Freedom and Peace - Jaspreet Kaur

Freedom means we can do anything according to our abilities and inner potential. There are numerous instances where I felt that my potential was not encouraged during my school period. Here I would like to write about 3 Instances as a student where I felt that more freedom at my disposal would be allowed me to realize my potential in a better way: - 

1st Instance- During my school Sports Meet, my teachers always selected a few students who were their favourites in various games. They never gave me a chance to explore my skills in badminton. Although I played with my friends and brother in the evening and always won, my sports teacher never gave me a chance to show my talent in school. My parents also requested them, but they always ignored their pleas. I still think I might be a good player if my teacher showed trust in me and if they gave me the freedom to play on the ground. I knew many of my friends too, who were very good and never got a chance to play at State or National level.

2nd Instance- I was not very good at Art as my art teacher never encouraged my artistic skills. It is the moral duty of every teacher to give equal chances to every student, whether they have some incapabilities. Real teachers always teach from the heart, not from any book. Whenever I did something wrong in my drawing book, my teacher scolded me and said, “Never try to do art; you can’t do it”. Gradually, I lost interest and still couldn’t draw anything confidently.

3rd Instance- As a student, I always hesitated while speaking in mike as my teachers never motivated me to speak in morning assemblies or functions. Mostly they have chosen monitors of the class or some favourite learners.  Today’s scenario has totally changed. Now teachers give a chance to each and every student. They give freedom to everyone to explore their hidden potential. In our school, we also give the whole class chances and help them be confident. We are promoting SDG goal number 4, Quality Education.

Causes people to give us peace and adopt violence: -

Peace is a situation or period in which there is no war or violence in a country or area. There are numerous reasons that people adopt violence and give up peace. The primary reason for the violence is now people have less patience than before. Young people can’t tolerate any suggestion given by their parents.

The next reason is work pressure and frustration; when people feel overburdened, they adopt violent methods. Moreover, disagreements in opinions also play a vital role in adopting violence and giving us peace. Teachers play a crucial role in the classrooms and in society. When there is any conflict between students, teachers must counsel them by giving real-life examples where small conflicts lead to violence. In this way, they can understand the significance of peace in society. Teachers must share meaningful folktales related to freedom and peace in the classrooms. During Assemblies, teachers can share keywords and names of persons who receive Nobel peace prizes. The biographies can be shared, for instance – The biography of Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. Teachers must connect some lessons with peace. In our school, we connect our lessons with SDGs. We are promoting SDG goal 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institution.

Jaspreet Kaur 

Kamla Nehru Public School, Punjab

Importance of Discipline - Shivani Rao

Courtesy Source: uiic@aktu.ac.in

Discipline is one of the most important personality traits in everyone's life. It refers to a set of rules and regulations which are to be followed while undergoing any task or activity. It is a way of being honest, hard-working, motivated, and encouraged while doing any task. 

It is a character trait that helps the individuals to complete the tasks in a given fixed deadline. The role of discipline in our life is to set orderliness, efficiency, punctuality, organization, and focus on our tasks. “Life without discipline is just like a ship without radar.” Therefore the importance of discipline in life just cannot be ignored.

Courtesy Source: https://www.cuemath.com/learn/importance-of-discipline/

Shivani Rao

The Fabindia School

sro@fabindiaschools.in

Freedom and Peace - Prakash Dangi

Everybody wants to be free. It means the opportunity to think and decide without any interference. Everyone wants freedom in social, economically, and cultural life. It is a condition in which people have to speak and act freely. The value of freedom can only be understood and appreciated by those who have a sense of part and a highly developed understanding of human nature.

Freedom of thought, opinion, creativity and faith are fundamentally human beings. Freedom of expression is one of the most important issues in recent years. Freedom of expression does not require following the opinion of the people, but we must give everybody the right to expose their ideas. 

Freedom refers to a state of independence where you can do what you like without any restriction by anyone. Every teacher's responsibility is to build a freedom environment in the classroom because it is essential for friendly learning. It is necessary for school life because when all teachers feel the freedom they all work together for the student's future.

“Peace” is a word that is almost as frequently as “truth,” “beauty,” and “love.” It means being one with life itself having no fear or bitterness. who is free from passion, fear and anger’ is said to have achieved inner peace. It is an important role play in education because education is more effective and meaningful in a peaceful environment.

A teacher’s prime responsibility is to help students become good human beings, motivated to fulfil their true potential not only for their own benefit but also for the betterment of society as a whole. A teacher must adapt the value of peace because “The destiny of a nation is shaped inside the four walls of the classroom”. The teacher has the greatest responsibility of building a nation.

Prakash Dangi

The Fabindia School

pda@fabindiaschools.in

Hope and Friendship - Kusum Sharma

Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on positive outcomes. Hopeful people believe that they can influence their goal. Hope and Friendship values are very much connected to each other. True Friendship is when someone knows you better than yourself and takes a position in your best interests in a crisis.

I remembered one incident in the classroom where I saw a real example of hope and Friendship. Sneha was a very brilliant student in her class and even excellent in all other activities also. Observed that from a few weeks she was not able to concentrate on her studies and always refused to take part in other events. I wanted to know the reason for this.

I called and asked her about her negligence of work, but she was not interested to share her problem. Next day her very close friend Reena came to me and disclosed that she was very tense due to her parents' separation and divorce.

I observed Reena was very helpful and caring for her and always tried to help her in every small thing. She motivated her to take part in games and other activities and also get her ready to talk to me for her problem. I even started playing extra attention towards her, now she was very friendly with me. We both tried our best to overcome her through that tough time. I was wondering if the support of her friend brought new hope for her. Now again she is doing best in academics and athletics as well.

Kusum Sharma

The Fabindia School

ksa@fabindiaschools.in

HOPE AND FRIENDSHIP - Penta BHIS

              HOPE
                    &
            FRIENDSHIP 





Chitra was forced to face a life of utter hopelessness after her divorce. Her world had turned upside down and all those people she had considered friends were not, in reality, her friends. She had dedicated her life to her family, now it had come to nothing.

Of course, it was not all ‘nothing’. She still had Jeet, her only son. He had been a very bright youngster with immense promise. However, his parents’ acrimonious relationship had also taken a toll on Jeet. He was no longer full of cheer, his confidence had taken a beating and naturally, it showed in his relations with his peers in class. With his parents’ divorce, life in Mumbai was no longer possible. His mother was emotionally shattered, and now she would have to return to her own parental hometown in Rajasthan. She was merely a graduate and could barely see the way ahead. Adding to the trouble was the fact that Jeet had just come to Grade 10. How could he move to an unknown town and school at this crucial juncture in his life?

Lifeworks in strange ways. Jeet had always been drawn to his Class Teacher’s compassion and quirky sense of humour. Ms. Iyer was always ‘there’ for anyone who needed her. Jeet, overwhelmed by the thought of losing everything in his world, confided in Ms. Iyer. She heard him out, her heartbreaking at the anguish in one so young, and decided to play an active role in his crisis. She assured him that he had no need to move elsewhere as he was welcome to stay at her place till the Board examination was over and done with. The offer came as a boon to Chitra and Jeet. They could not believe that they could count on a school teacher in what was such a significant moment in their lives.

Chitra moved to her parents’ home, to recover mentally and socially from her personal trauma.  Jeet was made to feel as comfortable as possible by Ms. Iyer in her home. Hope floated back into his life. His friends stood by him – not one of whom asked him about his personal life. They would be around if he wished to talk about it. The months grew wings and flew despite the drama in human lives.

Having taken the exams, Jeet went to stay with his mother in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Chitra had contacted her alma mater. The school Principal was kind and offered her a position in the Junior section of the school. Motivated by the words of the Principal of her former school, Chitra decided to pursue a teaching course while working as a co-teacher in the Primary Section. She was apprehensive as she had no work experience. Egged on by hope, she went ahead and joined the course and was also appointed for the part-time job. This gave her some pocket money, slowly enabling her to look around for people who she could relate to.

The results of the Board examinations gave Chitra-Jeet-Ms. Iyer a great deal to celebrate about. Whatever may be Jeet’s achievements in life, the one lesson he has truly imbibed is to never lose hope and to always extend a hand of friendship to someone, who needs it the most. The rest in life will follow – as the day follows the night.

Penta @ Billabong International High School, Thane

- Jeeji Sanjeev, Sanika Joshi, Arpita M.G., Muskaan Menda, Radhika Anand, Supriya Naravankar & Bhavani Swamy.

Humility and Appreciation - Bloom BHIS

“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.” – Northrup Christiane

Humility is the quality of being humble and it is an asset towards self-improvement.

This reminds me of an incident while we were on a trip to Egypt with the students of BHIS. We were on a cruise ship sailing on the river Nile and our stop at Esna Lock was an interesting sight. The local peddlers attached their small boats to the ship by ropes and threw handicrafts, scarves and towels to the tourists on board. We were on the deck watching it all, while our tour operator explained that the peddlers often had to wait for hours to sell their wares, and this was their only source of income.

All the tourists were busy clicking pictures and being fascinated by the way the goods were sold.

Meanwhile, one of my students, Meera, nudged me and asked permission to buy a Towel. Her wealthy friends started making fun of her. But she told them, "My small purchase will  probably make a big difference to them and their families."

Emulating her behaviour and her humble effort, not only her friends but also the Chinese tourists on the deck were motivated to buy the wares from the local vendors. This humble act really touched my heart.

I have been teaching her since she was 10 years old ...her mother is a very renowned architect but she remains humble and grounded, respects all teachers and staff.

Bloom@ Billabong High International School, Thane 

- Priya Wagle, Manisha Joshi, Rinku Lapasia, Ranjana Solanki, Savita Rane, Sharanjeet Kaur, Manjit Kaur

How to Maintain Concentration - Prakash Dangi

Most of the time we get motivated by others and make new plans with full excitement,

collect some books and notes, etc. Sometimes we even take admission in some institutes and make a new routine. We think of never giving up until we reach our destination and promise ourselves to start the study with new expectations. But gradually, the excitement seems to get weak day by day. And after some days, we even stop putting in efforts in our studies.

This situation is faced by most of the students. It is not only in academics but also in many other sectors. When we don't concentrate, we lose our patience. It is very essential to be determined towards our goal to succeed well. You should choose the subject of your interest so that you don't regret selecting the subject suggested by others.

Sometimes we see the children choose the subject under parent’s pressure. Parents tell the students to choose a subject without even knowing their interest. Every person is unique and has different qualities. To know the inner talent of yourself and to maintain the concentration for a long time, it is important to find our inner qualities and proceed forward in that field. We don't understand immediately any subject. But we should learn a subject from the start and the basics. After that, we can solve problems easily and improve the subject slowly- slowly. To maintain the concentration, we need to have a big dream and some role model. Every day we should stay focused and think to complete our dreams. So, on the basis of my experience, if you follow these tips, definitely you will achieve your dreams.

Prakash Dangi

The Fabindia School