HEY YOUNGSTER, LET’S INNOVATE

                                  

 “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Education was a fairly new field to me. I had a brief experience in the airline industry. I was not ready to be an educationist. I entered very reluctantly. I was overwhelmed by the enormity of my responsibility. I spent some years studying the system. Then one by one, the changes were brought in. I was daring enough to innovate and implement what I felt was required for the younger generation. Integrating spirituality with the curriculum is one such unique practice. Several innovative practices were brought in through foresight and vision. There is always another way or a better way to do things. Today, we are ready to share our Best Practices with the world. We are unique in many ways.

 The school is proud of the little boy who found a different medium to grow paddy and received the Bal Shakthi Puraskhar Prize from the President of India, the alumnus who received the highest award, The Shanthi Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Biological Science for her research on neural circuits that generate movements in animals, the students who did a project in bio-gas and antibiotic resistance and won the overall championship, the team that worked on foldable houses, internet of things and design thinking and placed the school among the list of top ten schools. Innovation in education has been our primary focus. Innovation itself is a joyful journey. If you want to be a path breaker, you need to be a path finder.

Bill Gates said, “I believe innovation is the most powerful force for change in the world.”

I want you to know that it is easy to follow the beaten path. But innovation is the key to progress. I am sure an innovative teacher makes the class more interesting for you. Can we alter the way we think? Design Thinking helps us to find solutions to issues that we are facing or to come up with products and ideas that a section of society is looking for. Empathize, define, ideate, prototype & test are the different stages in bringing out something new.

The most brilliant ideas have come from a seemingly ordinary person, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. He studied in a very ordinary school. But he went on to become a great scientist, the country was proud of. How do you get started? Try any one of these.

1.Participate in PBL (Project Based Learning)

2.Get hands-on in the Tinker/ Innovation Lab

3. Start an Innovation club in the school.

You would have used your free time productively. Challenge yourself to come up with path breaking ideas. The world is waiting for the next innovation Who knows, you may make headlines tomorrow with your breakthrough!!!

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

 

 

 

 

 

 

OBESITY

                                                

     As I was returning home one evening, I saw the pani puri vendor near the school, busy selling his stuff to the eager and excited customers, hovering around him, like flies around food.  A little away, there was a bakery, where students were gorging on puffs & cakes. I was wondering what would happen to their health if they constantly eat junk food. It can be in moderation though. Realizing children’s urge to eat junk food, the school came up with the idea of a snack time-table. Chocolates, which take away their appetite was banned, so also all packaged items. like biscuits, wafers, chips etc. So, children started bringing fruits, nuts, veggies, pulses, rice cakes, and such nutritious food for snacks. It is a treat to see them relishing their snacks.

“Every human being is the author of his own health and disease.”

Anything that we repeatedly do becomes a habit. Bathing twice- a- day, brushing the teeth morning and night, eating the right food, exercising every day, praying, writing a gratitude journal, meditating, playing, are all habits. Right from childhood parents should keenly monitor the habits of children, especially their eating habits. This has a direct impact on their health. Is healthy food and exercise an interesting conversation at the dining table? Children will catch on to it soon. Most importantly, they should see their parents exercising every day.  Some mothers have the habit of over feeding their children out of love. We can show our love by initiating them into the right food habit. This is what I did to my son. He was given nutritious breakfast, lunch and dinner. So even as an adult he does not indulge in junk food.

 “Movement is the song of the body.”

Exercise is another important aspect in our life. We all need some form of movement every day. Man was not designed to sit in one place. Early man moved from one place to another for food. Today we live a sedentary life and it is dangerous. We will experience the consequences much later. Medicine should not become our food.  Don’t think twice about doing some form of exercise every day. It is never too late to begin. My day either begins or ends with exercise. Don’t give yourself a choice.  Children too should be active. Need be, enroll them in a game. 

“Healing is movement. Disease is inertia.”

I am seeing so many adults struggling to lose weight. After a certain age it is difficult to lose weight because of your inability to be disciplined in your food habits, and the lack of enthusiasm to exercise. Obesity can lead to hypertension, diabetes and many health-related issues. We should value our health above everything else. Push you body for an hour and enjoy twenty-three hours of freedom. Walking, yoga, weight training, pilates, Zumba, aerobics, and the list goes on. Make your choice. The best gift that we can give ourselves is, a healthy body. Make movement a celebration of life!

 

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

 

 

 

 

 

CELEBRATING MOTHERHOOD

 

As I sat amidst the other parents, on a pleasant evening, in the school auditorium, waiting excitedly to see my son receive the Scholar cum Sports Person Award in class XII, my mind went back to his growing up years. It took what it took to help him reach where he reached. Everything began fifteen years back, when he first entered the school as a toddler, all of three years. What did I have to give up to help him go up? I had decided that my child would be my priority. Nothing else was important to me. Neither socializing, nor watching the television, nor attending functions, nor shopping. Nothing mattered to me. All that I could see was my son’s image, looming large in front of my eyes. As a working woman it was initially very difficult for me, but slowly I achieved a work- life balance and things went on more smoothly. It was sheer joy being with my son. I never suffered from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

“I will go into every relationship, looking at what I can give, and not what I can receive.”

Motherhood revealed to me my strengths that I never knew existed in me. I didn’t know that I was capable of loving another person unconditionally as all my life I waited to be loved. Attending to the needs of my son, I became a selfless person. I was willing to put the other ahead of me. Patience and tolerance became a part of my nature. I became capable of undivided attention and focus. I learnt to pay attention to minute details. I became mindful in the process.

“Life does not come with a manual, it comes with a mother.”

I also realized that I should live my life in such a way that my life is a message to my child. An ounce of practice is worth tons of preaching. It is my responsibility to give my child a beautiful childhood that he will always cherish.  Motherhood is a lovely phase in a woman’s life. Every moment with your child should be joyfully lived. Let it not be a transactional relationship. When they grow up, the same child whom you nourished with love and care, may one day question your sincerity or even get ego involved with you and will be ready to argue with you.  Just quietly leave the place. Your silence will speak louder than your words. Your maturity and goodwill should always prevail. Only then can you build a bond with your child, which began with the first heart beat in your womb. 

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

THE IMPORTANCE OF HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT

 

The Annual Day celebration was soon approaching and the school wore a festive look. Students and teachers were moving around busily. Rehearsals were happening, recording was being done for a play by the students who were giving voice over, in one part of the school, a few students who were part of the tech team were working on the digital background, for the variety entertainment, creating promos, teasers and Annual Day invitation, some of them were directing a play, student volunteers were helping with the arrangements of props and furniture on the stage, the Announcers were rehearsing their part, the color party and the school band were practicing to receive the Chief Guest, a group of students were being taken for the zonal sports competition by the physical education department, the music students were practicing in one corner, the dancers were being shown the right moves by the dance master, and on the whole, there was a lot of cheerfulness in the atmosphere. Right from a five- year- old to a seventeen -year- old were part of the Annual Day program.

Schooling should be an experience. During their growing up years if students are given horizontal exposure and vertical expertise, they will grow up to be confident and versatile. Students should be made to take ownership of their actions and become responsible individuals. We see adults who are unable to maintain relationships, who cannot work together in a team, who struggle to be punctual, who lack health, social grace, empathy, leadership qualities, values & discipline, who are emotionally imbalanced, selfish, and much more.

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” said Aristotle.

There is more to life than just academics. Preparing students for life should be our goal. Developing the child socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually and spiritually contributes to the holistic development of the child. Leadership skills, global awareness, values, social skills, thinking skills, a compassionate heart, a fit body and much more is required to make a child wholesome. Create an experiential learning environment. Soak them in those vital experiences. Let it become the very fabric of their education. We, as nation builders, have an awesome responsibility to live a holistic life and thereby provide the right environment to transform the child’s living.

Let’s begin from where we can. Plan the curriculum by incorporating the following and we can keep adding on;

1. One-minute clean-up of the classroom- At the end of the day a bell will go, before the dispersal, and students will quickly look around for any litter in the class and pick it up. This will be done every day.

2. Heterogenous group activities- Plan activities House wise where students across std VI -XII can participate forming groups.

3. Sitting in non-doing – Students can be made to sit with their eyes closed, palm on their lap, facing upward, observing their breath, for two minutes every morning. A soft music can be played in the public address system.

Schooling will be a beautiful experience for students, something they will always cherish and be grateful for, if they can be carried beyond academics and shown the wide spectrum of life. Schooling has to be a life transforming journey. 

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting