments for the teacher and the students.

Fighting the inner wars

G. Gautama
In today’s world, is there freedom for the individual to speak his/her mind, to ask questions, or even to express a different viewpoint? Should the teacher teach resilient participation and ownership to students so they can be effective citizens? Or should he/she teach them conformity, to obey commands and orders? This is the dilemma of a teacher.

A battle of words

Anuradha C How does one handle conflicts at home, between a teenager and his mother? Dealing with adolescents requires a lot of sensitivity, empathy and also homework! This is what a parent realized. Here is an interesting read.

Question of the Week

B R Sitaram Here are the answers to last month’s questions. Q 1. On WhatsApp, I got a message that March 2019 will be special, as for the first time in 560 years, there would be five Sundays in the Read More …