Awesome day to remember

 Nearing the dawn of the day of 25^th August ’18 our three and half hours journey was coming to an end as we reached the rural Zphs School at Gandeed. It was quite exciting to travel in the pleasant and cosy monsoon weather overlooking green rice fields, tall trees on either side of the country road, small oasis of villages surrounded by greenery all around. The scarcity of traffic helped us overlook the imperfections of the road and added to the enjoyment.

The faculty and the H.M. welcomed our volunteering team with warm smiles. The team consists of people with varied interests and professions who evaluate the progress of students and how good a job the EFF teachers have done using their virtual classroom for three months. We were even more eager and excited as, from our point of view, the whole school was present and made us proud by participating in all the activities and proving their progressiveness in harmony with the EFF curriculum's based on spoken English, Grammar, and speech, written test drawing and so on...

In spite of these regular assignments, we got them involved in quiz competitions, storytelling and essay writing on topics such as “Independence day, Rakhi, friendship day, teacher’s day and so on. Most of the students did an excellent job. We appreciated them for their willingness to show their abilities and talent. At the end of the day, we, with the help of the staff, rewarded the best performers in all the above spheres.

Last but not the least, the faculty and the pupils, with smiles on their faces, saw us off as the eventful day came to an end. We felt proud of ourselves for extending our helping hands in motivating these students to polish their skills and guiding those to successful careers. They are cool, great fun, adorable and shaping up towards great contributors for our future. All in all, it was a day to remember!

Here are some pictures from the event, let them speak for themselves:

Happy Teacher's Day

‘Guru’ is often given a more important position than God and parents. Gurus / Teachers are real holders of knowledge, inculcating in their students enlightenment and prosperity. Ancient Indian civilization has always given utmost respect and importance to the role of a teacher in our students’ lives for the same reason. Mother is accorded the status of the first teacher of a child. The contribution of values by a teacher in shaping the mind, through process and knowledge is indelible in our lives. Teachers play a very significant role in imparting values to children and developing them into responsible citizens.

Teachers day in India is celebrated on 5^th September as a mark of respect to commemorate the memory of the second president of India,  Dr.S. Radhakrishnan. He was an erudite scholar, an evocative philosopher, a dedicated teacher and a farsighted leader. In 1962, he became the President of India and in 1965, his birthday was officially celebrated by many of his precious students as, “Radhakrishnan Day”, which he didn’t really appreciate. While addressing a gathering, he advised the organizers to celebrate his birthday as “Teachers day” to respect all teachers instead of a single personality. In 1967, 5^th September was officially chosen as Teachers Day in India. 

Dr. Radhakrishnan often said we are able to touch another life for good. A teacher is privileged to actually shape another life... Teachers are like real potters who not only give our lives a shape, but also illuminate it by igniting the lamp of knowledge in them. Such bright lamps work to dispel darkness and contribute to a radiant nation. He emphasized the role of a teacher in nation building and advocated high respect for teachers. As a philosopher, he wrote many books such as a rendition on Bhagavad Gita, political thinkers of modern India and so on..

Guru / Teacher is undoubtedly a noble profession and one of the most influential and respected jobs in the world. Imparting wisdom and knowledge with sincere and selfless love towards students always blesses them to achieve newer heights and lofty goals. Teachers often become students while preparing lessons to teach the next day and while teaching the students, resumes the role of teachers.

On this auspicious occasion, the EFF wishes all its well wishers Avery Happy Teachers day and appreciates your selfless contribution in sharing knowledge as well as inculcating values in our students.

Importance of learning through Games

Nowadays children don’t even know about the joy of playing outdoor games and spend most of the time watching television, playing video games, surfing on smart phones tablets etc. Thus they develop health issues, relationship problems in life and become inactive. If you want to protect your children from disorders such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease, take heed and ensure they get adequate physical exercise.

Dr.Vipul Singh says that the lack of outdoor games and activities is a behavioral problem among children that continues till later stages of life.“Now-a-days people in their early twenties and even teenagers are facing behavior problems. This is because playing outdoors in groups helps kids learn the art of coping with winning and losing. If you do not learn this at an early age, you tend to find it difficult to deal with challenging and unfavorable conditions later in life. This leads to stress followed by behavior problems. When you play or exercise, a hormone is secreted from hypothalamus gland in brain which is a mood booster” he said.

Dr. Ashutosh Singh says that growing kids should get physical exercise for at least 45 minutes in a day. Youngsters have a lot of stamina and they need to channelize it into activities. He adds that the main culprit behind kids restricting themselves from playing outdoor is social media. It is important that parents be friendly with their kids and guide them instead of scolding and beating.

Encourage kids to play and enjoy childhood like we did. Children love to participate in various activities, so motivate and inspire them to play outdoor as well as indoor games. Instead of making children engage with TV, YouTube videos, mobile games and so on, get them a few stimulating indoor games, like card games, puzzles, hide and seek, pencil &paper games, word games etc. There are many indoor games which will keep them entertained and also develop their social and mental faculties. Do not forget to encourage children while they are playing.

As parents, you should make sure that your children are exposed to both sides of the world in order to help make them better and well rounded personalities.

Philosophy of Life

Ugadi is symbolic of life. Let’s celebrate the six tastes of life called Ugadi festival. The word “ugadi” is derived from Sanskrit word, Yuga-adi where Yuga means period and adi means beginning. It means the beginning of new life. Which means it is the last day of waning of moon and the first day of waxing of moon. This phenomenon signifies the beginning of new time. You can observe and see it is the first day of Vasant Ritu and that means it is the beginning of spring season. From this day onwards, trees and plants start shedding their leaves and new growth appears.

Thus, even nature signifies new time.

Ugadi is observed with a dish of six different tastes and flavors like tender Mangoes, Jaggery, Tamarind, Neem flowers, salt and green Chilli. It tastes  sweet, sour as well as hot. This festival symbolizes the different phases and experiences of life that every human being undergoes during the journey from cradle to grave.

Human life is a mix of different flavours similar to Ugadi “Pachadi”. This festival symbolizes that life is a mixture of unique experiences and that we should accept every variety in life throughout the New Year. It signifies that life is a mixture of happiness fear, anxiety, sadness anger and surprises.

Life without any of these emotions is incomplete. All of them come together to teach us various things, make us strong and give us the resourcefulness to face any situation. It teaches us that every shade and every phase must be dealt with in distinct ways.

So this festival is celebrated to welcome a new start in life every year with the expectations of happiness, well-being, growth and prosperity.

Happy Ugadi, folks!

A Day to think

Republic day holds a special meaning to Indians and tells us all about each and every struggle of Indian freedom. Republic day stands for the right of the people of India to govern the country by themselves. It is celebrated by organizing a big event with special parade at the Rajpath.

"Where the mind is without fear and where the head is held high"- Rabindranath Tagore

A huge parade is held in the honour of the nation before the President of India. It is a dream for a soldier to walk in uniform with a sword in his hand. Oh! What a feeling it is to hear the 'tak, tak, tak' sound made by hundreds of army men in boots. It's quite overwhelming as your heart swells with pride.

Do you think the value of Republic day is recognized by the today's generation? Just give a thought about what you do on 26th January. The best possible method of serving the country today is spreading peace and harmony, following laws and not allowing crime to happen. Republic day can also be celebrated for national interest to abolish corruption in our country.

At present, our country is dealing with lots of problems, chief among them, is corruption. we are accountable citizens of our country so let's make a resolution that from today on wards, every action on our part will awaken the sense of patriotism in me as well as those around.

These days have become marketing gimmicks for brands to sell their products, I have seen so many Indian flags and other things people carelessly buy for a day being trampled upon when their use is over. We should pause for a moment to think, understand and respect the sacrifice of all those leaders, who have given us our present and hope for a bright future.

Jai Hind.