Category: July 2010

In loco parentis

As teachers we are responsible for several children and while we may consider that our only responsibility is to teach them lessons from the syllabus we don’t realize that there are several other lessons that we can teach them by being responsible adults.

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Forum

Treating children with dignity I would like to thank Zenobia N. Lakdawalla for sharing her experience in ‘We learn from mistakes’ (Notes from a teacher’s diary, March 2010). In her situation, it would have been easy to do the usual thing, which is to snub the child for copying, lecture him on his unscrupulous behaviour, even take him to the principal and call his parents. Instead, the teacher chose to approach the situation with great maturity, something we need to cultivate in our dealings with young people entrusted in our care. The child would have appreciated being ‘related to’ instead of ‘dealt with’. The teacher pointed out his mistake and asked him to mend his ways, but did not violate his dignity. I also find it significant that the teacher responded to the act of copying, instead of passing judgment on the child’s character and upbringing or humiliating him in front of other students. We teachers are often unaware of the damage we cause, and Zenobia’s story is a good reminder. It also makes us see that children will take responsibility for their actions, provided we relate to them with trust and respect. Chintan Girish Modi Mumbai Helping teachers grow The article ‘Get ahead with the news’ in the April 2010 issue throws light on the multi dimensional activities that can be carried out by any teacher irrespective of the curriculum. These activities will help students learn any difficult subject with ease and joy. Apart from academics, articles like ‘Classroom language’ (Ask and Answer, April 2010) will help the teacher inculcate soft skills in students. No doubt reading Teacher Plus will help teachers grow internally and also professionally. Jayalekshmi Rajasekaran Tirunelveli An asset to teachers It’s my immense pleasure to share my feelings about Teacher Plus, a complete magazine for a valuable profession like teaching. I don’t miss out on any section of the magazine and read with interest ideas and experiments to liven up a classroom that other teachers share through this innovative magazine. The quality of the magazine both in terms of looks and content has made it an asset not only to teachers but also to parents and students. Harekrushna Behera Unchahar A good resource The May-June biology special issue from Teacher Plus was a treat to both the eye and the mind. The layout of the magazine was very appealing and attractive as usual. The content didn’t let us down either. There are articles from which teachers can pick ideas and

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Enjoy spelling!

Remediana Dias

Spellings–most children find them difficult to master. Dictation used to be the only way to reinforce spellings earlier but here are more fun ways of learning to spell.

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Changing times for tiny tots

Ardra Balachandran and Deepti Bharthur

With a surge of pre-schools in India Teacher Plus takes a look at the role these schools have come to play in the society. What do parents expect from these schools? Are they playschools or preschools? Is there a difference?

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For a stress-free childhood

Seetha Anand Vaidyam

Preschools are announcing newer and newer ways of engaging your 3 year old intellectualy in order to stay ahead of the competition. But are all these new methods and techniques doing any good to the child? Even a 3 year old can be stressed. How can we provide them with a stress-free environment? Read on.

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Making the margins visible

Usha Raman

Civics classes have always been reduced to learning the features of the Indian constitution and the Indian government. Civics textbooks offer umpteen opportunities to make classes livelier and more contemporary. Issues like marginalization and human rights might only be mentioned in the passing but here’s how you can use these issues to discuss, debate and learn about society.

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Small scale chemistry

Yasmin Jayathirtha

If your students have so far only been exposed to chemistry experiments in the textbook as setting up a chemistry lab is a lot of expenditure your school cannot afford here is a way you can get round the problem. With Small scale chemistry your students can actually try out experiments for themselves and your school doesn’t even have to spend that much.

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What is a teaching aid?

Meena Raghunathan

If you believe that you have to invest a lot to develop or buy teaching-learning materials you are wrong. Here are inexpensive materials you can use from your surroundings to make teaching fun.

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Thumbs up to bottle caps

Aditi Mathur and Ratnesh Mathur

Waste not, want not– the saying goes. This time Tool Kit brings you ideas and games using bottle caps. It is amazing how many things you can learn from mere bottle caps!

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