Year: 2017

Creating a safety net for the mind

Lakshmi Karunakaran

Here are some questions that most schools need to ask : Is there value in having a school counsellor? Is there understanding of the role of the counsellor? Should teachers be trained as counsellors too or should there be trained counsellors different from the teachers ? Since the teacher is the first point of contact and can reach out to the child easily, simple issues and mentoring can be handled by the teacher and this could be the way forward in future. But, there is also a significant need for a professional counsellor whom children can approach in confidence and without fear of any social stigma. Our cover story is a call for the entire school community to create a culture that is committed to treating all students with respect and sensitivity.

Restoring human connections

Amit Deshwal I am part of a small community learning space for children called ‘A Little Grove’. Currently we are a group of 20 children, the youngest being a four year-old and the oldest 19. At ‘A Little Grove’ we Read More …

There’s someone to talk to

Chintan Girish Modi Yashvi Gada loved her counsellors at school, and there are a number of reasons for that – from how young they looked to how pleasant their voices sounded to her, from the vibes they gave off to Read More …

Will you stop, wait, or go?

Rules and values, can one exist without the other? While one has a positive feel to it, the other is often challenged. Is there a way to balance values and rules? Can we as schools and teachers find answers to these questions as apart from their families, children imbibe most of their values and knowledge of rules from schools.

Fun ways of building word power

Leena Thorat

A popular way of building students’ vocabulary is to get them to write the same words several times and give them dictation. However what happens with this method of building vocabulary is that what is learnt is promptly forgotten after the test. Perhaps it is time to revise the way we help children learn vocabulary? Here are 5 interesting and fun ways that will give you much better results.

Guiding the learning journey

Ashokan N V

The scope of a teacher’s role is much broader and goes beyond that of just teaching. A teacher is also an evaluator–someone who makes the effort to understand his/her students’ abilities and draw out their strengths while working on their weaknesses.

Using the texting trend

Manaswini Sridhar

How many of you have rued the fact that the modern day means of communication–especially the SMS–have ruined your students’ language skills? Don’t despair. Turn your students’ penchant for the shortcut language to your advantage. Here’s how you can use the SMS language to teach proper language skills to students.

Making connections: history and life

Payal Adhikari

History is certainly a study of the past, of eras long gone by. But when teaching it make the subject come alive for your students by linking the past with their present. Show them how the past connects with the present.

A Library Saga

Urvashi Nangia

What does a library period usually entail? How does a librarian and teachers in a school encourage children to read more books and explore the library. Here’s looking at the library of this NGO school, called Digantar.

Values and Rules: an unlikely love story

Aditi Mathur and Ratnesh Mathur

Why are values and rules always seen as two different entities? They are really like the two hands of a clock, working together to take us to one destination. From a young age, instead of just imposing rules and preaching values, it is necessary that we get the children to question, talk, evaluate, make, and break rules and values so that they grow up understanding rules and values entirely.