Yes, I can do it madam!

Indu Srinivasan
Children love to be appreciated and recognized for the effort that they put in to work on their assignments. A few simple and encouraging comments can make a world of difference . Feedback given in a positive way like smilies, candies, stars etc. motivate young learners and help them do better in their work.

For the newbie teacher

Rakhi Pande
If you have just joined the teaching profession and are feeling less than enthusiastic about having joined, here are ten tips for you to stay motivated and never regret your decision.

Disciplinary punishments

Manaswini Sridhar
Disciplinary actions taken in the classroom should help nurture children and bring about a change so that the child becomes a better human being. This article suggests some alternatives to the tradiitonal physical punishments.

The golden PTM

Neerja Singh
A parent – teacher meeting is always approached with a feeling of apprehension both by the teacher and the parent with the child caught in between. There is criticism and finger -pointing from both sides with little or no room for compromise. What then is the golden rule? Read on to find out.

The disruptive child

Phyllis Farias
Conflict situations abound in the school, in the classroom, among teachers, and between parents and teachers and within ourselves. How can we negotiate all these differences peacefully? Can children be taught that compromise is the most effective way to end conflicts? These are some of the questions raised by our writers in this month’s cover story.

Responding to conflict

Chintan Girish Modi
When I was on a Peace and Conflict Studies fellowship in 2013, I often found myself bewildered by the term ‘conflict zones’. The tendency to reduce certain parts of the world to the conflicts they were struggling with seemed to deny people and communities the other human experiences their lives were filled with.

Identify, listen and empathise

Sunita Biswas
That a teacher wears many hats is, of course, old hat! Among the many hats, one is being used more frequently today. And that is the hat of the teacher as a negotiator, as a mediator, a moderator and as a referee. A non-judgmental, unbiased, objective interlocutor who must, when required, pour oil over troubled waters and build bridges over them.

Barriers within build barriers without

Rahee Dahake
One of the first few words, often used by a baby starting to speak, is ‘No!’ Before the verbal expulsion of refusal, she has also mastered the art of flinging the toy she doesn’t like, refusing the spoon when the food doesn’t appeal to her palate, contorting her body into a stiff arch when she doesn’t want to go or be picked up while doing one of her favourite activities and as a last resort, howling her guts out.

All knotted up inside

Jayagowri Rangarajan
An intrapersonal conflict is within us. It demands recognition, acceptance and resolution. Each of these is interlinked for unless we recognize the existence of a conflict, resolution cannot happen.

Breaking it right

Gita Krenek
Some time ago I attended a workshop for teachers, on conflict resolution. During the programme, several typical conflict situations – such as one child trying to snatch a toy from another, or two children pushing and shoving over who should go first – were acted out, with adults playing the parts of children. Participants were then asked to deal with the situation.