Love Learning Vs Hate Learning - Khalid Zafar

A student’s bond with their teacher plays a crucial role in shaping their attitude toward learning. When a child feels connected, they approach learning with curiosity and enthusiasm. But when there is a disconnect, learning becomes a burden, and the classroom turns into a place of struggle rather than growth.    

As a teacher, I have witnessed both sides of this spectrum. There are students who eagerly participate, not just because they love the subject, but because they feel seen and valued by their teacher. On the other hand, there are students who withdraw, who struggle not because they lack intelligence, but because they feel unheard, unnoticed, or unmotivated.  

In my early teaching years, I believed that content mastery alone could make me an effective teacher. However, I soon realized that a teacher's ability to build relationships with students is just as important as delivering knowledge. When a student feels emotionally disconnected, their ability to grasp even the simplest concepts diminishes.  

I have seen students who initially showed no interest in learning but transformed once they found a teacher who understood them. A struggling student does not always need extra homework or stricter discipline; sometimes, they simply need someone who listens, encourages, and believes in them. A simple conversation, a word of appreciation, or a small gesture of support can bridge the gap between a student and their learning journey.  

As teachers, we must ensure that our classrooms are places of connection, where students feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and grow. The true success of teaching is not just in covering the syllabus but in ensuring that no child feels left behind. When a student connects with their teacher, learning becomes an exciting adventure rather than a chore. And in that connection lies the real magic of education.

Khalid Zafar 

Sunbeam Suncity 

Thoughtfulness and Understanding - Reena Gusain

Thoughtfulness -derived from the word thoughtful means deliberate thinking before doing something.  It means the quality of being considerate and caring for others and own self too. Thoughtfulness, in a way, characterizes the thinking power of an individual and also showcases his maturity level. Reacting to an unexpected situation in a thoughtful way will definitely give a positive outcome. On the other hand, if your mind is over-flooded with negative thoughts, values, and an approach in a haphazard manner will worsen the situation.

Even the golden rule of First Aid inherits in it the value THOUGHTFULNESS, i.e. to say ‘Make Haste slowly and carefully.                                                       

Understanding means being willing to forgive other people or be sympathetic because you understand how they feel. An understanding person has many qualities, he is a GOOD LISTENER, OPEN MINDED TO INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE & most important HE TRIES TO PUT HIMSELF IN OTHERS SHOE before taking the decision. Mutual understanding is the backbone of every happy relationship, so we must sprinkle it everywhere.

It is better to be called a thoughtful person rather than an irresponsible, reckless person. Thoughtfulness is not only a quality of being kind and thinking about other’s needs, but it is required for unwanted situations. I would also like to share a small incident of my life where I showed both thoughtfulness and thoughtlessness. Some five to six years ago, I received a call saying that the person is from the State Bank of India, Mumbai Branch. He said that due to security reasons, PINs of all ATM cards are being changed with immediate effect. Therefore they asked for my current PIN. In a state of thoughtlessness, I provided my PIN without even verifying that man. He then said a four-digit One Time Password will come to my registered mobile number, and I have to share that immediately. As soon as the OTP came I forwarded it. He acknowledged it and said my ATM is now safe. As soon as I disconnected the call, a thought struck my mind that SBI advertises that it never asks for PIN or OTP from any of its customers, so why don’t I verify the call. My face grew pale, and I became anxious to know the hard fact. At once, I called upon the SBI Customer Care and followed the recorded voice call wherein I was redirected to the customer care agent. The agent confirmed to me that it was a fraud call. I at once got my ATM card blocked; otherwise, I would have been bankrupt that day. So this was my state of being thoughtfulness. 

SBI CC suggested I file a case against that call to get punishment, and hundreds of people could be saved from falling prey to such calls. I was about to do that, but then I tried to put myself in his shoes. Though his deeds were wrong, I didn’t file any case, but for my near and dear ones, I shared a post on social media citing the incident so that they could be saved from such fraud calls.

The adventure of life is to learn and adapt. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change, so inherent thoughtfulness and understanding in your life and make all the impossible things possible.

Reena Gusain - The Doon Girls' School, Dehradun

Read more to know more - Sharmila Vijayvargi

Books are a storehouse of knowledge. They remove our ignorance and kindle in us a fire to know more. Books guide us, inspire us and enlighten us. We can become heirs to the wisdom of the past by reading books. We can use the knowledge gained by reading books for the welfare of the world. We become more humane by reading books. They can influence and change the course of our lives altogether. Apart from giving joy and knowledge books make us think and thus help us to develop our intellect and wisdom. They make our imagination fertile and boost are creativity. Therefore we should develop the habit of reading it is a very useful hobby, for it not only increases our knowledge but also helps us in becoming complete human beings.

We can fruitfully employ our leisure time in reading books rather than wasting it in useless and slanderous gossip. Reading books makes learning fun, develop our intellect and adds to our knowledge. It improves our vocabulary and grammar besides keeping boredom at bay. We can learn many things from books. We can enjoy reading stories, poetry, plays and tales of adventure. We can read about animals, birds and plants. But we should be particular about what we are reading we should choose books that are suitable for our age and interest.

   

Our parents and teachers can help us in selecting the right books for reading. Books -Our Best Friends for you’ll never find a better friend In all your life than a good book. It will enlighten, inform and entertain you at your will and yet remain silent and understanding. It will withstand any rough handling and open like a magic door.

When everything else is such a bore it will interest and please you once more. And when you are done with it goes back to the rack and stays there patiently and quietly until you pick it up again to learn, relax or entertain. 

Sharmila Vijayvargi

The Fabindia School

svi@fabindiaschools.in

In Search of Myself - Shivani Rao

Aarav Solanki/ LKG

Have you ever thought about who you are? What you stand for? You can be a friend, son, father, brother/sister, but these are just an aspect of you. Your inner self is who you really are. To know your inner self you must acknowledge your purpose values, your visions, goals, belief. Not what you have been told by others. You need to spend time with yourself. 

The biggest adventure of our lives is discovering inner you. In order to be the most valuable person in the world around you, you have to first know who you really are. Introspection and self-awareness are highly required.

If you are not connected with who you really are, you are probably just living your life for others. Pursing others goal and living up to other expectations rather than what you really want.

'All the wonder you want lies within you.'

Shivani Rao
The Fabindia School
sro@fabindiaschools.in

Courage and Patience - Nikita Rajpurohit

Courage refers to the strength of overcoming a fear. It is very important as it helps the child to grow bold. It boasts a child's confidence. Whereas, patience refers to staying calm in a situation and waiting for your turn to act. Every child is different in their own way so we can say that some children are naturally more patient than others. But we can teach patience to children by taking the same simple steps like teaching them self control, having purposeful delays and making them wait for their turns.

These strategies could help the children to make patience a habit. I remember an incident 7/8 years back when an adventure was organised for our school students in the school. It was paragliding. Everyone was excited about it because most of them had never seen it or experienced it. It was happening for the first time in our area. So they all were eagerly waiting for it.


When the day arrived, all the students were taken to the nearby ground. They all were getting impatient and wanted to do it first. Then the teachers advised them to patiently wait for their turn saying that everyone would get a chance to do it. When the trainer showed them how it's done, many students got excited but some students got scared on seeing him flying in the air. When their turn came, they got very nervous and frightened. Then they stepped back saying that it's not their cup of tea and they ended up refusing for the event. After that, a few teachers called the students and asked their reason for the refusal. After listening to them, the teacher called the event officer and informed him about the situation. Therefore the officer went up to the students and told them that it's not at all a risk for any one of them and they supervise each and every second of the event and they guarantee students' protection. This gave a major relief to the students and they started their way back to the event.

This shows us a scenario where at a moment, students were impatient and had great excitement for the adventure but then they lost courage and patience and how the teacher and the adventure officer made it a successful adventure trip. This was just an example of a single scenario, but there are numerous scenarios where the teacher can preach students about the lesson of courage and patience.

Nikita Rajpurohit The Fabindia School

Volunteer for INME this Summer- Gain invaluable experiences while being outdoors! Gold Holder Ankit Dugra did it in 2010, now is your chance

INME summer programs are weeklong adventure and wilderness based camps for 9-17 year olds. The programs are designed to help participants build self-confidence and self-worth and explore their potential... and of course have fun in a spectacular outdoor setting.

The programmes are held at our campsites at Tons (near Purola in Uttarakhand), Uroli (near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand), Yercaud (near Salem in Tamil Nadu) and Honey Valley in Coorg (Karnataka). In addition, Team INME also has off-campus programmes that include an expedition to Kedarkantha, a kayaking, rafting & trekking trip down the Alaknanda and exploring Coorg and the Kumaon hills on bicycles.

All INME programmes are conducted by outdoor activity experts, and every programme has a group 15 participants; looked after by three such experts and a volunteer.

Gold Holder Ankit Durga (red tshirt in the centre)
at the iNME Camp in Uroli 2010

Gold Holder-Ankit Durga worked for INME in the Summer of 2010 and he summarises his experiences as 'BRILLIANT!'. Ankit- who is a keen hiker, mountain lover and  adventure enthusiast added that being a part of the team that enables young people to discover the unknown, be excited about adventure and learn essential skills through the INME Camps, taught him to be a better manager, learn the best ways to approach young people and to also relive his Award journeys from school. Today, as a full-time employee of Zomato, Ankit looks back at this brief summer experience as a 'defining' one. 

INME are currently seeking volunteers who think they can contribute positively to the programmes and bring some skill (hobby or interest like music, photography, astronomy, dance...) to share with the group.

VOLUNTEER QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Must be at least 20 years old
• Interested in working with young children
• Have a skill/interest/hobby they can share
• Willing to spend at least a week on a wilderness camp
• Award Holders/Gold Participants preferred. For Gold Level participants, this will qualify as Gold Residential Project

Visit www.inme.in for more information on the programmes.

Applications (with a resume) should reach Ankur at Ankur@inme.in by March 20, 2012.

Priyanka Ghosh from The Heritage School-Kolkata shares 'The Himalayan Journey' to Manebhanjang

On the 16^th of December we from The Heritage School, Kolkata set forth on a trekking trip, as a part of the International Award for Young People Programme, to a small hamlet in the Himalayas. We were two teachers- Ms. Priyanka Ghosh and Mr. D.N. Dubey,   twenty-five students and our trekking instructor Mr. Joydeep Ghosal and two more trekkers comprised the group of thirty. All of us at The Heritage School were thrilled and energized and looking forward with anticipation to this expedition. For some of us it was our first step in trekking which was at the same time interesting and something new. We were all eager to see what was awaiting us.

On 16th we boarded the Darjeeling Mail and reached New Jalpaiguri Station on 17th at around 9.00 am. From there we set forth for our destination to Manebhanjang, which was a four hours drive from Siliguri. At Siliguri we got a feel of the chill and I was a bit apprehensive about the weather farther north. The bus journey was enjoyable and pleasant and we were thoroughly excited about the whole experience. On our way we stopped at Mirik, which was a beautiful, quiet picturesque place. The foggy weather made it more appealing. The short break there made me want more of this exquisitely beautiful place. I was getting used to the chill and the sleepy foggy weather and loved it every moment. On our way was Pashupati in Nepal; from now on started our journey which would criss-cross the terrains of India and Nepal.

We reached Manebhanjang and were greeted to a wonderful place and delicious lunch. Here I got the feel of the cold and the peaceful style of life. We then went for a short acclimatization trek which was just a forerunner to the trek the next day. Food glorious food didn't leave our path. The people were wonderful. The roads were rocky, a few shops, everybody inside their homes by 6.30pm. What a wonderful experience and a different way of looking at life. The silent evening, the dark streets, the buzzing of an isolated television but feeling comfortably at home, this was indeed a realization.

After an appetizing breakfast we set forth for our trek from Manebhanjang to Tumling which was of 10.5kms. This was the start of many new experiences which would be a treasure for the rest of our lives. The rocky and steep road made us gasping for breath and the short-cut roads which saved on time consumed a lot more energy. On this trek we went on walking and we were happy to reach Chitre our stop for some energizing tea and biscuits. Next on we went to a place called Lamey Dhura. The place had a secret beauty of its own, with the rhododendrons, the pine trees and deep valley and the high mountains beckoning us. Trekking was indeed adventurous and fun, once you start enjoying it you would hate to give it a miss. We trekked some fast, some not so fast and some slow, but we reached the land covered with clouds, Meghma. We could see the clouds covering the entire mountain and the tiny huts. We had biscuits to energize us and warm water to heat within, and we left for our final destination Tumling.

The trek was fun, sporty and breath- taking. The thought that we were so near to Tumling was helping us to walk. With little stops on the Himalayan foot-hills and no sign of habitation the sight of a single white-washed bench brought a twinkle to my eye. I dragged my leg and I reached Shikher Lodge at Tumling in Nepal. We had indeed completed the first phase of the trek.  Again great lunch was served and we gorged on it. The evening was great in front of the fire, with a lot of quizzing and brain storming, then an early dinner and then off to sleep.

Next day we were treated to Tibetan bread for breakfast and with that lingering taste in the mouth we set forth for our view of the majestic Kanchenjunga. I had seen the Kanchenjunga in photos, screen savers and in other people's thought. Now I was elated to see it with my own eyes and experience it. Inhale the moment with every breath I took and preserve the view with my eyes in the memory card of my heart and mind. The Sleeping Buddha posture of the Kanchenjunga was exquisite and elevated the mind to a surreal level. Another thing which excited us was that we could get connectivity from here and we felt great sharing and boasting about our unique experiences. This day our trek was to Tonglu and back. In between we learnt the art of tent-pitching. We had breakfast at Nepal, tea in India and again lunch at Nepal, political barriers meant nothing to geography and people Going back to our lodge waiting for some lip-smacking lunch we basked under the rays of the sun. The sun doesn't elude any corner and here it was warm, cozy and bright too. More surprise was awaiting us, and that was the self-cooking session. Here the children cooked a wonder meal which smelt and tasted good.

Next day our trek was to Jowbari on the way we caught a glimpse of Mt. Everest which was indeed breathtaking. We made our way through the Singalila forest reserve and saw various plant species. Trekking to all these places was enjoyable and learning experience. We were enriched with the experience of trekking, coming so close to the Himalayas and having the scope of our own interpretations. It was indeed a superb experience to imbibe this wonderful dream. Waiting for us back at the lodge was steaming hot chicken momos and soup. Oh how fascinating, having momos in the Himalayas, a perfect blending.  The winter nights were restless but the morning sunrise in the Kanchenjunga and the first flush of snow made us forget the tiny hardships. The students spent the afternoon learning survival tactics. In the evening surrounding the bonfire we sand, danced and amused ourselves and vouched to come back on another memorable trek. 


This fascinating experience came to a close with the trek back to Maneybhanjang. The memories were indelible in our minds. On the way as we crossed Ghum, Sonada, Darjeeling and Kurseong old memories of family trip crossed my mind. My mind pointing out how lucky I was to experience the tourist and the holiday makers side with my family and the expedition and the adventurous side with my students.

It was a marvelous and an everlasting experience. The student’s learnt to stay in harmony and enjoy themselves away from the luxuries of city life. They showed their stamina and strength. It was an experience were students with different level of motivation, stamina and mindset came together and were successful in their endeavour. Staying and living together for many days brought all of us very close and the various sessions made us better, confident and useful human beings.  That evening we boarded the Darjeeling Mail, the night was sleepy and Kolkata city of joy was welcoming us. A new experience came my way and I grasped it with both my hands.

I would like to sincerely thank the Board of Trustees and Mrs. Seema Sapru, the Principal of The Heritage School for this wonderful opportunity, Ms.Bishakha Banerjee for her support, The East Zone Award Authority and the International Award For Young People for their everlasting endeavor and Juniper Travels for organizing a pleasant trek.

Ms. Priyanka Ghosh, Award Leader- The Heritage School, Kolkata 

Rocksport partners with Award India

We welcome Great Rocksport India Private Limited (Rocksport) onboard as our new Award Partners. Rocksport's camp located in Tikkling, Gurgaon is roughly an hour from Delhi; an easy reach for University and School Award Participants in the National Capital Region (NCR). Bronze Awardees from the Delhi University enjoyed their Adventure Expedition at the Rocksport Tikkling Camp earlier this year.

Rocksport is an adventure-based research organization, involved in the process of finding innovative uses of adventure activities in the positive transformation of an individual. Through a plethora of workshops, services and events, Rocksport helps clients achieve what they want, with a promise that they would discover something new each time. Since 2001, Rocksport with their safe, reliant and professional team- dynamic and highly qualified, have undertaken an initiative to redefine the parameters of learning, entertainment & client servicing to a whole new level.

Apply to attend 'The International Family Meeting of Friendliness' in Russia from 03-09 August, 2011 Republic of Karelia

Award Russia welcomes all young people, Award Leaders and their friends to the Republic of Karelia, Russia for the third consecutive year. With 150 participants and friends of the Award Programme scheduled to attend, the six day event will showcase cultural exchanges, workshops, sport and adventurous activities for Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of the Award Programme.

The costs for the basic programme is € 100 plus travel expenses (to Petrozavodsk via St. Petersburg, Moscow). Last date to apply is 18th June 2011. Ask for more details now!

La Martinere Girls challenge themselves at 11000 feet

On 11th December, 2011 a group of 37 Bronze and Silver awardees of the La Martiniere for Girls, Kolkata accompanied by a team of Instructors, left for an IAYP expedition to Dodital, Uttaranchal. After completing the necessary journey up till Uttarkashi, where a day was spent in acclimatization, the trek commenced from a point called Sangam Chhati at an approximate elevation of 4000 feet above sea level.

The day’s destination was a small village called Bebra (7900 feet above sea level) about 10 kilometres from Samgam Chatti. It was a gradual uphill trek and took about 7 hours to be completed. After reaching Bebra the students were served a small snack and tea followed by some briefing for the next day’s trek which was to be a difficult one in terms of gradient. The students enjoyed the campsite in the moonlight and the soft sound of the stream flowing by. After dinner the team retired in tents for the night with the approximate night temperature of the place freezing below subzero.

The next morning the team set off for Manjhi: the next destination which was again about 10 kilometres from Bebra. This gradient was slightly steeper than the previous day and took about 8 hours to be completed. On the way the students were made to indentify many species of high altitude trees like the Pine, Spruce and Rhododendrons and its Gurus flower. Some uncommon birds like the Monal and Cons hell Eagle were also spotted. The team also caught a glance of the Yellowtooh Peak which is a snow capped peak at an elevation of 5740 metres from sea level. The trek was moderately difficult and quite tiring for the students but they enjoyed it for the panoramic landscapes, log bridges and green valleys on the way. The night at Manjhi was the coldest with temperatures freezing at about -7 degrees centigrade. The campsite however was beautiful by the moonlight and the clear sky where numerous constellations could be spotted. After dinner and a hot drink by the fireplace the team retired in tents for the night.

The next morning was bitterly cold and it could be seen that the streams around the place had semi-frozen. With sunrise one could catch a glimpse of the shining Bandarpunj Peak which is again a snow-capped peak at a height of 6320 metres above sea-level spotted only from around the Manjhi campsite. After breakfast and a quick briefing the team set out for their final destination Dodital which was a gradual gradient trek of about 7 kilometres from Manjhi. Destination Dodital was reached around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The vicinity of the vast expanse of the lake mesmerised everyone. Popularly known as the Angler’s Paradise the sight of Dodital was an absolute treat to the eyes. The exhaustion of three days of uphill walking was forgotten and everyone seemed to breathe fresh again. The team was briefed about Dodital and some interesting facts about the lake came to be known. The name Dodital comes from the word ‘Dodi’ which means Trout fish in Hindi and ‘Tal’means Lake. The Rainbow Trout is an exotic specie of fish which was first brought to India by the Britishers. It is usually found in extremely cold climate and is rare in India at the moment. Dodital is home to numerous such fishes. This perennial lake is fed by the glacier located on the Darwa Top at a height of about 12000 feet from sea level seen clearly from the Dodital campsite. The Dodital itself is a virgin lake situated at 10850 feet above sea level that leads to the river stream called Osi Ganga which flows around the Uttarkashi region. It is believed to be a sacred lake of the locals and also has a temple situated by it. The Jungle Crow, Monal and the Cons hell eagle are some commonly found birds there. The rest of the day was left to the students to explore the place, the frozen streams, to catch a glimpse of the beautiful black Rainbow Trouts and to get some get shots for their cameras. In the evening there was a campfire for the students followed by dinner and retiring in tents for the night.

The team set out early next morning on its trek back to Bebra this time leaving Manjhi on the way. It was a long trek of nearly 17 kilometres comprising mainly of downhill trails. It was however not very easy since the path was narrow and moderately steep.

The following morning the team wrapped up its stay at the Bebra campsite and left for Sangam Chatti where the trek was suppose to finish. It was by far the most tiresome 10 kilometres of downhill trekking owing to its narrow trails, jutting boulders, steep shortcuts and muddy paths.The team hereafter also spent two days doing local trekking around the Ganges in Haridwar and Rishikesh.

Finally the team reached New Delhi Airport on 21st December morning amidst fog and a biting cold. After a few hours of wait the team flew back to Kolkata reaching the same in the evening. The team dispersed on a positive note of having accomplished a fairly difficult trek and having withstood extremely rough weather. It was great to see their spirit of self discovery! Thanking the Almighty it was all good in the end.

- Contributions by Dr. Tapti Dasgupta-Award Leader at La Martinere Girls School, Kolkata and Meghali Gupta-Gold Holder and Expedition Assessor

Indian Special Projects - Adventure in the Eastern Ghats

Panchlingashwar: landscape that has drifted from heaven

Special Projects  Expedition

PANCHALINGASHWAR) FROM 22^ND TO 26^TH JANUARY 2011

IAYP gave us this wonderful opportunity to enjoy the expedition with ICNL (Institute of Climbers Nature Lovers) Kolkata.

Panchlingashwar is situated in Orissa, near Balasore. Forest and hills stay together in this grand Eastern-ghat mountain range. The forest here is called “Shimlipal”.  Elephants, porcupine, deer, hill-goat, shambar, squirrels etc  live here. Of course here lives the tiger too, but they don’t bother ICNL. They live in the core area of the forest and they don’t invite anyone. So, we did not go there.

Panchlingashwar is a piece of heaven that must have drifted from the kingdom of God. This land of rolling hills is inhabited by a proud race of villagers and wild creatures.The laziest individuals are converted into lively and highly energetic ones by rock-climbing, rappelling etc. Numerous walking trails in this region are a favourite with trekkers. Birds, bees, and butterflies are there to give you company. Wild cocks , squirrels, and monkeys keep a watchful eyes from the trees.

My students (Manav Vikas School- Jamshedpur) gained a little bit of knowledge about mountaineering and climbed some hills. We were sharing the thrilling experiences with some experienced climbers and they were briefing some of the difficulties they faced during the climbing of mountains. It was so interesting indeed.

The climb to Panchlingeshwar, which is in the eastern ghat mountain range of India brings you the panoramic view of the misty landscape. Panchlingeshwar temple is a bonus. The monks in red and yellow robes are amongst the many surprises that await the visitors searching for the heart and soul of India.

Kalyani Chakraborty
Award leader and teacher

Manav Vikas School (Indian Special Projects of IAYP India)
For more about the Indian Special Projects visit our website