Sharmila Govande
From using the bark of trees to cover his body to making intricate carvings and sculptures, man has come a long way in reimagining wood. Whether in its most basic form as doors and windows or as exquisitely carved art and furniture, wood is omnipresent in our lives. As we trace the evolution of wood to the modern day, let us learn a little bit of geography, math, language, culture, and technology along the way.
Sharmila Govande
This is the journey of a mother and teacher, whose children opened her eyes to what true learning is. Sharmila writes about how she came to a decision to ‘unlearn’ and is now along with her children experiencing a new way of learning by homeschooling.
Sharmila Govande
Learning is no longer confined within the boundaries of a school. In fact, many today believe learning best happens outside of school. The Learning Societies UnConference or LSUC is an event that firmly believes that if you wish to learn, the world and its experiences are your teachers. An unconference that was started in 2002, LSUC strives to take out the school from its participants and open them up to real learning.
Sharmila Govande
There is a story in each one of us and Siddharth and Smriti through their organization, Soulify, help bring these stories out. Through the medium of art, drama, and storytelling Soulify helps us get in touch with our creative side, thereby empowering and enabling us.
Sharmila Govande
They say experience is the best teacher. Clap Global (a company) is providing students with a unique experience of interacting and learning from travellers from across the globe by bringing them to Indian classrooms. And it is not just the students who benefit from this interaction, the travellers too go back with new knowledge.
Sharmila Govande
For over 20 years, Manish Jain has been a crusader of the ‘unschooling movement”, a firm believer in free and natural learning,
Sharmila Govande
How can children be taught to question all the things that they see or hear or read rather than accept the answers given by the teachers? How can teachers work on building children’s curiosity levels and engage in questioning until they are satisfied and are clear about any concepts? Children ask questions when they feel that their questions are appreciated. Therefore parents and teachers should encourage children to ask questions. Here are some techniques that teachers can adopt in their classrooms to promote a questioning culture.
Sharmila Govande
Teachers play a significant role in the development of children. But does their understanding of childhood impact the development? Are the perceptions, attitudes and demands of teachers in tune with the rights of the child like the right to play, right to expression, right to education etc? It is time teachers and parents reflected on these points before they form their own notion of what childhood is.
Sharmila Govande
What is our instinctive reaction to a disobedient child? Most of us will give some kind of a punishment in the hope that the child will not make the same mistakes again. But how effective are punishments? Doesn’t it make more sense to talk to the child about the consequences of a certain behaviour and help them understand why certain things are allowed and why others not?
Sharmila Govande
What are the challenges that teachers face when they try to bring ‘play’ into lesson plans and use play as an effective medium to teach a particular concept?The main difficulty is to keep the noise levels down and also space constraints. So, how can teachers make ‘play’ organised and structured? This article tries to answer these questions.