Nurturing the self

Sometimes the routine pattern of our lives does not allow us to see things in a different perspective. Teachers, particularly, need to pull back and take a break. This Teachers’ Day, our contributors explore the idea and the benefits of a getaway.

The incubation of ideas

Sinny Mole

A math class always has scope for testing new ideas and activities. In this article, the author explains how children have difficulties in understanding the concepts of perimetre and area. Perimetre and area are often taught in isolation which does not encourage children to create connections. Teachers must therefore teach these concepts together and should provide different activities so that the children can construct their own understanding.

I believe I can change

Aditi Mathur and Ratnesh Mathur

How can teachers help children to differentiate between good and bad habits? What happens when teachers constantly correct a child’s habit? How does the child feel? This article calls upon teachers to think about their own belief systems and see if they can consciously try to change their own beliefs.

Take a moment to pause

Aarti Mohan

What is it about teachers that they are not able to switch off? Whether it is school time or vacation time, at every opportunity, a teacher is always thinking about her students and what she can do to help them learn. Therefore, no moment seems right to take a break. This article exhorts teachers to take a moment for themselves so that they are back in the classroom refreshed and inspired.

Late again? What’s the excuse?

Manaswini Sridhar

Keeping a check on children is a major part of a teacher’s work. But a growing trend and one that is becoming a tad difficult to deal with is to handle deliberate latecomers. This article highlights a few ways in which a teacher can handle a perpetual latecomer.

Gram Panchayat: A lesson in life skills

Vandana Aggarwal

Teaching children about governance and civic responsibility normally tends to be a passive affair as students in urban schools have few opportunities to face real-life situations. This article , however, suggests a role -playing exercise to enlighten children about how a Gram Panchayat functions.

Opening a can of worms!

S Indumathi

A hands-on lesson and an experiment to check how earthworms thrive taught children many things. Read all about it in this article.

What a modern curriculum really looks like

Steven Rudolph

This article aims to clarify that in all the din about educational reforms, one must spare a thought to how the curriculum must change to suit the needs of a knowledge- based society.

Books that make better sense

Sonali Bhatia

Books are meant to be read and there is no rule which says that a child studying in class IV cannot read books that are meant for children of higher classes. The writer in this article makes a case for allowing younger children to pick tougher books sometimes, and let older students choose so-called ‘baby’ books.