23.Unlocking the incredible benefits of Meditation

 

“Are we teaching our brilliant young minds how to cope with extreme stress? It’s no wonder that suicides are becoming common among them.” This is a stark observation from Dr. Swaminathan, who has travelled extensively across India, addressing students at the nation's premier institutions, including the IITs, NITs, and IIMs. 

During his invited lecture at NIT Calicut, Dr. Swaminathan posed a thought-provoking question to the audience, largely composed of research scholars: “Do you know what percentage of candidates pass the country’s toughest examination, the UPSC?” He revealed that out of one million candidates who apply each year, only 600 are eligible for the interview, and merely 200 are selected. This equates to a pass rate of just 0.2%. He then asked, "What happens to the 99.99999% who do not clear the exam? Do they possess the emotional intelligence needed to cope with failure?" 

Dr. Swaminathan emphasized the importance of spirituality, stating, “Spirituality connects us to the Universal Conscience.” He challenged the audience: “Were you ever taught to face failure with grace? You are all bright and capable, but throughout your lives, who taught you how to control your mind?” 

This led him to discuss the practice of meditation. He encouraged the audience to consider, “What can we do to alleviate stress and cultivate calm?” The answer, he explained, has roots in ancient India: "Waking up at 3 a.m. and meditating is one of the best practices you can adopt." 

He also shared an inspiring anecdote about the Honorable President of India,                       Smt. Droupadi Murmu, who spoke to medical doctors about the benefits of meditation and urged them not only to practice it themselves but also to promote its advantages.               Dr. Swaminathan concluded by noting that the current President of India rises every day at 4 a.m. for meditation.

22-Realism and Naturalism

Last month, (November 2015),  a former colleague rang me up  asking for a clarification regarding ‘Realism’ and  ‘Naturalism’  which  his daughter needed  as part of an assignment.    Clarifying  over the telephone  using technical  terms, I knew  will not work…So I prepared the following and emailed it to my colleague  requesting  for  clarification if required.  I  did not receive  a call…and  I presume  this  material proved useful.

*They are two separate literary movements with lots of similarities and differences.

*Realism shows the world as it is while Romanticism shows the world as the heart  tells us it should be. Naturalism  shows the world  as  man usually is with hidden animal instincts.

Realism	Naturalism
Popular  between 1861- 1914 *An artistic movement in 19th c France	*Popular between 1890 - 1915
*Artists and writers strove for detailed realistic and factual description. They tried to represent events and social conditions as they actually are, without idealization.	*Describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings.
*Realist novelists did not follow established tradition- a formal plot structure and a series of events leading to  a climax and resolution because they believed that life did not follow such patterns.	*Naturalistic novelists like Jack London did have  plots for their novels. But  writers rejected the notion of free will and presented characters whose behaviour was determined by “nerves and blood”. *So themes of Naturalism in Literature included violence, taboo etc.
Characters of  Realist novelists like  Mark Twain(American) and Anton Chekov(Russian) were  ordinary people. Writers used ordinary speech and dialect .	Characters  of  Naturalistic novelists Emlie Zola  are usually of the low-socio economic class.
Characters   are in control of their own destiny and are superior to their circumstances.	Characters do not have free will (determinism) and  showed a naturalist tendency to depict primal urges  which is  powerful than higher thinking. * Emlie Zola’s  novels showed a  frankness about sexual functions, shocking readers  resulting in banning of his works.
Realistic drama  is a representation of life on the stage, portraying life as we know it.	In Naturalistic  drama, the actors behave ‘as they would’ not ‘as they could’. [That is,  in Realistic drama the actors would rarely act facing their back to the audience, but it is usually so in Naturalistic drama because  the actor attempts to act exactly as in  real life, unaware that he is presenting before an audience]
Specimen lines from  Poem Like A Flower Plucked a flower just for me, You fucked it up, like you fucked up me… You didn’t water it, you didn’t lavish it in sunlight, You watched it wither. You watched it die. You crushed the flower with your careless palms, You stomped the petals to dust, The stem, the thorns and all… You crushed my heart with your greedy hands, You squeezed it dry. ….  by Tory Edana Talbott	Specimen  lines  from Poem George Sterling I saw a man open an iris petal. He ran his finger underneath the edge, unfolded it, and smoothed it out a little, not as one guilty of a sacrilege — because he knew flowers, and understood that what he did would maybe help them grow - though for a moment he was almost God. … by Jack London

The following  photo appeared in The Hindu, Monday  18,August  2014…and  I think   is  illustrative of  ‘Realism ‘ and ‘Naturalism’.

Posted by Dr.C.Praveen

21.Strategy for film making

One  film  at the 18^th International Film Festival of Kerala 2013,  had a catchy title: When Evening Falls On Bucharest or Metabolism. The synopsis of the film reads:

“...This seemingly simple love story becomes a force of cinematic deconstruction. The quasi-absurdity of their relationship moves from the dingy room to the director’s apartment...Dense with meaning  in every frame, the film delivers a thought-provoking rumination on our engagement with reality through cinema...”

Which film lover would not be seduced by such a synopsis? Many  must have marked the film as a must see,  the moment   the  Handbook of  film synopsis was released.

Phew!...if my memory is right, the film hardly has six or seven scenes. The lead characters chat, chat, chat, chat and act....while the theatre audience snores, snores, snores, snores and sleeps!!! Some wake up from the slumber  only to be lulled back magically to sleep...

The film over, while hurrying to the exit, my eyes fell on a renowned film critic and Professor of English, who too was leaving the theatre. I explored the countenance of the venerable  teacher for  a potential message of the film which had unfortunately eluded me. I may be wrong...but  a gut feeling inside me tells me that  the Professor was struggling to  put on an intellectually satisfying  appearance despite the fact that the film made the entire audience look like complete idiots!

Back home in my leisure, I pondered on the message/ intention of the director of the film. It  seems  deceptively  simple...  you  too can make films like this... Why not place a camera in retiring rooms where one can easily come across juicy gossips and innuendoes  with all the elements of a  Thriller! And..., who knows  the  ‘product’ which we can call an ‘Art Film’, might fetch us awards  at  Toronto, New York, Vancouver and Sarajevo, which this film managed to!

20. Process Skills in Science and Languages

Albert Einstein  once observed :“The greatest scientists are also artists as well.”

There  is   a  sound  relationship  between  Art and Science,  and  discovery is common in both fields.  Scientists  may work  in laboratories  and  artists may  work  in  their  studios, but both work systematically  and creatively!   It is worth recalling the observation of Alberts (2011): In classrooms for all ages, integrating science and the visual arts offer children the latitude to think, discover, and make connections.

 [Beyond penguins and polar bears  http://beyondpenquins.nsdl.org  ]

Process skills in Science include:

Observing, Inferring, Measuring, Communicating, Classifying, Predicting,

When students learn  the content in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, technology and the arts, they are learning more than facts. They are  learning methods of communicating, thinking mathematically, doing what scientists do, conducting  social science  research, creating as artists, and using technology. Methods of learning are ‘process skills’.

Science Process  Skills   can find a place in the Language Classroom :

Observing- Role Play, Dramatizations

Connecting-  theme of  a  poem  to  another literary text

Problem solving-  Stories (Detective type)

Organizing information - Report writing for a Project.

Communicating and representing-  Class presentations, choice of style etc.

Ken Goodman describes reading as a psycholinguistic guessing game occurring at the intersection of the author's knowledge and the reader's knowledge. Predicting, confirming, and comprehending  which  leads to  building of concepts  are  a continuous cycle and represents the process of reading.

Even writing  can be seen as a process which involve:

1. Prewriting which includes preparing and organizing ideas

2. Writing the draft

3. Revising the draft

4. Editing and proof reading

5. Publishing

19. Can we make a difference?

Hello all,

How often  have we all felt .... If   we could live in peace and harmony.... If  it was a trouble free world...

Commonsense  would  tell us, that such things  should  begin  with  the individual  who  is  the unit of  family, the  family  which is  the unit of  community and the community which is  unit of  a nation...

Recently I came across  a write up entitled

10 simple ways in which we can make a difference to the universe

1.Spend  10 minutes every day sitting in silence, sending out love and  positive energy to the universe. Think of the 6 billion people, the millions of animal species, plant life, as well as this planet that has sustained you  your whole life; send your love to all of them.

2.Pray for people who  are going through difficult times.

3.Donate stationary/books or other knowledge resources  to underprivileged children or an orphanage, regularly.

4.The next time you go shopping, be mindful  to buy only what you need.

5.In every sphere of life, practice giving more than what you take, and producing more  than what you consume. If you receive love from 10 people, give love to at least 11 people.

6.Before making  any decision, think seriously about how it will affect others around you.

7.Spread  positivity-smile often, compliment freely, give someone a pat on the back.

8.Use cruelty-free products, ie; products that are not tested on animals, fair-trade products, etc. Check if the brands you buy uphold ethical practices.

9.Travel to understand and appreciate the  different cultures in your country, and  in the world. (if travel is not possible, read about different cultures around the world.)

10.In your own family/ workplace/neighbourhood, work towards a win-win situation for everyone, with a vision of totality rather  than  of self importance.

Source  Transforming Indians to Transform  India-A  Chinmaya Mission Initiative published by Chinmaya Udghosh , Chennai  August  2012[P 300-301]

Imagine our  students performing one  act  every month that leads to a transformation... Imagine  school classrooms where teachers teach  Life Skills and Soft Skills which would hopefully make pupils realize  the  essence of  the  highest ideals of  the human race- Satyam (the truth), Shivam (God) and  Sundaram  (the beautiful).

Should you have the  time,   do visit  the  following link and read

Post No.65 Plea for Introducing a New Paper...

& Post No. 66.  Shouldn’t this find a  place in our Curriculum ?

http://kuetef.blogspot.com/

Do post your  comments.

18-Notes on Technology for ELT

These are notes prepared during  the  National Seminar on Classroom Practices in Teaching English organized by  Holy Trinity College of Education, Melpalai, Edaicode, Kanyakumari on  9  February 2013

From the Plenary on Technology for ELT

The technology revolution also called the Blue Revolution some say is dead. Newer methods of communication and Educational Technology  have revolutionized the way  teaching happens in the classroom. Today it is even possible to attend an e-seminar  from the comfort of your home.

When Bernard Luskin in 2001 coined the term e-learning, ‘e’ stood  for  exciting, energetic , enthusiastic, emotional  and educational.

e-learning benefits  include  : convenience, self service,  on-demand (at any time and any where), private learning, self-paced learning and flexibility. e-learning can be made media-rich, it is repeatable  and easier to monitor  progress.The greatest  advantage of e-content is that  it is consistent  as there is control of content, same quality of content  for all and  possible to provide same quality of education  for all.

The delivery  methods in e-learning  can be Synchronous or Asynchronous. In Synchronous the delivery and reception happens at the same time, though the teacher and the learner may physically be separate from each other. In Asynchronous mode, creation of material happens at  one time and learning at another time.

A major observation of   the Web-based Education Commission   is as follows: ‘There is no going back...The traditional classroom has to  be transformed’.

Teaching  refers the point of production and learning  the point of consumption. In the 21^st century  learning environments widely vary... Each learner has a unique style of learning and unique requirement. Every problem has unique characteristics too. Today there is a paradigm shift in learning.

Early adopters have experimented  with various media formats and delivery options and realized that  Blended Learning is the most suitable form of delivery.

Blended Learning is learning  that is facilitated by the effective combination of different modes of delivery, models of teaching and styles of learning and applying them in an interactively meaningful learning environment.

There is no hard and fast rule  or a fixed formula for use of technology  for  a Blended Learning programme. It is all about the right blend. It depends on an analysis of the learners’ requirements, their level  of understanding, competencies at stake, the nature  and location of the audience and the resources available.  The focus of the classroom shifts from a presentation format to one of active learning.

Blended learning  enhances individualization, personalization and relevancy. Today Blended Learning has emerged as a natural choice for training in companies. Advances of technology  will definitely have an impact on emerging models of Blended Learning.

Key words: e-learning, e-content, Blended Learning

17.When something is wrong somewhere how will we refine our Curriculum ?

A couple of months ago, I was invited to  a  discussion on   a  topic attempting to review  the Kerala State  Course Books prescribed for study in schools  to identify  the  focus/weightage given to National   leaders, national integration and value-based personality development. The  discussants  comprised  mostly retired  Professors   and others who held high positions in public offices. The discussion was supposed to be a  forerunner to  a Workshop aimed at content analysis  of the course books. The programme  was organized jointly by the   Kerala Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Dr. Sivadasan Pillai Foundation, Council for Teacher Education and Indian Association for Educational Reforms.

Given  below are notes  jotted down related to some  striking points  made by the discussants:

* Children  of the lower middle class, the middle class and the upper middle class attend Government,  Aided and Unaided schools. In the case of each,  values, aspirations and  ambition vary.  The urge to become affluent  runs through many families. Television, Film and the Internet   rouse  a desire for an affluent life style.  Naturally, the  use of cunning or unethical means to acquire job, wealth, status and fame  becomes the norm.   In fact,  one hardly comes across  teachers who   hold  three important  abilities/ qualities that mark them out:

-A mind free from desire

- An ability to control ones senses and breath

- Simple living and high thinking.

* Recently,  the Principal of a college in Trivandrum,  contacted  a girl’s parent in New Delhi to inform that the girl had not attended college on two consecutive   working days- Friday and Monday. The following day, the father a senior civil servant rushed to the state capital from the nation’s capital to meet the Principal: This is what the  girl had to say to her father in the Principal’s presence:  “ Daddy.., I had gone to Kodaicanal with my boy friend to spend the weekend and this Principal is making a big fuss about it ”.  On hearing this, the  father is  supposed to have  reprimanded the Principal  as follows : “ Madam,  have you any idea what the cost of airfare is from New Delhi to Trivandrum...? . Did you call me for this?  Do you know anything about college students in  New Delhi ?”  The  Principal  it is learned is now in utter confusion regarding the kind of values she is  expected to instil in college students.

Recently, following the unfortunate incidents in New Delhi, the Film Director & Producer, Mahesh Bhatt  expressed an opinion which must have crossed the minds of  hundreds of teachers across the country   [P2 Times Life : Supplement of Sunday Times of India-Jan 13, 2013]:

“We have been haranguing about love and compassion from the pulpit, in books, at homes and  classrooms. And yet, society keeps on creating murderers and rapists on an assembly line. Something is very wrong somewhere. Is man  doomed to remain a beast  at heart?...”

16. An employability model

Prof. Jaya Indiresan, formerly Professor of Higher Education  at the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi, suggested an employability model followed at the CAP foundation. The model was developed to address poverty alleviation through linking learning and livelihood needs of poor children and disadvantaged youth.

The CAP foundation specializes in working with the most deprived, vulnerable and difficult to reach youth and women at  risk in poor, semi-urban, rural and tribal communities. These children and youth get equitable qualitative learning and promising labour market  oriented vocational training opportunities that supports their pathways to positive  futures.

The model:

1.Market scan

2.Curriculum Development

3.Road Shows

4.Induction and training in Life Skills

5.Classroom training  

6.Assignment

7.Work readiness module

8.Placement

9.Programme Review

[From notes made during the lecture delivered  by Prof Jaya at the 7^th International and 43^rd Annual ELTAI Conference 19 to 21 July 2012]

15. Teaching without experiencing?

The other day I had attended a National Seminar on  Empowering Teachers for Sustainable Development.

One session during the Seminar focussed on the topic ‘Equipping Teachers for Eco-Pedagogy and Education for Sustainable Development-An  Exploration.’

Two teachers, Prof. A.Faziluddin, Principal, Farook Training College and                 Dr. Muhammadunni Alias Musthafa, Dept. of Education, University of Calicut engaged the session.

The following  were the  introductory remarks made by Prof. Faziluddin:

*Palkhiwallah once stated: “The human generation ends  up with guided missiles and misguided men.”...Now..., who is responsible for  the misguided men?  Teachers are keen on taking responsibility for the fame not the blame.

*Three essential things which a teacher  is expected to do includes: To know the truth, to do the right thing and to love beauty. But  this seldom happens.

*The  twenty million baby diapers and the  napkins which women use every day  in India  is   a  real threat to the environment.

*Unlike the Indian closet, the European closet which adorns every modern home and office,   flushes down the toilet  millions of gallons of water  each time an individual uses the urinal.

While summing up Prof. Faziluddin  affirmed that for Environmental Education, it is the attitude of the teacher that makes  the difference.

Dr. Mustafa dealt at length with several aspects  related to Eco-Pedagogy. The enabling pedagogy which he proposed  included:

*Emphasis on learning rather than on teaching

*Capacity building for critical thinking and problem solving

*Addressing locale specific environmental problems/issues infusing environmental perspective to classroom subjects.

*Multi-disciplinary approach

The challenges for Teacher Education  includes:

*Developing an appropriate environmental ethos and developmental perspective.

*Developing sensitivity and awareness to environmental issues/concern.

While summing up Dr. Mustafa  said that a progressive free education is essential  for Eco-Pedagogy.

The  final session of the Seminar  included  an Open Forum: Sustain or Extinct.   The moderator of the  session was Dr.T.N. Vijayakumar, President of Malabar Natural History Society. In his introductory remarks, Dr. Vijayakumar revealed how he learned the first lesson in Global Warming  from a fisherman. He narrated how  the fisherman who eked out a living in the 1980’s  by fishing in the  estuary  near Feroke, Calicut had to give up his profession when many species which he used to catch and sell had died out owing to the rise in temperature of the water  in the estuary.

In the Open Forum many issues   and concerns were expressed  by  the delegates.  I had raised the following concern related to experience:

In an attempt to raise sensitivity to environmental  issues, many teachers organize trekking to  jungles and National  Parks. But during such outings,  food, clothing    and modern makeshift shelters   are carried by the students to make the trip as comfortable as possible. Those who live a life completely dependent on the jungle know, what it means to live entirely on resources available from Nature.  A bite by an insect can be cured using herbs available in the jungle.  The water in the jungle  streams  are free of pollutants and  they are aware of  the need to preserve them all in its pristine beauty.

Now...,how many teachers can survive in the jungle by solely depending on the resources available in the jungle? Can casual pleasure trekking  create in students a real love for Nature and evoke in them the need to preserve our natural resources?

Any comments dear reader?

Note : The visuals on nature is from the Photo Exhibition organized  by The Malabar Natural History Society  during  the Seminar.