Archives – Page 362 – Teacher Plus

Behind the Dumb Act

S. Upendran Hey, why are you reading this article, you dunce? Don’t you have anything better to do, you blockhead? Listen, if you don’t like what I’m saying, just turn the page, idiot. Did the words ‘dunce’, ‘idiot’ and ‘blockhead’ make you wince? It’s strange, isn’t it, that three words which we use liberally in our everyday conversation – especially, when the topic revolves around our students or administrators – should get us worked up when they are directed against us? Stranger still is the fact that when these words began to be used in the language, they didn’t have anything negative associated with them. The words ‘idiot’ and ‘blockhead’ were neutral words to begin with; ‘dunce’, on the other hand, was complimentary!Let’s take a ‘dekho’ at how the meanings of these words changed. Let’s begin with something nobody likes to be called: ‘idiot’. The word comes from the Greek ‘idios’ meaning ‘peculiar’ or ‘private’, and in ancient Greece anyone who did not hold public office was considered a ‘private person’. Since only a small percentage of the population held public office, ancient Greece was teeming with idiots! Some of the well-known ‘idiots’ of the time were Plato, Aristotle and Socrates! With the passage of time, however, the meaning of ‘idios’ gradually changed. From a person who did not hold public office, it evolved to mean a person who was incapable of holding one. From this, the word came to mean ‘mentally deficient’. You may be interested to know that the word ‘idiom’ is also derived from ‘idios’. Unlike ‘idiot’, the word ‘idiom’ retains its original meaning – ‘peculiar’. An idiom is very peculiar because there is no connection between the meanings of the words that make up the idiom and the meaning of the idiom itself. For example, when we say that someone has kicked the bucket, we don’t mean that the person has literally kicked a container used for storing water. We mean that he is dead. Now let’s move on to the second neutral word on our list: ‘blockhead’. Man has found a cure for many things: malaria, chicken pox, polio, etc. One thing that he hasn’t yet found a cure for is baldness. What did kings and queens do when they were confronted with a receding hairline? They began sporting wigs. Julius Caesar is believed to have worn one to cover his bald pate. His ladylove Cleopatra sported wigs which were adorned with gold and silver. In 16th and 17th century

Are You 'Sinistral'?

S. Upendran explores the quirks of language and of teaching in this monthly column. What is it that we have against left-handed people? Why is it when a student writes with his left hand, some teachers order him to use his right, instead? Why is it that we teach our children that the right hand must be used when we offer or receive things? What is so right about being right-handed and what is so wrong about being left-handed? Why the prejudice against the lefties? Are we persecuting them because they happen to be in the minority? (Research suggests that only 8 to 15 percent of the people in the world are left-handers.) In the case of English, this prejudice seems to be inbuilt into the language; let’s face it, as far as languages go, English is definitely ‘anti-left’! The bias that people have against left-handers is neither local – it isn’t confined to India- nor is it of recent origin. People have always looked at lefthanders rather suspiciously. Europeans believed that Satan was left handed, and therefore all ‘southpaws’ were seen to be doing the Devil’s work! Lefties were often burnt at the stake for not mending their ways. One needs to only look at words and expressions associated with the word ‘left’ to note how biased the English language is against left-handers. Take for example, the word ‘sinister’ – not a word that anyone of us would like to be associated with since it carries with it the idea of being ‘evil’. The word comes from the Latin ‘sinister’ and means ‘left (handed/side)’. The French word ‘gauche’ which is currently used in English to mean ‘awkward’ or ‘clumsy’ originally meant ‘left’ or ‘left handed’; left-handers, in general, were believed to be clumsy or awkward. The Irish word ‘ciatog’ used to refer to left-handed people means ‘strange person’. When an American says that you are ‘out in left field’ what he means is that he finds you ‘weird’. The sense of evil/bad that the Europeans associate with the left side is reflected in their everyday practices as well. When Europeans wish to ward off evil, what is that they do? They throw salt over their left shoulder; this is to drive away the Devil who is believed to sit on an individual’s left shoulder. If your left palm itches, what does it indicate? It means you are going to lose money. Similarly, if there is a ringing in your left ear, someone is angry

Are You ‘Sinistral’?

Concepts and Skills

S. Sundaram The most difficult subject at school can actually be made interesting if presented in a visual form with activity materials. Mathematics is universally considered as “the most difficult” subject at the school level, both by students and teachers because the nature of mathematics has not been understood. In this article I will attempt to explain the nature of mathematics and how to use this understanding to improve the teaching/ learning of mathematics. I will confine myself to mathematics at the primary school where the foundation of the subject has to be laid. Understanding Mathematics Mathematics is full of concepts followed by skills. There are very few facts in mathematics to be remembered. Concepts have to be understood by students by relating it to their previous knowledge or experience. A teacher cannot ‘teach’ concepts. She can only facilitate formation of concepts. Further, the concepts are arranged in a hierarchical structure much like a house of cards. Higher-level concepts cannot be mastered unless all the related lower level concepts have been understood. S.Sundaram is principal, Atul Vidyalaya, Atul, District Valsad, Gujrat 396020. He can be reached at Sundaram48@yahoo.co.in This is an article for subscribers only. You may request the complete article by writing to us at editorial@gamart.in.

The Rules of Silence

Srijaya Char Silent reading helps in easy comprehension. The technique also reinforces the eye-mind relationship. Speed readings coupled with good comprehension are markers of proficient reading. This can be taught to children when they are very young. One effective method is ‘silent reading’. It requires the effort, concentration and patience of both students and teachers. When my daughter was three-and-a-half, she would pick up books and keep flipping through, pretending to read even when the book had absolutely no pictures. I never pushed her to read and hence was amazed at her patience in looking through printed words which made no sense to her. I would call her and give her a book with a lot of pictures and tell her, “Look through this. It will be more interesting.” She would refuse to do so. She would stubbornly say, “I can read.” This is an article for subscribers only. You may request the complete article by writing to us at editorial@gamart.in.

Break the Ice

Shalini B It is your first day back at school, you enter your class and see a lot of old faces smiling at you and a few new ones looking a little lost. You don’t want to launch into a lecture about expectations in the new academic year, neither do you want to open the text book and risk being called a boring teacher. The first day back in school is always one of those days when nobody really knows what to do. You’d like to have fun but you don’t want an unruly class either. So, what do you do? Why not play some games that will boost energy, bring your class together and break the ice? Getting to know each other You may have noticed, especially in a large class, that children tend to form groups. While they may know everybody within their group very well, they know little or nothing at all about the rest of their class. You could use the first day of school to play a game that will reintroduce the entire class to each other. Divide your class into pairs. Ensure that you don’t pair friends with each other, for then the purpose of the game is lost. Give the pairs 15 minutes to try and find out three interesting facts about their partners. Once the time is up ask each student what he or she found out about his or her partner. Depending on the kind of time you have you could make the game more interesting by asking each pair to enact a chat show, where one is the host and the other the guest. The host has to get the guest to give three interesting facts about himself or herself. The class could have some fun imitating their favourite TV show hosts! What else can I use this for? Bring any 10 things you find around your house to the class. Scarf, bangle, paper bag, an apple anything. Divide your class into 10 groups. Ask each group to sit in a circle (provided your classroom has space). Put one item you brought from home in the middle of each circle and ask the groups to come up with alternative uses for their item. For instance, a scarf could be used as a handkerchief or a hair band or even a belt. The group that comes up with the most number of uses for its item of course wins! Games for Primary School If you have

The A to Zee of a class magazine

Cheryl Rao Teachers and schools are well-acquainted with the intricacies, difficulties and rewards of bringing out the annual school magazine. But what about the sheer joy of a handmade, informal class magazine on a quarterly or monthly basis? This could be an outlet for even the most hesitant child to express ideas and get into a very personalised Hall of Fame – a great way to boost the ego and prepare students for the world outside. How does one begin to set the ball rolling for such an enterprise? Who can the teacher turn to? How does the teacher include students in this activity? Perhaps an alphabetical list would be helpful in starting the planning process and keeping track of what needs to be done. The first thing that should be kept in mind is the Age group of the students for whom the magazine is planned. A class magazine is a reflection of the class, and students need to be old enough to take an active part in its preparation. Starting in class 5 or 6 is probably advisable as the students are young enough to take direction and old enough to be productive and more importantly, the right age to be enthusiastic and full of ideas! Next, the general plan of the magazine, the number and the type of Articles and the Art work to be included needs to be thought about. For this the teacher can turn to the students, who will provide the raw material – stories, poems and drawings on topics initiated by the teacher or collectively, by the students. Along with the articles, there can be a list of Achievers for the quarter. Here, high marks and discipline need not be the criteria. For example, “The class is proud of Rohit. When his parents had to rush out of town to visit his ailing grandfather, he took up the challenge of getting his younger sister and himself to school on time.” Or, “Congratulations, Sunita. Your stint at the blind school was appreciated by all to whom you read from your favourite book.” Bonding between students may be fostered with the formation of a core group to be the editorial Board. Students would love to have the formal designation of Layout Artist or Copy Editor and the teacher can outline the duties of each one on the board in order that there is no bickering amongst them-selves. Such roles can rotate among the students so that every one gets a

The Ramanujan museum for math

S Sundaram and Nirmala Raman PK Srinivasan, or PKS as he was known, was a dreamer with his head in the world of mathematics but feet fi rmly on the ground. He was an ardent admirer and practically a devotee of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. This is what he wrote in a preface to Volume 1 of the Ramanujan Memorial Number: Letters and Reminiscences he helped publish in 1968; “(the dream is to set up a) Ramanujan Memorial Foundation with the object of setting up a permanent memorial to Ramanujan in the shape of a multistoried building in Madras, housing a planetarium, mathematical exhibition wings, auditorium, library and showrooms displaying applications of mathematics in industry. It will be a house of entertainment par excellence for the layman and it will strive to make mathematics almost as popular as dance and music. We solicit generous support and help from the readers and institutions all over the globe for translation of the dream into reality.” He had to wait for almost 25 years to atleast have a room for the memorabilia of this great mathematician and finally could accommodate it in the premises of the Avvai Cultural Academy, Royapuram, and the man who helped him realise his dream, at least partially, was Shri A.T.B Bose, a businessman interested in education. The story of PKS’s fascination with Ramanujan and how he came to collect letters and other memorablia related to Ramanujan and how these came to be housed in the Ramanujan Museum in Chennai is a story worth recounting if only to show the power of dreams and a single-minded devotion to a cause. PKS was introduced to the life and works of Ramanujan in 1948 through a book on “Indian Scientists’ published by G A Natesan & Co. The life sketch of Ramanujan moved him and created in him a desire to discover more about the genius. At that time, PKS was working as a mathematics teacher in Muthialpet High School in Chennai. Through his innovative methods of teaching, PKS managed to kindle an interest in mathematics amongst his students. PKS felt that Ramanujan’s life taught you that it was possible to reach great heights of achievement irrespective of your background if only you are true to yourself. This was something he wanted all his students to realise. He was one of the founder members of the Association of Mathematics Teachers in India (AMTI) in 1965 because of a conviction that mathematics teachers needed to

A close look at snakes

Romulus Whitaker
India is a land of many awe-inspiring and fascinating reptiles and amphibians – from king cobras that can stand up and look you in the eye, to frogs that glide from tree to tree.

Class room to learn

Sneha Reddy Classroom – the word conjures up an image of desks in pencil-straight lines, with aisles just wide enough to hold a supervising adult. A blackboard at the far end, the sharp answer-ready front benchers in the front rows and the talkative troublemakers in the back, with the forgotten averages in between. Is this the way it has to be? What does classroom seating arrangement have to do with how we experience the teaching/learning space? Teacher Plus explores… During a normal school day, a student spends about six hours within a classroom. For every hour spent learning new things, good health and state of mind have always been accepted factors that influence performance. However, during these six hours of school, performance is hugely impacted by how the student is seated in the classroom. Studies show that students get influenced by how far they are from the teacher, by the view from their seat and also by who is seated next to them. Classroom seating arrangements are always situational, and requirements vary all the time. The type of furniture and space constraints in a typical Indian classroom do not always allow for much flexibility, but the resourceful teacher may be able to find ways to vary seating arrangements – for example, by taking the children outside the class when different arrangements would work better. For instance, a group discussion amongst students requires a “cluster” arrangement while a collaborative discussion demands a “semi-circular” arrangement. Each of them contributes to the levels of learning. This article gives an insight into different seating arrangements and how they can be best used to provide children with appropriate proximity from the point of action, proper ventilation, illumination, maximum comfort, and keep clear of classroom traffic. It is surprising to see how a simple change in seating arrangement can soak in all the distraction and transform the mood of a session. The individual and group characteristics of students in a class also impact the requirements. So, by merging what we know about our students with the ideal physical environment we can maximize teaching and learning efficiency. There are many seating arrangements that teachers can use. Some common arrangements are cluster, desk rows, table rows, semi- circle, pairs and centers or activity zones. In India, the conventional “desk rows” have been in use for decades. This is because of the need to accommodate a large number of students in every class. “With a large strength, changes in the seating arrangement become very

Behind the Dumb Act

Are You 'Sinistral'?

Are You ‘Sinistral’?

Concepts and Skills

The Rules of Silence

Break the Ice

The A to Zee of a class magazine

The Ramanujan museum for math

A close look at snakes

Class room to learn

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