The Progressive Teacher Vol 04 Issue 05

Editorial 

Nov/Dec, 2017 Vol. 04 No. 05 

DELBIL/2014/55800 

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Teacher as a Leader 

Greetings from The Progressive Teacher. 

With the expanding and changing definition of 

education in the new world, the teacher’s role 

has also undergone a sea change. The teacher 

is no longer ‘a sage on the stage’ but ‘a guide 

on the side’. The emphasis has shifted from 

teacher-centric classroom to a learner-centric 

one where the teacher wears a number of hats. 

Unlike in the last century when the Principal 

or administrator of the school was the leader, 

today every teacher in the school has to assume 

this role. Teachers have to extend their sphere of 

influence beyond the classroom and into schoolwide 

leadership activities. 

Teachers typically define career satisfaction 

in terms of their ability to be of service to 

others and make a difference in the lives of 

their students (McLaughlin & Lee, 1988). 

Similarly, the leadership considerations of 

teachers are grounded in their desire to improve 

the quality of teaching and learning for all 

students. Studies have shown that teachers 

do not subscribe to traditional definitions of 

leadership as ‘higher’ or ‘superior’ positions 

within the organisational hierarchy (Devaney, 

1987). Instead, teachers view leadership as 

a collaborative effort, a ‘banding together’ 

with other teachers to promote professional 

development and growth and the improvement 

of educational services (Troen & Boles, 1992). 

It has been reported that the teachers’ 

knowledge and teaching skills increase 

dramatically if they are involved in leadership 

positions; it builds self-confidence and 

commitment to teaching as a result of 

collaboration with their peers. The isolation 

that a head-teacher suffers from, decreases in 

the case of teacher leaders, thus leading to a 

congenial atmosphere in the staff-room. Teacher 

leaders who are given a free hand to create 

and shape their roles achieve great success 

and receive more support than those who lack 

initiative. 

When the school managements and principals 

support teacher leaders, it goes a long way 

in fulfilling the vision and mission of the 

school. Teacher leadership roles should be an 

integral part of the overall vision of the school 

which accepts and 

expects teachers to participate in leadership 

positions. Such teachers should be given time to 

experiment, reflect and create so that they can 

hone their skills and abilities which will get the 

excitement back into teaching. 

In this issue of The Progressive Teacher, 

which is devoted to the theme, Teacher as a 

Leader, you will find interesting views put 

forward by the practitioners themselves. 

Vijayalaxmi Manerikar believes that a teacher 

leader has the ability to transform a raw 

human being into a creative, sensitive citizen; 

Alfred William reiterates the fact that great 

teachers are great leaders; Ashok Singh Guleria 

propounds that instructional leadership is 

another comprehensive tool to redesign and 

restructure school success; Purbasha Roy 

says that teachers who are leaders provide 

intellectual stimulation to students; P Ajitha 

is convinced that teacher leaders can learn the 

greatest lessons in humility, power of positivity 

and strength of conviction from their students; 

Cleta H Lobo is sure that neglecting counseling 

in school leads to disastrous consequences. 

Besides these views on Teacher as a Leader, 

there is analysis of the Happiness Index for 

Schools by Uma Srinivasan, Steve Heisler 

is opposed to Bullying, Shruti I S wants to 

make STEM Education Fun with Logo and 

Lego, Jagdeep S More wonders whether 

Psychometric Tests are right for teachers, 

Shimmi Sharma takes us through the world 

of Communication. Besides these, you will find 

many other articles which, I am sure, will be of 

interest to you. 

The festive season is here and on behalf of 

The Progressive Teacher, I wish you a blessed 

Christmas and a happy New Year. Don’t think of 

the opportunities you have missed out. A brand 

new year is the time to start afresh, to start 

strong, and yet another chance to do everything 

we could not fulfill in the past year. May the 

New Year bring you new hope, renewed energy 

and more opportunities for a fulfilling life. 

With best wishes 

Rita Wilson 

ritawilson@gmail.com 

Subscription / Missed copies helpline: 08920636286 

Rita Wilson has over 40 years of rich experience as educationist including over 30 years of experience in school 

leadership positions. She is the former Chief Executive and Secretary Council for the ICSE, New Delhi. 

She is a consultant to a number of corporate houses and educational institutions. She is serving as a Member of the 

Board of Governors/Managing Committees of some of the most prestigious schools and colleges of the country. 

She has vast exposure to the education systems of Japan, Germany, England, Thailand, Singapore, Sharjah, Dubai and 

Finland. She has initiated, conducted and organised workshops for school teachers and principals all over India 

With a B.A. (Hons) English Literature, M.A., M.Phil. (English Literature), B.Ed. to her credit, she has edited three 

series of English readers and work-books for school children. 

Nov/Dec 2017 

www.progressiveteacher.in 3

C O N T E N T 

06 

PREPARING GLOBAL LEARNERS 

In today’s world, it’s no longer how much you know that 

matters; what is important is what you can do with what 

you know. Now, more than ever, life requires students 

to take what they learn in school and apply it at home, 

at work, in their communities, and in future academic 

pursuits. Today’s research indicates that students are 

more successful at ‘transferring knowledge when they 

relate school education to life’. We must prepare students 

by creating learning environments that empower 

students to draw upon various knowledge domains to 

find solutions. Hence, if modern-day students are to be 

prepared to succeed in this competitive world, educators 

must prepare their students in a new way. 

– Dr Priyadarshi Nayak 

18 

TEACHER AS A LEADER– 

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

‘The world of learning is changing on a day to day basis and I 

want to be a part of it leading from the front.’ 

–Purbasha Roy 

52 

HAPPINESS INDEX FOR SCHOOLS 

India is presently slated to be in the 122 position in the 

Happiness Index among countries all over the world. It is 

also seen that many countries that are not as rich as India 

in resources, economic stability and cultural diversity are 

better placed than India. Education, it is claimed, can play 

a bigger role in transforming this situation. What role do 

you think schools can play to improve the happiness index 

of the future citizens? 

–Uma Srinivasan 

55 

CAN THE END BE THE BEGINNING … 

LINKING CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSMENTS 

This article would not have happened if I had not come across a post on a professional 

networking website where new ideas were being shared and debated by the teaching 

community. There are many schools in India which are experimenting and are very 

progressive in their approach. However, it is equally true that for most of our young Indians 

these new approaches are far and few in between and for some they remain completely 

untouched. In this article I have tried to look at interventions initiated by the government and 

share a reliable way to help change seep through to young minds waiting out there… 

–Sonal Rawat 

4 The Progressive Teacher Nov/Dec 2017

EDITORIAL 03 


INTEGRAL EDUCATION 06 

Preparing global learners 

LEADERSHIP 08 

A teacher’s calling 

POEM 09 

To my grand child 

LEADERSHIP 10 

A role reversal 

COMMUNICATION 12 

Give me words 

LEADERSHIP 13 

Hands-on instructional 

leadership 

PSYCHOMETRIC TEST 14 

Psychometric test 

for school teachers 

STEM EDUCATION 16 

STEM Education made 

fun with LOGO and LEGO 

POEM 17 

Ant, a tiny Teacher 

LEADERSHIP 18 

Teacher as a leader– 

role and responsibilities 

TEACHING 20 

What can I do for a 

clean India 

BULLYING 21 

The no Bully zone 

LEADERSHIP 22 

Great Teachers 

are Great Leaders 

Nov/Dec 2017 

Vol 04 I No 05 Nov/Dec 2017 

DELBIL/2014/55800 

62 

PRINCIPAL Q&A 

PRINCIPAL 

DEEPA CHANDRAN 

57 

IN THIS ISSUE 

ADOLESCENCE 

Planner Pullout 23,42 

Classroom Display Pullout 24, 41 

WORKSHEET 

Class I: Mathematics 25 

Plane figures 

3-Dimensional shapes 

Patterns 

Picture Graph 

WORKSHEET 29 

Class II: Mathematics 

Plane Figures 

Dimensional Shapes - 3 

Number Patterns 

Displays 

WORKSHEET 33 

Class V: Mathematics 

Perimeter and Area 

Volume 

Symmetry and Patterns 

Collecting and Representing Data 

WORKSHEET 37 

Class IX: Biology 

Diversity in living organisms 

Why do we fall ill? 

Natural resources 

Improvement in food resources 

CLEANLINESS 43 

Make your kids learn 

the chapter of cleanliness 

LEADERSHIP 44 


NEW INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS 46 

The EGG DROP PROJECT 

making authentic learning 

connections in Science 

& Technology 

As parents or teachers we have to change 

our relationships with these children for 

the better. The lack of interaction between 

young people and adults seems to be a 

major cause of the anti-social trends. If 

teachers and parents were to have open 

lines of communication with the children, 

were to give them more support it is 

possible that much of the tension and 

hostility that now exists between adults 

and teenagers will diminish. 

–Dr Shayama Chona 

POEM 48 

I am a Teacher 

TEACHER 50 

Who is your teacher? 

HARI MOHNANI 51 

HAPPINESS 52 

Happiness index 

for schools 

CURRICULUM 54 

Can the end be the beginning … 

Linking curriculum 

objectives and assessments 

PARENTING 56 

How to cultivate emotional 

intelligence in children 

PARENTING 57 

Adolescence 

EMERGING TRENDS 58 

Emerging trends in schools 

Events 60 

Microsoft innovative educator 

experts program 

Honours 238 educators 

from India Including 12 

from Maharashtra 

Events 61 

Outdoor classroom day invited 

India’s teachers to embrace 

outdoor learning and prepare 

children for the future 

Cuemath hosts the biggest 61 

Mathematics carnival 

in Bangalore 

Principal Q&A 62 

Deepa Chandran 

2nd International Conference on Future Education 

16-18 November 2017 

Rome, Italy 

http://worldacademy.org/rome/ 

JALT2017: Language Teaching in a Global Age: 

Shaping the Classroom, Shaping the World 

17, November, 20, 2017 

Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan 

https://jalt.org/conference 

2017– 30th – International Conference on 

Teaching, Education & Learning (ICTEL), 

22-23, November 2017, Bangkok 

https://adtelweb.org/2017-30th-internationalconference-on-teaching-education-and-learning-ictelnov-22-23-bangkok-about-47 

International Academic Conference on Global 

Education, Teaching and Learning in Vienna 

24-25 November 2017 

Vienna, Austria 

https://www.conferences-scientific.cz/inpage/ 

conference-vienna-iacgetl-2017/ 

Education Worldwide India-Chennai 

25, November 2017 

Vivanta by Taj Fishermans Cove, Chennai, India 

https://10times.com/eduworldindia-chennai 

The International Conference on the Globalization 

of Second Language Acquisition and Teacher 

Education – GSLATE 2017 

3-4 December 2017 

Nagoya, Japan 

http://intesda.org/globalization-second-languageacquisition-teacher-education/ 

6th Global Summit on Education 2017 


Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

http://worldconferences.net/gse 

OEB 2017 - 23rd global, cross-sector conference 

on technology supported learning and training 


Berlin, Germany 

http://oeb.global 

Multidisciplinary Academic Conference on 

Education, Teaching and Learning 


Prague, Czech Republic 

https://www.academic-conferences.eu/inpage/ 

conference-mac-etl-2017 

2017 – 31st – International Conference on 

Teaching, Education & Learning (ICTEL) 


Port Louis, Mauritius 

https://adtelweb.org/2017-31st-internationalconference-on-teaching-education-and-learning-icteldec-14-15-mauritius-about-48 

3rd Globex International Conference on Education 


London, United Kingdom 

http://globexeducation.com/events/gice2017 

IABE-2017 Las Vegas Annual Conference - 

Research / Teaching Excellence in Business and 

Economics 


Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America 

http://iabe.org/domains/iabeX/Documents/2017%20 

Las%20Vegas/Live%20Documents/Call%20For%20 

Papers/IABE-2017%20Las%20Vegas%20Call%20 

For%20Papers.pdf 

28th International Conference on Teaching, 

Education & Learning (ICTEL) 

20th to 21st December 2017 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

http://adtelweb.org/28th-international-conference- 

on-teaching-education-and-learning-ictel-20-21-dec- 

2017-dubai-uae-about-45 


INTEGRAL EDUCATION 

PREPARING GLOBAL LEARNERS 

In today’s world, it’s no longer how much you know that matters; 

what is important is what you can do with what you know. 

Now, more than ever, life requires students to take what they learn 

in school and apply it at home, at work, in their communities, 

and in future academic pursuits. Today’s research indicates that 

students are more successful at ‘transferring knowledge when 

they relate school education to life’. We must prepare students 

by creating learning environments that empower students to 

draw upon various knowledge domains to find solutions. Hence, if 

modern-day students are to be prepared to succeed in this competitive world, educators must 

prepare their students in a new way. 

– Dr Priyadarshi Nayak 

Learning does not stop at 

the end of the school day 

or the end of the school 

year. Learning is, and must be, a 

lifelong pursuit. The rapidity of 

change, the relentless advances in 

technology, the diminishing halflife 

of knowledge, and the farreaching 

effects of globalization 

are all factors that contribute 

to a growing understanding that 

the most valuable lesson we can 

teach our student is ‘how they 

can teach themselves’. 

As educators, we nurture selfdirection 

and motivation in 

students, and we provide them 

with opportunities before, during, 

and after instruction to exercise 

some control over their learning. 

This does not mean students 

make all the decisions but it does 

require that we teach and engage 

students in specific strategies 

that offer them opportunities 

to make decisions and solve 

problems without being told 

what to do at all times. We must 

help students become reflective 

thinkers and learners, provide 

strategies to help them process 

information effectively, to be 

self-confident, engendering a 

belief that they have the ability 

to succeed. The future has its 

roots in the present. A successful 

future depends on the present 

endeavour and enterprise. 

Teachers are the makers of the 

destiny of the world as they 

undertake the challenge to 

foster a new generation equipped 

with creative, imaginative, 

intellectual, emotional, social 

and humane abilities. In the fast 

growing world of technology, 

communication, economy, 

environment and political 

change, it is imperative and 

Dr Priyadarshi Nayak, accomplished educationist, is currently 

functioning as an Education Consultant, Resource Person / Trainer for 

the Enrichment and Skill-Capacity Building of Teachers, Students and 

Parents. He has also conducted Leadership Programmes for Principals 

and teachers at the National and Regional level. He is the Master 

Trainer and Resource person of CBSE COE Pune and now for CBSE 

COE Raibareli. He is the National Trainer and Consultant of Private 

School Welfare Association. He has been extensively involved in school 

empowerment programmes for all stake holders. He has rendered 

unflinching support for professional development of faculty and student 

empowerment in all the schools he has been associated with. He has been associated with 

many forums which work on curriculum development and has assisted various schools 

to implement them. He has worked in all areas of work related to CBSE examinations, 

evaluation as an Observer and City coordinator for all competitive examinations. He 

has worked as Principal in Delhi Public School, Sagar, as Principal of St. Xavier’s Senior 

Secondary School, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh and is currently working as the Principal at 

Prelude Public School, Agra. 

an ethical responsibility of 

teachers to prepare citizens 

with modern and cosmopolitan 

outlook, mechanistic and 

informative ability, yet humane 

and cultural values. As a result 

they will have the intellect and 

dreams to propel the world to 

a new universe where science, 

economy, environment, etc. 

function with a paradigmatic 

symmetry, where planning 

and development would be the 

inevitable realization, social 

politics would be comprehensive. 

Such a utopian world may be 

envisaged only through holistic 

education. In this regard Adam 

Smith’s model of national and 

global development through the 

individual may be understood 

as the potential model in the 

21st century development of the 

self which would trigger global 

prosperity. That is perhaps why 

Aurobindo’s idea of integral 

education for physical, mental 

and spiritual development is 


eing widely appreciated and 

practiced. And it is true that the 

importance of an individual can 

never be denied. In other words 

the prospective youth through 

their enterprising qualities and 

novel ideas will inspire the nation 

and the globe towards success. 

Collective progress depends 

on the individual and it is the 

responsibility of the present day 

educators to train the tender 

minds for bigger challenges that 

the world has never faced. 

The world we live in and that 

our students will inherit is 

facing massive challenges 

and revolutionary changes in 

technology, communication, 

economy, international politics 

and law, environment, social 

governance, etc. For survival 

in this world, students need to 

have multi-faceted knowledge 

to address the challenges they 

will face. So, it is necessary 

to maintain harmonious 

correspondence between what 

they need and what they are 

being taught. They need to be 

taught how to adapt to ever 

accelerating changes which will 

inevitably be essential to success. 

They must be instilled with the 

ability to work and compete 

with peers in developing creative 

solutions to complex problems. 

This is the point where excellence 

lies. 

Competencies like technological 

literacy, collaborative problemsolving 

skills, critical thinking, 

entrepreneurship adaptability, 

communication, and creativity, 

required for excelling in the 

global market of changing 

times should be developed 

from school level. So the 

present day educators must 

impart knowledge of how to 

build capacity in various fields 

and disciplines, and use of 

continuous improvement designs 

to promote effectiveness instead 

of highlighting the way to excel 

in securing good marks in theory. 

Thus, the curriculum set by the 

board may be reengineered. For 

this the educator, by playing the 

role of a researcher, attempts to 

systematize the process through 

his imagination and drive. 

In the modern flat world of 

high rise competition in this 

global society, students must 

be taught how to be proficient 

communicators, creators, critical 

thinkers and collaborators along 

with mastery of additional 

subject areas, including foreign 

languages, the arts, geography, 

science, and social studies. 

Educators must complement all 

of those subjects with critical 

thinking, communication, 

creativity and collaborative 

attitude to prepare young 

people for citizenship and the 

global workforce. Life today is 

exponentially more complicated 

and complex than it was fifty 

years ago. This is true for civic 

life as much as it is for work life. 

In the 21st century, citizenship 

requires levels of information 

and technological literacy that go 

far beyond the basic knowledge 

that was sufficient in the past. 

With a host of challenges facing 

our communities, along with 

instant connectivity to a global 

society, civic literacy couldn’t 

be more relevant or applicable 

to the curricula in our schools. 

Global warming, immigration 

reform, circular migration, rural 

cosmopolitanism, pandemic 

diseases, political and legal 

discrepancies and financial 

meltdowns are just a few of the 

issues today’s students will be 

called upon to address. Today’s 

students must be prepared to 

solve these challenges. Thus, 

teaching critical thinking and 

problem solving effectively in the 

classroom is vital for students. 

Learning critical thinking 

leads students to develop other 

skills, such as a higher level of 

concentration, deeper analytical 

abilities, and improved thought 

processing. 

In addition, workforce skills 

and demands have changed 

dramatically in the last twenty 

years. The rapid decline in 

‘routine’ work has been well 

documented by many researchers 

and organizations. At the 

same time, there has been a 

rapid increase in jobs involving 

no routine but analytic and 

interactive communication 

skills. Today’s job market 

requires competencies such 

as critical thinking and the 

ability to interact with people 

from numerous linguistic and 

cultural backgrounds. Along 

with this, students are required 

to be given a platform to be 

creative and innovative as the 

modern information science 

and market technology need 

it profoundly. Again for the 

multiplication of labour and 

productivity, collaboration is 

a potential idea that makes us 

productive by being co-operative. 

Although these qualities are 

essential to achieve global 

success in a competitive market, 

technological advancement, 

resource management, 

multiplication of productivity for 

instrumental and mechanistic 

development, yet human values 

and spiritual education that 

monitor the young mind to use 

the intellect in a creative way 

for collective welfare are vital 

or else the consequences will be 

otherwise. 

Nov/Dec 2017 


LEADERSHIP 

–Cleta H Lobo 

This plaintive cry of Nigerian school 

children in a poem titled ‘Conflict’, could 

well be the cry of any school child in our 

country to-day. 

‘No one listens!’ ‘No one understands!’ ‘No one 

cares!’ These are the prevalent feelings of most 

students. And such attitudes can be a great 

barrier to any teacher’s efforts at teaching. The 

present–day teachers’ calling must necessarily 

be to destroy that barrier, and to reach out. 

Students, then, hopefully will not have to resort 

to ‘The Blue Whale Challenge’! 

Indeed, ‘A pupil is not a vessel to be filled but 

a torch to be lit’. It is only robots that can be 

dye-stamped, filling their memory bank with 

data, whereas a person must learn the A B C’s 

of human communication during his 10 or 12 

years at school and be able to adapt to different 

situations. Such an education will be effective 

only if a special human atmosphere is created 

in every school, by, who else but the teacher. 

Modern education has transcended content 

found in text-books, and is now a combination 

of theory and life experiences. View-points 

and discussions on local and global issues, 

books, art, music, and environment are the new 

imperatives of holistic education. And whatever 

the lesson – Geography , Maths or Literature, 

the teacher must speak with the child about 

Man, about sincerity, about integrity, about 

kindness in human relations, never forgetting 

that each one of us is a text-book. 

How can the student study us if our 

character pages are blank? 

Yes, kindness is necessary. There are so many 

instances of students receiving unmerciful 

lashings, not with a cat-o nine-tails (that is 

prohibited) but with the stinging barb of a 

sarcastic tongue. The wound caused by a ruler 

will heal without a scar, but the cut of a verbal 

chastisement can sear its way deep into the 

mind, nay the soul, and many years later hurt 

when he touches the wound with the finger of 

memory. 

Given a conducive atmosphere, the child learns 

A TEACHER’S CALLING 

Here we stand, infants overblown… 

Itching for something to happen. 

To tip us one way or the other. 

Groping in the dark for a helping hand. 

I’m tired oh, my God, I’m tired, 

I’m tired of hanging in the middle way. 

But where can I go? 

to understand his peers, to solve complex moral 

problems he might be facing, and if he runs into 

difficulties academic or otherwise, he knows he 

can turn to his teacher. Once a week in school, I 

have time set aside for discussing with students 

their problems, if any, and for counselling them. 

This is too often neglected by most – with 

disastrous consequences! 

A teacher must work 

First of all, teaching is a career, nay a 

vocation that undoubtedly comes under the 

heading of hard work. The hard work begins 

as soon as one decides to enter the field. 

Indeed, a good teacher must combine in himself 

the desirable qualities of workers engaged in 

research, psychology, mechanical trades, office 

routine and above all creative activity. As 

Einstein put it – ‘It is the supreme art of the 

teacher to awaken joy and creative 

expression and knowledge.’ 

Here is an interesting set of 

descriptions of creative teachers 

who provide an interesting contrast 

in characteristics. 

Ms. M is a gifted teacher, a sensitive 

artistic person who moves readily 

from a scientific experiment during 

which she is objective and matterof-fact, 

to a language period in 

which everyone is encouraged to 

participate in an atmosphere and organization 

that could well turn into a three-ring circus 

were it not for her ability to sense the mood of 

the students. She encourages the youngsters to 

express their creativity in writing, in easel paint 

or in scientific experiments, using correlation 

of studies. She has the facility of helping each 

child find his specific avenue for creating and 

then helps him build confidence in the product 

he produces. 

And now for Mr. H. He recognizes the positive 

qualities in every pupil- the dull as well as the 

bright. When he wanted to display class papers 

of projects on the bulletin boards, he made sure 

that every member of his class had something 

to display. For him this was not a reward but 

a motivation for all pupils who could proudly 

claim their own achievement. He was always 


innovating to enrich learning and to motivate 

the pupils to further achievement. Young at 

teaching as he was, he had a firm grasp of 

content; but his own motivation for further 

learning was infectious… When he left for 

further studies, there was a warm outpouring of 

affection. He emerged as a person who carried 

the authority of commitment and true caring. 

Both these teachers had one thing in common. 

They ignited the spark of creativity, hopefully to 

glow into a continuing flame. 

But above all, the teacher needs to have in him, 

a bit of the salesman, a bit of the actor, a bit of 

the top sergeant---- perhaps very much diluted, 

but there all the same. 

A teacher’s self-sacrifice 

Then, a teacher must be prepared for selfsacrifice 

(of all things). At present, this is a 

quality regarded as out-of-date. In an age that 

stresses individualism and self-satisfaction, 

there are many who look on the relinquishing 

of one’s own interests for the benefit of others, 

as the first step towards a psychopathic 

ward. And yet, if teaching is to classify as a 

‘profession,’ it must give evidence of that quality 

of self-sacrifice which characterizes the most 

representative members of the medical and 

legal professions. 

A doctor battling for the life of his patient, 

has no taxi meter ticking to the exact hours 

and minutes he spends in the sickroom. That 

tradition among physicians which does not 

measure service rendered neither by the 

anticipated fee nor by personal interests, but by 

the patient’s need, have a sure counterpart in 

the profession of teaching. 

The bells which announce the first class in 

the morning and close the last class in the 

afternoon do not really encompass within 

their echoes, the whole of the teacher’s duty. 

To begin with, they do not even delimit the 

teacher’s working day, an important part of 

which is the preparation for class which is done 

on the teacher’s own terms. Then there are a 

thousand and one unlisted little jobs which the 

teacher performs as part of his larger task. 

The out-of-class contacts with the pupils which 

are ever so important for any guidance, the 

lively interest in what the pupils are doing; 

the encouragement; boosting up a pupil’s 

self-esteem; the motivation; being a good role 

model; the contact with parents when required; 

participation in community activities through 

Scouting and Guiding, the Junior Red Cross, 

Social Service, Environmental Awareness – all 

of these, from tying a hair ribbon on a bobbing 

little head to campaigning for a worthy cause, 

involve directly or indirectly, self-sacrifice. 

And a teacher would not be much of a teacher 

without it, would he? 

Why do you teach? 

By far the most important consideration is 

WHY one teaches. Of course, the ready answer 

to the question will be: 

‘I’m teaching because I get fairly well paid 

for doing it!’ or ‘I’m a teacher because it is 

a dignified occupation and it gives me social 

prestige!’ or ‘I’m a teacher because I like the 

work!’. And strange as it may seem, none of 

these reasons qualify; none of these reasons 

get down beneath the personal element – the 

immediate return to self. 

Yes, a good salary is important. But sadly 

Nov/Dec 2017 

today, most teachers are looking out only 

for enhanced salaries and job security. 

This results in lack of accountability and 

supercedes the higher ideals of education, 

values, physical fitness, human excellence. 

If a day comes when teachers lose sight of 

these truths, and led by the educational pipers 

of the moment, retreat from what has been 

for centuries the traditional practice in this 

regard, the future of our country will be bleak. 

No amount of modern technology, computers, 

the newfangled frills and feathers in the 

educational arena can ever make up for this 

core prerequisite. 

We live in a democracy – a form of 

government which demands virtuous 

leadership on the one hand, and loyal 

intelligent following of that leadership on 

the other. 

We have celebrated yet another Teacher’s Day 

on the 5 th September. It’s time we pondered 

on these questions. Where will tomorrow’s 

leaders be formed in trustworthy 

leadership? Where will tomorrow’s citizens 

be instructed and practiced in intelligent 

obedience to lawful authority, besides 

fighting the good fight when required and 

facing life with a strength that comes from 

all-round development --- if our teachers 

neglect their responsibility in an effort to 

make their own task lighter, or to make 

school easier for their pupils? 

But hopefully, most teachers guided by sound 

principles and good sense, will realize that 

theirs is the high commission of how to make 

the right choices and not succumb to societal 

pressures, and of showing youth how to live ! 

Therein lies good and true leadership. 

The spirit of the teacher 

A purpose like that makes teaching worthwhile; 

it justifies the labour which is not always 

rewarded with adequate salary; it is capable 

of bringing happiness and contentment in its 

pursuit that workers in other occupations 

cannot understand. Its peculiar consolation in 

its peculiar trials is voiced by the American poet 

and essayist Henry Van Dyke: 

Dare not enter the teaching profession unless 

you love it. For the vast majority of men and 

women it has no promise of wealth or fame, but 

they, to whom it is dear for its own sake, are 

among the nobility of mankind. 

I sing the praise of the unknown teacher. For 

him no trumpets blare, no chariots wait, no 

golden decorations are decreed. Patience is 

his duty; he strives to conquer the evil powers 

which are the enemies of youth. He awakens 

sleeping spirits. He quickens the indolent, 

encourages the eager and steadies the unstable. 

He communicates his own joy in learning and 

shares with boys and girls the best treasures of 

his mind. He lights many candles, which, in later 

years, will shine back to cheer him. This is his 

reward. 

Knowledge may be gained from books; but 

the love of knowledge is transmitted only by 

personal contact. No one has deserved better of 

the republic than the unknown teacher. No one 

is more worthy to be enrolled in a democratic 

aristocracy, ‘King of himself and servant of 

mankind’. 

POEM 

TO MY GRAND CHILD 

–Sadar Singh Kaintura 

Dear Child! 

When you are born, 

I don’t know I am here or gone. 

But I have some words for you, 

That I could not make your 

parents do. 

Unpredictable are fortune, luck or ill 

fate, 

All we can is watch and wait. 

I had nursed high ambition, 

In regard to my daughter or son. 

But I faltered in the plans I proposed, 

I could not help what God disposed. 

I know you will do your best, 

But life is short, no time to waste. 

The earlier you treasure your life, 

Better you enjoy your life. 

For a student there are many 

distractions, 

Never choose luxury or fashion. 

Set your dreams as well as goal, 

Chase with all your might and soul. 

Circumstances have their own go, 

The key to success you should know. 

Sleep and enjoy in student life, 

And work hard in rest of life. 

Your parents are your best guides, 

Obey them with peace and pride. 

Every feeling with them share, 

Respect their love and care. 

They are your first well wishers, 

Only they will mourn your failure. 

All going is through winding stair, 

Don’t be upset by failure. 

You have to make your own road, 

For the battle sharpen your sword. 

Every time you may not win 

the battle, 

But to win the war you must be able. 

Be honest, simple and fair, 

If you are right never fear. 

You may put yourself in others’ shoes, 

You should also learn to lose. 

Conscience is divine element of God, 

Service to man is service to God. 

Never boast your gain or pelf, 

Give the needy and poor help. 

Be afraid of God and sin, 

Always strive to achieve win-win. 


LEADERSHIP 

–P. Ajitha 

To me it seems that some children in 

their guileless and artless manner give 

the corrupted adults some profound 

lessons if only they are willing to pay heed! 

Of late I have been learning and taking life 

lessons from –you would find it hard to 

believe, but yes, from a fourteen year old! But 

really why should it surprise us at all? Didn’t 

the great masters whom we revere and hold 

in high esteem show signs of greatness while 

they were quite young? 

One of the rare privileges of being a teacher 

is the opportunity to engage with unfettered 

minds through the teaching –learning process 

and the availability of the required resources 

to launch into an enquiry of the workings 

of the human mind by close observation 

and study of behavioural patterns through 

constant interaction with them. 

Children in being their authentic self tend 

to teach us, the adults- who have mastered 

artful masquerade, the value of freedom 

one can enjoy in just being oneself. The 

complications and discrepancies arising out 

of contradictions between inner and outer 

selves are all too well known. The unity/ 

integrity of thought, word and action still 

eludes us! At times all one needs is just a 

living example in the form of a child who by 

virtue of being himself/ herself negates the 

need to put on a façade or cultivating a dual 

personality. If we observe, everywhere we 

look, we come across people with carefully 

cultivated dual personalities. Why look 

elsewhere, our own personalities offer a 

perfect model for studying this characteristic. 

Haven’t we carefully groomed ourselves 

into a version of ourselves that would fit a 

certain image we want to project? By acting 

in accordance to a set of guidelines that 

govern our social conduct and presentation, 

aren’t we suppressing our individuality from 

manifesting? 

Just like there are exemplary teachers, there 

are exemplary students too! Students who 

add value to the teachers’ lives and make the 

teaching-learning process a truly ennobling 

and enriching experience for the teacher 

and the taught. A popular Chinese saying 

goes ‘When a student is ready, the teacher 

arrives’. Consequently, it is the presence of 

an earnest student that makes the teacher’s 

role purposeful. It impels the teachers to go 

beyond the diktats of the framed curriculum 

and share life experiences that have the 

potential to transform the mechanical 

transaction to life affirming interactions. 

Without the kind of receptivity that 

intrinsically motivated and highly curious 

minds who are eager to learn, teaching would 

be just another chore –a non- rewarding 

and an unproductive exercise! But thanks 

to students who persist to flout the norm of 

mediocrity and make earnest efforts to get 

the most out of their education, teachers 

continue to have faith in the nobility of their 

vocation. 

Some students in particular from among 

the different groups of students that I have 

A ROLE REVERSAL 

“Child is the father of man” 

–William Wordsworth 

On the eve of Children’s day, I want to dedicate this piece to 

those of my students from whom I have learnt much more than 

what I may have possibly ‘taught’ them. It is from these students 

that I have learnt the greatest lessons in humility, power of 

positivity and the strength of convictions as reflected in all their 

actions. 

taught over the years have left an indelible 

mark on my mind. It is especially to these 

students that I owe a lot in terms of the 

rewarding and enriching experiences that 

they have given me- priceless moments of 

sublimity, connectedness and strange affinity 

P Ajitha is 

a teaching 

practitioner 

who has been 

advocating 

for ‘liberating’ 

the education 

process to 

accommodate 

change and 

give true freedom that enables 

the teacher to create, innovate 

and experiment with notions of 

learning; a votary of teachers’ rights 

to empower them to become the 

catalysts of change in building a 

national force of informed men and 

women with sound value system 

and integrity of character; a staunch 

believer in the transformational 

nature of education imparted with 

true commitment to the larger 

objectives of this noble endeavour. 

The author presently teaches at 

Delhi Public School, Coimbatore and 

can be reached at ajithapaladugu@ 

gmail.com. 

I have been incapable of establishing with any 

of my adult peers so far! They have given me 

reasons to celebrate the teacher in me letting 

me partake in their beautiful journeys. 

These students hold a very special place in 

my heart. They have enriched my life in more 

ways than one. I can’t claim to have taught 

them anything (which they already did not 

know, by virtue of their extensive reading). 

Being a language teacher, I facilitate skills 

acquisition. Even here I cannot gauge the 

extent of my contribution. When I began 

teaching them, they had already acquired 

the level of proficiency deemed necessary 

for their age. I have had the privilege of 

witnessing first- hand how the intellect 

flowers through these gems. It isn’t their 

academic accomplishments that make 

them special but their ability to remain 

untouched by the extraneous influences and 

retaining their childlike innocence in spite of 

being tried and tested by hostile conditions 

detrimental to flowering of the being. 

I am indeed very grateful to these children 

and many more I will come across in the 

coming years who by virtue of being who they 

are make the inconsequential lives of teachers 

like me seem consequential by the privilege of 

allowing us to be a co-traveler in the journey 

of their remarkable lives. 

THANK YOU, Children. May all teachers 

be blessed to have such children under their 

tutelage! 

Dedicated to all my students. 


COMMUNICATION 

–Shimmi Sharma 

English is taught as a 

subject and also used as 

the medium of instruction. 

Both oral and written English 

are used in education. One of the 

best things that we as educators 

of English can do to improve our 

students’ word bank is to read 

aloud. When we read ALOUD, 

children learn more words; this 

sharpens their pronunciation 

skills, and it also increases their 

comprehension skills. But during 

this we need to take special note 

of catering to the interest of the 

children as they are different 

as per their age. Books on 

specialized topics can open the 

door to the unexplored, unknown 

and fantastic boundaries of 

learning. 

English communication should 

mean COMMUNICATION; 

in language class the children 

should not be expected to sit 

quietly rather there should be 

constructive scaffolding for the 

building of vocabulary gradually. 

The teacher is the powerful 

engineer of the language who 

lays the basic structure of the 

language in the early life of the 

child. As a language teacher 

when we talk to children a 

step above their language and 

repeatedly use a few words in 

our conversation, the words 

get infused in their word bank 

very easily without much effort 

or rote learning. The words 

should be repeated as the 

children don’t learn the words 

in one go. Repeating the words 

in multiple environments will 

allow our children to truly live 

the words and therefore adopt 

the words in their language and 

conversation easily. But be sure 

to select words that relate to our 

children’s existing vocabulary 

and knowledge base. Talking 

to our students is no doubt 

beneficial for their language 

skills. It could be about the 

things in the park, grocery store, 

their favourite cartoon show or 

anything which can initiate the 

conversation process. 

Children love to imitate their 

teacher. We know that our 

children are observant and follow 

our example, actions even words. 

We should cite great quotes from 

books, new facts so that they can 

be enthusiastic and excited to 

share their new knowledge. 

In the early learning age we 

should captivate our children 

with new words, various sounds 

and plenty of expressions, as 

non-verbal communication 

also plays a very important 

GIVE ME WORDS 

As we know English plays a very significant role in education. It is found 

that children with more expansive vocabularies achieve better grades 

in school. These children are able to think more deeply, can express 

their emotions and thoughts better, and learn new things faster than the 

others. By teaching our children literacy skills early in life, we can avoid 

or reduce future learning difficulties. 

role in communication. We 

should associate words with 

their favourite television shows, 

cartoon characters, pictures, 

toys, classroom environment 

because it helps ingrain the word 

better in the children’s brain 

through context. 

We should always remember 

to respond to our children’s 

attempt to talk because it is 

the first step in building self 

confidence in children. We should 

always validate and expand 

upon the children’s attempt at 

communication. Our children will 

become language competent – 

this means they would be able to 

use the linguistic knowledge in a 

second language to fulfil a range 

of purposes in communication. 

People across the world do 

not talk only about fluency in 

English rather they focus on the 

expansion of the framework of 

communication competence. The 

goal has shifted from producing 

learners who can mimic the 

‘inner-circle’ countries language 

to effective language users 

who are competent in using 

English as an international 

language. But for this expertise 

the children should learn the 

linguistic code grammar, other 

higher internalized rule systems 

which are also important in 

English language. Therefore, 

with increasing knowledge of 

grammatical rules, the learner 

develops a knowledge which 

equips the students essentially 

with the ability when to speak, 

when not, and ... what to talk 

about, with whom, when, 

where, in what manner. There 

Shimmi Sharma has Master’s 

degrees in English, Psychology and 

Education, plus a Bachelor’s degree 

in Education, Post Graduate Diploma 

In Higher Education, a 

Certificate in English Teaching as 

a Second Language, a Certificate 

in Functional English and a 

Certificate In Guidance. She has 

been teaching English at Sunbeam 

School,Lahartara, Varanasi for the last seven years. 

is a great need to adopt more 

communicative approaches in the 

teaching of English. 

When we connect to our children 

emotionally they behave like a 

sponge and are ready to soak 

up much more knowledge than 

we think. We should not hurt 

their feelings when they are 

unable to pronounce a few words. 

Of course, our children would 

mispronounce a few words; use 

them in the wrong tense, or in 

incorrect context. We should 

revamp the learning process by 

gently correcting the students, 

teaching them how to modify 

their statements or words. We 

should try to make this process 

feel more like an encouraging 

modification instead of a 

punishment or embarrassment, 

which would give our children 

reassurance and freedom to 

accidentally make mistakes 

while knowing that we will not 

embarrass them. 

There is an imminent need 

to reform the obsolete ways 

of teaching English in the 

class. Language is a beautiful 

kaleidoscope of exuberant 

words – the only need is to equip 

our children with tenacity and 

readiness for this lucid language 

of the entire world. 


LEADERSHIP 

–Ashok Singh Guleria 

Recent researches in the 

field of school progress and 

development have proved 

that instructional leadership is 

another comprehensive tool to 

redesign and restructure school 

success. 

Why Instructional 

Leadership: 

We live in a world where the 

teaching–learning scenarios are 

taking giant steps forward to 

meet the current educational 

challenges. Moreover, competitiveness, 

skill development 

exigencies, improving teaching 

–learning strategies, too, need 

the scope of developing space 

for instructional leadership in 

schools. In many settings, school 

administrators remain in their 

positions for only three to four 

years, whereas teachers stay 

far longer. Teachers often hold 

the institutional memory; they 

are the custodians of the school 

culture. Schools that want to 

improve make a wise investment 

when they cultivate and encourage 

teacher leaders, because they 

are in a position to take the long 

term view and carry out longrange 

projects. 

Developing Personal 

Mastery and Skills: 

In our school being the administrative 

leader, I regularly put our 

teachers in healthy competitive 

routine by giving them challenging 

tasks to develop and improve 

teaching-learning strategies. I 

ask them to develop lesson plans, 

perform outdoor teaching learning 

activities, do team teaching, 

conduct allied classes and prepare 

instructional presentations. 

Each teacher in his/her specified 

field brings out something new. 

It not only helps in improving 

teaching skills but also develops 

leadership skills. 

Shared Instructional 

Leadership in 

Classrooms: 

Our school classrooms now are 

the platform where the teacher 

and learners perform their 

roles in different perspectives. 

Changing from teacher centred 

instruction we are shifting 

gears towards student centred 

programmes and activities. 

Preparing instructional content, 

our learners too play their roles 

and there is a lot of scope of 

reciprocal exchange of leadership 

roles. Teachers, as instructional 

leaders, must transform learning 

to develop leadership among 

learners. So, very often, I find 

Nov/Dec 2017 

PERSONAL 

GROWTH 

AND SKILL 

DEVELOPMENT 

INCREASED 

INTERNAL 

ACCOUNTABILITY 

Thinking of how should I start this article I came 

across this beautiful and awe inspiring quote 

by John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. President. 

‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, 

learn more, do more and become more, you are 

a leader.’ Instructional leadership in the literal 

sense of the term has taken a very inclusive 

ground in the education world. 

students making presentations on 

given topics and taking care of 

classroom activities. 

Personal Growth and Skill 

Development: 

In any progressive school 

instructional leadership offers 

tremendous scope for personal 

growth and professional skill development 

of teaching community. 

Leadership is a distinguishing 

characteristic of those who stand 

ahead in the field of their work 

and/or community. Instructional 

leadership is learning-focused, 

learning for both students and 

sub school leaders, and learning 

which is measured by improvement 

in instruction and in the 

quality of student learning. 

HANDS-ON 

INSTRUCTIONAL 

LEADERSHIP 

WHY 

INSTRUCTIONAL 

LEADERSHIP 

DEVELOPING 

PERSONAL 

MASTERY AND 

SKILLS 

Increased Internal 

Accountability: 

Our school management recognizes 

the need to reduce 

instructional leadership burden 

on principals. They have tried 

in recent years to create more 

leadership capacity through a 

wide variety of initiatives such as 

engaging teachers in leadership 

roles. A teacher leader inside the 

classroom has the power and potential 

to influence his followers 

eagerly sitting in front of him/her. 

Instructional leadership as a tool 

of school management generates 

accountability and improves the 

school system. If a teacher is 

given a definite role he focuses 

more on it and paves the way for 

school success. 

Ashok Singh Guleria, a teacher 

of 21 years standing is a postgraduate 

in English Literature. He 

writes on pedagogical issues and 

children’s behavioural concerns. He 

has worked as Head of Department 

of English, Curriculum Planner 

and Academic Coordinator cum 

Teachers’ Trainer at the Akal 

Academy Group of Schools run by 

the Kalghidhar Education Trust, Baru Sahib, at Kajri in Uttar 

Pradesh. Currently he works as Principal at Akal Academy, 

Gomti. He strives to develop and facilitate the building of a 

robust and sustainable teaching-learning fraternity endowed 

with a strong sense of work culture. He can be reached at 

ashok.guleria70@gmail.com 

SHARED 

INSTRUCTIONAL 

LEADERSHIP IN 

CLASSROOMS 

CHANGE IN 

TEACHER-PUPIL 

RELATIONSHIPS 

AND ACADEMIC 

PROGRESS 

Change in Teacher- 

Pupil relationships and 

Academic Progress: 

Instructional Leadership in 

any form paves the ways to a 

democratic system of teaching-learning. 

Well guided and 

well monitored instructional 

strategies make teachers and 

learners more independent and 

stress free as each group carries 

on its programmes with more lucidity 

and freedom. In our school, 

teachers work in different groups 

under their team leaders sharing 

a common core programme; we 

have Clubs, School Houses, Academic 

Management teams and 

Societies. Each group is led by 

team leaders in hierarchal order. 

This leads to improved school 

relationships and enhances academic 

progress. 

These days our school is preparing 

the learners for the next 

term. Recently we have formed 

new school teams. A new School 

Traffic Club has been formed under 

the leadership of a dedicated 

teacher and a group of teachers 

and students are a part this 

club. To improve our academic 

achievement, we have teachers 

who all the year round build and 

design instructional tools; and 

our efforts are focused on the 

goals we have to achieve by the 

end of school term. 

To conclude, I would like to 

share with my fellow teachers the 

following concluding lines of a 

poem written by American poet 

and short story writer, Douglas 

Malloch 

If you can’t be a highway then 

just be a trail, 

If you can’t be the sun be a star; 

It isn’t by size that you win or you 

fail — 

Be the best of whatever you are! 


PSYCHOMETRIC TEST 

–Jagdeep S More 

But of late, this profession 

is under immense scrutiny 

after the tragic incident 

of the murder of a seven year 

old in a reputed school of 

Gurugram. For weeks, one 

could find headlines labelling 

private schools as ‘Yumraj’ 

and ‘Hatyare’. Almost all the 

private schools are painted 

with the same brush and are 

being labelled as profit mongers 

with no quality checks for child 

security. 

After this sad incident, it 

seems as if all authorities have 

woken-up from hibernation and 

there has been a mad rush of 

issuing circulars, notifications, 

guidelines and checklists for 

schools, teachers and support 

staff. To name a few there 

came ‘Guidelines for Safety 

of Children in Schools’ from 

Gurgaon Police, Notifications 

from Ministry of HRD, 

Checklists from Directorate 

of Education Haryana and 

many more. But CBSE tops the 

chart issuing a compendium 

of Circulars. CBSE ordered its 

affiliated schools to complete 

psychometric evaluation of all 

staff – teachers, non-teaching 

employees, sweepers, bus drivers 

and conductors in two months 

time via a circular dated 28 

September 2017. The circular 

came more like a ‘Fatwa’ without 

even considering its intricacies 

for once. It is like the CBSE 

officials are trying to save their 

skin by putting in postulates 

which are a far cry for the 

executers. 

Let us understand the nature of 

this test in detail. Psychometric 

tests are a standard and 

scientific method used to 

measure individuals’ mental 

capabilities and behavioural 

style. These tests are designed to 

measure candidates’ suitability 

for a role based on the required 

personality characteristics 

and aptitude (or cognitive 

abilities). These tests measure 

a standardised sample of 

behaviour and describe them on 

a numerical scale. The scale thus 

puts the qualifying parameters 

for the candidate. The definition 

sounds good and can give a 

feeling to implement it sine qua 

non. Now the question is - How 

to get it implemented in 19500 

schools affiliated to CBSE? 

Schools affiliated to the CBSE 

have around ten lakh employees, 

spread over 26 countries, 

including around 1,100 Kendriya 

Vidyalayas, 600 Jawahar 

PSYCHOMETRIC TEST 

FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS 

Teaching has been considered the most noble profession on the planet. 

Teaching school children is the noblest of them all. Aristotle once said, 

‘Those who teach children are more to be honoured than those who 

produce them.’ 

Navodaya Vidyalayas, 2,700 

schools run or aided by state 

governments and 14,900 private 

schools. 

It is a huge task and a timetaking 

process. Evaluation will 

ideally take a minimum of half 

an hour to one hour per person. 

The process may take months for 

a school to complete. Moreover, 

you cannot have a standard 

test for teachers, non-teaching 

employees, sweepers, bus drivers 

and conductors. Availability of 

trained psychiatrists is a big 

issue in cities let alone small 

towns. Even the good hospitals 

of metropolitan cities in India 

face this crunch. Schools located 

in remote areas, such as the 

Navodaya Vidyalayas, and 

villages may find it virtually 

impossible to get trained 

psychologists. 

One of the proposals is to have 

an online computer based test, 

which will give an instant result. 

This too is becoming a laughing 

stock as expecting the support 

staff to appear for an online 

test is still a distant dream for 

our country. In all likelihood an 

online examination will be in 

English. The language too will 

I am an Engineer by my first 

degree. I worked with an MNC in 

Mumbai as a Quality Engineer. My 

keen interest in teaching brought 

me to the doorsteps of Education 

Industry. I am currently working as 

a Sr. Teacher (PGT) English in one 

of the reputed schools of Haryana. 

I am a CBSE Resource Person for 

Challenging Areas in English Core (Class XII), Life Skills, 

CCE, Gender Sensitivity & Classroom Management. I 

possess a rich experience in training Students, Teachers, 

Head of Departments and Principals. I am also an active 

career counselor. 

I have ample experience in applying appropriate teaching 

and assessment methodologies, and an expert at designing 

and developing educational objectives and preparing 

teaching material. 

become a hindrance for nonteaching 

staff and teachers of 

languages other than English. 

Having a pan-India level test 

will need immense amount 

of effort for translation of 

the questions in vernacular 

languages. Achieving this in two 

months – is it possible? Another 

challenge is that Psychometric 

Evaluation also involves the 

use of cards and expressions 

followed by a few questions to 

understand a person’s cognitive 

ability and personality trait. If 

the expert feels that the person 

is faking the answer, the person 

may be subjected to a detailed 

evaluation, which will further 

delay the process. 

Renowned psychologist Mary 

Lawson of McGill University, 

who is also an expert in the 

field, criticised the psychometric 

test by highlighting two major 

flaws - Firstly, the validity and 

reliability of personality tests are 

not universally accepted – even 

among psychologists. From the 

tests’ origins in the US military, 

then their widespread use in 

the corporate sector (loved by 

human resource departments), 

research has repeatedly indicated 

that they neither always test 

what they claim to test, nor 

consistently produce the same 

results even when a person is 

14 The Progressive Teacher Nov/Dec 2017 

Pix courtesty: Amrutha Varshinii | TNN

e-tested, perhaps just a month 

later. Secondly, using the tests 

is a vote of no confidence by 

the Board of Studies. This is 

particularly worrying given that 

one of the things these faculties 

teach is ‘educational assessment 

and evaluation’. It would seem 

that the wrong solution is being 

applied to the wrong problem 

here. 

Let’s have a look at the biggest 

drawback of the system. To 

become a teacher in our country 

is not an easy task. A candidate 

has to complete his/her education 

up to Bachelors or Masters 

level which involves appearing 

for entrance examinations at 

various university levels or 

qualifying the cut-offs. Thereafter, 

possessing a Diploma or Degree 

in Education is a prerequisite. 

These courses have portions of 

psychology as a mandatory part 

of the curriculum. On completion 

of the same, a candidate has 

to qualify Teachers Eligibility 

Test (TET) conducted by CBSE 

or state governments. TET 

examination tests a candidate on 

psychological questions similar to 

the lines of a psychometric test. 

These tests have a reasonably 

high passing mark criterion. 

In order to seek a job in a 

government school or the likes 

of a Kendriya Vidyalaya, the 

same candidate has to take 

another entrance examination 

conducted by the government 

or the institution. These exams 

also have a significant portion of 

psychometric analysis questions. 

Private schools have their own 

employment rules. After passing 

the above said test, a person has 

to undergo a panel interview, 

a demo teaching session and a 

probation period ranging from 

six months to two years. After 

undergoing scrutiny at so many 

levels, the psychometric test 

is making a mockery of the 

education industry. Peter Russel 

of University of Cambridge said, 

‘Personality tests are at best 

scientifically controversial and 

definitely fakeable.’ 

Chapter X of the CBSE Byelaws 

in its article 55 states 

that, ‘in case there is a shortage 

of teachers in a particular 

subject or qualified teachers 

are not available in a remote 

area, the Board may consider 

requests for exemption from 

minimum qualifications under 

special circumstances for some 

years.’ This statement is in itself 

contradictory to give any test 

to a teacher. This clearly shows 

the haste in which CBSE issues 

such guidelines before studying 

its own constitution. Another 

challenge to the said exam is – 

Who will bear the examination 

cost? Is it the teachers, the 

School Management, the Board 

or the Government? The obvious 

answer is – the onus will lie on 

the teachers as they are the ones 

who are the most vulnerable of 

the lot. Initial reports suggest 

that the cost of the test will be 

around five thousand rupees. In 

areas where a teacher’s salary 

starts from the same number and 

a fourth class employee earns 

a salary of around a thousand 

or a little more, this cost will 

definitely burn a hole in their 

pockets. 

Schools have teachers with 

experience of more than two 

decades who have put their 

entire life in the nation building 

exercise. Putting them to 

psychometric test is like asking 

a doctor with 20 years of 

practicing expertise, to undergo 

a test in order to qualify for the 

profession. And if by any chance 

he cannot get the ‘desirable’ 

score, label him unfit for the 

profession. What a mockery our 

policy makers have made of this 

noble profession. Believe me no 

teacher wants even an iota of 

harm to their students. After 

parents, it is only the teacher 

who becomes happy at a child’s 

success. 

If there has to be a psychometric 

test for professions, it has to be 

for all. Let there be fair play. 

Let’s have it across professions. 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if 

we could have similar tests for 

politicians? 

Nov/Dec 2017 


STEM EDUCATION 

–Shruti I S 

My husband, Vijay and I 

were taking a career 

break and teaching at 

Gram Vikas Residential School 

for tribal children in a remote 

corner of Odisha. When we first 

arrived, the school had just 

received its annual 10th board 

exam results and although, all 

the students had passed, the 

subject wise results were, at best, 

average. The school was lagging 

behind in Science and Maths 

education which was observed in 

all the classes. We were planning 

to stay there for at least a year 

and help the school in whatever 

way we could. We were on the 

lookout for any project that we 

could take up. 

Although a low-income school, 

it had a well-equipped computer 

lab since 2015 that was 

sponsored by Oracle. However, 

there was a shortage of skilled 

computer trainers and with no 

internet connection it was not 

possible to learn through videos. 

An initial assessment showed 

that the students knew quite a 

bit about computers which they 

had picked up from volunteers 

and other such resource persons 

who visit the school intermittently. 

They knew the names of 

different parts of a computer. 

They had picked up ‘Paint’ and 

were familiar with MS Office. 

They knew how to play videos 

and songs. Some of the young 

artists had even made their own 

computer books in Odia with 

illustrations that served as manuals 

for the new learners. However, 

that was about it! After MS 

office they had hit a road block. 

Moreover, the students now 

looked at computers as a source 

of instant gratification for their 

entertainment needs. We noticed 

STEM EDUCATION 

MADE FUN WITH 

LOGO AND LEGO 

‘What can we do with a computer?’ I asked in 

broken Odia. 

‘Didi, Typing!’ 

‘Photos! Videos!’ 

‘Game!’ the students replied. 

Au Kono (What else)?’ I persisted. 

A few minutes of silence followed. 

‘Didi, Paint?’ a feeble voice offered uncertainly. 

‘Yes, correct’ I agreed, ‘Done! What else?’ 

There were only thoughtful expressions this 

time. This was going as expected. After all, 

‘programming’ was something they hadn’t 

learnt yet. 

that as soon as they switched 

on the machines, a majority of 

them would start seeing photos 

or videos. We had a challenge in 

front of us to wean them away 

from excessive video viewing and 

help them channelise their energy 

into something more creative as 

well as educative. We also needed 

educational tools that would help 

us overcome the language barrier. 

We drew up a classwise plan and 

decided to introduce a Science, 

Technology, Engineering and 

Mathematics (STEM) education 

programme to seventh, eighth 

and ninth graders. As part of this 

programme, we took sessions on 

‘Logo programming’ for seventh 

graders and ‘Lego mindstorms’ 

for eighth and ninth graders. The 

school had received computers 

and other equipment funded by 

Oracle and taken up by Gram 

Vikas, an NGO functioning in 

Odisha. So we managed to begin 

classes, inspite of power cuts and 

outages. It was difficult at first 

but soon things started falling in 

place. 

Learning Logo 

Logo, a programming language 

designed by Wally Feurzig, 

Shruti I S has a Masters degree in Environmental 

Science from Pune University. Since then she 

has worked in many different fields ranging 

from atmospheric science to agriculture. She has 

completed the SBI Youth for India fellowship in 

rural development and has, since then, been 

interested in improving the education sector 

especially in rural areas. Currently, she is 

freelancing as a science writer and occasionally 

travels around India seeking low-income schools 

that need help. 

Seymour Papert and Cynthia 

Solomon in 1967, is a great tool 

for computer education. Designed 

especially for young minds to 

learn the basics of programming 

and reasoning, it also works well 

as a medium to familiarise the 

students with concepts such as 

shapes, area, angles, intersection 

of lines, ratios and many such 

geometrical concepts. 

Once the students were able to 

connect the commands to the 

graphics on the screen, they were 

hooked. After that, all we had to 

do was introduce a new command 

each time and layout tasks 

for them to finish. After just four 

weeks of regular classes, some of 

the students were able to code, 

the slightly complicated ‘Star 

Polygon’ shape completely on 

their own. 

Logo programming is an excellent 

visual aid for students 

who find it difficult to learn 

Mathematical concepts in the 

conventional way. Once you show 

them what a command does, it 

becomes easy for them to use the 

commands to connect visualisation 

to coding. To cap it all, 

Logo software is open-source 

and is available for free download 

online along with tutorials 

and other such information 

sources. It is also a helpful aid 

in teaching STEM subjects when 

one is facing a language barrier 

as it involves a lot of visual 

demonstration. 

Mastering Lego 

Remember those interlocking 

building blocks that we used to 

play with when we were kids? 

There is an advanced version of 

it now. The Lego Mindstorms 

Robotics kit was created in 1999 

by the famous Danish company, 

Lego in collaboration with MIT 

media lab. These kits not only 


POEM 

have different building components 

but also come with 

motors which can be connected 

to a computer called 

‘the brick’ and programmed 

to do certain tasks. All the 

learning material (basic as 

well as advanced) are available 

online for free and the kit 

itself comes with a manual 

with contains instructions 

on building various robots. 

Along with building blocks 

the kit also contains sensors 

such as gyro sensor, colour 

sensor, ultrasonic sensor and 

touch sensor. These sensors can 

be attached to the main frame 

and can be programmed to aid 

the robot in performing specialised 

tasks. 

With the help of Lego, teaching 

computer science was a breeze. 

We used the latest version called 

the Lego Mindstorms EV3. The 

students instantly made the 

connection between the EV3 

brick, the main body of the robot 

and the program created on the 

computer. The program itself is 

based on scratch programming 

and can be learnt with minimum 

assistance. Moreover, there are 

distributors such as Edutech (we 

took training from them), who 

conduct training for educators as 

well as students. 

The most gripping aspect of Lego 

Mindstorms is that students 

can learn and work on it as a 

team. Typically, three students 

can work on a single kit. It was 

a great help to bring girls and 

boys together to work as a team 

which was a rare happening in 

this school as the atmosphere 

was quite conservative there. 

Working with sensors was also 

quite interesting for the students. 

The various sensors help in understanding 

important concepts 

in physics such as reflection of 

sound and light as well as give 

a working knowledge of electronics. 

Besides, each team felt 

a sense of pride on completion 

of their robot not to mention 

excitement on seeing their robots 

moving and performing tasks. 

The sparkling eyes and excited 

laughs were proof enough of the 

program’s success. 

What we learnt... 

Firstly, it is very important to 

know your students not just on 

an academic level but also on 

a personal level. Ninety eight 

percent of our students belong 

to tribal communities living in 

the remote mountains of Eastern 

Ghats. Many of them are first 

generation learners and are fighting 

all odds to get an education. 

They come from areas endemic 

to the deadly brain malaria and 

ridden with malnourishment. 

Thus, a residential school is a 

welcome facility where their 

health and nutritional needs are 

taken care of and they get an 

education which would have been 

impossible in their tiny hamlet 

inside a forest. We came to know 

all this by visiting their villages 

during the summer vacations. We 

even visited the students at their 

houses and were shocked to see 

their surroundings. We realised 

that the facilities at the school 

which would be considered 

mediocre by urban people, was a 

huge deal for them. Even though 

their lifestyle was sustainable, 

they had many superstitious 

beliefs and a high mortality rate 

due to diseases like malaria. They 

needed mainly good education 

and healthcare. Currently, the 

tribal children have to stay away 

from their parents in residential 

schools for receiving good quality 

education. However, there is a 

high dropout rate among such 

students. 

Secondly, we realised that there 

are no bad students. All children 

have the same potential. What 

matters is the teaching method. 

In today’s world, there are 

several resources available for 

improving the existing teaching 

methods. Young learners prefer 

to learn through hands-on 

training. Digital education is one 

way to get students interested 

in core subjects such as Maths 

and Science. It also helps to keep 

them away from excessive video 

viewing and gaming. 

Gram Vikas School is one of 

many such schools which still follow 

the conventional classroom 

teaching methods. Though classroom 

teaching too is essential for 

interactive learning it need not be 

the only method. Students who 

are used to rote learning might 

bring good marks but in the long 

run might lose out on good jobs. 

In our sessions, we made sure 

that the students understood basic 

concepts of Mathematics and 

Physics through the tasks they 

performed on Logo and Lego. 

We emphasised on cultivating 

the innate curiosity that children 

possess by encouraging them to 

ask questions and helping them 

to come up with the answers by 

themselves as far as possible. 

It is important to teach them 

through relating concepts to their 

day-to-day life. Considering the 

amount of resources available 

in digital education, it is time 

our country’s education system 

includes this like many western 

countries already have. It is also 

important to bring digital education 

to rural areas; otherwise the 

divide between urban and rural 

will keep increasing until our rural 

youth are left far behind their 

urban counterparts. 

Although, it has been a couple of 

months since we ended our journey 

with Gram Vikas Residential 

School, the memories and experiences 

will always remain with 

us. It was a well spent sabbatical 

and we hope to learn more by 

helping many such schools and 

their students in the future. After 

all, learning never ends for both 

the student and the teacher. 

ANT, A 

TINY TEACHER 

–Sadar Kaintura 

We have to learn many lessons 

From the ant, the tiny teacher. 

Amazing zeal and team spirit 

No steward, no master. 

No rulers no boss 

Working for common good. 

Each specializes in certain task 

All for one and one for all. 

In summer they gather food 

In winter they hibernate, 

Perfect social balance. 

They have never been 

known to give up 

Work with self motivation, 

Contribute positively to others 

With devotion and dedication. 

Not scared of heavy work 

Though they know their 

limitation, 

Astounding sense of discipline, 

Cleanliness and dedication. 

They are keen, pro active 

They have fix time to rest, 

No energy do they waste. 

They live each and every day 

With division of labour, 

They have spirit of sharing 

They are unselfish workers. 

They find way in obstacles 

With tireless persistence. 

They believe in common good 

And no lonely existence. 

They have seamless 

organisation 

Strong sense of community. 

They know how to utilize 

Each part of opportunity. 

They collect their food 

They erect their home, 

They are gainfully engaged 

Aimlessly never roam. 

Nov/Dec 2017 


LEADERSHIP 

TEACHER AS A LEADER– 

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

‘The world of learning is changing on a day to day basis and I want to be 

a part of it leading from the front.’ 

–Purbasha Roy 

Knowledge is everywhere 

and not constrained by 

time and space anymore. 

From classrooms to coffee shops, 

libraries to book clubs, e-mails to 

digital communities - everything 

is in a transformational mode 

today. The question here is not 

when or will it be completely 

transformed but how effectively 

can it transform? What role can 

a teacher play in this entire ‘Big 

– Bang’ of change? Digital era 

experts say that the next 20 years 

are going to be very vital and 

interesting. 

So primarily, teachers who are the 

leaders of learning have to decide 

first what and how they want to 

lead? It’s difficult to be a leader 

of learning if you don’t have 

your personal theory of learning. 

Let’s take an example of a typical 

Indian school system where you 

have a supervisor or a coordinator, 

a vice principal and a Principal 

and everyone has a well defined 

grade level structured leadership 

responsibility. So the question here 

is how to understand your role as 

a leader and do well in the given 

hierarchical structure, so that 

knowledge and learning within the 

well defined organizational structure 

can make a teacher a leader 

on his own. 

It is important to understand the 

goal of learning. Reference of a 

well defined goal can be missing 

in this mammoth digital world 

of knowledge where a teacher 

can be instrumental in setting a 

well defined goal for the learners. 

Teachers who are leaders can provide 

intellectual stimulation to the 

students. Monitoring and modifying 

goals using collaboration can 

be the best practices of a teacher 

as a leader; thinking of various other 

ways of connecting to a learner, 

new ways of organising learning 

and also connect between value 

and satisfaction. When you love 

something, care about it and want 

it to happen you cannot count on 

anyone else but only yourself. Here 

is where leadership starts and you 

must give your learners space and 

time to make mistakes. 

Teachers have to be instructional 

leaders. Teachers can foster 

critical and creative thinking, 

entrepreneurial skills and give 

support to learners who want to 

exercise learning. A teacher is a 

leader if s/he is unafraid of new 

learning ventures, responds to 

learners’ needs and customizes it 

from time to time. Leading in this 

digital era involves understanding 

of what brings learners together. 

Another important leadership 

skill required here are powerful 

social norms that hold the system 

together. Creativity and innovation 

being the central idea, the teacher 

as a leader has to decide whether 

you want to continue with the 

growth and development of a well 

Purbasha Roy is a Post 

Graduate in Physics 

with B.Ed. from Ranchi 

University. She has also 

done a Post Graduate 

Diploma in Instructional 

Design and Post Graduate 

Diploma in Educational 

Admnistration from 

Symbiosys Centre for 

Distance learning. 

She is teaching grades 

6-10 at Bombay Scottish 

School, Powai, Mumbai 

since 2009. Her other 

certifications include 

Verified Certification 

in Emerging Trends 

& Technologies in the 

Virtual K-12 Classroom, 

by University of 

California, Certification 

in Powerful Tools for 

Teaching and Learning: 

Digital Storytelling 

from UNIVERSITY OF 

HOUSTON SYSTEM’S 

ONLINE OFFERING 

through Coursera. 

She is very intrigued 

with the way technology 

is making its way in the 

field of education and tries 

to keep herself updated 

so that she can keep her 

students interested in the 

subject. 

established structure or you want 

to collaborate with varied learning 

environments around you or you 

want to establish an entirely new 

kind of structure where you can 

find risk, uncertainty or success in 

the end. 

The choice is yours... go make it. 


TEACHING 

–Rupsi Chauhan 

Decades later, once again 

Swachh Bharat Mission, a 

nationwide campaign, was 

launched by our honorable Prime 

Minister Shri Narendra Modi 

ji in 2014 on 2nd of October 

to make the dream of clean 

India come true in the next five 

years by 2019 - the150th birth 

anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. 

It is a big challenge for all the 

citizens of India. It is possible 

only if each and every person 

living in India understands this 

campaign, takes it up as his own 

responsibility and tries to make it 

a successful mission. 

As an Art Education 

Teacher 

and also Swachhta 

Co-coordinator of 

Vidyalaya, my aim 

to contribute to the 

cause was decisive 

when I understood 

the real need for it. 

Children at tender 

age should be familiarised 

with cleanliness 

habits to lead a 

healthy life. 

As art classes usually deal with 

one particular topic in every 

class, Swachh Bharat, Swachh 

Rupsi Chauhan is working in 

Kendriya Vidyalaya D.R.D.O Bangalore 

as an Art Education teacher for 

the past 15 years for the promotion 

of drawing skills and creativity in 

children. Her art curriculum consists 

of topics related to current issues on 

Environment and Energy to bring 

awareness in the minds of the young 

ones. She has served as a judge in various art competitions 

and is a member of the panel for selection of art teachers in 

local schools. Twice she was invited as art educator from 

India to the Art Festival held in Washington D.C, U.S.A.in 

2012 and 2015. 

She has made a 6.38 minute 2D animation film on Nurture 

Nature. She is a science graduate and studied Art from 

Kala Kendra, Dehradun (BFA) . She has served as a 

resource person for the in-service course for art education 

teachers held in January 2016 at ZIET, Mysore. 

She has written six articles on different aspects of art for 

NIE, Times of INDIA in the past four years. 

WHAT CAN I DO 

FOR A CLEAN INDIA 

As parents we inculcate values in our young ones to have a blessed life; 

as teachers our aim is to impart knowledge to benefit the students for 

a successful life. Mahatma Gandhi who understood that healthy life is 

a boon to the society and environment, started a national campaign on 

cleanliness, but the people at that time did not take it seriously. 

PAINTINGS ON What can I do for a Clean India – SEPTEMBER 17 

Vidyalaya, Cleanliness Practices 

were the numerous sub topics 

that emerged after class discussion 

and what children can do at 

KASIS KAIF-10B 

G.CHAITRA-10D 

A.KISHORE-8C 

NEHA.P-7C 

their level for cleanliness should 

reflect in their art works. 

As swachhta pakhwada was 

celebrated in my vidyalaya from 

1st to 15th September 2017, I 

designed various programmes 

for awareness such as Drawing 

competition, Collage making, 

Debate, Essay writing and Skit 

YASHIKA PAL-7D 

KAVANA.P-10D 

by the teachers, City March with 

slogans, Talk by School Doctor 

on cleanliness practices, Video 

shows on cleanliness, etc. 

My aim was fulfilled when I 

found that the topic had impacted 

the children in an impressive 

way which was reflected in their 

artwork and day to day life. 


BULLYING 

THE 

I am opposed to bullying - let me put that right out there. Are you are impressed by my 

courageous stand? 

–Steve Heisler 

OK, so it’s not really an 

act of courage to oppose 

bullying; but let me further 

elucidate. I am particularly 

opposed to bullying by grownups, 

and particularly the kind of 

bullying that is done to students 

under the guise of ‘teaching’ and 

classroom management. 

Politeness, kindness and courtesy 

in the classroom should be 

exemplified by the teacher so that 

it can be expected of students. 

The no bullying zone applies to 

the staff as well as the kids. 

Here is an example of just this 

kind of ‘bullying’ under the guise 

of motivation. A teacher from 

a parochial school, requiring 

an essay of a particular length, 

thought very highly of the fact 

that she papered the doorway 

with a student’s (admittedly 

somewhat modest) writing 

submission that had the requisite 

number of pages but with huge 

spacing and exceptionally wide 

margins. She took great store 

in the fact that his humiliation 

engendered a more serious 

revision. Bully for her, literally. 

It was no better when an 

assistant superintendent in a full 

high school auditorium called 

out a student in the audience 

for quietly chatting with his 

neighbor while she read from 

her carefully prepared lecture 

given to meet the district’s antibullying 

education requirements. 

She stopped mid-sentence and 

demanded the student rise and 

share what was so important 

that he had to speak while she 

Nov/Dec 2017 

was speaking. 

‘Nothing,’ he replied, ‘it was 

nothing. Sorry.’ 

She insisted he rise and 

speak but the student, 

clearly embarrassed already, 

demurred. When the Assistant 

Superintendent redoubled her 

efforts to force the student 

to humiliate himself, another 

student rose instead and 

sarcastically challenged the 

speaker - ‘Isn’t this an example 

of the bullying which we’re not 

supposed to do?’ 

As an educational leader, 

certainly she must have taken 

great pride in the fact that these 

students understood the message 

she was trying to promote. 

Wilber Dungy, a teacher and 

the father of football coach 

Tony said, ‘The sign of a great 

teacher is someone who brings 

out the best in every one of his 

students, someone who can do it 

without tricking them, or bullying 

them or wanting credit for their 

achievements.’ 

Take any ideal from lifelong 

learning to persistence 

to organization to time 

management and there is a 

pretty good chance that if 

parents and teachers are not 

exemplifying it, the kids are not 

learning it either. It’s really 

quite simple: students learn their 

teachers better than they learn 

the lessons they teach. If you 

don’t want students to learn how 

to be bullies, simply don’t do so 

yourself! If you screw someone 

Steve Heisler is the author of 

The Missing Link: Teaching and 

Learning Critical Success Skills. 

Steve is a speaker and professional 

development consultant with a 

focus on teaching and instructional 

development, building student 

success skills and parenting. He is 

an experienced teacher and school 

administrator having worked K-12 in 

schools in New York City and New 

Jersey. His blog and contact information are available at 

www.sheisler.com. 

up, apologize, and make a sincere 

effort to do better. Screw up 

in public, apologize in public, 

and make a sincere effort to do 

better. 

Honestly, this is all there is to it. 

Before you speak to a student, 

really to anyone, before you say 

that sarcastic thing that you 

think will be so funny to say 

you only need to answer this 

question: whom does such a 

rejoinder serve? If it’s for your 

entertainment, and especially if it 

is at the expense of the student, 

just don’t do it. Say something 

helpful instead, say something 

hopeful, say something kind. 

At the end of the day, our 

children look to us not for 

perfection. Rather what they 

need from us is something 

tangible on the higher scale of 

positive human behaviour that 

gives them the ability within 

themselves, as Abraham Lincoln 

said, to seek their ‘better angels.’ 


LEADERSHIP 

–M. Alfred William 

Teachers are entrusted with 

the great responsibility 

of creating and moulding 

global leaders who can think 

critically, dream creatively and 

act constructively through a 

life-oriented and personalized 

learning. Great teachers are 

those teachers who constantly 

inspire their wards to love what 

they learn and enjoy what they 

do realizing that ‘a happy and 

motivated child is the one who 

learns better, faster, deeper, 

longer and greater’. 

Teachers as leaders should help 

all their students cultivate and 

develop a burning desire for 

reading because reading plays a 

seminal role in the development 

of a creative mind. It enables 

them to discover their innate 

talents and unearth their 

dormant abilities and potential. 

It deepens their understanding, 

widens their perspective, 

sharpens their critical thinking, 

enlightens their minds and 

awakens their genius. Ultimately 

it leads them to greatness 

because ‘great leaders are great 

readers’. 

Great teachers are eternally 

positive who celebrate the 

uniqueness 

of each 

child and 

who can 

influence 

and inspire 

them to 

become 

what they 

are meant 

to become 

in life. As 

rightly said 

by John C. 

Maxwell 

‘leadership 

is influence’, every teacher 

must look for ways and means 

to inspire and influence his/ 

her students and colleagues 

positively and constructively 

with his/her excellent leadership 

skills and exemplary life. It is 

well said that ‘the success of a 

child depends, to a great extent, 

on the leadership role effectively 

played by the teachers during 

his/her formative years’. I as an 

educator can emphatically affirm 

that all those teachers who teach 

with enthusiasm and passion can 

easily inspire their students and 

enable them to elevate their lives. 

Teachers as great leaders must 

leave a lasting legacy that can 

be emulated by the generations 

to come. Great teachers are 

Great teachers are great leaders who are masters of translating mission, 

vision and strategy into action – Deborah Chang 

As we live in an era of infinite information, endless possibilities, 

immeasurable opportunities, never ending discoveries and explorations, 

everlasting innovations and inventions, the responsibilities and roles 

teachers ought to play are numerous yet vital. 

great communicators too who 

can stand up and speak in 

simple language in a concise 

manner with clarity, courage and 

conviction. 

Great teachers are good 

collaborators and team players 

who possess ‘the power to 

persuade’ others to support 

and collaborate in all their 

endeavours asserting that 

‘the hallmark of leadership is 

the ability to collaborate with 

others.’ 

‘Great teachers are great leaders 

simply because they have the 

ability to educate and enable, 

inspire and persuade, enlighten 

and empower their students’. 

Great teachers are inspiring 

teachers who play a variety of 

roles and their responsibilities 

are manifold. Listed below are a 

few of the roles effectively and 

meticulously played by great 

teacher leaders: 

• To educate the youth and 

ignite their creative minds to 

discover their destiny, 

• To enlighten their minds to 

M. Alfred William is the Principal 

of Wisdom Wealth International 

School (Virudhunagar, Tamil 

Nadu), a Progressive School that 

strives to mould and shape Global 

Leaders through a life-oriented and 

personalized learning. 

He has served as a Teacher, Sports 

Secretary, Cultural Secretary, Vice- 

Principal, Principal and Manager 

in five different schools in India since 2006. He has a 

great passion for teaching and learning and enjoys the 

responsibility of being a school administrator. He is a 

voracious reader and loves sports and games. He holds 

master’s degrees in English, Computer Science, Education 

and Business Administration. He also holds a Bachelor’s 

Degree in Religious Sciences. He firmly believes that 

EDUCATION can change one’s destiny by changing one’s 

mental attitude. Therefore, he strives to become a great 

educator in order to bring revolution and innovation in the 

field of education. 

GREAT 

TEACHERS 

ARE GREAT 

LEADERS 

innovate and invent, 

• To inspire their students to 

‘dream big, dream strong, and 

dream long’, 

• To expand their leadership 

skills and qualities, 

• To sharpen their critical 

thinking and problem solving 

skills, 

• To broaden their perspective 

and deepen their 

understanding, 

• To unearth their innate talents 

and dormant abilities, 

• To kindle their quest for 

knowledge and wisdom, 

• To stimulate their curiosity and 

imagination, and 

• To guide them to be sensitive 

and responsible human beings. 

Therefore, we can very well 

conclude that great teachers are 

great leaders if their ‘actions 

inspire their students and 

colleagues to dream more, learn 

more, do more and become more’. 

I wish and pray that every teacher 

may stride forward confidently 

in this world of unimaginable 

changes and succeed in his/ 

her noble endeavour to educate, 

enable, enlighten and empower the 

young generation to become great 

and global leaders who in turn can 

make this world a better place to 

live in. 


PULLOUT PLANNER 

Nov/Dec 2017 



CLASS I: MATHEMATICS 

PLANE FIGURES 

Tick ( ) the correct answer 

1. In which way are the objects alike? 

8. Which of the following shapes has 4 corners? 

a. b. c. 

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 

a. Shape b. Colour c. Size 

9. Which of the following shapes has 4 same sides? 

a. b. c. 

2. In which way are the objects alike? 

a. Size b. Colour or pattern c. Shape 

10. Which of the following shapes has no corners? 

a. b. c. 

3. In which way are the objects different? 

10 

11 

12 

1 

2 

10 

11 

12 

1 

2 

9 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

9 

8 

7 

6 

a. Shape b. Colour or pattern c. Size 

5 

4 

3 

Write the number of corners of the following figures. 

11. 

Choose the number of sides. 

4. 

____________ 

12. 

5. 

________ sides 

a. 2 b. 0 c. 1 

____________ 

________ sides 

a. 5 b. 3 c. 4 

Choose the number of corners. 

6. 

13. 

14. 

____________ 

7. 

_______________ corners 

a. 4 b. 3 c. 2 

15. 

____________ 

_______________ corners 

a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 

____________ 

© DS Digital Private Limited I Photocopying permitted The Progressive Teacher 

25

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 


3-DIMENSIONAL SHAPES 


Choose the correct shape that matches the object given. 

1. 

7. 

a. 

STOP 

b. 

a. b. 

8. 

2. 

Juice 

a. b. 

9. 

a. b. 

3. 

a. b. 

10. 

4. 

\ 

5. 

a. b. 

a. b. 

a. b. 

Identify and match the shape with its correct name. 

11. (i) Cuboid 

12. (ii) Cone 

a. b. 

13. (iii) Sphere 

Choose the correct object that matches the shape given. 

6. 

14. (iv) Cube 

2 

a. 

3 

6 

b. 

15. (v) Cylinder 

26 

The Progressive Teacher 

© DS Digital Private Limited I Photocopying permitted


PATTERNS 


Which three shapes come next in the pattern? Choose the 

correct answer. 

1. 

8. 

9. 

a. b. 

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 

2. 

a. b. 

10. 

a. b. 

a. b. 

What comes next in the pattern? Choose the correct 

answer. 

3. 

a. b. 

Write Yes or No for the following questions. 

11. 

Are these the next 3 shapes in the pattern? 

_____________ 

a. b. 

12. 

4. 


5. 

6. 

a. b. 

a. b. 

a. b. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

_____________ 


_____________ 

Does this shape come next in the pattern? 

_____________ 

Does this shape come next in the pattern? 

7 . 

_____________ 

a. b. 


27

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 

PICTURE GRAPH 


In the following pictograph, each picture stands for one 

item. Choose the correct answer. 

Favourite Items We 

Collect the Most 




Favourite Animals 

1. How many are there? 

a. 4 b. 5 c. 6 


a. 5 b. 6 c. 7 


a. 6 b. 8 c. 9 


a. 4 b. 3 c. 5 


a. 5 b. 7 c. 6 

Use the pictograph to answer the questions. Each picture 

stands for one item. 

Items for aToy Shop 

Use the pictograph. Choose the correct answer. 

Favourite Sports 

Sport 

Soccer 

Baseball 

Football 

Kickball 

Each 

Number of Children 

stands for 2 children 

4. How many children likely to play football? 

a. 5 children b. 3 children c. 4 children 

5. How many children chose to play soccer? 

a. 7 children b. 8 children c. 6 children 



11. How many are there? _________ 

12. How many are there? _________ 

Use the pictograph to answer the questions. 

Ways to Draw 

Chalk 

Crayon 

Marker 

Finger Paint 

Each 

Artwork 

Number of Pictures 

stands for 2Pictures 

13. How many pictures were made with finger 

paint? _________ 

14. How many pictures were made with marker? _______ 


a. 4 b. 2 c. 3 


a. 3 b. 2 c. 4 


a. 5 b. 6 c. 4 

Use the pictograph to answer the questions. 

Drink 

Apple Juice 

Milk 

Lemonode 

Favourite Drinks 

Number of Votes 

Each stands for 5votes. 

15. How many children chose milk? 

28 



CLASS II: MATHEMATICS 

PLANE FIGURES 


Choose the correct number of sides for the given shapes. 

1. 

8. 

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 

a. 3 c. 5 

b. 4 d. 2 

a. Triangle c. Rectangle 

b. Circle d. Square 

Write the number of sides for the given shapes. 

2. 

9 

a. 4 c. 3 

b. 2 d. 5 

10. 

_____________ 

3. 

_____________ 

4. 

a. 3 c. 4 

b. 1 d. 2 

11. 

12. 

_____________ 

a. 5 c. 3 

b. 4 d. 6 

_____________ 

5. 

a. 0 c. 2 

b. 1 d. 3 

Write the name of the shapes given below using the words 

provided. 

circle, triangle, rectangle 

13. 

Choose the name that matches the shape. 

6. 

14. 

_____________ 

7. 

a. Rectangle c. Triangle 


15. 

_____________ 

a. Rectangle c. Triangle 


_____________ 


29

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 

DIMENSIONAL SHAPES - 3 


Choose the object that matches the shape given. 

1. 

a. b. 

8. 

9. 


a. Triangle b. Square c. Hexagon 

2. 

a. Circle b. Square c. Triangle 

a. b. 

10. 

3. 

a. b. 

a. Triangle b. Square c. Hexagon 

Do the following objects have the same shape? Write Yes 

or No. 

4. 

11. 

a. b. 

5. 

12. 

a. b. 

Choose the plane shape that can be traced from the given 

solid shape. 

6. 

13. 

14. 

a. Rectangle b. Triangle c. Circle 

7. 

15. 

a. Triangle b. Cylinder c. Rectangle 

30 




NUMBER PATTERNS 


Complete the following patterns. Choose the correct 

answer. 

1 dog 2 dogs 3 dogs 4 dogs 

1. 

2 ears 4 ears 6 ears __ ears 

a. 9 b. 8 c. 7 

7. 

7. 

a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 

2. 

1 child 2 children 3 children 4 children 

2 hands 4 hands __ hands 8 hands 

a. 5 b. 7 c. 6 

8. 

3. 

1 flower 2 flowers 3 flowers 4 flowers 

7 petals 14 petals __ petals 28 petals 

a. 20 b. 21 c. 16 

a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 

9. 

4. 

1 starfish 2 starfish 3 starfish 4 starfish 

5 arms 10 arms __ arms 20 arms 

a. 15 b. 20 c. 11 

5. 

1 ant 2 ants 3 ants 4 ants 

6 legs 12 legs 18 legs __ legs 

a. 24 b. 22 c. 20 

a. 4 b.1 c.2 

Following patterns keep increasing. What number of dots/ 

square will appear next? Choose the correct answer. 

10. 

6. 

a. 2 b.3 c.4 

Fill in the blanks to complete the given pattern. 

11. 6, 8, 10, ____, ____, ____ 

12. 18, 21, 24, 27, ____, ____, ____ 

13. 30, 40, 50, 60, ____, ____, ____ 

14. 3, 6, 9, 12, ____, ____, ____ 

a. 2 b.1 c.5 

15. 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, ____, ____, ____ 


31

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 15 

DISPLAYS 


Use the data in the chart and choose the correct answer. 


8. How many are there at the shop? 

a. 3 b. 1 c. 2 

9. How many are there at the shop? 

a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 

10. Which item in the shop is the least? 

a. b. c. 

1. How many children eat for a snack? 

a. 4 b. 2 c. 3 

Using the tally chart, choose the correct answer. 

2. How many more children eat than for snack? 

a. 2 b. 3 c. 1 

3. How many children eat for a snack? 

a. 4 b 3 c 5 

Using the data in the chart, choose the correct answer. 

11. How many are there at the zoo? _____________ 

12. How many are there at the zoo? ____________ 

4. How many children like to collect stamps? 

a. 7 b. 2 c. 3 

5. How many children like to collect dolls? 

a. 2 b. 5 c. 3 

13. Out of the three animals shown in the chart above, 

which animal at the zoo is the least? _____________ 

Using the tally chart, answer the following questions. 

6. How many more children like to collect dolls than 

rocks? 

a. 3 b. 2 c. 7 

7. How many children like to collect rocks? 

a. 7 b. 3 c. 2 

Using the tally chart, choose the correct answer. 



32 



CLASS V: MATHEMATICS 

PERIMETER AND AREA 


1. The perimeter of a square field is 200m. The area of the 

field is 

a. 2,500 sq. m. c. 2,700 sq. m. 

b. 2,300 sq. m. d. 2,000 sq. m. 

2. Area of a square is 144sq. m. Its side measures 

a. 14 m c. 12 m 

b. 13 m d. 11 m 

3. The area and perimeter of one of the following square 

is numerically same. Which one is it? 

a. A square of side 2 cm c. A square of side 4 cm 

b. A square of side 3 cm d. A square of side 5 cm 

4. The sides of a 4-sided figure are 4.6 mm, 5.7 mm, 

6.7 mm, and 8.3 mm. The perimeter of the figure is 

a. 27.2 mm c. 25.3 mm 

b. 26.3 mm d. Not given 

5. The area of square whose perimeter is 32 cm is 

a. 32 sq cm c. 128 sq cm 

b. 64 sq cm d. 1024 sq cm 

6. The perimeter of a rectangle is 66 meter and its length 

is 18 meter. Find the area of the rectangle. 

a. 270 m c. 15 m 

b. 275 m d. 265 m 

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 20 

Fill in the blanks 

10. _________ is the distance around a plane figure or the 

length of the boundary of a plane figure. 

11. _________ of a shape is the amount of the space it covers. 

12. Circumference of a circle =2×π×____________________ 

13. The perimeter of a rectangle is 16 cm and the breadth 

is 3 cm. The length of the rectangle is _______ 

14. A rope of a length 24 m was used to fence off a square 

patch of land for a garden. ______ is the length of the 

square garden. 

Write the formulae: 

15. Perimeter of a Square - ________ 

16. Area of a Rectangle - ________ 

17. Area of a Circle - ________ 

18. Area of a Square - ________ 

19. Perimeter of a Rectangle - ________ 

Calculate the perimeter of the shape using the given 

dimensions (all in cm). 

7. The diameter of a semi circular protractor is 7 cm. Find 

its circumference. 

a. 22 cm c. 11 cm 

b. 21 cm d. 12 cm 

20. 

3cm 

5cm 

3cm 

8. The circumference of a circular bed is 88 m. Find its 

area. 

a. 688 sq m c. 686 sq m 

b. 618 sq m d. 616 sq m 

9. What is the area of a quadrant, if the radius is 7 cm? 

a. 32.5 sq cm c. 154 sq cm 

b. 38.5 sq cm d. 77 sq cm 

3cm 

5cm 

Perimeter - ________________cm 

3cm 


33

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 20 

VOLUME 


1. Find the volume of the cube whose one edge measures 

3 cm? 

a. 27 cu. cm. c. 9 cu. cm. 

b. 23 cu. cm. d. 12 cu. cm. 

2. A book is 20 cm by 10 cm and 2 cm thick. How many 

cubic cm of space does the book occupy? 

a. 200 cu. cm c. 100 cu. cm 

b. 400 cu. cm d. 600 cu. cm 


Write the Formulae of following: 

13. Volume of cuboid = ____________________ 

14. Volume of a cube = ____________________ 

Find how many cubes the prism holds, and tell the volume 

of the prism. 

15. 

3. How many boxes each of size 10 cm x 8 cm x 5 cm can 

be packed in a carton of size 1 m x 72 cm x 50 cm? 

a. 1000 c. 900 

b. 100 d. 800 

4. A box can hold 175 cubic inches of cereal. How tall is 

the box if it is 7 inches long and 2.5 inches wide? 

a. 25 inch c. 10 inch 

b. 17.5 inch d. 9.5 inch 

5. Ankush built a sandbox that is 8 inch long, 5 inch wide, 

and inch tall. How many cubic inches of sand does he 

need to fill the box? 

a. 20 cubic inches c. 40 cubic inches 

b. 30 cubic inches d. 50 cubic inches 

16. 

17. 

____________ 

____________ 

Fill in the Blanks 

6. _________ of a solid is the amount of space enclosed 

by it or the amount of space it takes up. 

7. _________ is the volume of a cube of edge 1 m. 

8. The volume of a cube will become ___________ times 

if its edge is doubled. 

9. The perimeter of a face of cube is 20 cm. Its volume is 

___________. 

10. Volume of a cuboid is a 48 cm 3 , its length is 6 cm, 

width is 4 cm, and then height is ____________ of its 

width. 

State whether each of the following statements is true or 

false. 

11. Two solids having same volume, have same size and 

shape. 

12. Cube is a special type of a cubiod, whose length, 

breadth and height are all same. 

_____________ 

A floor of a class room is shaped as shown: (for Question 

18, 19 and 20) 

10 m 

15 m 

18. What is the perimeter of the floor? 

19. What is the floor area of the room? 

20. If the height of the room is 8 m, how many cubic m of 

space is in the room? 

34 




WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 20 

SYMMETRY AND PATTERNS 8. Choose the answer that describes the figure. 


1. This star is made up of equilateral triangles: 

What is the order of rotational symmetry of the star? 

a. 3 c. 6 

b. 4 d. 12 

2. Vikas makes a rubber stamp pattern. What should be 

the next two shapes in his pattern? 

a. b. 

a. Reflection c. Translation 

b. Rotation 

9. Does the figure have rotational symmetry? Choose yes 

or no. 

a. Yes b. No 

10. Does the dashed line show a line of symmetry? 

Choose yes or no. 

c. d. 

3. Mansi wrote a number pattern. What will be the next 

number? 

10, 15, 13, 18, 16, 21, 19 

a. 17 c. 20 

b. 18 d. 24 

4. Ansh wrote a number pattern. The third number in 

his pattern is 25. He used the rule, subtract 4. What 

number did Ansh choose as the starting number? 

a. 17 c. 33 

b. 21 d. 37 

5. How many total squares will be in the next figure in the 

pattern? 

a. 3 c. 7 

b. 6 d. 8 

6. Choose the answer that describes the figure. 

a. Reflection c. Translation 

b. Rotation 

7. Choose the answer that describes the figure. 

a. 0º rotation c. 180º rotation 

b. 90º rotation d. 270º rotation 

a. Yes b. No 

11. Does the dashed line show a line of symmetry? 

Choose yes or no. 

a. Yes b. No 

12. Does the figure have rotational symmetry? Choose yes 

or no. 

a. Yes b. No 

Fill in the Blanks 

13. When a sequence is formed, parts of it are grouped 

together to form patterns in themselves, and can be 

called a __________. 

14. The symmetrical image is also known as 

__________________. 

15. The only symmetrical numbers are ___________ and 

__________. 

16. A ________________ is formed by repeating a unit, 

which may be a set of numbers or shapes, according 

to a rule. 

17. If a shape can fit exactly onto itself after a certain 

rotation, then it is said to have a ________________. 

18. When a line on a figure is folded along this line, the 

two parts match exactly then the line is called as 

____________________________. 


false. 

19. A number pattern can be a series of repeating shapes. 

20. The diameter of a circle is its line of symmetry. 


35

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 20 

COLLECTING AND REPRESENTING DATA 


The table shows the results of a survey. Use the table to 

answer (Q1 to Q4). Choose the best answer. 


8. How many glasses of milk did Ayush have in week 4? 

a. 21 c. 15 

b. 18 d. 9 

Ages of Students in Tae Kwon Do 

Age Tally Frequency 

1 III 3 

8 II 2 

9 IIII 4 

10 IIII I 6 

11 III 3 

12 I 1 

1. How many students answered the survey in all? 

a. 20 c. 18 

b. 19 d. 17 

2. How many students over age nine are in Tae Kwon Do? 

a. 8 c. 10 

b. 9 d. 11 

3. What is the difference between the twelve-year-olds 

and the ten-year-olds in Tae Kwon Do? 

a. 5 c. 3 

b. 4 d. 2 

4. How many seven or eight-year-olds are in Tae Kwon 

Do? 

a. 2 c. 9 

b. 5 d. 10 

Use the pictograph to see the number of glasses of milk 

Ayush had in the past few weeks and answer the questions 

below. Note: One milk packet denotes 3 glasses of milk. 

(Q5 to Q8) 

Week 

Week 1 

Week 2 

Week 3 

Week 4 

Week 5 

Number of Milk 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

M 

5. How many glasses of milk did Ayush have in the 1st 

week? 

a. 7 c. 21 

b. 9 d. 28 

6. Which week did Ayush have the least amount of milk? 

a. Week 1 c. Week 3 

b. Week 2 d. Week 4 

7. How many glasses of milk did he drink in total from 

week 1 to week 5? 

a. 75 c. 25 

b. 50 d. 15 

M 

M 

M 

Use the relevant information in the bar graph to answer 

Q 9 - 12 

Number 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 

0 

Rain Days 

April May June July August 

Month 

9. How many days did it rain in April? 

a. 6 c. 10 

b. 7 d. 12 

10. In September, it rained 3 days more than it rained in 

August. How many days did it rain in September? 

a. 6 c. 8 

b. 7 d. 9 

11. How many more days did it rain in July, than in June? 

a. 6 c. 8 

b. 7 d. 12 

12. How many days did it rain in May? 

a. 6 c. 8 

b. 7 d. 10 

13. An appropriate graph for the data described ‘number of 

animals seen in the forest each day during April’ is 

a. Pictograph 

b. Bar graph 

Fill in the blanks. 

14. ___________is a collection of numbers gathered to 

give some information. 

15. __________________is a way to record data through 

pictures. 

16. A _____________is a graph that uses bars to show 

data. 

17. The bars on a bar graph can be___________ or 

_______________. 

18. The two lines in a graph are called the ______________ 


false. 

19. Data can be in the form of numbers, words, pictures or 

digits. 

20. Pictograph is used to compare sets of data. 

36 



CLASS IX: BIOLOGY 

DIVERSITY IN LIVING ORGANISMS 


1. Which one of the following is not included in Linnaean 

hierarchy? 

a. Order c. Genus 

b. Category d. Species 

2. The vascular system first developed in 

a. Algae c. Mosses 

b. Liverworts d. Ferns 

3. Which of the following are the most primitive and 

simple seed plants? 

a. Angiosperms c. Bryophytes 

b. Gymnosperms d. Pteridophytes 

4. The double envelope system first developed in 

a. Kingdom Monera c. Kingdom Fungi 

b. Kingdom Protista d. Kingdom Plantae 

5. Which one of the following is a true fish? 

a. Cat fish c. Jelly fish 

b. Cuttle fish d. Silver fish 

6. Three chambered heart is present in 

a. Frogs c. Birds 

b. Lizards d. Fishes 

7. Multicellular photosynthetic producers of the 

biosphere belong to 

a. Kingdom Plantae c. Kingdom Monera 

b. Kingdom Fungi d. Kingdom Protista 

12. Binomial nomenclature: Carolus Linnaeus :: Five 

Kingdom classification: _________ 

13. Amoeba: Pseudopodia :: Asterias: _________ 

14. Diatoms: Protista :: Cyanobacteria: ________ 


15. A chitinous exoskeleton and jointed legs are the 

characteristics of phylum_________. 

WORKSHEET 

16. The __________are referred to as the ‘amphibians of 

the plant kingdom’. 

Match each term in Column B with its related term in 

Column A. 

Column A 

Column B 

17. Endospore a. Fungi 

18. Cyst b. Monera 

19. Spore c. Protista 

20. Given below is the diagram of a 4 chambered heart. 

Identify the vertebrate animal groups which have a 4 

chambered heart. 

MAX MARKS: 20 

8. Birds have bipedal locomotion as it 

a. Reduces weight c. Provides support 

b. Increases speed d. Spares forelimbs for flight 

9. Which one of the following is an exclusively marine 

phylum? 

a. Porifera c. Coelenterate 

d. Echinodermata d. Protozoa 

10. Which one of the following plants produces seeds but 

not fruits? 

a. Pine c. Banyan 

b. Maize d. Mint 

Complete the following Analogies. 

11. Balanoglossus: Protochordata :: Marsilea: _______ 


37

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 20 

WHY DO WE FALL ILL? 


1. Which one of the following diseases is not contracted 

by droplet infection? 

a. Tetanus c. Mumps 

b. Diphtheria d. Leprosy 

2. Which one of the following diseases can be cured by 

giving ORS-Oral Saline Solution? 

a. AIDS c. Chickenpox 

b. Hepatitis d. Cholera 

3. Which one of the following diseases can be 

transmitted by shaking hands? 

a. Common cold c. Malaria 

b. AIDS d. Polio 

4. Which one of the following diseases is present right 

from the birth? 

a. Sickle cell anaemia c. Amoebiasis 

b. Cancer d. SARS 

5. A pathogen refers to 

a. Any microorganism 

b. Microorganism inside a body 

c. Disease causing organism 

d. Cultured microorganism 

6. A person who does not maintain personal hygiene is 

most likely to suffer from 

a. Genetic diseases c. Degenerative diseases 

b. Deficiency diseases d. Contagious diseases 

7. Which one of the following diseases is not caused by a 

mosquito bite? 

a. Encephalitis c. Dengue 

b. Filariasis d. Amoebiasis 

8. Which one of the following is not involved in the 

defense of our body against pathogens? 

a. Neutrophils c. Macrophages 

b. Lymphocytes d. Antigens 


9. Which one of the following statements is not correct? 

a. All antibiotics are specific 

b. All antibodies are specific 

c. Antigens help in blood grouping 

d. Antibodies are produced by B lymphocytes 

10. In which disease, a common cold infection progresses 

into pneumonia, resulting in death of the patient? 

a. AIDS c. Cancer 

b. Influenza d. Typhoid 

Complete the following analogies. 

11. Influenza: Virus :: Cholera: _______ 

12. Syphilis: Sexual contact: Pneumonia :: _________ 

13. Penicillin: Alexander Fleming :: Smallpox vaccine: 

_________ 

14. B cells :: Humoral immunity :: T cells: ________ 


15. The aim of vaccination is to induce ______________ 

immunity against microbial invasion. 

16. Influenza is ________ disease while tuberculosis is 

__________ disease. 


Column A. 

Column A 

Column B 

17. Smallpox a. Typhoid 

18. TAB b. Variola virus 

19. Measles c. Tuberculosis 

20. BCG d. Rubeola virus 

Plane Figure 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS I: MATHEMATICS 

1. b 

1. a 

1. a 

1. c 

2. c 

2. a 

2. b 

2. c 

3. c 

3.b 

3. a 

3. b 

4. b 

4. a 

4. b 

4. c 

5. c 

5. b 

5. a 

5. b 

6. b 

6. a 

6. b 

6. a 

7. c 

7. b 

7. b 

7. b 

8. c 

8. a 

8. a 

8. b 

9. a 

9. b 

9. a 

9. a 

10. c 

10. b 

10. b 

10. b 

11. 4 Corners 11. iv 

11. Yes 

11. 3 

12. 0 Corners 12. i 

12. Yes 

12. 4 

13. 3 Corners 13. ii 

13. No 

13. 6 

14. 3 Corners 14. v 

14. Yes 

14. 8 

15. 4 Corners 15. iii 

15. No 

15. 20 

3-Dimensional Shapes 

Patterns 

Picture Graph 

Plane Figure 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS II: MATHEMATICS 

1. b 

1. b 

1. b 

1. b 

2. c 

2. a 

2. c 

2. a 

3. a 

3.b 

3. b 

3. c 

4. d 

4. b 

4. a 

4. c 

5. a 

5. a 

5. a 

5. b 

6. a 

6. a 

6. b 

6. a 

7. b 

7. b 

7. a 

7. c 

8. d 

8. b 

8. b 

8. c 

9. 4 

9. a 

9. a 

9. b 

10. 4 

10. a 

10. a 

10. a 

11. 0 

11. No 

11. 12, 14, 16 11. 4 

12. 3 

12. No 

12. 30, 33, 36 12. 1 

13. Triangle 13. Yes 

13. 70, 80, 90 13. Bird 

14. Rectangle 14. No 

14. 15, 18, 21 14. 3 

15. Circle 15. Yes 

15. 36, 40, 44 15. 5 

Dimensional Shapes - 3 

Number Patterns 

Displays 

38 




NATURAL RESOURCES 


1. The ultraviolet radiations are absorbed in the 

stratosphere by 

a. Carbon dioxide c. CFC 

b. Ozone d. Oxygen 

2. Which one of the following is mismatched? 

a. Fossil fuel burning - release of carbon dioxide 

b. Nuclear wastes – Radioactive wastes 

c. Solar energy – Greenhouse effect 

d. Biomass burning – Release of carbon dioxide 

3. BOD-Biochemical oxygen demand measures 

a. Water pollution due to organic wastes 

b. Water pollution due to inorganic wastes 

c. Polluting capacity of effluents 

d. Air pollution 

4. The ozone layer is chiefly disturbed by 

a. Automobile exhausts c. Greenhouse effect 

b. Acid rain d. Supersonic jet planes 

5. What will be the effect on the temperature of the 

earth’s surface, if there was no carbon dioxide in the 

atmosphere? 

a. No effect 

b. The temperature will increase 

c. The temperature will decrease 

d. Will depend on the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere 

6. Acid rain is mainly due to 

a. Sulphur dioxide pollution c. Pesticide pollution 

b. Carbon monoxide pollution d. Dust particles 

7. In the future, skin related disorders might be more 

common due to 

a. Use of detergents c. Air pollution 

b. Water pollution d. Depletion of ozone layer 

8. As DDT travels along the food chain, its concentration 

a. Decreases c. Stays constant 

WORKSHEET 

b. Increases d. Fluctuates randomly 

9. Which one of the following is not a pollutant? 

a. Hydrocarbons c. Carbon monoxide 

b. Carbon dioxide d. Sulphur dioxide 

10. The fish die in the water bodies polluted by sewage 

due to 

a. Pathogens c. Reduction in oxygen 

b. Clogging of gills by silt d. Foul smell 

MAX MARKS: 20 


11. Thermal pollution: Water pollution :: Acid rain: _______ 

12. Greenhouse effect :Carbon dioxide: Ozone hole :: 

_________ 

13. Fertilizers: Eutrophication :: Pesticides: _________ 

14. DDT :: Non biodegradable pollutant :: Sewage: 

________ 


15. The process of nutrient enrichment of water, and 

consequent loss of species diversity is referred to as 

________________. 

16. The increase in the global mean temperature is 

referred to as ______________. 


Column A. 

Column A 

Column B 

17. Water cycle a. Photosynthesis 

18. Nitrogen cycle b. Precipitation 

19. Oxygen cycle c. Ammonification 

20. Carbon cycle d. Limestone 

Perimeter and Area 

1. a 

2. c 

3. c 

4. c 

5. b 

6. a 

7. c 

8. d 

9. b 

10. Perimeter 

11. Area 

12. Radius/r 

13. 5 cm 

14. 6 m 

15. 4 x side 

16. Length x 

Breadth 

17. π x r 2 

18. Side 2 

19. 2 x (Length 

+ Breadth) 

20. 22 cm 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS V: MATHEMATICS 

Volume 

1. a 

2. b 

3. c 

4. c 

5. a 

6. Volume 

7. 1 cu m 

8. Eight Times 

9. 125 cm 3 

10. Half 

11. False 

12. True 

13. Length x Breadth 

x Height 

14. Side 3 

15. 12 cubes; 12 cubic unit 



18. 50 m 

19. 150 sq. m 

20. 1200 cu. m 

Symmetry and Patterns 

1. a 

2. a 

3. d 

4. c 

5. c 

6. a 

7. b 

8. c 

9. b 

10. b 

11. a 

12. a 

13. Unit of the 

pattern 

14. Mirror Images 

15. 3,8 

16. Pattern 

17. Rotational 

symmetry 

18. Line of symmetry 

19. False 

20. True 

Collecting and Representing Area 

1. b 

2. c 

3. a 

4. a 

5. c 

6. b 

7. a 

8. c 

9. c 

10. d 

11. a 

12. b 

13. b 

14. Data 

15. Pictograph 

16. Bar Graph 

17. Horizontal; 

Vertical 

18. axis 

19. True 

20. False 

Diversity in Living Organisms 

1. b 

2. d 

3. b 

4. b 

5. a 

6. a 

7. a 

8. d 

9. d 

10. a 

11. Pteridophyta 

12. Robert Whittaker 

13. Tubefeet 

14. Monera 

15. Arthropoda 

16. Bryophytes 

17. b. 

18. c 

19. a 

20. Mammals and 

Birds 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS IX: BIOLOGY 

Why Do We Fall Ill? 

1. a 

2. d 

3. a 

4. a 

5. c 

6. d 

7. d 

8. d 

9. a 

10. a 

11. Bacteria 

12. Cough/Sneeze/ 

Droplet/Infection 

13. Edward Jenner 

14. Cellular Immunity 

15. Specific 

16. Acute, chronic 

17. b 

18. a 

19. d 

20 c 

Natural Resources 

1. b 

2. c 

3. a 

4. d 

5. c 

6. a 

7. d 

8. b 

9. b 

10. c 

11. Air Pollution 

12. Chlorofluorocarbons 

13. Biomagnification 

14. Biodegradable 

Pollutant 

15. Eutrophication 

16. Global Warming 

17. b 

18. c 

19. a 

20 d 

Improvement in Food Resources 

1. b 

2. b 

3. a 

4. d 

5. b 

6. c 

7. b 

8. a 

9. c 

10. b 

11. Exotic/Foreign 

Breed 

12. Bottom Feeder 

13. Weedicide/ 

Herbicide 

14. Poultry Disease 

15. Silver 

16. Intergeneric 

17. c 

18. b 

19. a 

20 d 


39

WORKSHEET 

MAX MARKS: 20 

IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES 


1. Which method of animal breeding results into the 

Mule? 

a. Selection c. Inbreeding 

b. Interspecific hybridisation d. Cross breeding 

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true for 

mineral nutrition? 

a. 13 essential plant nutrients are obtained from the soil 

b. N, P, H are called the primary nutrients 

c. Manures replenish the general deficiency of nutrients in 

the soil 

d. Green manures are used for crops that require high 

nutrient input 


9. The process of bringing a species under human 

management is called 

a. Breeding c. Domestication 

b. Selection d. Hybridisation 

10. Which statement is NOT true for animal breeding? 

a. Composite fish culture uses 5-6 fish species in a single 

pond 

b. Indian bees have a high honey collection capacity as 

compared to Italian bees 

c. Milk production can be increased by increasing the 

lactation period 

d. The nutritional requirements of broilers is different from 

layers 

3. Which of the following is NOT true for organic 

farming? 

a. Use of fertilizers 

b. Use of blue green algae 

c. Use of green manure 

d. Use of biological pest control 

4. Green revolution in India was possible primarily due to 

a. Hybrid seeds 

b. Increased area for crop cultivation 

c. Improved technique of irrigation 

d. Mutations resulting in semi-dwarf varieties 

5. What will be the effect on the temperature of the stored 

grain, if it is stored without drying? 

a. No effect 

b. Temperature will increase 

c. Temperature will decrease 

d. Will depend on amount of oxygen in the atmosphere 

6. Which one of the following methods is most commonly 

used for bringing about crop variety improvement? 

a. Selection c. Mutation 

b. Hybridisation d. Genetic engineering 

7. Which one of the following methods is most commonly 

used for cattle breeding? 

a. Random mating c. Mutation 

b. Artificial insemination d. Hybridisation 


11. Sahiwal: Indigenous breed :: Jersey: _______ 

12. Catla :Surface feeder :: Carp: _________ 

13. Methyl bromide: Fumigant :: 2, 4 D: _________ 

14. Foot and mouth disease :: Cattle disease :: Ranikhet: 

________ 


15. The tremendous increase in egg production in India is 

referred to as ________________revolution. 

16. Triticale has been developed by __________________ 

hybridisation. 

Match the following: 

Column A 

Column B 

17. Exotic breed a. 1 : 3 

18. Crop rotation b. Legumes 

19. Intercropping c. Leghorn 

20. Cross breed d. Karan swiss 

8. Inbreeding is possible between the two members of 

a. Same species c. Same genus 

b. Different species d. Different genus 

40 



CLASSROOM DISPLAY PULLOUT 

Nov/Dec 2017 

www.progressiveteacher.in 25 41

PULLOUT PLANNER 


CLEANLINESS 

–Meenal Arora 

These impressions that are 

inscribed on their minds 

last a lifetime. Therefore, 

we need to inculcate and develop 

good qualities and habits in our 

children from a very early age. 

Of all the qualities and good 

habits that we, as parents need 

to instil in our little ones, is the 

habit of cleanliness. Practice 

of cleanliness keeps children 

disease-free and happy. Children 

need to be taught to exercise 

cleanliness in all spheres, so as to 

imbibe in them, the principles of 

good health and hygiene. 

Even a slight negligence in 

following the cleanliness regime 

can lead to ailments, ultimately 

giving way to serious illnesses, 

such as infections, allergies, etc. 

Therefore, personal cleanliness 

needs to be addressed and put 

into practice very firmly, from a 

very young age. 

As a responsible and careful 

parent, I would like to share 

some tips related to Personal 

Cleanliness. 

• Begin your children’s day by 

asking them to freshen up 

followed by a meticulous hand 

wash. 

• Guide them to brush their 

teeth properly for at least 2-3 

minutes to keep them cavityfree. 

Brushing teeth twice a 

day should be made a regular 

habit. 

• Further, follow it up by a 

rigorous mouth wash to 

avoid mouth and gum related 

problems, for children six 

years and above. 

• Educate them to take a bath 

properly with soap everyday/ 

regularly. 

• Encourage them to wash 

hands before and after every 

meal with good quality soap. 

• Teach them the use of tissue 

while coughing or sneezing. 

• Make sure they trim their 

nails properly as they are the 

favourite place for the germs 

to grow. 

• Instruct them to wear washed, 

cleaned and ironed clothes. 

• Direct them to avoid putting 

fingers and things like pencils, 

pens and erasers in their nose 

and mouth. 

Personal Cleanliness, a global 

term, includes cleanliness of 

personal space like our homes, 

neighbourhood, as well as our 

surroundings. It is important 

to know and realise that not 

only personal hygiene, but 

environmental cleanliness is also 

of utmost importance. 

People, who consider cleanliness 

Nov/Dec 2017 

MAKE YOUR KIDS 

LEARN THE CHAPTER 

OF CLEANLINESS 

According to Dr. Haim Ginott, ‘Children are like wet cement. 

Whatever falls on them makes an impression.’ 

important in their lives, are 

conscious about dust free, 

garbage free area around them, 

too. They are conscious of their 

role in keeping the society and 

their surroundings clean and also 

consider it their responsibility to 

educate others on taking up this 

habit seriously. 

However, cleanliness is not the 

responsibility of 

one person only; 

it is, in fact the 

responsibility of 

each and every 

individual in the 

home, the society, 

the community and 

the country. We all 

should be careful 

about disposing 

waste in dustbins, 

so as to prevent 

spreading of infections at home 

and in the surroundings. 

Following points should be 

kept in mind to inculcate 

the virtue of environmental 

cleanliness deep into the 

children: 

• Teach them not to spill food 

while eating. 

• Instruct them not to throw 

Meenal Arora is the Executive Director 

of Shemrock Preschools & the Founder 

Director of Shemford Futuristic Schools, 

which is the K-12 School Chain of 

Shemrock. Mrs. Meenal Arora is a 

thoroughbred education researcher and 

a committed educational professional, 

who works with a passion for quality & 

innovation. Under her dynamic leadership, the Group has 

established 375+ Shemrock Preschools & Shemford Senior 

School branches located in India and Nepal. Mrs. Meenal 

Arora is also a well-known author who has co-authored 

several preschool books, papers and articles. 

PIx Courtesy: Ashmah International School, Mohali 

bits of paper or garbage on 

the floor. Instead tell them to 

throw garbage into dustbins. 

• Advise your children to keep 

their things like toys and 

books in place. 

• Direct them to carry a paper 

bag, whenever they move out, 

so as to avoid disposal of 

garbage in the open. 

• Tutor them not to litter the 

city. 

Apart from teaching them basic 

cleanliness etiquette, as cautious 

and caring parents, it is also 

important to involve them in 

keeping the surroundings clean. 

Guide them to pick litter up 

and throw it in waste baskets. 

Keep a check on them by 

assessing them and rewarding 

them for following the Golden 

Rules of Cleanliness. Develop 

realisation and understanding 

about hygienic and unhygienic 

lifestyles. 

Besides doing the above, 

remember that you are your 

child’s First Teacher and Role 

model. Act accordingly and 

therefore, practise what you 

preach. Show your children what 

you expect from them. Take a 

cleanliness oath that we will 

always promote cleanliness and 

help others promote it too. 


LEADERSHIP 

–Vijayalaxmi Manerikar 

It is said that teaching is such a profession 

that it creates all other professions by 

imparting simple lessons during crucial 

phases of one’s life. Is it possible in any 

other profession? Children rely on teachers 

for showing them the correct path to live 

and reach the horizons of their dreams. The 

teacher is responsible for instilling the correct 

amount of confidence, vision and ambition in 

a student. So before entering this profession 

one has to introspect about ones actual 

capabilities. 

Ways to become a great ‘leader- teacher’: 

1. Know your stuff 

2. Create something new 

3. Structure your role 

4. Keep the energy going 

What teachers generally do in the 

classroom? :- 

1. Explain the topic 

2. Give home work/project work 

3. Check home work/project work 

4. Prepare worksheets, question papers 

5. Conduct exams 

6. Give results 

7. Take children to field trips or excursions 

Don’t you think this is a little stereotypical 

aspect to follow? Being a teacher, how many 

of us really think if we can go beyond the 

prescribed textbook or prescribed pattern of 

education? 

Let’s look at a case study: There was 

a student called Mohan. He was good in 

English language. Being a topper in class, 

year by year he became extremely good 

in that particular subject. Here we are 

considering his marks and rank in that 

subject in particular. He topped in the board 

exams. One day, he was invited as a guest of 

honour at some function for his successful 

achievement in the exam to share his success 

story with other students. The surprising fact 

is that he could not speak a single word in 

front of the audience and the incident was so 

frustrating that he lost all confidence in life. 

He became an introvert. 

The conclusion is that, if Mohan’s English 

teacher had given him opportunities of public 

speaking beyond the exams he could have 

been successful in living his life to its true 

potential. We can study the cases of different 

subjects as well. If you teach Science, Maths, 

Social Studies or any other subject, show 

the students the world beyond the text books 

and the exams. Make them confident and 

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do 

more, and become more, then you are a true leader. 

Being a teacher! Isn’t it a beautiful act, a wonderful reality and a 

vocation of pride? 

Teaching is not just any other profession! It’s a profession which 

gives you the ability to transform a raw human being into a 

creative, sensible citizen. If one understands this responsibility 

of freedom offered by this extremely noble profession, we 

can become real leaders in the form of teachers and can lead 

thousands of path seekers in this journey of life. 

respectful youngsters. Do not forget that 

students spend a long span of their life with 

their teachers. Almost every human being 

has an average sixty years of active life and 

one fourth of the very important period of 

student’s life is spent with school teachers. 

These are the formative years of one’s life. 

Vijayalaxmi Manerikar is director at Global Vision 

International School, Nashik. She has completed post 

graduation in English Literature and bachelor’s degree 

in education from Pune University. She has also acquired 

Sangeet Visharad degree in Hindustani classical vocal 

from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal 

(Miraj). Over the last 14 years, she worked as lecturer 

in communication skills and English, and served 

as Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education 

(MSBTE) paper setter and moderator. She has presented 

papers on communicative English at national level 

seminars. She regularly writes on parenting in Lokmat Times. The mention of 

some awards and achievements to her credit till date may include ‘Navdurga’ 

by Kalika Mandir Trust (Nashik) and ‘Woman Icon of Nashik’ by Sakal 

newspaper and Red FM– 93.5. 

Every school teacher is responsible for the 

child’s most important period of life. If you 

want to become an ideal teacher ask some of 

these questions to yourself 

1. Do you have thorough knowledge of your 

subject? 

2. Do you read any literature/books/blogs 

about your own subject? 

3. Do you make any effort to improve your 

subject knowledge? 

4. Do you have a practical approach towards 

your subject considering life situations of 

your students? 

5. Do you write articles/ blogs/ extracts about 

your subject? 

6. Do you prepare teaching aids and use them 

for every topic you teach? 

Teachers are the parents, friends and guides 

for students. They are instructors, counsellors, 

caretakers and mentors. While performing 

these roles they lead to develop a habit 

of ‘switch over’. The teacher leaders turn 

mirrors into windows meaning they change 


a student’s focus from being self-centred to 

world-centred. A teacher is a: 

1. Resource facilitator 

2. Creative analyst 

3. Curriculum Designer 

4. Classroom king 

5. Learning Moderator 

6. Trainer 

7. School leader 

8. Tutor 

9. Change Maker 

10. Role Model 

1. Resource Facilitator- A teacher has open 

access to creative and practical learning 

resources. A language teacher can show 

the students a good educational movie or 

a maths teacher can actually take them 

to the local market to teach them money 

transactions. 

2. Creative Analyst- Analysis of the 

students’ work has to be done flawlessly 

because it boosts their confidence. If 

the teacher analyses students’ reports 

creatively rather than critically, students 

too, develop the habit of analysing project 

reports, practical experiment results 

creatively and not critically. It enhances 

positivity. 

3. Curriculum Designer- Most of the 

teachers think curriculum designing is 

not our job. We get it readily and our 

job is only to deliver the lessons as it is, 

but most of the times don’t we feel why 

this particular chapter is given in the 

syllabus? This is out of date! There is 

no point in teaching such lessons to the 

new generation. So, we need to approach 

the curriculum designing committee. We 

need to take initiative and follow up. It 

is the teacher who can lead the role of 

curriculum designing effectively. 

4. Classroom king and kingmaker- Yes! 

Why not consider yourself as a king? 

When a teacher is in the classroom, 

students hope to get special attention. 

Teacher is the Director of the Classroom 

drama. Teacher is the decision maker. 

Every child awaits the teacher’s words 

and if those words are inspiring and full of 

positivity then you are the king maker. 

5. Learning Moderator- moderator is 

someone who moderates a meeting or 

discussion. Learning is a continuous 

process of various stimulating incidents 

and here the stimulator is a teacher. The 

moderator allows audience or students to 

ask questions and participate. 

6. Trainer- When we call teachers trainers, 

it expands their work profile. Then the 

teacher cannot just go into the classroom 

and read the text and explain the topic but 

will need to demonstrate the facts of the 

content he or she teaches. 

7. School Leader- How do the extremely 

successful schools work - not only on the 

examination board guidelines but also by 

the guide lines of the school leaders. Every 

school requires the best leaders. How can 

a school leader be created? The basic need 

is the instinct of the person; second the 

urge and effort for self-development; third 

tremendous hard work. A school leader 

is a versatile personality having thorough 

knowledge of contemporary modern 

education. 

8. Tutor- Sometimes we have more than 

forty students in one class, but every 

student should feel that this teacher 

is giving me personal attention like a 

tutor. How can we capture the students’ 

attention in class. Some students like 

touch therapy, some require good words 

or special mention of their names, etc. 

Teachers should identify such needs of 

their students and fulfil them in class. 

9. Change maker- Mahatma Gandhi had 

once said that if you want to see change, 

be the change first! 

Essentially, teachers 

and school leaders are 

the agents of change. 

Most complex problems 

need not have complex 

solutions. Teachers 

are potential change 

makers. Teachers should 

be energised, equipped, 

connected and mobilised 

to become change makers. 

A very young Malala could 

bring change in a critical 

situation in her country by her sacrifice 

and courage. Then why can’t we be the 

pioneers to the change we want to see in 

our education system by implementing 

simple actions? 

10. Role Model- A Teacher has to be a role 

model! A teacher is a major influencing 

factor in a student’s life. A role model 

is a person who inspires and encourages 

the students to strive for greatness, live 

to their fullest potential and see the best 

in themselves. A role model is someone 

we admire and someone we aspire to be 

like. We learn through them, through their 

commitment to excellence and through 

their ability to make us realise our own 

personal worth. Therefore, teachers should 

be very alert and conscious of their work. 

Teachers who teach only academics may 

be forgotten but the teachers who teach 

life lessons are always remembered! Be 

the teacher-leader. 

Be the Change! 

Nov/Dec 2017 


NEW INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS 

–Steve Revington 

I 

took my place at the front of 

the classroom and adopted 

a stern, commanding facade, 

like an aerospace administrator 

at NASA embarking on one of 

history’s greatest missions. With 

a pointer tucked under my arm I 

unveiled the challenge. 

‘Over the next four weeks, we 

will be immersed in a mission 

known as The Egg Drop Project.’ 

‘You will design and construct 

a capsule, with a partner to be 

determined, to protect a raw 

egg (or shall we refer to it as 

an eggstronaut) from a four 

storey platform onto the the hard 

pavement.’ 

‘Each week you will receive 

specific instructions and 

knowledge to support you in 

achieving this goal.’ 

‘You will NOT be addressed 

as students or children during 

these project times. Instead, you 

WILL be addressed as designers, 

engineers or scientists. You 

will require a lab coat, or any 

oversized white dress shirt, and a 

clip board.’ 

“Do...you...understand 

scientists?’ 

Yes, sir! They shouted 

enthusiastically - and the Egg 

Drop Project was officially 

launched. 

The Criteria 

Students received instruction 

that their capsules could not be 

any larger than 40 cm X 

40 cm. They required a hatch 

(door) and a latch (lock 

mechanism) to secure the hatch. 

These design elements nurtured 

creative problem solving beyond 

just getting any old shoe box, 

stuffing it with tissue and calling 

it a scientific capsule. 

Finally, the capsule cannot have 

a parachute. This encourages an 

understanding of drag, air flow, 

shock absorption and recoil. Over 

the coming weeks students were 

immersed in a scientific climate 

where research, experiments, 

collaborating, design activated 

learning thrived. 

THE EGG DROP PROJECT 

MAKING AUTHENTIC 

LEARNING CONNECTIONS 

IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

Can you imagine going to school each day, dressed as a scientist, 

designing and constructing a capsule to be tested in front of hundreds 

of onlookers while participating in a variety of relevant activities to 

support your journey? 

This is what students do when they participate in the exciting learning 

journey The Egg Drop Project. It’s a four week authentic learning 

initiative that introduces students to design technology, basic physics, 

life skills and a learning experience they’ll never forget. 

1st Week: Egg Awareness 

Integrating subjects becomes an 

easy task when implementing 

authentic learning initiatives. 

It’s important that students 

have a clear understanding 

of the fragility of an egg and 

understand the incredible natural 

structure that it is. For getting 

up close and personal there 

Steve Revington is an educational speaker, author and consultant 

from London, Ontario, Canada. Steve’s thirty-two year teaching career 

was devoted to pioneering Authentic Learning. He has designed, 

implemented and promoted a wide variety of authentic initiatives, 

most notably The Egg Drop Project. He’s written articles, produced 

video and hosts Google’s number one website on Authentic Learning. 

He received a TV Ontario Teacher’s Award for his innovative practices 

(1994), an Associate Teachers Award of Excellence from The University 

of Western Ontario (2013) and was selected as one of fifty finalists for 

the inaugural Global Teacher Prize (2014). Steve also received Canada’s 

highest teaching honour, receiving the Prime Minister’s Award of Teaching Excellence from 

PM Justin Trudeau (2016). 

is no activity more engaging 

than students adopting a baby 

egg for four days. That’s right, 

parenting a raw egg. Students 

were provided Baby Egg 

Adoption Papers that included 

all the relevant information a 

person requires in filling out 

formal documents. If you want to 

observe ownership for a learning 

activity this really ramps up an 

introduction. 

Students were required to name 

and decorate their ‘babies’ with 

faces and outfits and provide 

bassinets. They were responsible 

for caring for their egg child at 

all free times such as recess, 

before school and after school. 


During rotary classes the 

‘egglings’ could be left in a safe 

space in the homeroom. When 

breakage occurred students were 

required to follow safe, sanitary 

and discreet clean up procedures. 

Once that had been completed 

an Accident Form and Gone 

But Not Forgotten certificates 

needed to be completed that 

provided detailed information 

on the accident, witnesses and a 

paragraph on how this accident 

may have been avoided. 

In the case of malicious 

behaviour or neglect then a court 

case may take place. Whenever 

there was an opportunity for a 

learning moment, we capitalized 

on it. Judge, bailiff, class juries, 

defence lawyers, prosecutors, 

witnesses and even appeals were 

introduced during these trials. 

It was amazing to see the lengths 

that students went to play out 

their parenting roles. They 

read bedtime stories, bathed, 

walked, and slept near their 

eggs. Students even organized 

babysitting clubs, complete 

with business cards. The grade 

fives generally admitted they 

enjoyed their ‘adopt an egg baby’ 

experience but confessed that 

parenting is a really tough job. 

The week also introduced 

themed readings such as eggs in 

mythology while students learned 

about an egg’s nutritional value, 

egg laying creatures and parts of 

an egg. 

2nd Week: Design & 

Blueprints 

Before designing their capsules, 

it was important for students to 

understand some basic concepts 

about gravity, air resistance and 

recoil and completed simple 

experiments. They dropped 

marbles of varying sizes, 

comparing their descents and 

recorded their findings. Students 

were introduced to air resistance 

(drag) as they crumpled paper of 

similar size into different shapes 

and compared their drop speeds 

as they fell to the floor. This was 

also a great time to explore the 

effects of turbulence. 

Real-life examples of blueprints 

were shared while students also 

learned to distinguish between 

aerial and cross section views. 

The student designers 

brainstormed, consulted, 

measured and researched as they 

created their first drafts of their 

capsules illustrating a crosssection 

of its interior. Students 

understood that their capsule’s 

construction had to match the 

measurements of their blueprint 

as close as possible. That’s what 

happens in the real world! 

Once the first drafts were drawn 

up a teacher conference was 

scheduled, recommendations 

and adjustments were made; 

then a final presentation copy 

was created. The blueprints 

illustrated all materials utilized, 

measurements of layers, depths, 

sizes and parts. Their capsules 

and logos of their engineering 

partnerships also adorned the 

blueprints. With their designs 

completed, the young engineers 

were ready for that eagerly 

awaited construction stage. 

3rd Week: Capsule 

Construction 

Finally the day had come to 

create those dream machines. 

Reams of materials and tools 

flowed into the classroom. Cotton 

balls, newspaper, styrofoam, 

balsam wood, glue guns, plastic 

bottles, mesh, ribbon, velcro to 

name a few were brought from 

home to start construction. 

Nov/Dec 2017 


Students were encouraged to 

experiment with materials at 

home but capsule, latch and 

hatch had to be all created at 

school. 

The hum of partnerships in deep, 

focused discussion characterized 

this stage of the project as young 

engineers worked enthusiastically 

on their capsules. By the end 

of this week the capsules 

were completed and their 

exteriors were painted. Capsules 

brandishing names such as Egg 

Saver, Cushionator, Gravity Defier 

and The Ultimate Dragster were 

ready for presentation mode. 

Over the years I’ve also arranged 

field trips to poultry farms and/ 

or invited reptile presenters into 

our classroom to compliment our 

studies on egg laying creatures. 

4th Week: Eggsibition and 

Egg Drop Day 

With their capsules completed, 

the classroom was converted 

into a display room which 

we affectionately called ‘The 

Eggsibition Hall’. The room 

featured the young scientists’ 

capsules and also displayed a 

variety of other relevant Egg 

Drop Project assignments. 

Photographs of all project stages 

were displayed throughout the 

classroom. Bulletin boards 

displayed students’ work samples 

and a book shelf displayed spiral 

bound fantasy egg stories written 

by students. 

Always a highlight was a table 

displaying the egg babies and 

bassinets, complete 

with Adoption Agency sign, 

adoption papers and a display 

of photographs depicting the 

egg parents engaged in a special 

activity with their baby eggs. 

Pictures with babies in strollers 

walking with friends in the park, 

attending sports events, group 

family photos, even visits to the 

dentist were shared. 

Teachers reserved times for their 

classes to visit this exhibition. 

Many classes volunteered to 

make predictions, as they were 

provided with ‘Make It or 

Break It’ sheets. This exercise 

always ramped up the critical 

questioning and enthusiasm for 

the ‘Drop’ event featured the 

following day. 

Dressed in their lab coats, the 

students stood proudly beside 

their partners behind tables that 

featured their capsules. Their 

latches were open so all visitors 

could view the interiors of their 

gravity defying containers and 

predict how well the capsules 

would hold up on the four storey 

descent. 

Capsule blueprints hung at the 

table’s front providing even more 

insight into the workings of the 

capsules. Each year other classes 

were invited, parents, community 

members, student teachers, 

administrators and occasionally 

media to the Eggsibition. 

After several hundred visitors 

the students were feeling 

comfortable about presentations 

and were using terms such as 

velocity, gravity, exterior, interior, 

turbulence and drag like they had 

been doing it for years. 

The Egg Drop 

At 11:00 am the 2001 Space 

Odyssey theme music played and 

the announcer asked for the eight 

hundred students and community 

spectators to be quiet. It was 

time for the ‘Procession of the 

Scientists’. With the pageantry of 

a Nobel Prize ceremony, a solemn 

line of lab coated, clipboard 

carrying student scientists followed 

two leaders holding placards 

labelled YUCK and YEH and 

entered the Drop Zone. 

The announcer shared, ‘Today 

each student is already a winner 

for successfully reaching this 

stage of the project. Today is one 

experiment, students will record 

data while testing their capsules’. 

Egg Drop Day programmes had 

been distributed to the audience 

listing capsule names, their 

engineers, their place in the 

‘drop’ order and background 

information about the project. 

Although for many years the 

capsules were dropped from the 

school’s roof, scaffolding or a 

window, we managed to secure 

the services of a city hydro truck 

and gondola many times and that 

always added extra drama. 

The audience watched as the 

official ‘Dropper’ held the first 

capsule in his outstretched arms. 

The capsule’s creators crouched 

and ready to learn the outcome 

of the four storey descent. Fresh, 

raw eggs decorated in a variety 

of eggstronaout characters had 

been randomly placed into their 

POEM 

I AM A TEACHER 

–Aparna A Thosar 

I am a teacher, Yes I am 

I must know everything 

That’s what people say. 

But why do you forget 

I’m a human being 

And sometimes I may falter 

Yes I may. 

I am a knowledge bank 

For my students 

I am always expected to be perfect 

But after a lot of hard work 

A single mistake they don’t neglect. 

Some outfits are not for me 

That’s what they say 

The students watch me all the time. 

Apart from working hours 

If I live my life 

Tell me 

Is it a crime. 

Be the change you want to 

See in the world 

We hear great people saying 

Then why that annoyance 

When you see a teacher changing. 

See a teacher’s dedication 

And not her appearance and style. 

You don’t know how hard she works 

And that is she worthwhile. 

capsules. Taking a cue from the 

announcer, the whole audience 

started the count down, 

5...4...3...2...1...DROP! The 

capsule was released and down 

it came, hitting the pavement 

with a resounding BANG! The 

crowd clapped in delight as they 

watched the designers carry their 

inventions to the “eggsamining” 

table to receive the official 

verdict. 

The time of that descent was 

1.06 seconds it was announced. 

As the capsules fell each 

scientist recorded the time of 

descent, drew its flight path, 

estimated an impact meter and 

noted whether it was a YUCK 

or YEH. The examiner made it 

official. It was a YUCK! The 

placards were now used as rally 

rousers and the audience joined 

in as the scientists pushed their 

placard upwards: 3...2...1... 

YUCK! 

Even though the ceremony had 

terrific entertainment value, a 

sense of real science emanated 

from the activity. Whether it’s was 

a YUCK or YEH learning was the 

winner on Egg Drop Day. 


TEACHER 

WHO IS YOUR TEACHER? 

This is not a rhetorical question. You learn from somewhere, from somebody, somehow. From 

the time you take birth you start the process of learning - every little thing you ought to know 

or that you encounter. You do not necessarily learn all good things, not necessarily all right 

things; it is a mix of good, bad, divine, ugly all as a package. So who is your teacher then? 

Unknowingly thousands! Yes you got me right may be more than hundreds and thousands. 

–Salla Vijay Kumar 

You learnt through infanthood. You 

knew how to cry and definitely smile 

and laugh with all that the elders did 

around you. You learnt amidst crying how to 

get instant gains. Holding fingers taught you to 

take support for your first baby steps. Eating 

with fingers taught you to grab whatever you 

could as much you wanted to eat. Doing class 

work and homework taught you to be educated, 

doing assignments and projects taught you to 

use your skills and practical acumen wisely. 

The van driver and definitely school taught you 

to come in time else walk your way to school. 

The co-driver/ aunty in school taught you to 

adjust to situations, at times stretching you a 

little more. The safaiwala taught you to give/ 

throw garbage in a cleaner manner. The friends 

in your locality taught you to open up, make 

new friends and enjoy new games. The friends 

at school taught you to compete. Your friends in 

the neighborhood taught, clarified your doubts; 

the shopkeeper taught you practical (monetary) 

mathematics; the exam results and competitions 

at school taught you to face any adverse 

situation and take it positively; brothers and 

sisters taught you sense of belonging, sharing, 

caring and at times having secrets too. Family 

is always a major contributor of lessons. You 

would relate to your school and teachers, but 

there have been teachers all your way. You learnt 

a lot from school but I must accept the fact that 

gadgets – like the television, the mobile phone 

and yes, the internet, etc have been teaching a 

mix package of many things, some difficult to 

. 

I am a 1996 Alumini and Lecturer with Institute of Hotel 

Management, Ahmedabad since 2002. I am a proud recipient 

of (1) National Award for Excellence in Hospitality Education 

THE BEST TEACHER 2008-09 MoT, GOI , (2) Aspiring 

Researcher 2015 IHC and (3) Educators Award 2017, IHC 

(awarded but not received). 

After completing M.Phil (Tourism Management), I am 

pursuing Ph.d (Management). My tenure extends to National 

& International exposure (Bahrain, Singapore, Malaysia, 

Indonesia, and Switzerland) through industry operations and 

academia. I am a Qualified Learning Facilitator from Ecole 

Hotelier De Lausanne Switzerland and a Master Trainer for NCHMCT. 

I continue to write with 130 + articles published on various disciplines in local, 

state, national and international level newspapers, journals and magazines. I have 

my research papers published in various peer-reviewed journals. I look forward to 

opportunities for walking that extra mile to learn and to make a paradigm shift from 

teaching to learning. 

digest with little to take away. Please use and 

don’t abuse the teaching mode you get. 

The world is flourishing because of Matrudevo 

Bhava, Pitrudevo Bhava, Acharyadevo Bhava, 

(Supreme Teachers) and I hold my head high 

with respect and gratitude for all their blessings 

being showered on me. We couldn’t be there, 

and do well without them. I just cannot list their 

teachings and my learning (they are infinite in 

number). I can only say -‘Thank you for being 

there for me’. I salute them for their unconditional 

love. I want to walk my life taking lessons 

from them. 

Teaching for me was never an afterthought. 

What has kept me here for almost two decades 

and still carrying on was the actualization of a 

constant endeavor to deliver in the interest of 

children. It dawned on me that I need to gear up 

to meet the expectations of my students. From 

my point of view, I have been the most important 

person in my life but I owe it to all my 

teachers who knowingly or unknowingly taught 

me to be a responsible human being. I have 

learned to appreciate what I give, rather than 

what I receive. 

All the teachers should know that the fruits of 

their sincere concerted efforts continue to grow, 

blossom and become global people. All these 

thoughts will sustain me for as long as I live. I 

take this opportunity to thank every person who 

has passed through my life, thereby teaching me 

something I know today. All these little things 

amount to what I am. Thank you for completing 

me, my TEACHERS. 


HARI MOHNANI 

Hari Mohnani is M Sc, B Ed from Barkatullah University, 

Bhopal. After having taught in schools for twenty years, 

she is now Head of Mahatma Gandhi Primary School in 

Ahmedabad. 

What is your focus in 

education? 

I focus on enriching the classroom 

experience for my students 

and create a holistic learning 

environment. I experiment with 

methodologies for teaching 

which build critical thinking 

and communication skills 

through coding. I am a believer 

in the transformational nature 

of education which should be 

imparted with true commitment to 

fulfill the larger objective of this 

Hari Mohnani 

noble endeavour. 

What do you feel is important in life? 

I firmly believe that every child is a winner and unique and is born to 

do something special. For that 4 P’s in life are important - 

1. Purpose (aim of your life) 

2. Preparedness (keep yourself abreast of changes, be ready to face 

any challenges) 

3. Passion (what you do) 

4. Peace of mind (stay calm and serene to become a good decision 

maker) 

What do you feel a leader should follow? 

Being a leader one should always keep in mind commitment, 

compassion and creativity. Those who accept life with cheerfulness, 

and learn from it are true winners. 

Would you like to give any special message for students? 

My mantras for students are: Perceive, Conceive, Believe, 

Achieve I believe whatever be your choice pursue it with 

admirable focus. If we remain focused, we will be considerably 

rewarded. 

Please tell us about your special 

achievements? 

During my long teaching career, I 

developed and implemented daily 

unit lesson plans for 7th grade, 

administered tests and evaluations 

and analyzed student performance. 

I conducted group/individual 

reading, math and science activities. 

I participated in faculty and parent 

conferences. 

I fostered a classroom environment 

conducive to learning and promoting excellent student engagement 

and developed admirable rapport with students. 

What has been your involvement in curricular activities? 

I have been involved in a very active role of conducting co-curricular 

activities which includes the following: 

a) Enhancing academic performance 

b) Behavioral skills 

c) Mathematics 

d) Inculcating good moral values by being sensitive and understanding 

towards others. 

Have you been engaged in any other school activities too? 

I have earned accolades for the quality and creativity of class room 

teaching, lesson plans and instructional materials used in teaching 

diverse subjects like Languages, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies. 

I have also actively served on a variety of school committees and 

task forces focused on curriculum development, textbook review and 

fundraising and anti-bullying efforts. 

I established positive relationships with students, parents, fellow 

teachers and school administrators/staff. 

Nov/Dec 2017 


HAPPINESS 

HAPPINESS INDEX FOR SCHOOLS 

India is presently slated to be in the 122 position in the Happiness Index among countries all 

over the world. It is also seen that many countries that are not as rich as India in resources, 

economic stability and cultural diversity are better placed than India. Education, it is claimed, 

can play a bigger role in transforming this situation. What role do you think schools can play 

to improve the happiness index of the future citizens? 

–Uma Srinivasan 

While it is disheartening to note 

that we as a country fare badly in 

happiness index inspite of our rich 

heritage and culture, we should look forward 

to working on it based on our learnings from 

the reports published. Schools should try to 

understand the key variables in determining 

the happiness index and come up with policies 

and programmes that address them. 

UNESCO has brought out a manual on 

Happy Schools framework - Asia Pacific and 

it throws light on some happiness policies of 

different countries in this region. Since our 

students will become citizens of the future or 

actually are as of now, school development 

plans should be aligned with the social and 

. 

emotional well-being of students. They 

should focus on skill development curriculum 

transaction in order to make the students 

more employable. 

The learning in class rooms should develop 

empathy, counting on support and dealing 

with negative-worry, stress, and anxiety. 

Schools should endeavour to orient parents 

to the concept of ‘freedom of life choices’ 

as in India parents tend to dominate the 

decision making for education, career and life 

partners. 

The framework of looking at people, 

place and process and understanding the 

key elements of happiness, for it is often 

argued that happiness can be subjective 

and personal, would play a pivotal role in 

Mrs. Uma Srinivasan is the Principal of The Ashok Leyland 

School since 2005.A trained Post Graduate in English, she 

has nearly 28 years of experience having donned the role of 

a teacher, coordinator, trainer and facilitator. She was CBSE 

CCE Mentor for a few schools in and around Hosur. She is 

the chairperson of Hosur Sahodaya Schools Complex. She 

has attended several workshops on pedagogy, quality tools 

and leadership. 

Under her leadership the school has received the following 

awards:.Green School Award from the Centre for Science 

and Environment,NABET Accreditation,International School Award from British 

Council,Blue Rating Sanitation Certificate-CBSE& HRD Ministry, Best School 

Human Values- GLF Award, Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards and is 

Microsoft showcase school. 

promoting a happy school and a happy nation. 

Among various parameters used for 

measuring the Happiness Index, psychological 

well being of people is considered a prime 

factor. Schools play a significant role in 

developing the right attitudes, perspectives 

and emotional stability among the growing 

children. 

What curricular and other steps should be 

taken to empower the young children with a 

sense of psychological well being? 

Schools are often perceived to be knowledge 

centres with just the bare minimum time 

for addressing the psychological, social 

and emotional needs of the students. 

Psychological well-being starts with one’s 

health. Schools should emphasise a robust 

and dynamic physical education programme. 

It should not compromise on time that is 

made available for sports and games, club 

activities, other programmes that cheer up 

the school environment. 

Moreover, policies that affect the morale of 

the students who don’t fare well in academics 

should be revamped. The curricula should be 

supporting ability based education cultivating 

five major abilities of students - social, moral, 

academics , physical and emotional. 

Carl Rogers states, ‘If I can listen to what he 

can tell me, if I can understand how it seems 

to him, if I can see its personal meaning 

for him, if I can see the emotional flavour 

which it has for him, then I will be releasing 


the potent forces of change in him’. Young 

children should be valued and respected. 

Again, to quote him, ‘We don’t tell a rainbow 

that its orange colour can be slightly 

different’. 

Assessing the use and management of Time is 

a key concern in assessment of HI. 

How can schools help in developing these 

attitudes that the concept of productivity 

becomes a second nature to the children? 

This is a tough one to answer as time 

management is one of the most sought after 

training programme by adults. Jokes apart, 

since productivity and GDP are closely 

dependent, we need to enhance these skills 

in our children while at school. We often 

find that work and play are not clearly 

distinguished and many students engage in 

one at the cost of the other. 

Goal setting, scheduling, force field analysis, 

cause and effect diagrams, self -awareness 

activities, time logs, delayed gratification 

response are some practices that can be 

adopted by schools in order to help students 

utilise time effectively. Schools should 

undertake action research on time use 

and management of their activities during 

school hours and use the data available for 

preventive and corrective actions. Teachers 

should also learn how to optimise time for 

what we treasure as educational goals and 

demonstrate the same to students. 

Cultural diversity and resilience is a positive 

index of a happy community of people. 

Given that India has a strong cultural 

diversity and a history of meaningful and 

positive cohabitation how can these ideas be 

promoted in the school environment? 

Actually the school is a vibrant society in 

itself with children from different cultural 

and linguistic backgrounds. The admission 

policy of the school should be sensitive to the 

multi- cultural needs of the society. 

Schools should have a strong multi-cultural 

policy and bring in value, respect, tolerance 

and celebration of all these cultures. Learning 

about different religions, languages, morning 

assembly themes, home stay experiences, 

special day observances are some small steps 

in this journey of learning co-habitation. 

A multi-cultural curriculum in teaching 

language arts and social sciences could 

highlight the unity in diversity. Group 

discussion on seeing different points of view 

should be a regular feature in the school. The 

dual purpose of learning should be reiterated 

in order to draw attention to cultural 

perspectives and associated values. Education 

through art, music, dance, drama and craft 

will easily achieve these goals. 

Do you think National Curricula concepts 

of Happiness should be defined in a more 

focused manner? 

Yes, certainly as it seems to be the need of 

the hour. A society’s well-being lies in the 

social and emotional stability of its citizens 

and schools are constantly creating societies 

of young minds. We need to first develop 

positive teacher attitudes and attributes and 

improve teacher conditions. Education should 

move from exam based to learner based 

approach. The curricular framework should 

give equal importance to physical, social and 

emotional development curriculum just as 

there is a well -defined curriculum for core 

subjects. Large numbers of people have to be 

trained in these areas so that it does not exist 

as an exclusive subject in the hands of a few 

experts. 

We see that many countries are 

acknowledging the happiness index and 

are making changes at the policy level in 

education. 

Nov/Dec 2017 


CURRICULUM 

CAN THE END BE THE BEGINNING … 

LINKING CURRICULUM 

OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSMENTS 

This article would not have happened if I had not come across a post on a professional 

networking website where new ideas were being shared and debated by the teaching 

community. There are many schools in India which are experimenting and are very 

progressive in their approach. However, it is equally true that for most of our young Indians 

these new approaches are far and few in between and for some they remain completely 

untouched. In this article I have tried to look at interventions initiated by the government and 

share a reliable way to help change seep through to young minds waiting out there….. 

–Sonal Rawat 

In my experience as an educator, I found 

some parents are disillusioned with 

assessment structure and want their 

children to focus on all aspects of schooling 

including sports, co- curricular activities 

and other events. While others want their 

wards to achieve academic success only. It 

is quite apparent that, in general, parents 

are dissatisfied with the system but have no 

other option but to be a part of it and have 

found their own ways to deal with it. Majority 

of schools prioritise student achievement in 

board classes and dissuade action research 

on new practices and approaches due to risks 

involved. Thus, the most influential years 

of personality development of a student are 

involved only in knowledge attainment and 

exam preparation. Few parents and schools 

opt for international programmes which bring 

rigour, engagement and assurance of quality 

for students and personality development. 

This scenario leads to concern for millions 

of students whose parents are not aware 

of other alternatives or not able to afford 

them. Can we, as a nation, not make quality 

education affordable? 

Talking about interventions initiated by 

the government in this sector, the concern 

remains its effective implementation on the 

ground and ability to maximize the impact. 

The Government has taken a few initiatives 

in this direction. CABE met on 25 Oct 2016 

and I am sharing a few achievements - 

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/ 

files/Initiatives_AchievementsMHRD.pdf) 

I would like to bring to the readers’ attention 

one initiative ’Rashtriya Aavishkar Abhiyan’ 

designed as a major intervention by MHRD. 

It is a convergent framework that aims at 

nurturing a spirit of inquiry and creativity, 

love for science and mathematics and use of 

technology amongst children and encourage 

those who show an inclination and talent 

for these subjects to be encouraged and 

supported to heights of academic excellence 

and research. CBSE (CBSE Circular 

NoAcad-34/2015) started Aavishkar quiz 

series in 2015 for primary, middle and 

secondary students. With initial round 

conducted at school level, two students from 

the school reach second round, conducted 

by CBSE itself. Out of 200184 https:// 

data.gov.in/catalog/number-students) lower 

secondary schools registered with the CBSE, 

even if 50% schools participate the students 

compete amongst 200184(https://data.gov. 

in/catalog/number-students) students for 

two positions. CBSE gives away prizes to 

top 10 scorers in primary and middle school 

categories. In 2010 there were 51195106 

students studying in CBSE secondary 

A passionate educator with over two decades of 

experience in CBSE,CIE and IB curriculum, who holds 

postgraduate degree in education, mathematics .I have 

taught mathematics and theory of knowledge in top 

international schools of repute .Teaching and learning, 

curriculum planning and assessments are my core areas of 

expertise. 

I can be reached at sonaloakridge@yahoo.co.in 

schools.(open government data platform 

https://data.gov.in/catalog/number-students) 

Majority of the students remain untouched by 

the intervention. It will enthuse very few and 

has the possibility of negative impact. 

The Government is trying to bring change 

with RTE, Rashtriya Aavishkar Abhiyan 

(initiative under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) 

and latest with proposed school grading 

system. Department of School Education 

and Niti Aayog are jointly developing a 

School Education Quality Index (SEQI) in 


consultation with all States and UTs. This 

index aims to institutionalise a focus on 

improving education outcomes (learning, 

access, equity) as the principal aim of school 

education policy in India. (http://mhrd.gov. 

in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Initiatives_ 

AchievementsMHRD.pdf). All interventions 

work on the principle of moving outside 

to inside - external inputs to force reform 

within. By redefining assessment principles 

and linking curriculum objectives to 

it, the change will happen from insidecurriculum 

planning, change in classroom 

dynamics and pedagogical approach, thus 

spreading its impact like a ripple to all 

young minds. This will lead to everyone 

engaging in the holistic development of 

students which will be seen, felt and observed 

in their outlook, behaviour and approach. 

This will be faster, impacting all students 

individually, helping government achieve 

the vision of - ’With hope in their eyes and 

a yearning to learn, the youth of this great 

nation awaits a new paradigm of education 

that fosters knowledge with analytical 

skills, logical reasoning and the ability to 

imagine beyond the given’ as mentioned in 

the curriculum document. (curriculum17/ 

SrSecondary/Initial_pages_Vol1.pdf). 

Objectives of the Curriculum. 

The Curriculum prescribed aims to: 

1. Enhance self-awareness and explore 

innate potential; 

2. Promote capabilities related to goal 

setting, decision making and lifelong 

learning; 

3. Develop thinking skills, problem solving 

and creativity; 

4. Nurture communication and interpersonal 

skills; 

5. Inculcate values; 

6. Foster cultural learning and international 

understanding in an interdependent 

society; 

7. Acquire the ability to utilize technology 

and information for the betterment of 

humankind; 

Nov/Dec 2017 

8. Strengthen knowledge and attitude related 

to livelihood skills; 

9. Develop the ability to appreciate art and 

showcase talents; 

10. Promote physical fitness, health and wellbeing. 

(Curriculum17/SrSecondary/Initial_pages_ 

Vol.1.pdf ) 

Designing assessment instruments with 

above guidelines should be kept as goals to 

be achieved supported by good pedagogy 

and engagement, while taking into account 

the latest in learning theory. If the aim of 

the CBSE Senior secondary curriculum is to 

achieve the development of students who are 

knowledgeable with analytical skills, logical 

reasoning and have the ability to imagine 

beyond the given then these characteristics 

of the same, should be reflected in the 

assessment system. It is inevitable that what 

is not assessed is not valued by the school 

system and probably is overlooked completely. 

Curriculum Objectives defined in 

CBSE curriculum 

What the CBSE expects the curriculum to 

achieve for individual student is the crux of 

the problem and a differentiating factor with 

some of the international curricula, where the 

assessments are linked to curricular goals of 

the programme resulting in developing those 

attributes in the students. 

Although the primary role of any summative 

assessment is that of assessing the level 

of student understanding, achievement of 

knowledge and its application but it is a very 

limited view. I believe assessments should 

support achievement of curricular goals. One 

way of processing it is shown image- 

Subject committees first need to ensure 

that each group - science, commerce and 

humanities pass through development of 

similar curricular goals. The linkage between 

the two will lead to rethink and modification 

of question paper design as well as other 

assessment tools. Illustrating it further let’s 

take an example of Research project, which 

needs to be original and authentic, bringing 

in ethical practice. Co scholastic components 

will be internally graded but externally 

moderated leading schools and students to 

participate whole heartedly in true spirit and 

bringing in standardisation in practices and 

assessments. CBSE could randomise certain 

numbers for submission term wise assessment 

as evidence and compliance with the goals of 

the co-scholastic components. Implication of 

the changed assessment will have impact in 

four core areas 

1. Rigorous Engagement: The students 

will be more engaged and focused on 

skill development in their scholastic 

subjects. Proper integration of the core 

co-scholastic component and evidence 

collection, submission to board along with 

external moderation will ensure proper 

implementation of the programme in true 

spirit. 

2. Defined attribute development: With 

assessment principles focused on the 

curriculum objective, CBSE’s endeavor is 

to bring problem solving, critical thinking, 

values of community service, into the 

classroom along with subject specific skill 

development. This holistic and rigorous 

approach will lead to development of all 

aspects – emotional, physical, academic 

and spiritual-a balanced personality. 

3. Teacher training: Teachers remain 

focused on student academic achievement 

hence linkage between curriculum 

objective and assessment tools within the 

subject domain will help in supporting 

training and learning skills and techniques. 

4. Trickle down effect: This change will 

lead to similar changes across school 

levels leading to rigour and balanced 

curriculum implementation at all levels. 

This unraveling of integrated and progressive 

approach will lead to all round development 

of students and in more synergetic approach 

to assessment. 

I would love to hear views from my 

colleagues on my thoughts. My email id is 

sonaloakridge@yahoo.co.in 


PARENTING 

HOW TO CULTIVATE EMOTIONAL 

INTELLIGENCE IN CHILDREN 

Emotional intelligence refers to an individual’s capability to recognise his/her own or 

other person’s emotions and also to manage and adjust emotions to adapt to different 

environments. This also includes how a person evaluates, expresses and controls emotions. 

Since emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success, so an 

emotionally intelligent person can easily handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and 

empathetically. 

–Meenal Arora 

Emotional intelligence is 

a vital part of our lives. 

Parents, thus, have a 

great responsibility on their 

shoulders to make their children 

emotionally intelligent for the 

future. Gone are the days when 

children used to live in joint 

families and learnt a lot without 

much attention from their 

parents. Now, they live in nuclear 

families with mostly working 

parents. So, taking good care 

of the children becomes all the 

more important for parents. 

I give below some ways for parents 

to help make their children 

emotionally smart and intelligent. 

• Regulate Your Own 

Emotions– Parents should 

be role models while dealing 

with their emotions because 

children learn a lot through 

observation. Parents’ positive 

behaviour helps the children 

to regulate their emotions 

and adopt the right way to 

deal with their emotional 

disorders. 

• Be A Patient Listener– All 

the children want to be heard 

carefully irrespective of their 

age. When children don’t get a 

chance to express themselves, 

the emotions get bottled up 

inside and, then, children have 

temper tantrums. Parents 

need to be all ears whenever 

they find their children ready 

to share something. Children 

get a chance to vent their 

feelings when they find their 

parents completely attentive 

and listening. 

• Be Observant– Apart from 

being patient, parents should 

be vigilant to any behavioural 

change in their children. In 

case of a behavioural change, 

either the child is not willing 

to express or is unable to 

explain the challenge that 

he/she is facing. Here, brain 

storming can be a useful tool 

to see how their children 

behave in a difficult situation, 

to find an opening to solve 

their problem. It would boost 

their confidence level. 

• Have An Empathetic Heart– 

At times, even empathising 

with the children is an 

effective solution when the 

situation is not very grave. 

This helps to relax and 

soothes their nerves when 

Meenal 

Arora 

is the 

Executive 

Director of 

Shemrock 

Preschools 

& the 

Founder Director of 

Shemford Futuristic 

Schools, which is the 

K-12 School Chain of 

Shemrock. Mrs. Meenal 

Arora is a thoroughbred 

education researcher and 

a committed educational 

professional, who works 

with a passion for 

quality & innovation. 

Under her dynamic 

leadership, the Group 

has established 375+ 

Shemrock Preschools & 

Shemford Senior School 

branches located in 

India and Nepal. Mrs. 

Meenal Arora is also a 

well-known author who 

has co-authored several 

preschool books, papers 

and articles. 

they are struggling. Gradually, 

children develop this emotion 

of empathy as they receive it 

from others. Children, thus, 

find ways to pacify themselves 

or even others in times of 

need. 

• Be Appreciative To 

Initiative– At times, children 

themselves come up with 

some possible solutions to 

a problem. Parents should 

encourage such behaviour. 

Eventually, attempting to face 

a situation in their own ways 

will make them confident and 

prepares them for future. 

• Avoid Suppression– Children 

may develop emotions which 

lead to fear or apprehension. 

Parents should, by no means, 

suppress such emotions or 

feelings tagging them as either 

unacceptable or shameful. 

Freedom of expression and 

parents’ acceptance give 

them the confidence to accept 

themselves as they are. Let 

your children understand that 

all of us come in packages of 

strengths and weaknesses. 

Spending quality time with your 

children in the above mentioned 

ways, will bring about emotional 

stability in them and help develop 

emotional intelligence. 


Photo Courtesy: DPS, Dehradoon

PARENTING 

–Dr Shayama Chona 

Adolescence is a time 

where one goes through 

drastic changes as he/ 

she transitions from a child to 

an adult. It is an understatement 

to say the adolescents’ feelings 

towards parents, teachers and 

other authoritative figures are 

mixed. They are in constant 

rebellion trying to understand 

and accept their own self, 

needs and aspirations while 

trying to balance them with the 

expectations of the elders around. 

On the one hand, they feel the 

need for love and respect and 

recognise the need of guidance, 

support and on the other hand, 

they long for independence, 

self sufficiency and resent 

having to ask for permissions, 

assistance or direction. These 

latter feelings often lead to 

defiance and rebelliousness which 

are generally supported and 

applauded by the peers. 

The fact that adolescents desperately 

need acceptance they 

Nov/Dec 2017 

ADOLESCENCE 

As parents or teachers we have to change our relationships with these 

children for the better. The lack of interaction between young people and 

adults seems to be a major cause of the anti-social trends. If teachers 

and parents were to have open lines of communication with the children, 

were to give them more support it is possible that much of the tension 

and hostility that now exists between adults and teenagers will diminish. 

get from peers gives the group 

great power. Adolescence is the 

stage during which the behaviour, 

actions, thoughts are all based on 

meeting expectations of friends. 

They will do what their friends 

do - be it the norms of behaviour, 

choice of clothes, hairstyle, 

language -everything will be dictated 

by the friends - the peers. 

Since time immemorial, adolescents 

have sought to proclaim 

and attain adult status. How they 

long for independence from their 

parents and adults. ‘We want to 

feel free’, ‘leave us alone’, ‘why 

do you ask so many questions’, ‘I 

will do as I want’, ‘give me some 

space’, are familiar sounds to the 

parents of growing children. 

Many a time this behaviour is to 

get attention from or to tease the 

parents, or a form of experimentation 

or curiosity and some of it 

is a smokescreen to cover up feelings 

of inadequacy and insecurity. 

This behaviour and phase is often 

also characterised by activities 

that are contrary to the norms of 

the household, school or society 

Dr Shayama Chona, is the former Principal of Delhi Public School, R K 

Puram, New Delhi; Founder President of Tamana (NGO for physically 

& mentally handicapped children); Founder of Anubhav Shiksha 

Kendra (a school for the under-privileged); she has been a member 

of 96 Advisory Boards and Committees; she has been nominated 

to Managing Committees of 46 schools and other educational 

institutions; she has been named in the Limca Book of Records 2007. 

She has been awarded the State Award for Services in Education 

1993, National Award for Services as a Teacher of Outstanding Merit 

1994, National Award for Outstanding Performance for Welfare of 

People with Disabilities 1997, Padma Shri 1999, Padma Bhushan 2008, and 49 other awards. 

She lives at C10/8, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-110057. Email: shayamachona@gmail.com, 

tamanapresident@gmail.com 

at large. Attempts to smoke or 

drink are ways of expressing 

these rebellious feelings. 

In their attempt to prove themselves 

and their peers that are 

truly liberated from the constraints 

of adult society, many 

adolescents come into conflict 

with the law through minor actions 

like shoplifting or underage 

driving. Certainly, there is a relationship 

between such delinquencies 

and teenage peer groups; 

but of greater importance is the 

relationship between these individuals 

and adult society. 

As parents or teachers we have 

to change our relationships with 

these children for the better. 

The lack of interaction between 

young people and adults seems 

to be a major cause of the 

anti-social trends. If teachers 

and parents were to have open 

lines of communication with the 

children, were to give them more 

support it is possible that much 

of the tension and hostility that 

now exists between adults and 

teenagers will diminish. 


EMERGING TRENDS 

EMERGING TRENDS IN SCHOOLS 

So much has changed in the last two decades with schools and 

students-attention spans have fallen from four hours to four 

minutes, Google has helped students know more than the teacher 

in class, admonishment no longer works and repetitiveness is 

increasingly resisted. It almost feels like there is too much that has 

changed too quickly and most schools are ‘gasping or reacting’ 

rather than ‘responding’. 

–Ganesh Kohli 

A 

major challenge is to keep pace with 

changing careers and industry needs. 

It is quite obvious that students seek 

education to be successful professionals. But 

what if the professions that we are preparing 

students for, become extinct? As per a 

popular estimate, 65% of children entering 

primary school today will end up working in 

entirely new job types that do not exist as yet. 

The gasping and reaction in some cases 

and the thoughtful responses in others has 

brought about a positive and gradual shift in 

different areas of school education. Let us see 

what these emerging trends are - 

Experimentation and 

Hands on Learning 

Rote learning is on the decline. Not because 

it does not work but because students simply 

don’t have the attention span or the interest 

to do this anymore. 

Schools are raising the standard and making 

amends to the traditional format. A practical 

approach towards learning is the key change 

in many schools today and usage of casestudy 

methodology is taking precedence 

over textbook based learning. Although it 

needs to do much more, the Central Board of 

Secondary Education (CBSE) acknowledges 

the need for a more practical approach 

and has taken multiple steps. Ever since 

CBSE’s intervention, schools have started 

imparting knowledge by way of case studies, 

life-skills training, language and technology 

workshops and even project management 

at an early stage, so that pupils receive a 

holistic learning experience. Schools such 

as Emerald Heights International in Indore 

have experimented by way of giving access 

to laboratories to students for Mathematics, 

Quizzing and Geography. They have also 

created plays in school that are born out of 

academic text books. This format of education 

has generated immense interest in students 

and they are learning effectively. The prime 

focus of all these initiatives is to help children 

experience answers to their questions and not 

just read them. 

Another development in several schools has 

been the introduction of ‘student clubs’, 

catering to everything from adventure, 

literary, animal lovers’ clubs to hiking, biking 

and start-up clubs. These clubs in schools are 

providing students an opportunity to learn 

from the ‘Classroom of life’. 

Being Mindful 

Given the challenges with shorter attention 

spans, learning disabilities and stress, 

schools are increasingly treading the path 

of meditation and mindfulness. A silent 

mind is essential for students to absorb new 

information and to be creative. There are 

several organizations that are committed to 

bringing these skills to schools and in most 

cases are volunteer run. There are many 

schools that have collaborated with spiritual 

wellness experts such as Buddhist monk 

Lama Yeshe to inculcate mindfulness in the 

school environment. Volunteer organizations 

such as Soul Science Foundation and Art 

of Living have managed to seamlessly 

integrate with schools and they have 

particularly focused on life-skills training and 

mindfulness. Through thoughtfully crafted 

modules, these organizations have been able 

to bring calmness and joy among young 

learners. 

Technology in schools 

Amid all new trends in schools, technology 

has managed to reinvent the wheel and bring 

in new approaches. Every few years, there 

are advancements that are raring to replace 

the old with the new. The educators of today 

have started using technology in almost 

all aspects of imparting knowledge. Apart 

from the gadgets used in the classroom, 

these professionals have started using digital 

Ganesh Kohli is 

International Career 

and College Counselling 

Conference Chair; 

President & Chief Mentor, 

KIC University, Former 

High School College 

Counselor 

mediums to share knowledge outside of the 

classroom. Webinars, online courses, virtual 

reality and even simulation-based learning 

has been integrated with ease in schools 

today. Several schools today have their own 

mobile app, use data management tools for 

decision making, implement ERP and use 

tools such as Naviance for helping students 

with career and college counseling. 

Train the Trainer 

Another important focus for schools now is 

training their teachers and administrators. 

Some schools are investing up to 20% of 

their budget on their teacher training, and 

rightly so. This is of utmost importance in the 

light of ‘rapid and disruptive change’ we are 

experiencing in our lives. Teachers need to be 

equipped with the latest knowledge, tools and 

guidelines on ‘how to deal with the changes’ 

and educate effectively. 

Placement cell and 

Career Counseling 

And finally, schools are now beginning to 

look for ways not just to improve student 

success in school but ways to prepare 

students to succeed beyond school. This trend 

has meant that there is an increasing focus 

on ‘placement cells’ or ‘career and college 

counseling’. Every single student needs help 

from as early as Class 9 through Class 12 to 

ensure that he finds the best fit programme 

and college for his interests, whether in India 

or abroad. 

To this end, schools are appointing full time 

counselors or assigning part-time duties to 

some teachers for counseling. Invitation to 

guest speakers, university visits, career days 

and professional development for counselors 

through participation in platforms such as the 

International Career and College Counseling 

(IC3) conference is helping bridge the 

information gap. 

Through a range of efforts that they are 

making, every school is doing something to 

deal with the rapid and disruptive change – 

whether gasping, reacting or responding. 


New Digamber Public School, Indore

EVENT 

MICROSOFT INNOVATIVE EDUCATOR EXPERTS PROGRAM 

HONOURS 238 EDUCATORS FROM INDIA 

INCLUDING 12 FROM MAHARASHTRA 

Eight Indian educators selected to showcase innovative teaching practices at Microsoft Education 

Exchange (E2) annual event in Toronto 

Microsoft recently 

announced its 

2016-2017 class 

of Education Innovators 

featuring 238 Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts across 

India twelve from Maharashtra including cities like Mumbai, Pune, 

Nashik, Solapur, Jafrabad, Shirsoli and Pathardi. The Microsoft 

Innovative Educator (MIE) program recognizes global educator 

visionaries who are using technology to pave the way for their peers for 

better learning and student outcomes. Chosen through a rigorous process 

of selection, Microsoft Expert Educator Program continues to witness 

growing participation from India, as well as world over. Currently there 

are more than 7600 educators from 83 countries who are part of 

Microsoft’s global community of MIE Experts. The educators from 

Maharashtra are from schools including Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial 

School, Kendriya Vidyalaya Bhandup, Pawar Public School, Ashoka 

Universal School, Mahapragya Public School among others. 

Eight Indian educators were further selected to attend Microsoft’s 

annual event Education Exchange (E2) in Toronto, Canada. The event 

recognizes and celebrates the achievements of educators who combine 

content, pedagogy, and technology to advance learning, achieve student 

outcomes, and transform education. This year 240 of the most 

innovative educators from 83 countries came together for the E2 

Education Exchange to spark new ideas and celebrate outstanding 

teaching practices. Attendees were also shown some of Microsoft’s latest 

technologies and provided a platform to exchange best practices as they 

worked together to promote innovation in teaching and learning. 

Leveraging technology, the selected educators created unique, impactful 

projects to provide a learning environment which is interactive, 

interesting and beneficial for students. 

• Ranjitsinh Disale from Z.P.School, Paritewadi in Maharashtra, 

attempted to bridge the digital divide through Mystery Skype a global 

guessing game that gets students learning about geography, culture, 

and the similarities and differences of how children live all over the 

world. 

• Seema Duggal from Ramjas School in New Delhi, applied 

Microsoft tools and technology in teaching of Mathematics alongside 

training more than 500 educators from the teaching community in 

use of various tools such as Sway, OneNote and Office 365. 

• Duhita Parmar from DLF Public School in Gurgaon, worked 

on a project where students were imparted a science lesson using 

technology with the larger aim of create a thinking school thereby 

creating a learning society. 

• Shefali Bose from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bhandup in Maharashtra 

helped students establish a relationship between heat, wind, moisture 

and air pressure and the rotation of the earth using technology. 

• Paramjeet Kaur Dhillon from Kamla Nehru Public School, 

Phagwara in Punjab helped train teachers at E2 to help drive the 

future of STEM, professional development and curriculum support. 

• Premalatha Veeraraghavan from Chinmaya Vidyalaya Senior 

Secondary School in Chennai, Tamil Nadu helped students develop 

an availability to apply Math anytime anywhere and make math 

learning fun using technology. 

• M Chandrachoodeshwaran from The Ashok Leyland School in 

Hosur, Tamil Nadu through her project, My Microsoft Pathasala, 

catered to the needs of special children and children with learning 

disabilities. Microsoft Assistive Technology, like learning tools in 

OneNote, Accessibility Tools in Windows 10 and Accessibility Options 

in MS Office and Online Office tools helped the students to learn 

easily. 

• Deepa Gandhi from Suncity School in Gurgaon, showcased how 

by integrating Office 365 tools with subjects and in varied school 

related areas one can explore new teaching methodology, building 

curiosity, adopt application based teaching while making leaders and 

encouraging team work. 

‘This is the biggest group of MIEs from India since we initiated the 

program in the country. We believe in the power of the educator, and the 

impact educators can have on students and thereby society. Our mission 

at Microsoft is to equip and empower educators to shape and assure 

the success of every student. By leveraging the power of technology, 

these passionate teachers are adopting new approaches to teaching and 

learning, and reinforcing critical 21st century skills in today’s youth.’said 

Pratik Mehta, Director - Education at Microsoft India. 

Seema Duggal from Ramjas School in New Delhi and Duhita 

Parmar from DLF Public School in Gurgaon were also part of two 

winning teams at the E2 group challenges in Toronto. They were part 

of international teams of five that were assigned a persona each and 

asked to come up with a pitch for a new tool or add-in that could help 

them solve common classroom struggles that aligned to their assigned 

persona. 

Going forward, for educators interested in becoming MIE Experts, selfnominations 

were open until July 15, 2017. The selected MIE Experts 

will get access to professional and career development opportunities and 

Certification from Microsoft. They will be able to share their expertise 

with world-renowned educators and specialists to scale their innovations 

and will also be eligible to attend the Microsoft Global Educator 

Exchange Event (E2) apart from other special events by Microsoft. 

Microsoft Innovative Educators from Maharashtra 

City School Educator 

Mumbai 

ChatrabhujNarsee 

Memorial School 

Alka Tandon and 

Manisha Chokhani 

Mumbai 

KendriyaVidyalaya, 

Bhandup 

Shephali Bose 

Mumbai 

Mahapragya Public 

School 

Jyothy 

Ramachandran 

Pune Pawar Public School Sadaf Khan and 

Sarika Kulkarni 


Nashik 

Solapur 

Jafrabad 

Ashoka Universal 

School 

ZP School, 

Nathnagar 

ZillaParishad 

Primary School 

Nimkheda Khurd 

Sarita Neelangal and 

Priya Jain 

Temkar Uddhavraj 

and Ranjitinh Disale 

Anil Sonune 

Shirsoli Anubhuti School Ashok Mahajan

EVENTS 

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM DAY INVITED INDIA’S 

TEACHERS TO EMBRACE OUTDOOR LEARNING 

AND PREPARE CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE 

Action for Children’s Environments or ACE, an NGO and 

a charitable trust working towards creating safe, healthy, 

inclusive and resilient living environments, for children and 

young people called on teachers across India to take at least one 

lesson outdoors on Thursday, October 12, 2017, as part of the global 

Outdoor Classroom Day campaign. 

The campaign was a response to the decline in the time that children 

spend outdoors. Research has found that 56% of children globally 

play outside for one hour or less each day – that’s less than the 

two-hour guideline for maximum security prisoners in the US. 

Furthermore, in India, 56% of parents believe their child has fewer 

opportunities to play than they did as a child. 

In India, primary school students spend about 51 hours more in 

classrooms that their OECD counterparts annually, and research 

shows that if more time is allocated for recess, there will be a greater 

willingness to study among students. 

Seventy Nine per cent of children report that having time to play at 

school helps them to concentrate in lessons. 

In fact, in some cases such as in Puducherry, India, only a 15-minute 

recess is given during the six-hour school day. The same is true for 

many schools across all states in India. Shrinking of play space in 

Indian schools, due of lack of land in cities, poses another problem. 

Almost half of India’s children have no playground at school. 

In response to similar situations as above, in 2016, almost half a 

million children around the world, got involved in Outdoor Classroom 

Day by having their lessons outside (within and outside school 

premises) and celebrating playtime. And 92% of schools agreed that 

children engaged more with their learning outdoors! 

Outdoor learning improves children’s health, engages them with 

learning and leads to a greater understanding of nature. Moreover, as 

per a study conducted, opportunities for spontaneous play may be the 

only requirement that young children need to increase their physical 

activity. 6 Play not only teaches critical life skills such as resilience, 

teamwork and creativity, but is central to children’s enjoyment of 

childhood. 

ACE is not alone in its drive to reconnect children with the outdoors. 

Thousands of schools across the world took part and India’s teachers 

were urged to join them. To date, 2,102,579 children around the globe 

have got involved! The NGO believes that getting outdoors to play and 

learn isn’t just ‘nice to have’, but is critical for children’s development. 

Dr. Sudeshna Chatterjee, CEO of ACE Trust said, ‘We’re calling 

on teachers, parents and anyone who cares about childhood to get 

involved in the campaign on October 12th, 2017. Whether that’s by 

taking a class outdoors, encouraging your child’s school to sign up, or 

helping spread the message far and wide, everyone can do something 

to make sure children across the country experience the benefits of 

playing and learning outdoors.’ 

There are lots of resources available to support people to take 

action at: https://outdoorclassroomday.in/. Get involved in Outdoor 

Classroom and help make sure children across the country have happy 

childhoods and are well prepared for the future. 

The global Outdoor Classroom Day is led by Project Dirt, in 

partnership with Unilever as part of their Dirt is Good movement. 

CUEMATH HOSTS THE BIGGEST 

MATHEMATICS CARNIVAL IN BANGALORE 

The one-day fest indulged participating kids to learn mathematics 

On August 19, 2017 Bengaluru 

witnessed the biggest ever 

mathematics carnival hosted by 

Cuemath - India’s leading home-based, 

after-school learning programme for 

mathematics. From math learning tools 

to intuitive puzzles and games, this 

mathematics carnival was thoughtfully designed to make sure that 

every child (from KG – 8th grade) enjoyed the process of math 

learning at the event. The event was attended by over 5000 people. 

3000+children along with their parents). 

In the spirit of Independence Day, Cuemath has found a reason to also 

celebrate ‘freedom from the fear of math’. This year, our Independence 

Day, 15 th August, was also a special date that comes only once in 100 

years. It is a Pythagorean Triplet. So how does August 15 th 2017 

really become a Pythagorean triplet? Pythagorean triplet is sum of 

the square of the first two sides equivalent to the square of the third 

side. So, 15 2 + 8 2 = 172 

Organized against the backdrop of a mathematical coincidence, which 

was observed on 15 th August 2017, this mathematics carnival by 

Cuemath was one of a kind. To build the enthusiasm and excitement, 

Cuemath curated some brain cracking math learning tools and puzzles 

for children between KG and 8 th grade that challenged their creativity, 

imagination, thinking skills, and social skills. Some of the key activities 

included, Fraction Hopscotch, Arithmetic Spinner, Go Bananas, Play 

with Geometry, Code Decode and Math Jigsaw. 

Manan Khurma, Founder and CEO at Cuemath said, ’This is a first 

of its kind math carnival that Bangalore has ever witnessed. There’s 

mathematics in everything around us. And as people who celebrate 

math, we’re only too pleased to note that this year our independence 

day also has an interesting mathematical coincidence. In the spirit 

of our Independence Day, we wanted to showcase the many ways 

Nov/Dec 2017 

in which the fear of mathematics can 

be conquered and what better way than 

organizing a fun filled carnival; bringing 

kids under one roof with interesting games 

and puzzles and helping them experience 

the fascinating side of math in an engaging 

and non-competitive environment.’ 

Commenting on Cuemath Pythagoras Fest 2017, Shereena, Principal, 

Sunshine School, said, ‘Cuemath has a lot of scope for kids because 

kids learn best when they are having fun. At Cuemath its about 

engaging children to learn mathematics the right way. 26 of my 

students accompanied me all the way from Kanakapura to be a part 

of this engaging carnival. I’m sure my students learnt a lot and I hope 

to use some of these activities in my school as well. This result is proof 

of the efficiencies that active learning can bring and thereby help 

children experience the engaging side of mathematics.’ 

Started in 2013, Cuemath is a home-based, active math learning 

programme for kids between KG to 8th Grade. Combining the power 

of technology and personal teaching, Cuemath offers a unique 

curriculum that ensures a holistic learning experience through 

workbooks, math boxes, puzzle cards and a tablet. Cuemath’s selfpaced 

programme is setting a unique precedence for math teaching 

and learning as it challenges its traditional means of rote learning 

formulas, restricting curriculum to a fixed syllabus and focusing purely 

on scoring. 

The future will be driven by technology. In just a decade from now, the 

skill that will truly matter is one’s ability to solve complex problems 

where math will surely play a huge role. Thus, one needs to begin 

now and empower children to go beyond the mark/score system and 

enable them with the ability to think logically and apply an analytical 

approach to arrive at answers. 

Cuemath: https://www.Cuemath.com/ 


PRINCIPAL Q&A 

PRINCIPAL 

DEEPA CHANDRAN 

Principal, Sabagiri Residential School, Anchal, Kerala 

Hometown : Trivandrum 

How did you feel on the first day 

being school Principal 

My first day was very exciting, 

with a sustained feeling of endless 

possibilities. My main goal has 

always been to offer the best of 

myself. I was humbled by the 

responsibility that comes with being 

the Principal of Sabarigiri School 

and I couldn’t think of a more 

meaningful purpose than working 

for the development of the future 

generation. 

Imagine starting your car at the 

beginning of a trip you’ve been 

planning for years: maps ready, 

tank full of gas, good people riding 

with you, tasty snacks, the open 

road in front of you. It would be 

impossible not to feel alive and 

grateful which is actually how I feel 

most days! 

The best thing about being a 

teacher leader 

Leadership is not about acting 

the part, but rather being your 

most authentic self to serve the 

organization and advance others, 

while avoiding the traps of selfpromotion 

along the way. 

I’ve never bought into the concept 

of ‘wearing the mask.’ As a leader, 

the only way I know how to 

engender trust and buy-in from 

my team is to be 100 percent 

authentically me — open, having a 

clear vision, showing empathy and 

being a strong coach and always 

passionate about my work. It has 

allowed me the freedom to be fully 

present and consistent. They know 

what they’re getting at all times. 

No surprises. 

What are the traits of an 

effective Principal 

As the face and head of the school, 

they should be responsible for the 

education that each student under 

their care receives and they should 

set the tone of the school. 

Great Principals should see 

solutions and not problems of the 

school; should be good listeners 

with a clear vision, vibrant, fair and 

consistent at all times. 

The Principal should deploy plans 

that meet the needs, trends and 

demands of the future generation 

and be at par with the change; and 

adapt to that change without losing 

values and one’s own integrity. 

Please describe the role you 

feel parents should play in the 

operation of the school 

Parents are their children’s first 

teachers. It is from parents that 

children learn about their culture, 

values, and language. Parents 

play a very valuable role in their 

children’s education in and out of 

the classroom. 

Parents should have a positive 

approach. If the triangle of parent, 

student, teachers is correlated, you 

can enjoy a harmony in the school 

and the students will always be 

filled with positive energy in every 

walk of their life. 

When you visit a classroom, 

what are the first things 

you look for as signs that 

the classroom is an effective 

learning place 

First my eyes are on the face of the 

child because from the child’s face 

you can evaluate how effective the 

teaching and learning process is. 

I really believe that classrooms 

need to be learner focused where 

the students are given opportunity 

to raise questions and clear their 

doubts. 

The classroom becomes an effective 

learning place when: 

• The students do most of the 

talking and doing, prompted by 

the teacher’s questioning and 

guidance 

• Innovative method of teaching 

is adopted 

• Routines and procedures are 

evident 

• Students know exactly what is 

expected of them 

• The teacher is proactive 

• Technology is used, 

thoughtfully, to enhance lessons 

and learning 

• There is constant positive 

reinforcement 

• There is constant teacher 

movement around the room 

• Lessons are highly interactive, 

and students remain engaged in 

meaningful activities. 

What is your vision of special 

education 

I believe education is one of the 

most important tools a person can 

have in life. Every child deserves to 

receive the best education possible, 

regardless of special needs. 

My vision is that every educator 

should accommodate, motivate 

and travel an extra mile to ensure 

that every differently-abled child 

is recognized and nurtured with 

utmost care that the child is in no 

way less rewarded than his peers. 

What’s your view on e-learning 

E-learning helps any type of learner, 

bringing the world to the finger-tips 

thus promoting multi tasking. 

I think it will allow our students to 

have access to more learning and 

to develop into great analytical 

thinkers. The new generation 

of students need to do a lot of 

learning, and they prefer it online 

and on a device. Some of them do 

it because they care and some do it 

because it’s just cool. 

How to make inclusion a reality 

It has been proven that teachers’ 

positive attitude towards inclusion 

makes a huge difference in the 

child. The main stream teachers 

should also initiate and take up 

the challenge to equip themselves 

to cater to the needs of inclusion 

of special education as a part of 

professional development because 

they live in the society where the 

less fortunate child should get the 

same exposure as the other children 

and the other children also should 

know how to adjust, help and be 

empathetic to their peer group. In 

the curriculum of B.Ed this should 

be included. 

The most touching things that 

school children have done to you 

In the life of a principal you come 

across many touching situations of 

which one still remains fresh in my 

memory - this is an incident that 

took place two years ago. Due to 

some personal reason, I decided 

to take a break from the school 

I worked. I chose not to disclose 

the news to the teachers/students 

until the last minute. I decided to 

break the news at a programme 

where all students were assembled. 

The moment I said that I will not 

be in the school, all I could see 

and hear was the frozen faces and 

pin drop silence. Around 2,000 

students were dumbstruck. They 

were completely stoic and took 

a few minutes to come back to 

their senses. Soon after, they all 

rushed to my cabin, and I could 

see children howling and without 

any inhibition or seeking my 

permission they hugged and kissed 

me and were echoing only one 

sentence ‘Mam, we need you here’. 

I was spellbound by their love and 

affection towards me. That was the 

most rewarding and most touching 

experience more than the feeling I 

had while receiving the award for 

being the best Principal. 

Best / conference/seminar that 

you have attended 

At IIM, Calicut 

Your favorite book 

Though there are many in my list, 

APJ Abdul Kalam’s Ignited Minds 

holds a special place in my heart; 

it’s a monumental compendium 

that unleashes the power within 

India. The book examines why, 

given all our skills, resources and 

talents, we, so obviously capable of 

being the best, settle so often for 

the worst. The Missile Man offers 

no formulaic 

prescription in 

‘Ignited Minds’. 

He tells us how 

there are several 

people in our 

country itself 

who can bring a 

lot of change to 

the nation but 

they’ll have to get 

ignited; ignited 

for the benefit of the nation; ignited 

for the improvement of not their 

own self, but for the whole group 

they are working with; ignited to 

prove to the world that we are 

competitive; ignited for working 

with the people who are ambitious 

like them; ignited for working with 

the people from different fields, 

because then a new creativity is 

ignited which brings changes. 

What are the major qualities you 

seek in a new teacher 

Good teachers teach but great 

teachers inspire! To be successful, a 

great teacher must have: 

• Love for children 

• Positive Attitude 

• Strong communication skills 

• Good classroom Management 

skills 

• Above all Passion Is the Key 

Passion for knowledge. Passion for 

teaching. Passion for kids. 

One piece of advice that you 

want to give to new teachers 

It is said that God created teachers 

to sculpt children into fine human 

beings. So be a good sculptor and 

carve them into jewels. 

Aspiring teachers should be 

passionate, professional in dress, 

manner, and attitude.

The Progressive Teacher Vol 04 Issue 05

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