There’s a Story to be drawn!

One day, while taking a class for sixth standard students, I asked them to take a look at picture and craft a story out of it. The exercise required them to study the details, the elements and the mood to create something original. While some of them did quite well and a few were able to recognize people and places in the picture, others were not able to come up with anything substantial.

However, I then asked them to draw a picture and the involvement immediately peaked. Putting crayons to paper, they unleashed their creativity, bringing ideas to life. While drawing, they might not have realized these were stories they were telling, so I wanted to make them aware. Once done, I put forth few questions to the students:

•      Where it happened?
•      Point out the characters
•      What are their names? Places?
•      What are they like?
•      Where is it?
•     Describe the picture

The detailed explanations I got made it amply clear how creative these children are. Pictures are rich in meaning, narrative and subtext. There’s a lot of information in illustration. If you don’t believe me, pick up a copy of office Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann. Every child may not be equally gifted but all have ways to express their imagination and fantasies. Look beyond the quality of the pictures to figure the tales they tell. It’s a fascinating experience.

As teachers, Parents or mentors, we should always praise them for their imaginative Ideas and take this opportunity to increase their confidence as story tellers.

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. 

Yoga day

People in all squares of the world are running after money and fame. Health is wealth is just a quotation in this robotic world. School children are the most busy bees these days. They have to study loads of syllabuses, do assignments, homeworks, projects, preparing for examinations the list goes on. Pupils are depending upon internet for small things as well. Actual essence of education is vanishing. It's an alarming sign to check our curriculum. So did the Andhra Pradesh state government. AP CM, Mr.Chandrababu Naidu has made meditation compulsory from this academic year to the classes 6th to 12th (Go. Ms No.37 Dt:07/06/2016). Yoga is already taught as an optional subject in Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas under the scholastic activity of physical education. 

What is yoga? Why yoga? 
 Yoga is an invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature and a holistic approach to health and well-being. Yoga is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with ourselves, the world and Nature.

 “Just as the mobile phone is now a part of your life, make yoga too a part of your life.” said PM of India, Narendra Modi on the occassion of international yoga day.

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee appealed the importance of Yoga. “Yoga  will enable us to live a healthy life. It will create overall harmony between body and mind. It will enhance mental and physical well-being.” 

Make yoga a part of your daily routine, I have started already :) 

Sources:
http://mea.gov.in/idy.htm
http://www.apteacher.net/GO/go37-Implementation-of-Yoga-Meditation-in-all-the-schools-Junior-Colleges.php
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/make-yoga-a-part-of-your-life-says-pm-modi/article8754725.ece
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/yoga-a-compulsory-subject-in-govt-run-schools-teacher-training-courses-smriti-irani/

Happy 2nd Birthday Telangana!

The baby turns two years :)

Telangana state formation day 

So happy to see the new state Telangana has completed two years. Massive changes in the new state. Especially in school education there has been a big transition. All the schools of Telangana are following CCE pattern. Successfully we are entering into the third year. Wishing all Telanganaities a happy future ahead.

Brain Print an innovative aptitude test

The most interesting and innovative thing in the world is human brain. We the humans are the top most creatures of the animal kingdom. Using (misusing) all the resources. Ability of human brain is ultimate, no one can caliber the actual potential of it.
The question is how many people use their brain completely(100%) in a given task? Researchers say, people use just 1% of their brain in most of their tasks. Reasons for it could be -
We might not be interested in that work. We have some other important task. Or something else. There could be infinite reasons for the 99% brain resting in subconscious state.

It happens with my students as well. Pupils just turn the pages without any interest. If we conduct any cultural program, everybody wants to join whole heartedly, 100% interest flashes on everyone. Meanwhile parents are worried and force their children to cut down other than academic activities. But parents forget what they did in their school life (same old drama). Parents themselves were carrying poor academic records and want their kid to become excel in it. It's the jeans that reflect in every individual says the professionals of BrainPrint.com

If you want to know the strengths and weaknesses of your child, inborn capabilities of your child here is a scientifically proven and design concept to discover the real future through Brain Print. Teenage years consists of more aggressive pruning as the brain begins to specialize and build an identity. BrainPrint, helps as a guideline for the youngsters on what type of courses one should take. The most interesting thing of this test is there is no written test or online test, they just take your finger prints. It shows everything about yourself. 

For more information: http://www.brainprint.in/index.php

EFF returns with another fresh tour

Indeed it was yet another amazing experience travelling so early at dawn towards Gandweed where our rural ZPH School locates, for the evaluating visit. The climate was extremely pleasant and enjoyable. Perhaps winter has just ended and with summer yet to begin, we were in the spring, the last weekend of the month of February and heading towards the close of yet another academic year. Fields were golden in color and the dry leaves covered the ground besides the tress on either sides of the road. Due to the friction of the air caused by the speeding vehicles, the leaves blew up in the air giving us a sort of excitement. Although pretty soon there will be greenery all around the country side.
With this thought, volunteers from different professions and I reached the school around 10 in the morning. Although there is constant interaction with the students through virtual classes, they were very excited and awaited for us in their classrooms to be evaluated of their skills in almost all categories such as reading, writing, speaking and addressing speech, grammar, sports, painting and last but not the least attitude and behaviors.

Here are a few experiences of the volunteers who have helped us make the whole day event a very successful one.

It was the first time for me to visit the school. Initially when my friend had told me about the visit, I wasn't very excited or convinced about having a good time there. Yet I thought that I could go for it just like any other jolly trip. But as I started to interact with the students, I was encouraged to conduct more activities. I was given classes 8th and 9th Telugu medium students.  In both the classes most of the students were active although all the students communicated well when they are being encouraged. what I realized after that they have the knowledge but were unable to express their thoughts. As they were from Telugu medium their English speaking skills weren't as good as the counterparts but given some encouragement they can perform well in the future.   

Personally for me, it was a great opportunity to be a part of such an event and I would like to be part of EFF as a volunteer whenever required - Rama Krishna

Teaching is fun and exciting when the curriculum is well matched with the student's interests and abilities, when you teach the right things at the right way motivation takes care by itself, A few students were enthusiastic about learning but most of them require the grading system, every day motivational will definitely bring a lot of improvement among the students. Most of the pupils have to overcome the fear of standing in front of the class to speak, If one is boosted the rest of the students follow. XI class EM is well mannered. - Vinai David.

I t was my third visit to the school.It was a great experience to interact with the students. They all recognized me and I was welcomed with a heart-felt smile. I took classes for 7th as well as 9th class Telugu medium students. They were more enthusiastic as compared to my earlier visits and showed active participation in all the activities conducted.I could tell through my observation that though these students are highly potential as per academics is concerned but few of them are weak at expressing it in English language. They can enhance their skills provided they are guided supported in the right way. Ultimately that filled me with great satisfaction, memories and motivation to participate in the future programs. - Venkey

This was my second visit to this school cause I love being with children. I was surprised to see Telugu medium students speaking English so well. The students were very active and energetic during the class. I felt a sense of pride to be part of EFF who are reaching out the poor and needy children in the school - Ravi

EFF is doing a great work for the students who are not so fortunate. I observed  lot of difference in the students with their speaking, writing and listening abilities since my last two visits, this being the third. Class VI Em students are very smart and active, they make mistakes in speaking but still come forward and speak without any hesitation. They have the desire to learn and speak in English. Expect a few students, most of them are good at speaking English. - Naga Raju

At the outset, I want to convey my gratitude to the EFF for giving me this opportunity to interact with the school children.This is my first ever event of this kind and I enjoyed every bit of it. The students were very keen on listening to what was taught to them and responded generously to the questions. They were very active and enthusiastic to know new things. Especially in drawing, they are far beyond my expectations. I am very glad to attend this event. - Chaitanya

I could see a lot of improvement and progress among the students, especially the VII Telugu medium students as shown in the picture above - Sudha

Students are conveying their gratefulness about  EFF

Appreciating the students and teachers for their corporation with EFF

Distributing  prizes for all-round performance in the classroom events.

At the end of the day's activities, Mr. Venkat one of the volunteer gave a wonderful illustration by comparing farmers, fields and crops to parents, children and studies and books respectively. It was a very inspiring one and I believe it inspired many of them as the kids were seen applauding for a very long time after the speech.

To everyone's surprise the day's effort by the EFF team, their involvement into different schools, their positive attitude in reaching out with a new theory and quality education, motivating pupils  by gifting them with various important inspirational educational subject books that would help them in their future was published by one of the well noted daily news paper SAKSHI and couple of other news media covering every step of EFF. To conclude the media in a nut shell Published that EFF is doing wonders.