Exchange Programme D.B.N. Schools with The Fabindia School

The Teacher Exchange Programme like all exchanges is intended to provide participants with broad exposure.Specifically teacher exchanges prepare educators to shape young people into active agents of change  .participating teachers bring interactive teaching practices to their students and colleagues, building the critical thinking, skills, inquiry and analytical approach.The world is getting smaller everyday and keeping the global exposure in mind the school agreed to teacher exchange programme with The Fabindia School. Four teachers from Dewan Badri Nath Vidya Mandir Schools visited The Fabindia School at Bali in Rajasthan. The two-day exchange program from (14th July 2016 to 16th July 2016)  was divided broadly into two sessions; visit the school with students and attending classes. The sessions spread over two days from 8.00 AM TO 2.00 PM.The second-day session began with the introductions in the Assembly, outing to Ranakpur with primary classes, a musical evening, outing to Bali Fort and nearby places. 

The sessions used a variety of approaches and discussions, followed by lunch. The teachers enjoyed the process of teaching and learning. Thankful to our host family for everything. We became like a big exchange family with whom we went through everything and had just a great times. Everything that we got was more than what we expected. It opens our horizon to face our future as teachers. We had an enjoyable experience here. We got a chance to see a lot of places. It wouldn’t help without the support of The Fabindia School family. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful experience. 

Big thanks to Mr Sandeep Sir, Mrs Deepika Tandon and Ms Praveena Jha.

- Girja Koul and the Exchange Team
Email gkl.av@dbntrust.in

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

“Is your child ready to face the world?” by Anupam Sibal is an effective book not only from parent’s point of view but from teacher’s point of view also. This book has changed my thought process. On reading the whole book I felt that in order to imbibe qualities like humanity, courage, determination, making others happy etc. in our students, we should be ready to CHANGE and also help our students to change and most importantly in a POSITIVE WAY. 

It is very true that what we put into the minds of our children today is what they are going to give back to the world tomorrow. As a teacher we are responsible for how the child will influence the future of the world. Being a teacher while dealing with our students we should be humble and polite, so that our children can observe humility in their earlier stage as humility paves the way for other virtues. 

This book created a clear and beautiful picture about how to deal with student’s problems. We should teach our students to identify or observe those persons who have overcome challenges of life rather than to come with excuses. For doing this we should appreciate their good works and actions also. In today’s world when there is too much competition, we should not add more pressure on students rather we should help them to deal with it by creating friendly atmosphere with other students. If we do comparison or being judgmental we cannot build a strong teacher-student relationship. We should not impose our ideas on students. They should adopt the field in which they are interested and dreamed of. 

Although this book is written from the point of view of a father and teacher is also like parent to students. I have written my thoughts as a teacher that I learned from this book. Giving examples of real life situations is the best method to make the picture clear to students. I hope to give these virtues to my students, so that they become ready to face the world.

~ Payal Sharma, a teacher at the DBN Amarvilla School, Jammu

Email: psa.av@dbntrust.in

घाटी का दर्द (Hindi)

 वाह! कितनी हसीन, 
कितनी खूबसूरत,
यहीं कहीं रहती है जन्नत, 
बोल उठते लब, 
आते हो यहाँ पर तुम जब।
नहीं कोई गलती तुम्हारी,
ये शोख वादियां, हैं ही प्यारी।
हाँ मुझसे ही- हाँ मुझसे ही,
प्रकृति ने रंग उधार लिये,
मैं अपने भीतर
एक गूढ़ रहस्यमय इतिहास लिये।
मुख मण्डल हूँ, माँ भारत का, 
पश्मीना ओढे बैठी हूँ।
सुन सको तो, मेरी भी सुनो,
कुछ अपनी मैं कहती हूँ।
जन्नत मुझमें है... कहाँ? 
मेरे भीतर बस धुआँ -धुआँ।
मैं भारत का ही एक भाग,
मेरे टुकड़े-टुकड़े हो रहे आज।
एक आजाद और एक गुलाम,
यही तो रखा मेरा नाम।
चिनाब, झेलम, सिंधु का पानी,
रक्तपात की कहे कहानी।
डल, वुलर और नगीन में बहती, 
मेरे अश्रु धारा,
तीन सौ सत्तर में रखा मुझे, 
मुझ संग क्यों? ये अलग विचारधारा।
आखिर क्यों ये बर्ताव? 
मुझ से ही क्यों अलगाव? 
घुट रही है घाटी।
एक हसीना के भाँति, 
दो आशिकों में जा रही, 
बाँटी-बाँटी।
हे रहीम! हे राम! आन लगाओ युद्धविराम।
खूबसूरती मुझे क्यों बख्शी? 
मेरी धवल देह के खातिर, 
लहूलुहान होती है धरती।
शालीमार के फूलों को, बस मत ताँको,
कभी मेरे भी भीतर, झाँको।
लो कभी खैरियत मेरी, 
महसूस करो घाटी की पीर।
अपने हाथों ही खींच रहे, 
क्यों भारत माँ का चीर।
कश्मीरियत को समझो, 
समझो मेरी चुभन,
लाखों किस्से ,कर रखे, 
अपने में मैंने कहीं दफन।
जो बाहर देख रहे हो, 
वो केवल है एक तस्वीर,
सफेद चादर के अंदर लेटा, 
एक रक्तिम कश्मीर।
हरे भरे है, अभी भी, 
तिहत्तर और निन्यानवे के जख्म,
अमन और अहिंसा की, 
लगा दो मुझे मरहम।
मत लाओ गर्म बयारे, 
रहने दो, ये ऋतु सर्द।
सुन सको तो सुनो कभी, 
घाटी का ये दर्द
घाटी का ये दर्द।।
                 
    ----पूर्ति वैभव खरे----
Email Pke.av@dbntrust.in

Why study and teach ‘Humanities’?

My thoughts on the relevance of pursuing HUMANITIES at the Senior Secondary level, given that it must be mandatory till the Secondary level in any case...

As a teacher of Social Sciences, I have always been intrigued by the expected outcome of teaching and learning the subjects under the spectrum of Social Sciences. I have often asked myself, what is the quintessence of education in the larger framework?  Is it for skill development, is it for knowledge acquisition, is it for a living, or is it for a good life, is it for the self, is it for the society?

However, over the last 2 decades as a teacher of Geography & the Head of Department of Humanities,  when I have tried to push the case for ‘Humanities’,  it has been a battle, it has been an uphill task, it has been upstream, it has been tough, but it has been  worth, every bit of it. 

Introducing students in the country to the idea of Social Sciences in the Primary years is exciting and now with the introduction of curricula which have a wider appreciation in the world , Humanities have got a boost. Through the Middle years too, we wonder if we should ‘integrate’ Humanities or get into ‘specialisation’.  But somewhere, in the Senior Secondary level, Humanities, loses, and it loses big time. We do not have the passion to push these subjects as core academic subjects which are needed to build a strong base for each and every student of the country, irrespective of the curriculum they undertake. I am now talking about the subjects of Geography, History, Psychology, World Religions, Environmental Systems and Societies and Global Politics, in particular. Of these, some have become fashionable of late, thanks to the unpredictable nature of the environment and the economy at large. Strife in leading our lives in different parts of the world is now the new leveler, disasters unite Humanity and that is when studying the essence of such subjects come to the fore. When we pride on our individual identity, yet are ready to sacrifice that, for a larger cause which is beyond our geography, race, gender, ability, caste, creed, language, socio-economic class, education and quality of life.

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

"The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see." 

~Alexandra K.Trenfor

A passionate teacher is to be someone in love with the field of knowledge, deeply stirred by issues and ideas that challenge our world, drawn to the dilemmas and potentials of the young children who come to class each day. 

Teachers must be passionate about their field of knowledge and issues facing the children. Teachers must create strong relationships with their students, respect, requirements and create a classroom environment that promotes interest, and provide students opportunities to take ownership of their learning. This can be cultivated by involving students in the design of collaborative projects that both requirements and address student interests and concerns. Teachers need to give students meaningful challenges in the classroom rather than rote or mechanical activities. A passionate teacher has a combination of essential qualities like being accountable, adaptable, caring, compassionate, cooperative, creative, dedicated, empathetic, determined, forgiving, generous, inspirational, fearless, organised, passionate, patient, resilient, resourceful, joyful, kind, trustworthy and a continuous learner. 

A great teacher communicates and networks with the students since that provides a natural support system to students who share similar passions. A passionate teacher can pull the best out of every student. 

A teacher must inspire them to become better students and optimise their time in the classroom. A passionate teacher takes an equal interest in all students and helps turn them into the best versions of themselves.A great teacher makes connections that will potentially last a lifetime. A teacher must understand that each student is different, and it is imperative to embrace those differences that often make them exceptional. A passionate teacher not only teaches students the required curriculum but essential life skills as well. They can take a variety of styles and mould them into their unique style to meet the needs of the students at any given time. 

Teachers should incorporate humour and storytelling in their lessons which will keep students interested in learning.A good teacher should show an interest in their students' lives outside of school, talk to them about their interests and extra-curricular activities that they participate in. One should be considerate while assigning homework .Think about the extracurricular activities occurring on that particular day and try not to overburden the students.

Go the extra mile, communicate with parents. Teachers must be innovative motivators capable of getting even the most reluctant learners to be successful. They should make goal setting a component of their instruction. Encourage ambitious students to set higher goals and help students that lack the confidence to set smaller obtainable goals that will build a foundation for success. Teachers provide character education. They must include character education within their curriculum. The teacher should lead this cause by example to the same character or principles that they work to instil in their students. In this way, a passionate teacher can make a child ready to face the world.     

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." Albert Einstein

A good teacher is like a candle: It consumes itself to light the way for others.

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World? - Dr Anupam Sibal

The book was recommended holiday reading for the school staff at DBN Schools in Jammu.
This review is written by Girja Koul and you may write to her by email gkl.av@dbntrust.in .

Who is a child and who is a teacher? - Part 3

For Teachers: Understanding Jealousy and Kindness in Behaviour

Amita’s younger sister, Anjali (4 years) stayed at home when Amita spent time with me. This started to make Anjali anxious. Every day at home Amita was joyously talking about her time spent with me and this was making little Anjali jealous. She was creating a ruckus back home. “Mairey pechey sey yeh chila ti hai.” said Amita.

Amita was left with no option but to let Anjali accompany her to my home. Anjali’s yelling had worked but it wasn’t a good way to repeat.

Anjali is a very playful and energetic child. However since she started to visit me, it became difficult to do any activity with Amita. Anjali only wanted to do what Amita is doing and she ended up not doing anything herself nor did she let Amita do much. She wanted Amita’s notebook, Amita’s pencils and even wanted my attention whenever I talked with Amita.

There was a sudden change in my whole learning hour with Amita and I had to make sure that I don’t neglect either Amita or Anjali. It was tough and required me to be extra sensitive and thoughtful.
The day Anjali started to come, everything in my home took a new life – the bells (hanging by the side of the curtain) started to ring, the magnets on fridge started to be dislodged, drawers started to be inspected, the fridge started to be curiously opened and every five minutes the toilet was wet. “Es ko toolet jana hai,” Amita would say.

On the first day, Anjali opened the fridge and pointing at the papaya said, “I want this mango.” I realized it’s very difficult to meet the learning and emotional needs of two different children at the same time.

While Amita wanted to learn, draw, sing and dance, Anjali wanted to only play. Amita was obviously often irritated by Anjali’s behaviour. Since she was intelligent she used Anjali to voice her own demands. One day she said, “Anjali is saying she is hungry.”