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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Thank You Kids : Just to Pep self ...


This is the " Little Speech ", I had made in my school on Children's Day.

I thought to share it with friends out of my continued quest to find definitions of "Teacher Impact on Student Achievement".
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Hello Everyone,

You know what, today is children’s day! It is your day Kids,But...
What do we mean by that ??..smiles smiles ..

It means it is a day for we teachers and Bhaiyas to THANK YOU all students who are attending our classes.

When you learn so complex things so easily , when you are so excited to answer a question in the class, when you come all the way in Rain and the wind in your rickshaw it really makes us feel extremely proud ...

Let me share you something which I observed on .…..Diwali celebration programe ...

Grade 4, It is not an easy job to do a Ramayana , which you did with such good presentation and so beautiful costumes ..

Std 5 was too good with fashion show !!

Grade 2 as usual was fabulous – remember your newspaper girl!

than All vegetables and fruits from Grade 1 looked tasty and tempting !! ;-)

Grade 3 was as usual fabulous!!..

Kids,

The arts and the crafts you have learnt are amazing , the paintings and the drawings you make are truly inspiring !!

It is all of you who bring joy, satisfaction, and very good moments in class.

We teachers would be happier, if you really work hard, come to class everyday, help us to teach you better, so that you can have more knowledge and get all your dreams.

Once again , just to let ya know once again , we are very very proud to Have such wonder ful children.

Have a wonderful CHILDRENS DAY !! Enjoy ...

We are always with you !! Be happy ALL THE TIMES.

Thank you,

On Behalf of all teachers .....

Ritesh Bhaiya ..
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I believe little talk , Peppy One to Ones, Encouraging Simple words , Body language , are more successful tools in Creating Super Achievers .. than the "TEACHING TOOLS " we keep harping about ...

PS: It looks simple , but I really struggled a lot for this one ... How difficult it is to grow old and speak like adults ;)

Hope you found this one interesting....

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Coin Flips - You are the Best ;)




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It is getting tougher day by day .

Waves of thoughts, are   doing rounds inside me. The whole of my persona seems to be challenged. Sometimes I hope,  its just me – the individual   and not  “my entire thought process “  .

Wiered things happen , when you take  wiered decisions  – agreed !   

But problem lies with the fact that when intentions are right , thoughts are pure , efforts are at max  , honesty  is your bedfellow  , commitment   unquestionable ....


 why does one feel caught up in a whirlwind of “negative thoughts “ ?


Why does one feel suffocated at a place – assumed to be  a “ Platfrom at change “ ?



 We all are   trying to contribute in  our  own  small way  to the society . Everyone is   uniquely invested in their roles – (  Talking  in the context of a social set up in a civilized society ).

However , some of us choose to come out of the conventional set up – to do something, defined as “ challenging “ –by our inflated egos J  .

Nevertheless ,   the nature of  job which I am currently doing  is different . It  is  slightly difficult  because – I (like many of us ) , have taken responsibility of setting things correct – Providing  best of education – through best of Our abilities – to that part of  “Our Society “  which seems to be trailing behind  , apparently for no fault of theirs   .

Talking of Education and the Inequity  , I often get perturbed whether  the ,"Things Would   Change "  ..  because :
                       
 i) We speak in most fluent Language  infront of a “select audience “ .  OR because  we would create the   best of  environment in the “ little class rooms “ – where Kids Speak freely on matters of Heart & Mind ! 
                        
 ii) We crib all the time , and fail to speak when it matters most ! OR because  we create  and   Value  a pool  of  individuals who are “ leaders “ in their Own might – Who can take a challenge to visit   to  “ most difficult of places “  & discuss with least invested people  and yet manage to get success !  

 iii )We subscribe to “ outsourced “ concepts of making an impact  ! Or because  we   put things akin to a  education system which was  once  unique  (remember NALANDA  and VIKRAM SHILA University ?)  and   through a process which  ignites minds  almost instantaneously without having the need to cross the E – Barrier !! (Mind you , they have excellent Track record too )

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It  is not that  , I have have  qualms on being resourceful , using the best we have , getting the best from outside , learning the best we should – 


But  how do we know   Whats the BEST ? Who decides ? …

 Any right thinking (logical thinker – not critical )  , would agree to my point of view – “ You should not declare yourself the best”   – through “ the bench marks and Parameters “you have designed yourself .

Let the Outside world judge the values you have . Let Your actions and their results be the parameters.

 Let the WORLD BEYOND  your  Green tea  garden  praise your   CUP of TEA .



Else , the day is not far when we would have to resort to


 “  FLIP A COIN and say HEADS X is best ,TAILS   Y is best .
    If Coin is still standing – Ok, we will flip it again  ! "


It would be - it ..


Thanks for Reading ..I am just trying to refine my thinking ;) 

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Glimpses - What it takes to- Make a change !! : Be the Change !

6 Images and 6 learnings

Abhishek Bhaiya -He shares Our Flat. Looks like he is "invested” in TFI too! ;) Unleashing Play! Chaitrali , Sunny , Nupur , Khritik , Karthik , looking with great interest , in a "Vague " attempt to understand " what internet & google are all about " ! They Confuse it with googol- the number with 100 Zeroes!!

Posing Together - after a tiring day of intense "football " , Swing ,Slides and "ball throw " - Bhaiya's day OUT :) , I am still feeling the cramps , I played for so many hours -- last SUNDAY with them !!

Slant Line - Curved line- Straight Line and they wave after climbing ..too much of Geometry I say !!

Slide - and the Joy :)

Boy they are happy!!! - and they have just finished 2 lessons in science , 2 lessons in history , 1 in geography , dictation , speaking and talking about the projects :)) So they look tiered ?? Energy!! @Hats of Kids!!

An afterthought and a realisation minutes later !!Boy -it takes everything out of you - emotionally mentally , physically --- all exhausted after six hours off " Work Hard- Get Smart ";


Didja like it?

Monday, December 7, 2009

Six Months -reflections from manual diary :)



SIX MONTHS   @TFI Fellowship


 I have a reasonably sized class, One most important fact  which has emerged in past six months of teaching is  that the kids have started understanding the concepts  of    


        i)  ” Having a goal “ .
        ii)  Techniques of Malleable intelligence, 
        iii)   Identifying relation of  " putting in   hard & smart work   to   “achievement “


 The magnanimity of small bits of    “ THE CHANGE “  is quiet satisfying  .  


I guess it is a  fair bit of  success,  to be celebrated


 The Challenges


Some of the students have been really challenging. I would like to write about   two examples from opposite ends of the "skill  spectrum "


My class  is having students from Extremely Slow learner to Super duper intelligent brats !;)
     
  Group 4   :  Typically these students would be Slow learners, shortest attention span, issues at home ,  constant attention seekers . It was a real challenge to get across them!!  More than their learning ability it was constant need of paying individual attention   which   was the biggest problem   . 


>> It is almost   very surprising that one of the kids was almost at pre k level .


>>one  kid  has  a single parent and he is a single child , it was  uniquely  unfair to have high expectations from him given the fact that he spent  six hours(after school )  at home all by himself all  alone .


>>   Another kid , who seemed quiet interested in class , showed almost no improvement in academics or behavior ,I was to find out later that “lot of joint family fights” was  affecting a great deal .


Group 1 :   Typically they were kids who were smart , result oriented , but the matter of concern with them was  they would  “refuse “ to adapt to the  different approach to learn .


 Learning without understanding, Memorizing facts , Parroting them , practicing by repeated writing would  leave you puzzled .


>> One kid actually refused to Independent Practice sheet , saying, “ he does not get time after home tuitions to do the same .
>>   A sub group of kids actually had a habit of taking the  : independent sheets their “ home tutors “ or “ parents” to get them solved !!


 >> Some kids would   be unwilling to learn new methods to do things  , for example , when addition by carry over was being taught to them , they would not do through ones –tens – hundreds , even after repeated requests J


School & School System


This might sound a bit cliché , but I on a personal level do not find  much issues with school system . They are doing a fairly decent job in terms of students investment and “giving it all “


>> Free books , notebooks , school bags , midday meals , nominal meals  etc are some of the positives of the system .i am sure this helps lot of the parents to actually  send their kid sto school (In the context of social and economic background they come from )


>> Even the teachers from the PMC board seem to be trying their best of course the "interests levels and apathy sometimes do bother you :) 


However Scope of improvement always exists .  On part of teachers they could really try to teach more concept based learning than form the  traditional methods  . They could perhaps  be bit more flexible in the terms of “finishing  the book “ A little bit of innovation and  involovement would really work wonders  with the  student achievement .


Learning from principal and other teachers


Principal /other teachers are  source of immense experience .They have been doing the job from so many years .They definitely have been source  of  great support in terms of class room management and  realizing the difficult back grounds from which these students come from .


Students’ community


  Oh this has been a real eye opener in terms “what we understand “ and what it actually is !!  Student’s communities are real challenging places in terms of sanitation, basic  health care awareness. .The Importance of education and realization that  a  good education could actually mean an end to the woes , is real low .Performance  expectations and the resultant  academic  successes have therefore been real low . Lastly I would say the kids are really “brave “ when they are showing so much  willingness to learn and promish to improve , inspite of the hardship they are in .


 Personal Transformation


 I believe that  the  basic beliefs of a adult  person remain same  through out his / her  life .The sensibilities ,sensitivity and the personal ethos are integral part of human psychic .The things which change are methods , routes and the intensity .Exactly the same has happened to me in last six months. 


Relationships may have seen a bit up and down, with parents and near and dear ones  due to the decision of joining TFI . However I do realize the magnamity of the task we are doing. It has always struck me how important it is for us to do this . The core beliefs have been reinforced .I am pretty more convinced to do this.


The little changes like “ newly acquired skills     to draw pictures/pencil drawings    “ writing a poem “ or “ sing a song “ for the kids have been personal highs ;-> . I consider these things as a  means to explore and stretch myself  beyond straight , hard task master , deadline , delivery man as I have been throughout  25 years of my existence ....