National Awards for Teachers

The National Award for Teachers (India) was instituted in the year 1958 to recognize meritorious teachers and award them the highest national recognition. Every year on the 5^th of September, the day we celebrate as Teachers’ Day, around 366 teachers are conferred with the honor, Rs. 25,000 cash award and a silver medal by the President of India.

This year the award was given to 374 teachers but nowhere have I found the names of these meritorious individuals. I can’t think of any reasons why the names should not be published. In fact, I feel it should be national front page news—something everybody gets to read the first thing in the morning on the 5^th of September. Why not? When we can glorify our movie stars, sportsmen, TV actors, singers etc, why can’t we make a grand affair of the best men and women who make a real difference in our lives? 

Teachers' strike--schools hit hard.

Teachers working in government schools in Andhra Pradesh have been on strike for more than a week now! The only outcome being-- the classes are discontinued in over 40,000 schools. And this is why we have not been able to visit some of the schools we had short listed for our Virtual Classroom.

That apart, the strike is such an unfortunate thing to happen for school children as if the holidays round the year aren’t enough! I was told that most teachers cannot finish their syllabus usually for whatever reasons, and this academic year with a very low number of working days and the strike still on, are we in for a grim pass percentage? And I say percentage because that’s the way we measure our students’ progress and their performance.  I hope JACTO (Joint Action Committee of Teachers’ Organizations) and the Government will come to a consensus soon.

A portal for Teachers of India

Teachers in India now have a website to be called their own. This is not school specific but a website for all teachers to collaborate, contribute and learn. Launched in August by the National Knowledge Commission in collaboration with a few non profit organizations, the site offers, for phase one, a section where articles, lessons plans, or any materials could be contributed which gets uploaded to the website accessible for other teachers to use. At present, the website can be read in five languages: Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. In future versions, we are told, there is much more coming up. Here’s a list of what functions the website will perform in the coming day:

    This Portal will offer resources related to:

1. Education Perspectives (Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Economics)

2. Classroom Practice (Principles of Pedagogy, Pedagogy of Language, Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, EVS, Art, Music, Dance, Sports) including manuals, activities, modules, tools, etc.

3. Subject Content (Language, Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, EVS, Art, Music, Dance, Sports)

4. Stories, Songs, Games that teachers can use in class

5. Reading Resources (including links to other websites/portals/on line library

6. Research Information

7. Specific Case Studies

 The following will also be available:

1. Information on organizations/Individuals/Resources (district-wise)

2. Career Information (government recruitment details and opportunities available in organizations and institutions)

3. Teacher education courses – both short term and long term

4. Workshops and Conferences

5. In-service training programs

6. News/information/articles on relevant current events

7. Awards (honors)

8. Calendar of events

I quite appreciate the effort. However, to make this functional and accessible to all teachers, it is necessary to also publicize the effort well, to make teachers aware of the ways in which it can help them. Needless to say, Internet in schools is essential too. But if the launch is planned carefully and implemented successfully, the cooperation and participation from the teachers, and above all their enthusiasm will no doubt sustain this effort effectively.

SBI's Teacher-Plus scheme

Here’s a little something for all the teachers out there....SBI (State Bank of India) has a special scheme called “Teacher- Plus”. They offer minimized interest rate when you take loans from the bank. isn't that nice? If you have plans to apply for a loan, you could check this out. This is what they have to say:

SBI recognizes the special position sanctioned for teachers in our society and is proud to introduce Teacher Plus - a special scheme for teachers placed under State and Central Governments as also under the deemed universities. Through Teacher Plus, you can avail of concessions in the rates of interest, processing charges and margin amounts in the following schemes:

* Personal Loan
* Car Loan
* Festival Loan
* Housing Loan

Get the details from here.

P.S: When you click the 'apply now' button, it takes you to the 'report a complain' page. It’ll be more helpful if you contact your nearest SBI branch.

Some of my favorite blogs on teaching...

Christina Laun has a comprehensive list of some “must reads” by teachers in Teaching Tips.com, a teachers’ resource website.

I went through the sites and blogs and I list my favorites here: (great find! thanks Christina :))

1. if bees are few
   
   
2. Teacher in a strange land
   
   
3. TeacherCount Blog
   
   
4. Artichoke
   
   
5. One crazy teacher to another
   
   
6. 21st century Teaching
   
   
7. Successful Teaching
   
   
8. The Teacher's View
   
   
9. The Teaching Professor
   
   
10. Ranting Teacher