Shifting children from

October 2016 Rs.40

INTERVIEWKAVITHA LANKESH

CHILD TRACKINGAND SAFETY APPS

FOUR WAYS TOACTION-PACKED DAYS

SHIFTING CHILDRENFROM GREED TO GRATITUDE

WHAT DOES IT TAKETO NURTURE SPORTSCHAMPIONS?

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

NURTURING 21st CENTURY CHILDREN

PARENTSWORLD 3

he recently concluded XXXI Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro thoroughly exposed 21st century India’s failure in developing the country’s abundant human resource. It’s shocking beyond belief that the world’s most populous democracy of 1.25 billion citizens could produce only two also-ran medal winners, without even

one gold. Quite clearly, there’s something radically wrong with the country’s education system because schools and colleges are the nurseries of sports champions. Obviously, in the country’s education institutions, sports and games are accorded ritual, rather than real importance.

However the Rio Olympics also provided some athletes the opportunity to shine and succeed despite the disadvantages of an inadequate education system and a national mindset which dismisses sports education as a peripheral adjunct of academics. Badminton star P.V. Sindhu, wrestler Sakshi Malik, and gymnast Dipa Karmakar — all women who suffer double discrimination including gender ridicule — stood up to the world’s best athletes trained by the world’s best coaches supported by excellent training facilities and infrastructure, and gave exemplary account of themselves. Ditto Rio Paralympics 2016 stars such as Deepa Malik, Devendra Jhahjaria, and Mariappan Thangavelu who succeeded in winning gold medals despite even worse training facilities.

The critical x factor which enabled these extraordinary athletes to best far better fed, trained and enabled athletes to win honours and accolades for the nation is parental and home support which offsets the neglect of education institutions and sports associations infested by self-serving politicians and bureaucrats focused upon the perquisites of office rather than development of talent. Every medal winner for India succeeded despite the indifference of the system because she was encouraged and enabled by liberal, empathetic and loving parents.

In this issue of ParentsWorld, our cover story discusses ways and means for parents to encourage and nurture children to become sports champions without sacrificing academics. Indeed we argue that participation in sports and games for the sheer joy of play and achievement enables better academic learning outcomes.

There’s much else in this fourth issue of ParentsWorld (an affiliate publication of EducationWorld) driven by the conviction that formal early childhood, school and even collegiate education, needs to be supplemented with parental support. We believe this combination can develop happy, healthy and enabled children who are likely to succeed in academics, the performing arts, sports and indeed in life, to become responsible and valued citizens who will cooperate to build a fair, just and equitable society.

We trust you are enjoying every issue of ParentsWorld, and look forward to hearing from you. Do mail in your feedback to aid and enable us to improve and develop ParentsWorld whose raison d’etre is optimal development of India’s abundant, but grossly neglected human resource.

TEDITOR

Dilip Thakore

MANAGING EDITOR

Summiya Yasmeen

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Cynthia John

CHIEF SUB-EDITOR

Sundar Anand

Paromita Sengupta, Sujata Chowdhury, Jeswant J.M, Gopi Chand N (Bangalore)

Consulting Editor: Divya Sreedharan

CHIEF EXECUTIVEBhavin Shah +91 9867382867

South India: S. Vijaya Lakshmi 080 3052 2227, Poonam Shah 9731966373 North: Hannan Ahmed 9810302768 West: Tejas Pattni (General Manager) 9022487997Central India: Ajay Kumar 9302134083

GRAPHICS

Chethan Mani

EDITORIAL & MARKETING

703-704, 7th Floor, Devatha Plaza

132 Residency Road

Bangalore 560 025.

Tel: 080 30574823; Fax: 2227 5962;

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.educationworld.in

Printed and published by Dilip Thakore on behalf of DT Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Rajhans Enterprises, 134, 4th Main, Industrial Town, Rajajinagar, Bangalore-44. Published at 703-704, Devatha Plaza, 132 Residency Road, Bangalore 560 025. Editor: Dilip Thakore

RNI No. KARENG/2016/68455


V o l u m e I N o .4

CONTENTN U R T U R I N G 2 1 s t C E N T U R Y C H I L D R E N

NEWS BYTES

Raising confidentchildren

Shifting children from greed to gratitude

Shining allure of the fashion business

Be ‘active’ in teaching values to children

Four ways to action-packed days

EducationWorld India School Rankings Awards 2016

EducationWorld Grand Jury Awards 2016

EW Lifetime Achievement in Education Leadership Award 2016

Help children visualise to improve learning

Storytelling to light that inner spark“Important to raise children as humanists”

COVER STORY

EXPERT COMMENT

MANNERS & MORES

CAREERS WATCH

ASK YOUR COUNSELLOR

HEALTH & NUTRITION

SPOTLIGHT FEATURE

ACADEMIC ADVANTAGE

ACTIVITY ZONE INTERVIEW: KAVITHA LANKESH

8

PARENTSWORLD 4

What does it take to nurture sports champions?

5

12

27

15

18

34

16

13

14

20

22

26

28SCHOOL PROFILE

Greenwood High International School Bangalore

DEEPA CHOPRA SHARMA

Child tracking and safety appsRESOURCES

6

INDULEKHA SURENDRANATH

SUNIL NORONHA

AUDREY KRISBERGH

101 GREAT CAREERS FOR THE 21st CENTURY

21 SCHOOLS OF THE 21st CENTURY

DIVYA SREEDHARAN

FUN WITH WORDS7

Fascinating Palindromes

Shining allure of the fashion business

Storytelling to light that inner spark

28

Greenwood High International School Bangalore

21 SCHOOLS OF THE 21st CENTURY

PARENTSWORLD 5

NEWS BYTES


Healthy diet boosts reading skills

Children whose diet includes vegetables, fruits, berries, whole grain, fish and unsaturated fats and minimal sugar-based products, helps them

develop better reading skills than peers with less bal-anced diets, reveals a study published in the Europe-an Journal of Nutrition (September). The correlation of diet with reading skills is “independent of confound-ing factors, such as socio-economic status, physical activity, body adiposity and physical fitness,” says Eero Haapala, researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, who conducted the study.

For the study, researchers tested the reading skills of 161 six-eight years olds. Their daily diets were ana-lysed using food diaries and their learning outcomes measured through standardised tests. The study showed that a wholesome diet leads to children de-veloping better reading skills in their first three school years. The recommended diet is rich in vegetables, fruits and berries, fish, whole grain, and unsaturated fats and low in red meat, sugary products, and satu-rated fats. “Parents and schools have an important role in making healthy foods available to children. Furthermore, governments and companies play a key role in promoting the availability and production of healthy foods,” says Haapala.

Brain abnormalities affect maths skills

Abnormalities in parts of the brain which support procedural memory can substantially affect the mathematical abilities of children, says another

study published in Frontiers in Psychology (Septem-ber). The study conducted by Tanya M. Evans, a post-doctoral student at Stanford University, and Michael

T. Ullman, professor of neuroscience at Georgetown University, reveals how cognitive developmental prob-lems result in “math disability”.

Procedural memory is a learning and memory system crucial for the automatisation of non-conscious skills, such as driving or grammar. Its development is dependent upon a network of brain structures, includ-ing the basal ganglia and regions in the frontal and parietal lobes. “Various domains, including math, read-ing and language, seem to depend on both procedural as well as declarative memory — where conscious knowledge is learned… when procedural memory is impaired, the evidence suggests children may have math disability, dyslexia or developmental language disorder. However, declarative memory — where con-scious knowledge is absorbed — often compensates to some extent,” says Dr. Ullman.

The researchers state that their theory, christened the procedural deficit hypothesis of math disability, “offers a powerful, brain-based approach for under-standing the disorder, and could help guide future re-search”. “We believe understanding the role of memory systems in these disorders should lead to diagnostic advances and are possible targets for interventions,” says Ullman.

Obese kids show high risk of diabetes, heart disease

Obese children are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, heart and liver disease, according to a study published in the Journal of Paediatrics

and Child Health (September). The study examined the health and well-being of over 200 obese children aged four-16 years who were participating in the Whanau Pakari programme, staged in Taranaki, New Zealand, over 12 months.

The study led by Dr. Yvonne Anderson of the Uni-versity of Auckland, found that 75 percent of obese children showed signs of inflammation and increasing long-term heart disease risk; 40 percent displayed physical signs of high risk Type 2 diabetes; 47 per-cent had at least one abnormal liver function test; 11 percent recorded abnormal blood pressure and 50 percent snored four or more nights a week — sugges-tive of obstructive sleep apnoea.

“These children are not just carrying a bit of extra weight — they also exhibit health indicators that can be life-limiting if left unaddressed,” says Dr. Anderson, a paediatrician and co-author of the study.

PARENTSWORLD 6

RESOURCES


Once upon a time, parents encouraged their chil-dren to walk to school and allowed them to play unsupervised on the roads. Today, the simple

daily routine of home-school-tuition-activity classes leaves parents fraught with worry. There is reason to worry. According to the well-known NGO Child Rights and You (CRY), every day 180 children go missing in India.

Fortunately, technology can alleviate some of these ap-prehensions by using hi-tech tracking devices and safety apps or applications that can be downloaded and used on smartphones. Listed below are two child safety apps I highly recommend to parents for installation on their cell phones.

1 Life360Increasingly, parents are giving their children, particularly teens, smartphones to stay in touch with them through the day. Download and install Life360, a popular family networking app and mobile security service, onto your and your children’s smartphones. Once installed, the app

can pinpoint the location of your child and/or any family member on a map. Communicate with them, and receive alerts when they return from school, and are safely home.

Once you set up a Life360 account, you can build a circle of users. The free version of the app allows circle members to pinpoint each other’s precise location and share it privately, and saves the location history of mem-bers for the past 48 hours. The paid version of the app keeps track of location history for 30 days.

Life360 Features‘PLACES’ FEATURE. Sets up geo-fencing around frequently-visited places such as tuition class, home, school, etc. The app stores daily reports and photos, and sends notifica-tions every time the child and/or family member visits these places.MULTIPLE CIRCLES. While using the app, children can also have their own circles to keep track of parents, friends, teachers or extended family.EMERGENCY ALERT. This is a press button with three stored emergency numbers. If your child is in trouble, she can press the button to send a help alert. A phone call, SMS or email will go to the contacts, notifying them of the child’s location.

2 It’s My ChildThis app is a comprehensive, real-time platform which enables parents to keep tabs of children’s overall devel-opment and safety. The app also gives children instant access to the police, child helplines, school and parents. It can be downloaded on both iPhone and Android phones.

It’s My Child FeaturesSCHOOL NOTIFICATIONS. This allows school administra-tors and teachers to contact parents privately or through group chats.ANALYTICS. This app compiles academic, health, career and aptitude reports on each child.EMERGENCY ALERT. It transmits an sms, missed call or email to six registered contacts notifying them of the child’s location.QUICK UPDATES. Provides updates of your child’s journey to her destination. It also alerts parents if a child is late to school for sports/dance practice or supplementary tuition.EVENTS CALENDAR. The app records information and sends out timely reminders of school events such as awards, parent-teacher meetings and after-school practice sessions.HEALTH FEATURE. It enables parents to maintain children’s health records online.SOCIAL SAFE. The app promotes safe online behaviour by tracking your child’s Internet browsing history/pattern. It also alerts parents if inappropriate/unsafe keywords are being used online by children.

CHILDTRACKING

AND SAFETY APPS

INDULEKHA SURENDRANATH

PARENTSWORLD 7

FUN WITH WORDS


Introduce your child to the fascinating world of palindromes with these common palindromic words — nun, noon, kayak, madam, and redder

A palindrome is a word, sentence, or a series of numbers that read the same backward or forward. The meaning of the word or the phrase doesn’t

change even when it is read in reverse. The most common palindromes in English are character-unit palindromes, e.g Malayalam and Eve.

The oldest and most famous palindrome dates back to 79 AD. It is called the Sator Square. It is a sentence written in Latin: “Sator arepo tenet opera rotas.” It is interesting to note that in this sentence the first letters of each word form the first word, the second letters form the second word, and so on. Thus, it can be arranged into a word square that reads in four different ways: horizontally or vertically from either top left to bottom right or bottom right to top left.

LONGEST PALINDROMIC WORDS‘Redivider’ is believed to be the longest palindromic word, whereas ‘Detartrated’ is a lesser known palindromic sci-entific term. This scientific term refers to something from which tartrates are reduced or removed through a detartra-tion process. The word ‘Tattarrattat’, meaning knock on the door, was coined by writer James Joyce in Ulysses. The word ‘Aibohphobia,’ a palindrome, translates into fear of palindromes.

PALINDROME IN SENTENCES OR PHRASESPalindromes also exist in phrases or sentences. However, in case of palindromic sentences or phrases, punctuation, capitalization, and spacing are ignored. Following are some examples of palindromic sentences or phrases:Able was I ere I saw Elba.A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.Lisa Bonet ate no basil.Stressed desserts.Ma is as selfless as I am.Same nice cinemas.Live not on evil.Madam in Eden, I’m Adam.

PALINGRAMSA palingram is a sentence in which the letters, syllables, or words read the same backward as they do forward. The sen-tence, “He was, was he?” is a word palingram, because the words can be placed in reverse order and still read the same. The sentence, “I did, did I?” is not only a word palingram but a palindrome as well.

NON-LINGUISTIC PALINDROMESA palindromic number is a number such that if we reverse the digits, the number will not change. In the field of acous-tics there are palindromes in which a recorded phrase of speech sounds the same when it is played backward. Some music compositions are based on palindromic themes while palindromic patterns are also found in the genetic material of an organism.

FascinatingPALINDROMESVASUNDHARA SAVARIKAR

PARENTSWORLD 8

COVER STORY


Nurturing sports champions also requires the emotional, physical, mental and financial support of parents’ communities

The achievements of sportspersons wearing national colours in international sports and games arenas reflect a country’s human development success. That’s why a nation’s

champions arouse great expectations and generate great exultation or intense disappointment. At the recently concluded Rio Olympics 2016, of the 118 sportspersons wearing India colours, only two — P.V. Sindhu (badminton silver medallist), Sakshi Malik (wrestling bronze) — made it to the winners’ podium, indicating a massive human development failure reflected in UNDP’s Human Development Report 2016. The pathetic also-ran status of Indian athletes in the Rio Olympics raises the billion-dollar question: Can this nation of 1.2 billion ever produce world champions? If so, what’s the formula?

Lack of sports infrastructure, deep social inequalities, government indifference and funds shortages are the oft cited reasons for India’s dismal performance in international sports arenas. Therefore quite obviously, getting Indian athletes and sportspersons on international sports podiums requires collective effort. It requires government support as well as a revolutionary mindset

change within the academic and parents’ communities to accept that sports education is as important as academics. Moreover, it’s necessary to create a national sports culture in which parents and managements of the country’s 1.4 million schools, 37,000 colleges and 744 universities actively promote health, fitness activities and sports. Nurturing sports champions requires commitment from sportspersons and the emotional, physical, mental and financial support of parents’ communities.

Unfortunately, the plain truth is that most Indian parents and households discourage children from taking to sports and athletics widely believed to be inimical to academic achievement. “Most families want their children to become doctors or accountants. Sports talents would be (sic) persuaded by family and even neighbours, stopping them from taking part in high-level competitions,” comments a Chinese website (www.chinanews.com) derisively in an analysis of India’s Rio debacle.

PLAYING SPORTS HAS MULTIPLE BENEFITS. Many parents don’t realise that when they encourage their children to participate in sports from a young age, they are enriching

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO NURTURE sports champions?

CYNTHIA JOHN

PARENTSWORLD 9

their children’s lives and developing their character. According to Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund), games, sports and play, by virtue of being “participatory processes”, are socially valuable activities which build “healthy habits, strong bodies, prevent disease, and also teach children life-skills”. Unicef strongly advocates children’s participation in sports and development of national sports cultures, because it “promotes associated communication, education and social interaction among children”.

“Indian parents tend to be over-focused on academic success. They are seldom aware of the important role sports and games play in children’s development, and the connection between workplace productivity and health and fitness. Physical well-being apart, participation in sports and games teaches children important life-skills such as concentration, pressure management, teamwork and mag-nanimity in defeat,” says Ashwini Nachappa, former national track and field sports star and Arjuna awardee.

BEGIN EARLY AND INTRODUCE TO MANY SPORTS. Encouraging children to participate in sports has to be

a natural, organic process. “Children should be exposed and encouraged to take up multiple sports, early in life. Which means, by the time they are 11 or 12, they can choose the sport they enjoy the best and specialise,” says Saumil Majmudar, co-founder and CEO, EduSports Pvt. Ltd, which offer sports education and development programmes to over 500 schools countrywide.

Moreover, it’s important to make sports a family routine. “When children witness their parents exercising and/or playing a sport, they are motivated to emulate them. Parents need to lead by example,” adds Majmudar.

Therefore unsurprisingly, a large number of India’s most successful sportspersons, including tennis stars Leander Paes and Sania Mirza, were nurtured in sports-loving households. Vece Paes was a midfielder in the podium-finish Indian field hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and Leander’s mother Jennifer captained the Indian basketball team in the 1980 Asian championship. World tennis doubles #1 Sania Mirza’s father Imran Mirza was passionate about playing sports (cricket and tennis) and encouraged her to play from an early age.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO NURTURE sports champions?

PARENTSWORLD 10

PLAY FOR FUN, NOT WINNING. For parents, it’s important to provide opportunities and encouragement for children to play sports without focusing on winning. No world champion ever started playing with the objective of becoming world #1. They started playing for enjoyment. “Playing for the sake of playing and enjoyment is how almost all top-ranked athletes started. When children are not weighed down by unrealistic expectations, they enjoy playing voluntarily and practice for thousands of hours which is how champions are made. Forcing children to take up a particular sport can be counter-productive,” says karate national champion and 4th Dan Black Belt holder Ashwini Krishna.

Adds George Selleck, a California-based sports psychologist and advisor to EduSports, Bangalore and EducationWorld’s sports education columnist: “For most people there has to be a defined objective, a definite goal. Without that goal, they think an activity is not worth

COVER STORY


Provide nutritious diets rich in protein. Food is fuel and children need carbohydrates and proteins. Eggs, nuts, sprouts and vegetables are best.

Prepare a well-planned training schedule while balancing academics. Parents might need to convince schools/teachers about the need to spend time in training and practice.

To do list forSPORTS PARENTS

Insist on adequate rest for the body to recover and cope with the exertions of training and practice.

Provide moral support. Children respond to success and failure in different (sometimes inappropriate) ways. Understanding parents can help to minimise stress and ensure children are emotionally balanced.

pursuing. In sports, the opposite is true. Playing for the sake of playing and having fun has led to the development of some of the best players in the world. No world-beating athlete started running and playing with the objective of becoming a world-beater. They played for fun… Therefore I would advise you to take a close look at your child. Is she enjoying the sport she plays?”

EXCELLENCE REQUIRES INTENSIVE PRACTICE. Countless hours of practice and perseverance go into the development of champions. “After your child becomes serious about a sport, three-four hours of training every day becomes mandatory. This includes physical fitness training as well as training in the specific sport. Parents need to be able to efficiently manage children’s school, coaching sessions and their work commitments,” says Esther Bernard, a Bangalore-based former national roller skating champion who represented India at the World Championships (France, 2001).

Edusports, Bangalore’s Saumil Majmudar Roller skating champion Esther Bernard

According to Bernard, it’s also important for parents to manage their finances to pay for initial training. “Professional coaching is an expensive proposition, and expenses relating to events and equipment can be a heavy burden on the household budget which is why many dissuade children from taking up a sport seriously. Unfortunately in India, funding has to come from parents as sponsors are rare, particularly for off-beat sports such as skating, swimming, gymnastics, etc,” says Bernard.

PARENTS MUST MAKE SACRIFICES. Manjunath N, a Bangalore-based gymnastics coach and dance master, warns that a sports training regimen can be both

time and life-consuming. “Parents need to make the time to pick and drop children from training sessions, provide nutritious diets and accompany them to sports competitions across the country. This requires a lot of sacrifices. Nurturing a champion can make it impossible for parents to have a social life,” he says.

SPORTS ENABLES ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. Yet the biggest worry of most households is that children playing sports will lose study time resulting in poor exams scores and grades. These fears tend to be over-blown because healthy bodies create healthy minds and improve concentration. According to the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), “there is an evolving international trend that student athletes able to balance sports training with education seem to be very successful at the Olympics level. While training loads for elite athletes are demanding, study, career or interests outside of sport could also provide perspective for student athletes. It also provides platforms to develop and enhance professional skills, helping student athletes to be accountable and resilient people in life and sport.” At Rio Olympics 2016, Australian athletes won 29 medals, including eight gold.

Therefore, the revival of Indian sports and building a national sports culture requires the wholehearted cooperation of parents. By encouraging children to play sports and games, parents not only enable the overall development of children but also widen the pool of players and athletes from which champions will emerge.

But at the same time, it’s important to bear in mind that all children can’t become Olympic gold winners or high-performing sportspersons. By becoming enthusiastic cheerleaders of children in sports regardless of outcomes, parents can enrich the development of children in ways that classroom instruction can’t match.

SPORTS-BASED MOVIESChariots of FireBhaag, Milkha, BhaagTouch the WallThe Karate KidFreaky AliLagaan

MOTIVATIONAL BOOKSHow Champions Think: In Sports and in Life by Bob RotellaSix Machine: I don’t like Cricket... I love it by Chris GayleAce Against Odds by Sania MirzaChicken Soup for the Sports Fan’s Souls AB de Villiers: The Autobiography

Inspire yourCHILD

PARENTSWORLD 11

EXPERT COMMENT


PARENTS WORLD 12

Raising confidentCHILDREN

Confidence is critical to achiev-ing success in life. It’s a child’s armour against the challenges of

the world. Children who know their strengths and weaknesses and have positive self-image are well-equipped to deal with conflicts and resist negative pressures. It’s important for parents to be aware of the signs of both confident and under-confident children. Children with low self-confidence hold negative self-images and tend to give up easily and/or are overly critical of themselves. On the other hand, children with healthy self-confidence learn to accept challenges, focusing on solutions rather than their inabilities.

The early years are the golden age for parents to raise and nurture confi-dent children. Here are some strategies parents can use to build confidence in their children:POSITIVE REFLECTIONS. A child’s first learning about her self-image starts from home. When you give your child positive reflections, she learns to think well of herself. ‘You are a star’, ‘you did this so well’, ‘Wow! You dance so well’. Such encouraging words play a vital role in shaping a child’s personal-ity. Appreciate them often but take care not to over-praise or empty-praise them. Over-praising can lead to chil-dren harbouring unrealistic expecta-tions about themselves.RECOGNISE CHILDREN’S ACHIEVEMENTS.

It’s important that you celebrate your child’s small wins and encourage her to improve and climb up the ladder.

The roots of self-confidence are either born or broken in childhood. Negative words have the power to wound while praise empowers children.FOCUS ON STRENGTHS RATHER THAN

WEAKNESSES. Parents need to un-derstand that children can’t excel in everything. We have to learn to accept differences in abilities and help them build on their strengths rather than focus on their weaknesses. While it’s important for children to know their shortcomings and work on overcom-ing them, they aren’t defined by them. Therefore, resist the temptation to over-discuss them.DON’T COMPARE AND CRITICISE. Indian parents tend to constantly compare their children with siblings or friends. Such comparisons undermine a child’s confidence. Instead, you should encourage your child to benchmark against herself.ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO PURSUE HOB-

BIES/INTERESTS. Encourage your child to develop hobbies and pursue them. Performing arts is an excellent way to develop confidence. Whether it’s vocal music, dance, instrumental music or theatre, practice allows children to express themselves creatively and face large audiences. Sports participation also provides an excellent arena to develop self-confidence. But don’t force a particular hobby/sport upon them. Let children pursue an activity which interests them.PREACH WHAT YOU TEACH. Don’t ‘teach’ your children confidence through lectures and comparisons, but by action and demonstration. Lead by example as children observe and imi-tate the actions of adults. It’s vital that

parents model their confident selves for children to emulate and practice.ALLOW THEM TO MAKE MISTAKES

Children learn by trying things out for themselves. It might take them longer to do something, but you need to be patient and give them time and space to try, fail and learn from their mistakes. Failure followed by success gives a massive boost to children’s self-confidence.MAKE TIME FOR CHILDREN. All parents struggle to balance family, home, work and friends. But it’s important to spend quality time with your children. Budget time, during which your focus is entirely on your children without distractions. Intimate interaction with them will boost their confidence.

The journey of transforming a cau-tious and fearful child into a confident individual cannot happen overnight. It takes time and patience to turn things around. It’s important that we nurture, love and accept them for who they are as such acceptance prepares children for the transformational journey ahead.

DEEPA CHOPRA SHARMA

Children who know their strengths and

weaknesses and have positive self-image are well-equipped to deal

with conflicts and resist negative pressures

(Deepa Chopra Sharma is a Delhi-based child and marital counselor)

The demands of fam-ily, work and social obligations leave most mothers drained and depleted... Bangalore-

based fitness expert Sneha Arora shares four easy ways to boost energy levels, even on busiest of days.

1. GET A GOOD STARTStart your day by detoxifying. Drink a glass of lime juice mixed with honey. It does wonders for the body — cleanses the liver and provides a healthy mix of vitamin C and B, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.

At breakfast, ensure a good mix of proteins, minerals, water, calcium and carbohydrates. South Indian breakfasts which include idlis, poha and dosas with their accompaniments tend to be heavy on carbohydrates and light on proteins. Add extra protein by way of two egg whites or a cup of soya chunks or tofu, sprouts or cooked beans.

2. CHANGE EATING PATTERN Better than three big meals daily, most nutritionists advise six small meals spread through the day. This way, you refuel the body without add-ing on fat. Choose what works best for your body.

Easily available nuts such as groundnuts, almonds, walnuts, and flax, pumpkin, sunflower and wa-termelon seeds are good sources of protein. Powdered watermelon seeds also improve the flavour of curries. In preparations that involve cashew,

substitute them with ground pump-kin/watermelon seeds. These are healthier and less expensive options.

Try a vegetable or fruit salad before every meal. But cut down on salt or readymade salad dressings loaded with hidden calories. Instead, try hung curd or lime juice as healthy salad dressing.

3. EXERCISE TO ENERGISE It’s a misconception that exercise will leave you exhausted. On the contrary, it recharges, refreshes and gives you that much-needed extra shot of energy and endorphins or feel-good hormones to discharge daily tasks efficiently. Moreover, with regular exercise, the body secretes serotonin while we sleep or relax, enhancing well-being.

Budget at least 45-60 minutes to exercise five-six days per week. Op-tions include gymming, group exercise, sports, martial arts or dance at pro-fessionally-managed gyms and sports centres. Walking is also a good option, if you prefer milder activity. But the pace must be brisk. For joggers, alter-nate between running and walking.

Start at a comfortable pace and gradu-ally increase it. This strengthens your body and builds stamina.

Our body has hundreds of muscles that we don’t know of. Give them a good workout. Also ensure you consume eight-ten glasses of water through the day. The human body is made up of 50-70 percent water and adequate water intake is needed to keep joints lubricated and maintain digestive functions.

4. GET ENOUGH SLEEP Rejuvenating growth hormones are released by the body into our blood stream during sleep. They repair and restore body damage. How much sleep you need varies among individu-als. While some adults feel refreshed with six hours of sleep, others need eight-nine hours. Keep off mobiles and other electronic devices for one-two hours before bedtime for deeper sleep. And maintain a consistent sleep schedule — going to bed and waking up at approximately the same time each day. This will regulate your internal body clock.

HEALTH & NUTRITION

NURTURING 21ST CENTURY LEARNERS

Four ways to ACTION-PACKED DAYS

PARENTS WORLD 13

SNEHA ARORA

STAMINA-BOOSTER SMOOTHIE

Blend a beetroot, carrot and tomato with a small piece of bitter gourd. Add a slice of fruit as sweetener. Try this concoction before or after a workout or before any high-energy activity. The nitrogen dioxide in beetroot pumps oxygen to the muscles and boosts energy levels.

MY BOYS AGED NINE AND SIX YEARS NEED TO DEVELOP A STRONG VALUES SYSTEM. HOW DO I TEACH THEM VALUES WITHOUT BEING TOO PREACHY? — Siri Tandon, Chandigarh

One of the biggest challenges of parenting is to inculcate the right values and morals in children

from a young age. Like ethics these are intangibles that fall under the larger umbrella of ‘behaviour’. Values are the rules by which individuals make decisions about what must be done or avoided. Morals are the ‘good vs. bad’ rules rooted within a community and often, passed down generations. Ethics, on the other hand, are a specific set of rules within groups of people to ensure effective and balanced functioning of society.ACTIVE ROLE MODELS. “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet (1803-1882) famously.

This quote embodies the mantra for helping children to imbibe values. Children observe and imitate the significant adults in their lives. Therefore, you need to practice the values you wish to introduce to your boys. If they observe you/family members telling lies, being rude, procrastinating, blaming others, paying bribes, eating unhealthy food, etc, they will begin to believe this is acceptable behaviour and translate it into action in their own lives. We are their ‘active’ role models, so it’s important for you to lead by example.PASSIVE ROLE MODELS. Books, cartoons, movies, online/video games, etc you choose for your boys serve as ‘passive’ role models. Exercise great care in selecting age-appropriate books, cartoons, movies, etc as they

can introduce them to violence and inappropriate language usage, and encourage them to break rules. In a materialistic age, where marketers are constantly reinforcing that ‘having more’ is the secret to happiness, you need to educate children about the importance of giving, not just receiving.

SHOULD I ENROLL MY CHILD IN VALUES EDUCATION CLASSES? WILL IT BE HELPFUL? — Trisha P, Hyderabad

Some schools and hobby classes introduce children to ‘values education’ through experiential activities set

within artificial environments. The objective of these class-es is to help children incorporate essential values, morals and ethics held dear within their communities or groups. It won’t do any harm if you enroll your child in a values education class, as learning by doing and peer interac-tion helps develop crucial life skills. But keep in mind that children will only internalise such learning when the home ecosystem supports similar values, ethics and morals.

For instance, when children observe adults at home or see their heroes on television behave differently, they will then abandon or modify the learning to imitate the adult/hero. The home environment, therefore, must be balanced with opportunities to observe, practise and develop values learnt from active and passive role models, and in value education classes.

ASK YOUR COUNSELOR


Be ‘active’ in teaching VALUES TO CHILDREN

PARENTS WORLD 14

(Aarti Rajaratnam is director of Child Guidance Center and Coun-seling Clinic, Salem/Chennai)

AARTI RAJARATNAM

“Mommy, I want that video game. Josh has it and it is so much fun.”“Dad, I just have to have Nike sneakers. The others

aren’t as good.”“Mom, I need to go to the movies tonight. All the kids are going. It’s a really cool movie.”

An endless stream of sophisti-cated and unrelenting media entices children to continue to want things they believe they must have. It’s a parental duty to teach children, over time, to control their impulses, to develop greater judgement, and to become less egocentric. You can do this by helping them differentiate between needs and wants, by teach-ing them the concept of “enough,” and by encouraging them to become empathetic.

Why Do Parents Spoil Their Children?Sometimes you may play into your children’s hunger for material objects for any number of reasons.• You may not be entirely clear about your own values with regard to mate-rial things.• You may fall prey to the “keeping up with the Joneses” frenzy we all live with.• You may have a sense of not being satisfied with what you yourself have.• You may want your children to have the kinds of things you feel you missed out on when you were a child.• You may be ambivalent about set-ting limits. You don’t want your chil-

dren to be disappointed or frustrated. And you want them to like you.• And, of course, it’s a pleasure to give to your children.

While all of these motivations are understandable, they make it more difficult to teach children gratitude and learning to appreciate what they have.

It is tempting to want to make your children’s lives easier and to protect them from disappointments, frustrations, failures and mistakes. But as Dan Kindlon states in his book Too Much of a Good Thing (2001), we can’t protect our children from the pains of growing up. “Mon-ey and material things can’t protect our children from the discomforts of maturation and it can’t buy them character either.” Children need to learn responsibility, to delay gratifica-tion, to tolerate frustration, to cope with failure and disappointment.

What Can Parents Do?There are many things you could consider doing so your children develop the skills and attitudes to help them avoid being labelled as “spoiled”. You can teach children im-portant life skills that will set them on a course of appreciation, moderation and responsibility. Some suggestions:• Set limits and say “no” when appropriate. For example, “No, it doesn’t work for me to have Sarah sleep over tonight.”• Help them to delay gratification by not giving them everything they want. For example, “No, we don’t

have time to stop for ice cream tonight.”• Don’t make things too easy for them. Allow children to experience frustration in appropriate doses. For example, “I know learning to tie your shoe laces is hard, but I know you can do it. I can talk you through the steps as you try it one more time.”• Let children experience a moder-ate amount of disappointment and then teach them how to deal with it. For example, “It is disappointing you weren’t invited to Billy’s party. Is there something else you want to plan for that night?”• Teach them how to make amends when they have hurt someone. For example, “You knocked down your brother’s tower that he worked all day to build. What can you do to help him feel better?”• Hold them accountable for their be-haviour. For example, “Even though your teacher didn’t post the assign-ment online, you are still responsible for finding out what is your home-work.”

You can raise children who ap-preciate what they have, learn to give back, and develop skills that help them accept responsibility and challenges. Then you can feel good “indulging” them a bit by giving things to them on birthdays and holidays and all through the year, knowing that they will show gratitude and appreciation.


Shifting children fromGREED TOGRATITUDE

MANNERS & MORES

(Audrey Krisbergh is a US-based Certified Parenting Educator — www.centreforparentingeducation.org)

PARENTS WORLD 15

PARENTSWORLD 16


Bangalore-based Kavitha Lankesh is a national-awards winner feature/documentary film director. Born into a family rooted in the arts — her late

father P. Lankesh was an author and pioneering Kannada language journalist and brother Indrajit is a film director — Kavitha’s own body of work comprises over 35 docu-mentaries and eight full-length Kannada feature films. Driven by the belief that like life, art must be meaningful, in this tete-a-tete Kavitha reveals this philosophy defines her role as a parent to daughter Esha (12).

DOCUMENTARY MAKER, FILM DIRECTOR, SCREENPLAY WRITER, SINGLE MOTHER. THERE ARE MANY LABELS TO DESCRIBE YOU...I am all this and more with many more labels to come! Instinctively, women are good at multitasking. This is in-grained in women from a young age. As a sister, you look after siblings; as a mother, you handle home, family, and work. Men don’t usually receive this training. So yes, these are all part of what I am. Accomplishing these multiple tasks is difficult and frustrating at times, but very fulfilling.

PARENTING IS A LEARNING PROCESS FOR EVERYONE. HAS IT BEEN MORE CHALLENGING FOR YOU AS A SINGLE MOTHER?I have always been honest about anything and everything with my daughter. She is a happy and healthy child. Most

Indian children are, in a sense, raised by ‘single’ parents — it’s the mother who manages homework, food, diet, extra classes, birthday parties, etc. Usually fathers are at work and not sufficiently involved. So, there is nothing essential-ly different with my role as Esha’s parent. However, being a parent and working in the film industry, is tough. In my case, I juggle location-hunting, shooting, scripting/editing, with everyday tasks like shopping for veggies, picking up and dropping my daughter from various extra-curricular activities.

YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER ARE PART OF DIVERSE WORLDS — THE GRITTINESS OF THE REAL WORLD CAPTURED IN DOCU-MENTARIES, THE GLAMOUR OF FEATURE FILMS. HOW DO THESE VARIED INFLUENCES SHAPE YOUR LIFE TOGETHER?I believe she will learn about different ways of life and this will inculcate the values of becoming a good human being in her. In fact, we did the shooting for my 2013 film Kariya Kanbitta (dealing with the travails and triumphs of a 12-year-old Dalit boy), during her school holidays at a vil-lage outside Bangalore. She stayed on location, played with village children and had a wonderful time. Earlier, when I was making a documentary on women folk artists, she was also part of the process. She travelled with my team and me, to towns like Raichur and Davangere, and learnt a lot about folk art and artistes. For me, her exposure to

INTERVIEW

“Important to raise childrenAS HUMANISTS”

Divya Sreedharan interviewed Kavitha Lankesh who balances documentary and feature films direction with progressive parenting

PARENTSWORLD 17

our culture, art, traditions, and to less fortunate people and children is very important.

BEING PART OF A FAMOUS FAMILY HAS PERKS AND PRACTICAL IRRITATIONS SUCH AS INCREASED MEDIA SCRUTINY. DO YOU SHIELD YOUR DAUGHTER FROM THE MEDIA OR CONSCIOUSLY TRY NOT TO INDULGE HER?As a family, we are all down to earth and don’t seek publicity. No one gets differential treatment. Also I try not to indulge her. The fact that her school (The Valley School, Bangalore, run by the J. Krishnamurti Foundation) believes in this philosophy, helps. There are many children of so-called celebrities in this school, but nobody gets preferential treatment. At a recent school event, a popular filmstar was present as his children study there. Yet, the school chose the school’s gardener as the chief guest.

THE HARSH REALITY IS THAT MOST URBAN MIDDLE CLASS CHILDREN ARE GROWING UP PAMPERED, ADDICTED TO SMARTPHONES/GADGETS AND SOCIAL MEDIA. YOUR COM-MENT…As parents, we must always be there for our children and counsel them that failure is natural. Today it has come to such a pass that at the first failure, children think they are

worthless. Instead of pressurising children to learn subjects that don’t interest them, encourage them to find out what they are good at. Every child has a talent. Communicate and be honest. Also, don’t be too rigid — don’t ban junk food, else they will be tempted to cheat or binge on junk. Similarly, don’t be over-protective and ban devices/gad-gets. Allow children some time to play games, let them go online but set limits to ensure online safety. Luckily, Esha would rather play outdoors than play video games!

DO YOU HAVE ANY MESSAGE FOR OTHER PARENTS?Parenting, in my view, is a ‘re-birthing’ or way of re-looking at life. Even among the cynical, raising children opens up perceptions. We see a whole lot more colours, because everything is fresh when viewed through the eyes of a child. Also, every parent is different. I let Esha see my faults, show her I am not perfect. In fact, I have apolo-gised to her many times. Also, I believe we should never talk down to a child, never tell them “you are too young to understand”. In fact, they absorb everything in their own way. Give children due respect and allow them the freedom to be themselves. As a parent, you do the best you can. What happens to them in adulthood is really not in your hands.

Shining allure of theFASHION BUSINESS

CAREERS WATCH


A large number of young people across the country are taking to fashion design as a serious big bucks career option

An important growth area in the new post-liberalisation Indian economy is the haute couture or fashion industry. Though the great majority of aficionados throng fashion shows to size up the models rather than

the clothes they parade, a growing number of young people are taking to fashion design as a serious and big bucks career option. Inspired by the national and even international success of Indian couturiers such as Rohit Bal, Suneet Varma, Tarun Tahiliani, and Ritu Beri among others, fashion designers and fashion institutes are springing up all over the country.

Adding to the allure of this nascent business as a career option is that in 1998 top notch fashion designers teamed up to establish the Fashion Design Council

of India (FDCI). This apex body promotes fashion as an organised business. The FDCI’s showcase event is the annual India Fashion Week which provides an opportunity for fashion designers to display their creations draped over the top fashion models countrywide before thousands of serious clients including national and international suppliers and buyers.

For individuals with artistic and creative flair and the ability to express themselves through the graphic arts, this is a good career option. A fashion designer needs visual imagination and an ability to combine colours, fabrics, and styles in innovative ways.

The minimum academic qualification required by most polytechnics and institutes of fashion design is Plus Two or equivalent. Admission is generally on the basis of a written test in which applicants’ flair for design,

sketching, and sense of proportion is assessed. In some polytechnics offering diplomas in marketing or garment merchandising, numerical ability and analytical skills are also assessed.

FASHION TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTESMost aspiring fashion designers in India set their sights on the Central government-run National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in New Delhi which has branches in Kolkata, Mumbai, Gandhinagar, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. NIFT offers a full-time three-year graduate programme in fashion and accessory design. Those with at least a 50 percent average in their Plus Two or equivalent are eligible to apply. Selection is based on a written test followed by group discussion/situation tests and personal interview. Generally, the written test is held in all NIFT branches in February (announced in October/November in all national dailies), followed by interviews. Written test results are announced in May and study term begins in July every year.

NIFT also offers two-year postgraduate courses in advanced fashion design, knitwear design and technology, garment-manufacturing technology, apparel marketing, merchandise management, and fashion communication. Short-term courses are also offered.

The other Mecca of aspiring fashion designers is

the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, which offers a four-year graduate programme in design with specialisation in textile design, among other courses. Applicants with a minimum Plus Two qualification below 25 years of age are eligible to write an admission test held in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, and New Delhi in January. Short-listed candidates are called for a one-day workshop and interview in Ahmedabad in April/May.

Some of the other high-quality professional programmes offered in the area of fashion design include the 30-month diploma course of the Premila Vithaldas Polytechnic (SNDT University), Mumbai; Sophia Baba Polytechnic, Mumbai; JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore and Mumbai; Mangalore Institute of Fashion Technology, Mangalore; International Institute of Fashion Technology and International Polytechnic for Women, New Delhi.

Fashion design professionals are increasingly being hired by fashion houses, although some tend to work either on their own, in garment export companies, in the film industry, in theatre, or as fashion journalists. A newly-qualified fashion graduate can expect to earn between Rs.5,000–20,000 depending on the institution she has graduated from, the employer company, and her portfolio.

PARENTSWORLD 19

For individuals with artistic and creative flair and the

ability to express themselves through the

graphic arts, this is a good career

option

Jodhamal Public School, Jammu’s principal Trilok Singh Bisht (right), Nandan Kuthiala (centre left) & team receive awards for #1 co-ed day school in Jammu & Kashmir

The Emerald Heights International School, Indore’s principal Siddharth Singh receives awards (India #6) in the day-cum-boarding schools category from CISCE’s Gerry Arathoon (left)

Greenwood High, Bangalore’s Niru Agarwal (centre), Manas Mehrotra (right) & Aloysius D’Mello (left) receive awards (India #3 and Karnataka #1) in the day-cum-boarding schools category

CHIREC, Hyderabad’s founder-director Ratna Reddy receives India #9 and Telangana #1 awards in the co-ed day schools category

Jayshree Periwal International School, Jaipur’s founder-director Jay-shree Periwal (centre right) & Madhu Maini receive awards (India #7 and Rajasthan #1 in the international day-cum-boarding schools category) from Smita Godrej Crishna & Swiss Learning’s Christophe Clivaz

Ahlcon International School, Delhi’s principal Ashok Pandey receives #1 award for leadership/management quality and Top 10 Delhi NCR from Monica Patel, CEO of First in Math

EDUCATIONWORLD INDIA SCHOOL RANKINGS AWARDS 2016

PARENTSWORLD 20

S POT L IG H T F E AT U R E

Johnson Grammar School, Hyderabad’s Surya Chaganti (left), Saguna Vinodh (right) & student prefects receive awards (Telangana #4 ) in the co-ed day schools category from Monica Patel

Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana’s principal Bhupinder Gogia (centre) receives Punjab #1 co-ed day schools awards from Gerry Arathoon & Camlin Kokuyo’s Yasushi Inoue (right)

NASR Boys, Hyderabad’s Reniv Thomas (centre) receives Telangana #1 boys day school awards from Infiniti Modules Pvt. Ltd’s Sanjeev Trivedi (right) & Arathoon

Sadbhavana World School, Kozhikode’s K.E. Harish (centre left) & team receive India Top 10 and Kerala #1 awards in the international day schools category from Christophe Clivaz

Navrachana School, Vadodara’s principal Bijoya Bakshi (centre right) & team receive Gujarat #3 and Vadodara #1 co-ed day schools awards from Camlin Kokuyo’s Saumitra Prasad (centre)

The Heritage School, Kolkata’s Runa Chatterjee (centre) receives West Bengal #1 co-ed day schools awards from First in Math’s Robert Sun (right) & Arathoon

PARENTSWORLD 21

PARENTSWORLD 22

An innovation introduced at the EducationWorld India School Rankings Awards 2016 was the presentation of the inaugural EducationWorld

Grand Jury Awards 2016 instituted to felicitate low-profile and/or emerging schools which have introduced best 21st-century practices in primary-secondary education. To shortlist and select low-profile and/or newly-promoted progressive schools countrywide, we invited nominations from educationists, individuals and schools themselves supported by evidence of best practices in ten categories such as Green Schools, STEM Education Excellence, New Technologies Usage, Campus Architecture and Design and Communications Excellence, among others.

Duly evidence-supported nominations were received for 500 schools countrywide. To assess the evidence and rank nominated schools in each category, a Grand Jury comprising eminent educationists including Rohit Mohindra (Raj Mohindra Consultants, Mumbai), Jawahar Surisetti (Delhi-based education consultant and advisor), Divya Arora (American Field Services, Delhi), Dr. Niren Suchanti (Pressman Advertising Ltd, Mumbai), Dr. Shayama Chona (Tamana, School of Hope, Delhi) and the Hyderabad-based Jaideep Gupta (Univariety Pvt. Ltd) was constituted. The Grand Jury duly assessed the nominations and supportive evidence and ranked the Top 10 schools in each category. Of them 3 were conferred awards at the EW India School Rankings Awards 2016 function on September 23-24. The complete EW Grand Jury Rankings 2016 will be published in our Anniversary issue (November). Meanwhile for the Top 10 rankings visit www.educationworld.in.

Green SchoolsSchools were judged for constructing and maintaining environment-friendly campuses and practising environ-mentally responsible and resource-efficient processes and providing sustainability education. 1 Pathways School, Gurgaon

2 Miles Bronson Residential School, Guwahati3 Sanjay Ghodawat International School, Kolha-pur

STEM Education ExcellenceThese awards are for schools delivering innovative sci-ence, technology, engineering and mathematics education through experiential pedagogies. 1 TVS Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Madurai2 Ganges Valley School, Hyderabad 3 Kaanger Valley Academy, Raipur Community OutreachSchools were assessed for encouraging student-led community service projects, either in school-sponsored, regional or international community projects.1 Fazlani L’Academie Globale, Mumbai2 DCM Presidency School, Ludhiana3 Sri Sri Academy, Kolkata

Communications ExcellenceSchools that have developed and implemented well-planned communication programmes to connect with various publics including parents, media and local com-munities were awarded. 1 Oakridge International School, Bachupally cam-pus, Hyderabad2 Salwan Public School, Rajinder Nagar, Delhi3 NL Dalmia School, Mumbai

New Technologies UsageThe Top 3 schools which integrate cutting-edge technol-ogy in their curriculums and teaching-learning: 1 Podar International School (IB & CIE), Mumbai2 Gyanshree School, Noida3 SVKM’s JV Parekh International School, Vile Parle, Mumbai


PARENTSWORLD 23

3 JBCN International School, Parel, Mumbai

Emerging High-potential SchoolsThese are low-profile or newly promoted schools that have demonstrated high-potential to quickly adopt and integrate 21st-century education best practices. 1 Doon International School, Riverside Campus, Dehradun2 Delhi Public School, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida3 Bodhi International School, Jodhpur

Innovative TeachingSeveral schools have demonstrated extraordinary capabil-ity to break away from rote learning, and introduce cogni-tive development and experiential education. The Top 3:1 Amity International School, Mayur Vihar, Delhi2 The Espee Global School, Roorkee 3 Mahatma Gandhi International, Ahmedabad

Extraordinary Leadership These awards acknowledge extraordinary education lead-ers from among low-profile and newly emergent schools. The Top 5: 1 Udayachal High School, Mumbai 2 Atul Vidyalaya, Valsad3 Children’s Academy, Ashok Nagar, Kandivali

(East), Mumbai3 Bombay Cambridge School, Andheri (East), Mumbai4 L.K. Singhania Education Centre, Gotan, Rajasthan5 RBK International Academy, Chembur, Mumbai

Career Counselling LeadersSeveral progressive schools provide professional career counseling services to aid students to evaluate suitable university programmes based on their interests, aptitudes and intelligences. 1 Scottish High International School, Gurgaon2 Jamnabai Narsee School, Mumbai3 Symbiosis International School, Pune3 Chennai Public School

Campus Architecture and DesignSchools with attractive and conducive campuses which enable children to learn joyfully and give of their best were awarded in this category. 1 Ascend International School, Mumbai2 Lancers International School, Gurgaon3 Fountainhead School, Surat 3 Nahar International School, Mumbai

Miles Bronson Residential School, Gu-wahati’s founder-principal Dr. Nripen Dutta (right) & Nandini Dutta

TVS Matriculation Higher Secondary School’s principal M. Ramesh with #1 award for STEM Education Excellence

Ganges Valley School, Hyderabad’s principal Vijayalakshmi

Fazlani L’Academie Globale, Mum-bai’s Iqbal Fazlani (centre right) & team receive #1 award for community outreach

Sanjay Ghodhawat International School, Kolhapur’s Lorraine D’Mello with Sun

Pathways School, Gurgaon’s Sangeeta Nag (right) receives #1 Green Schools award from Robert Sun of First in Math

GREEN SCHOOLS INDIA #1

STEM EDUCATION EXCELLENCE INDIA #1 STEM EDUCATION EXCELLENCE INDIA #2 COMMUNITY OUTREACH INDIA #1

GREEN SCHOOLS INDIA #2 GREEN SCHOOLS INDIA #3

PARENTSWORLD 24

NL Dalmia School, Mumbai’s principal Seema Saini

DCM Presidency School, Ludhiana’s Anirudh Gupta with awards

Oakridge International, Bachupally, Hyderabad’s Yogesh Sethi (right) & Satyavani Penmatsa (left) receive #1 award for communications excellence

Sri Sri Academy, Kolkata’s Suvina Shunglu (centre) with EW’s Dilip Thakore

Salwan Public School, Delhi’s princi-pal Dr. Indu Khetrapal (centre)

Podar International, Mumbai’s princi-pal Vandana Lulla with #1 award for new technologies usage

COMMUNITY OUTREACH INDIA #2 COMMUNITY OUTREACH INDIA #3

COMMUNICATIONS EXCELLENCE INDIA #1

COMMUNICATIONS EXCELLENCE INDIA #2 COMMUNICATIONS EXCELLENCE INDIA #3 NEW TECHONOLOGIES USAGE INDIA #1

Gyanshree School, Noida’s director Rita Kapur (right) & Vandana Midha (second left) receive award from Robert Sun

SVKM’s JV Parekh International School, Mumbai’s Dr. Swaminathan Gurumurthy

JBCN International, Parel, Mumbai’s Sharan Kuruwa (right)

Doon International, Riverside Campus, Dehradun’s Harinder Mann (right) re-ceives #1 emerging high-potential award from Swiss Learning’s Christophe Clivaz

Delhi Public School, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida’s principal Indira Kohli (right)

Bodhi International, Jodhpur’s Naresh (right) & Neetu Bothra & Namit Bhan-dari (left)

NEW TECHONOLOGIES USAGE INDIA #2

EMERGING HIGH-POTENTIAL SCHOOL INDIA #1EMERGING HIGH-POTENTIAL SCHOOL INDIA #2 EMERGING HIGH-POTENTIAL SCHOOL INDIA #3

NEW TECHONOLOGIES USAGE INDIA #3 NEW TECHONOLOGIES USAGE INDIA #3


PARENTSWORLD 25

Udayachal School, Mumbai’s chief mentor Smita Godrej Crishna receives #1 award for extraordinary leadership

Atul Vidyalaya, Valsad’s principal Col. A. Shekhar with Christophe Clivaz

Children’s Academy, Ashok Nagar, Mumbai’s Rohan Bhat (centre left) & team with Educomp’s Divya Lal (centre)

Bombay Cambridge School, Andheri (E), Mumbai’s principal Savita Venkat

LK Singhania Education Centre, Go-tan’s Sushma Arora

RBK International Academy, Chembur, Mumbai’s advisor Kaiser Dopaishi

EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP INDIA #1

EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP INDIA #3

EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP INDIA #2 EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP INDIA #3

EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP INDIA #4 EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP INDIA #5

The Espee Global School, Roorkee’s Shawn Clifford Tims (left) & Kanika Gupta

Symbiosis International, Pune’s Narendra Kumar Ojha (right) & Madan Mohan (left)

Ascend International School, Mumbai’s founder-chairman Bhagat Patil (left) & CEO Aditya Patil receive #1 award for campus architecture and design

Lancers International School, Gur-gaon’s Yogesh Sidhwani (left)

Scottish High International School, Gurgaon’s Seema Bhati (centre) & Dr. Sanjay Sachdeva

Amity International, Mayur Vihar, Delhi’s Veera Pandey receives #1 innovative teaching award from Chris-tophe Clivaz

INNOVATIVE TEACHING INDIA #1 INNOVATIVE TEACHING INDIA #2 CAREER COUNSELLING LEADERS INDIA #1

CAREER COUNSELING LEADERS INDIA #3

CAMPUS ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN INDIA #1CAMPUS ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN INDIA #2

Dr. R. Varadarajan is the widely respected founder-chairman of the Mumbai-based National Education Society (NES) and Saraswathi Vidya

Bhavan (SVB) group of 62 educational institutions with an aggregate enrolment of 47,280 students and 1,820 teachers in Mumbai and Thane. An alumnus of Mumbai University awarded a Ph D in educational management by Diandra University, Italy, Dr. Varadarajan promoted his first primary school in Mumbai in 1963 with an enrolment of seven children. Currently, the NES-SVB group includes 18 K-12 schools including two IBO, Geneva affiliated NES International Schools, four junior colleges, two full-fledged degree colleges affiliated with Mumbai University and a B.Ed college affiliated with SNDT University, Mumbai.

Driven by the objective of providing high-quality affordable English-medium kindergarten-college education to middle class households in the neglected suburbs of India’s commercial capital, under Varadarajan’s leadership, NES and SVB trusts have

educated, trained and certified 28,000 class X and 25,000 class XII school-leavers, and 15,000 graduates who have contributed significantly to the growth and development of the Indian economy. One of India’s most celebrated educationists, Dr. Varadarajan has been conferred several awards including the Best Teacher Award (1994) by the President of India and the Dronacharya Award (1996) by the Maharashtra state government. Moreover, in 1995 the Union government issued a special postal stamp to commemorate the NES-SVB group’s 30 years of service to Indian education.

For his extraordinary contribution to the growth and development of Indian education, particularly for his commitment to providing internationally benchmarked values-driven school and tertiary education in all NES-SVB institutions for the past five decades, the Board of Directors and Editors of EducationWorld are privileged to present Dr. R. Varadarajan the EW Lifetime Achievement in Education Leadership Award 2016, and induct him into the EW Hall of Fame of Indian Education.

CISCE chief executive Gerry Arathoon & Dr. R. Vardarajan (right)

PARENTSWORLD 26


PARENTSWORLD 27

ACADEMIC ADVANTAGE


Visual learning enables learners to use im-ages, graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, etc to understand and retain information. There’s no shortage of research studies confirm-ing that visual cues and aids help children

absorb and retain information, and make learning interest-ing and insightful. According to Dr. Lynell Burmark, a US-based education consultant and author of Visual Literacy: Learn to See, See to Learn (2002), “…unless our words, concepts, ideas are hooked onto an image, they will go in one ear, sail through the brain and go out the other ear. Words are processed by our short-term memory where we can only retain about seven bits of information... Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched.”

Given the power of visual imagery and the reality that most schools persist with chalk-n-talk pedagogies, parents can create home learning environments where children supplement classroom teaching with charts, maps, diagrams, photos, illustrations, icons, symbols, sketches, etc to grasp crucial concepts and complex ideas. Here are three visual learning techniques you can use to enhance children’s learn-ing and retention.

CONVERT TEXT INTO IMAGES, DIAGRAMS & ILLUSTRATIONSAssociate important ideas, words and concepts with images. You can do this by sourcing images from books, the Internet or by drawing diagrams. Use symbols like arrows, boxes, circles etc to make illustrations more detailed. For instance, a history lesson becomes more exciting for your child if it has photos of historical buildings linked to famous kings. You could also write important details and dates in the form of thought bubbles or ovals using pointers. Moreover, involve her in choosing and labeling pictures as part of the lesson.

This will doubly aid comprehension and memorisation of classroom lectures.

FLOWCHARTA flowchart is a critical teaching-learning aid, particularly if your child needs to retrieve information in a sequential order. For instance, a series of historical events or a physical process (e.g, chemical reaction) can be explained visually using a flow chart.

BULLET POINTSThese are good visual tools to break up a lesson into easily absorbable bits. Making bullet points bold also help the child to better recall data.

EXAMPLE: HOW TO VISUALLY EXPLAIN THE DIGESTIVE PROCESS

Create a chart titled: ‘What happens to food inside the body’

Paste images of the digestive system with the various parts clearly marked in the chart.

Use arrows to detail the functions of digestive organs. Write the following digestive process using bullet points

— in the mouth food is partly broken down by chewing and by the action of salivary enzymes. The food then enters the oesophagus and moves down to the stomach where it is mixed with gastric acid (now called chyme). Then it moves through the three parts of the small intestine — duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Here, bile, pancreatic and other enzymes help to further break down the food. Then, it passes through the large intestine where water and electrolytes are removed, and bacteria aid digestion. Once out of the large intestine, the solid waste is collected in the rectum and later, excreted.

Add names of the various digestive acids in the appropri-ate places using a felt pen or marker.

Help children visualiseTO IMPROVE LEARNINGSUNIL NORONHA

SCHOOL PROFILE


PARENTSWORLD 28

GREENWOOD HIGH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Bangalore

Spread over a meticulously landscaped, pollution-free 35-acre campus, Green-wood High International School (GWH), Bangalore is a new genre school affiliated with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), Delhi,

Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), UK and International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), Geneva examination boards, providing contemporary K-12 edu-cation rooted in Indian traditions. The manicured lawns and gardens surrounding the school’s spacious and well-

furnished buildings provide a stimulating and enabling environment for students to learn and gather knowledge. Here every child learns the supreme values of love, trust and truth.

Founded in 2004 by Niru Agarwal, director of the Sattva Group, Bangalore, a well-known property devel-opment company, and Manas Mehrotra, former Mum-bai-based Ernst & Young executive, GWH is ranked among India’s Top 10 day-cum-boarding schools and #1 in Karnataka in the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2016.

Ranked among India’s Top 10 day-cum-boarding schools and #1 in Karnataka in the EW India School Rankings 2016, Greenwood High International School (GWH, estb. 2004) is a new genre school providing globally comparable K-12 education rooted in Indian traditions

PARENTSWORLD 29

GLOBALLY COMPARABLE INFRASTRUCTURE

In the pursuit of excellent holistic education, GWH’s globally comparable infrastructure offers unparalleled student support across a broad spectrum of academic, sports and co-curricular environments.

FACTS FILE

DAY-CUM-BOARDING SCHOOLK-12

ESTABLISHED2004

STUDENTS2,700

SPORTS EDUCATION- Cricket, Skating- Football, Swimming- Basketball, Volleyball- Aerobics, Tennis- Yoga, Taekwondo- Table tennis, Badminton- Athletics

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES- Chess- Model United Nations (MUN)- Music, Art- Drama- Maths club- Science club- Environmental studyCO-EDUCATIONAL

EXAM BOARDSCIE, CISCE and IBO

CAMPUS SIZE35 acres

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

SCHOOL PROFILE


GWH LEADERS

PARENTSWORLD 30

Future-aligned Learning. Greenwood High boasts five middle and senior school computer labs, five language labs where students study French, Spanish and English and two multimedia rooms. Wi-fi is available 24/7 for all teachers and students.

GWH is ranked among India’s Top 10 day-cum-boarding schools in the EducationWorld India

School Rankings 2016.

Niru AgarwalTrusteeAn economics graduate of Guwahati University, former head of the Guwahati Cultural Association and director of the Sattva Group Ltd, Niru Agarwal co-promoted Greenwood High School in 2004. Since then, she has played a major role in developing GWH into a new technologies-driven institution with the most well-trained faculty countrywide. Her entrepreneurial skills and social initiatives have brought recognition to the institution.

Manas MehrotraTrusteeA chartered accountant with an MBA from Babson College, USA and a law degree from K.C. Law College, Mumbai, Mehrotra worked with Ernst & Young before co-promoting Greenwood High in 2004. With this experience, Mehrotra has introduced best business management practices into the education sector and has played a crucial role in expanding GWH’s footprint across Bangalore and operationalising the new CIE and IBO-affiliated GWH international school next door, which admitted its first batch of students in September 2015.

GWH offers students superior residential accommodation with experienced house parents in charge of students’ nutrition and daily schedules to enable their all-round development. Fully residential and weekly boarding plans are available.

Logistics. The school’stransport fleet comprises 120 air-conditioned buses with hi-tech security systems.

PARENTSWORLD 31

GREENWOOD HIGH MILESTONES

In the class XII IB Diploma examination 2014 written by 137,330 students worldwide, GWH’s Vidya Ramesh recorded a score of 44/45 with the school’s 26 students averaging 32.

Venkat Pitani, a class VIII student was ranked world #5 in the International French Language Olympiad.

Aryaman Singh, a class VI student was awarded a three-year soccer training contract by Olympique de Marseille, the #1 French football club.

A GWH team was one among 500 teams from 25 countries which participated in ‘Odyssey of the Mind’ program hosted by Iowa University, USA in 2012.

Rishabh Agarwal, a class VII student represented India in the student Olympic Games held in Scotland in 2010-11.

GWH is India’s first school to be awarded the ISO 18001:2007 Safety and Health Management Systems Certificate.

GWH has recruited 250 of India’s most experienced teachers who undergo continuous in-service training to teach the IB, IGCSE and ICSE curriculums utilising contemporary

information communication technologies.

Greenwood High students have beenadmitted into several top-ranked universitiesabroad including University of Edinburgh,Imperial College (UK), and UCLA (USA).

SCHOOL PROFILE


PARENTSWORLD 32

CO-CURRICULAR AND SPORTS EDUCATION

Greenwood High offers students a wide range of sports and cultural options for their holistic development. Its state-of-the-art sports infrastructure is supported by professionally qualified athletics and swimming coaches.

GWH was ranked #1 all-India for ‘Best Practices for Students All-roundDevelopment Award’ at the World Schools Resources Expo 2013, Gurgaon.

Shraddha Raja Uday, a class XII student working on her IGCSE art examination painting titledIgnorance: the sobbing reality.

GWH offers students adedicated soundproofmusic recording room

with world class acoustics to develop students’

varied talents.

GWH’s library, the most modern in Bangalore, occupies 7,000 sq. ft divided into separate junior and senior school libraries. It houses 30,000 print volumes, 40 journal subscriptions and electronic resources with wi-fi access and offers three dedicated e-classrooms for research by teachers and students.

ADMISSION & FEES

Parents can download the application form online or collect it from the school office. The school accepts boarders from class V onwards.Tuition fees (per year): Day scholars: Rs.1.4-6.45 lakhBoarders: Rs.3.25-8.3 lakhFor more details visit http://www.greenwoodhigh.edu.in (Excerpted from 21 Schools of the 21st Century, 2015)

PARENTSWORLD 33

In 2013, GWH was presented the ‘Best Empowerment in Sports Award’ of the Indian Education Congress.

GWH’s Under-14 boys have won the LeapStart Inter-School Soccer Tournament, the Football League national finals and the Mahindra

Football Inter-school Championship

The GWH chess squad has won the Inter-School Team Chess Tournament for five years in succession. Shraddha Somanath was awarded a silver medal at the Asian School Chess Championship staged in Sri Lanka in the U-8 category.

Three class X students were sent on a month-long soccer training programme to Atletico de Madrid, Spain’s top professionalfootball club.

PARENTSWORLD 34

ACTIVITY ZONE


“What big ears you have, grandma!” Does that line from the much-loved fairytale Little Red Riding Hood make you nostalgic about story telling sessions you experienced with your parents (or grandparents)?

Whether it involves reading or creating original nar-ratives, storytelling is important for a child’s growth and development. It hones language and communication skills, helps develop imagination and most importantly bonds of

Storytelling to lightTHAT INNERSPARK

love and intimacy between elders and children. So why not craft an interesting story together with your

child? See the dino finger puppet below that you can cut out and use in your story.

DEVELOPING A STORY• Create a lovable character. Give him/her a humorous name; discuss her mannerisms, personality traits, habits and favourite things.• Make up crazy situations, the more complicated the bet-ter. Put the character right in the middle of it all! Imagine unusual situations with a lot of action or drama. Introduce a major problem faced by the character. Make up dia-logues and use different voices for the characters.• For example: here is Kilty the Dinosaur, sitting in his garden sipping a glass of lemon juice. But Kilty’s tears are trickling into his juice. Because he is lonely: all his friends have gone to school but Kilty is too young for school. How can his friends take him to school without the Dinoteacher knowing?• Develop the story by focusing on the main character’s problem and build situations around the problem and pos-sible solutions. • Once you have built the story up to the climax, come up with a creative solution to the problem.

Working together with your child to plot an imagina-tive story is a great learning experience which will not only help develop her cognitive and creative thinking skills but also create a cherished and shared memory for both of you.

SINI KOSHY

Cut out the dinosaur, stick it on a piece of cardboard and then again cut out the dinosaur. Using a paper cut-ter, carefully cut out circles (marked in orange) for fin-gers. Now, you can put your fingers through the holes and use them to move the puppet while narrating the story.

MAKE YOUR PUPPET

An exciting opportunity to become our partnerin two pathbreaking development programs !

LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONALlaunches two innovative programs

Parenting Skills & Making of a Champion

Leadership Management International is the world’s largest professional development company in 26 languages, in nearly

80 countries with 4 million participants worldwide.Based on a detailed research process these programs deliver unique results for parents

and for young children.

LMI India is looking for a suitable partner, preferably a lady in the age group of 40-50, with a teaching /

educational background, ideally in IB schools to launch these programs in India.

The candidate should also have experience of being involved with the PTA of a school.

Experience in mentoring would be an additional asset. Experience in mentoring would be an additional asset. A suitable business partnership based compensation

will be mutually agreed upon.

Date post:	30-Dec-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	ngodang
View:	229 times
Download:	3 times

Shifting children from

Documents