Mentor July 2017; Volume 11 issue 02

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INVITATION to WRITE

Share your thoughts!

Cultural Literacy in Schools Crafting the Maker Mind-set Technology Integration in Education

Share your thoughts & opinions on any of the topics above, and we’ll publish it in Mentor!

You can also send your article on one of the following: School Pedagogy, School Governance, School Innovation, or School Leadership.

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Word limit: 1,500 words | email: info@lxl.in | Submission deadline: 18 July | Email subject:“Mentor Magazine” * Subject to editorial discretion

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CONTENTS July 2017 | Volume 11 | Issue 02 | ₹ 40

MENTOR THOUGHTS 5 Sultan Speaks The Business of Education

31 Beyond Schools and Textbooks

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34 A much needed break

Inside the mind of a leader

The need for staff retreats in schools

Breaking down the journey of leadership

Importance of extra-curricular activities

SCHOOL PEDAGOGY

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

6 Model United Nations

22 Emotional Intelligence in Educational Leadership: Is it Really Necessary?

Bringing United Nations conferences to classrooms

9 Bulletin boards – An underrated tool for teaching How bulletin boards can make teachers' lives easy

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE 12 Sustainability – A revolution in the making A step towards a better and more resourceful tomorrow

Understanding the power of emotional intelligence

26 School Leaders – Changing with the tides Transforming education in India – One school principal at a time

SCHOOL INNOVATION 28 Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in classrooms Bringing the future to schools A Venture of

Publisher & Owner: Syed Sultan Ahmed Editor-in-Chief: Kalpa Kartik Content Developer: Ashitha Jayaprakash Designed by: Uday S Production: Praveen U.M., Sathish C., Guna V. Printed by: Manoj Printed at: Elegant Printing Works, #74, South End Road, Basavangudi, Bengaluru - 560 004.

All Rights Reserved 2016 EduMedia Publications Pvt. Ltd.

NOTICE: Authors/contributors are responsible for the authenticity of information they provide in the article. The publishers do not accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication. By submitting letters/emails or other publication materials to Mentor Magazine the author/contributor agree that it is the property of Mentor Magazine.

All communication to Mentor Magazine must be made in writing. No other sort of communication will be accepted. All decisions regarding publishing of an article is the prerogative of the publisher and editorial team of Mentor Magazine. Mentor Magazine is owned and published by EduMedia Publications Pvt. Ltd. for and on behalf of Mr. Syed Sultan Ahmed. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts and forums in Bengaluru City.

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader Mukta Misra, Principal, Kaushalya World School, Noida

Watch this space to read articles that came in to us for the anniversary issue. There will be lessons of life, lms and book suggestions and other informative articles that will take you on a journey of learning!

My fascination for books started when I was only a child, my parents always crowded my study with story books. I would often re-read these books but there were also some I stayed away from. Little did I know that in this on-going naïve process of picking and rejecting, I was actually learning to appreciate, analyse and criticize; thanks to the habit my parents forced upon me. After all these years, my study section is still overcrowded with books, the only change was that the characters and the tales had taken a shift. Good books compel us to surge out of the monotony of thoughts. A leader should continuously be on a look out for great books that have influenced and impacted the organizations and their work environment remarkably. Some books that has had an impact on me are: 'The 8th Habit' by Steven Covey, is a book that glides the leaders mildly from the phase of effectiveness to achieving greatness. 'The 7 Habits' has been one of the greatest books of contemporary times and the 8th habit is a marvel for book admirers. It is actually a calling for everyone who reads to re-think about the course of actions they are taking. As a leader, this book is relevant because it encourages them to help the team find their inner voice. If a leader is able to succeed in this mission, he shall be able to build a team whose heart, body, mind and soul are in complete sync with that of the organization.

'Outlier' by Malcolm Gladwell is another book that challenges age old mundane thoughts and beliefs. Outlier's presentation of successful people is not personal mythos but a blend of judicious use of both opportunity and time. This book is really interesting as it investigates popular myths and notions about successful people and logically unfolds the facts that went unseen and unattended for years. It shows successful people as the beneficiaries of hidden advantages, extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.

'A Leader Without A Title' by Robin Sharma is a must read not only for leaders but for students and teachers as well. It's a perfect read for transformational leaders who do not believe in existing as the absolute power, but believe in creating a powerful existence. I would suggest this read because of its concept of leadership. Leadership today has many faces, one of which is characterized by empowering individuals with the power of autocracy and delegation. And the others being those with a vision to give opportunities, design programmes, and involve people in a way that leads to their individual and professional enrichment. Reading this book, we can expect every stakeholder in the organization to be more responsible and accountable.

Every book that I have set my eyes on and heart into has transformed me in some way or the other. I feel every organization must generate a 'Recommended List of Reading' for its stakeholders considering the work culture that a leader envisions for the organization. As leaders, it is imperative that we construct a learning environment within our school systems that includes bounteous space for cherishing reading habits among the faculty and students. For in the mind of every reader we create, a leader has already begun to surface!

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SULTAN SPEAKS

sultan@lxl.in

The Business of Education

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more intriguing is the mark up on third party services provided by schools. Most publishers, uniform suppliers, content providers, transporters etc. give major kickbacks to schools. I have always wondered why parents and government took so long to wake up to this reality and how centers of education could be so corrupt. An average person in India is not aware that schools cannot be a for-profit organization or a business. The government does not tax schools and it also provides in many cases land at subsidized rates and several other benefits that normally businesses don't get. These benefits are extended to schools with the assumption that they will provide a service. This trust has been misused by many schools over the years.

The recent past has seen streams of measures by the government and a spurt in parental activism across India against the lack of transparency and corruption in schools.

Looking ahead I see a future in which schools have no choice but to clean up their act and bring about transparency in their financial systems and processes. Come July when GST rolls out in India, it will ring in new processes and systems that will further clean-up the grey area in schools!

he recent past has seen a slew of economic measures taken by the government that have had a major impact on the overall business situation in India.

Demonetization that happened in the late 2016 and the roll out of GST are hailed as game changers in the manner in which the Indian economy will progress. These changes will have tremendous impact in the manner in which the 'business of education' will be conducted in the days ahead.

Demonetization has changed the perspective of our society towards cash transactions, there has been a conscious effort by the government to discourage a cash economy. The government wants us to believe that dealing in cash is not the right way of doing business and there are several penalties levied for cash transactions.

There has always been an uneasy silence in the manner in which schools have run their finances, and the grey areas of cash transactions and fee collections. Parents across the country have garnered a lot of spirit to voice their opinion about the manner in which schools run their finances. In some states, the parents' discontent has led to the formation of several forums and associations that have sprung up to fight the 'so-called' menace of increments in school fees.

Parental activism against school policies is on the rise. The CBSE board has come down strongly on the 'businesses' run on campus. Several state governments have taken up the issue of fee hikes in schools and have passed resolutions to check the phenomenon.

Having dealt with schools across India for almost 2 decades, I am convinced that most private schools follow very unethical practices. Their fascination for cash transactions and capitation fee is common knowledge but what is even

Syed Sultan Ahmed, Managing Director, LXL Ideas 5

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Model United Nations - A gateway to the world of politics and international relations Sudha Subaraman

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lamelu Subaraman also known as Sudha Subaraman is a versatile Educational Consultant practicing in Bangalore. She has spent more than two decades teaching nationally and internationally. She has taught all levels from Play Group to Grade 10. Since 2009 she has been associated with upcoming schools to design, develop and implement the school curriculum, empower the faculty and support the management wherever applicable.

She sheds light on how MUN is a relevant extra-curricular activity for students to grow both personally and professionally.

simulation of the actual United Nations Organization's various Committee Conferences/Meetings. The MUN follows the exact rules and procedures as observed at a UN Committee Conference. Here students come together as 'diplomats' of member countries from across the globe to discuss, debate and pass resolutions on real time issues of the world. Each student diplomat represents a country and prepares for the debate as a diplomat of that particular country. If a student gets to participate in an international MUN conference, s/he would interact with international students from varied cultural backgrounds. This in itself is a great learning opportunity.

The success of a MUN Conference depends on the planning and passion shown by the students and the organizers of the event.

Model United Nations – What is it?

The Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the working Committees of the United Nation Organization. Each year more than 150,000 students across the globe participate in the events conducted by different academic institutions. MUN is becoming a popular event among many school students in India.

Students along with their facilitator/mentor travel to various destinations to participate in these events. It involves lot of planning, preparation, time and expenditure.

Even though organizing and participating in a MUN Conference is expensive, year after year this event attracts new organizers and draws more and more students to enrol in MUN Conferences held not only in their own city or country but also across the globe.

Why? If it is so popular and beneficial should more schools include MUN event as a compulsory extracurricular activity? How would it benefit or transform a student? Would it help them tackle the various challenges in the real world?

“Delegates kindly raise a motion to set the Agenda for the day,”, “Delegate of ……… you may reply now….”, “Delegate is it a Point of Order or Point of Information?”, all statements frequently heard at a MUN Conference.

Who are these student 'diplomats'?

Secondary, Senior Secondary and College students are encouraged by their respective institutions to participate in a MUN Conference during the course of an Academic year. However, only few students from each institution gets to participate in the event as attending a MUN Conference requires time, infrastructure and continuous effort on the part of the participant as well as the Student Facilitator/ Guide.

Most often just 15% of students from an institution get to attend a conference, and that leaves out almost 85% of students! Thus the benefit of participation in a MUN Conference reaches only few students each year.

A Model United Nations Conference is an academic 6

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leadership etc. in a fun way. Hence, MUN is the right platform for students to develop all of these skills, besides gain confidence, build values, character and social skills, understand global issues and gain an excellent opportunity to get into good colleges for Higher Education. In short, MUN supports knowledge and skill acquisition and enhances emotional intelligence such as self-awareness, self-concept, empathy, cooperation etc. To state in brief, MUN is education outside the normal school syllabus which enables the students to practice what is learned in class and in the real world.

How can all the students be benefitted? To resolve this, schools and colleges should include MUN as a compulsory extra-curricular activity for students, so that everyone can get an opportunity to develop various skills needed in the real world.

Why do we need MUN in schools?

Schools often are concerned with teaching and learning of Maths, Languages, Arts and Sciences, and in the preparation of students to take up the annual school examination as per the affiliated board curriculum.

They are weighed down by the requirement of the school board and cannot deviate from the set pattern.

Certainly parents, guardians and schools expect excellent scores or grades from their students and they work towards providing them with opportunities to achieve the same. Most often a high school student begins his/her day at a tuition centre, then school and gets back home to complete homework etc. Gone are the days where children used to step out and play for hours together. Most often, these days children are plunging into the pool of technology. Gadgets and gizmos have become more like the order of the day. Though these technological gadgets are good to some extent, there is also a flip-side – if over used. Hence they should be directed to some activities that are more beneficial.

Can a student be transfor med by merely participating in MUN Conferences?

To prepare and participate successfully in a MUN Conference a student needs to develop positive attitude, discipline, perseverance and determination. S/he must be motivated to put in several hours of hard work before the MUN Conference.

Here, it is vital for the first timers to be continuously encouraged and guided by the mentor/facilitator so that s/he is not disheartened by the sheer volume of research and study involved. Again, the mentor/facilitator should guide the MUN-er in writing formal documents, which, over several such events should impact his/her writing skills. S/he will realise the need to be better prepared to achieve one's goals, make a statement, create the right impact on peers and communicate effectively.

During the conference s/he learns to maintain proper decorum in a given platform, dress appropriately, use right and courteous language, gain knowledge, skills and make new friends. Thus, if s/he participates in the MUN Conferences wholeheartedly, a transformation is bound to occur over a period of time.

One such meaningful activity is the MUN event. Any MUN Conference would require the participants to be actively involved in the whole process which means they would be occupied fruitfully. The students will develop an eye for news and a nose for detail. They will also be abreast of the news and activities happening across the globe thus widening their horizon. MUN is an excellent educational tool to teach few of the much needed life and soft skills such as decision-making, planning, research, note-taking, gathering information, public speaking, negotiation, cooperation, team work,

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debate or discussion on the floor of the house. So this improves the listening and speaking skills as well, which in turn supports the classroom performance immensely.

Again s/he realises that preparation is the key word to success.

Since the MUN Agenda topics usually cover political, military, economic, social, cultural and humanitarian issues of the world, any student who has participated in a few MUN Conferences will be able to strike a conversation or discuss on most global issues unhesitatingly. S/he would have gained confidence and the skill to put forth his/her views easily. This ability will smooth sailing through college interviews that will help them secure admissions in prestigious institutions across the globe. Thus, students get ample opportunities to achieve their goals in the real world.

Academic facilitators and teachers too will be certain to note the changes in the students who participate in MUN events. Teachers are life-long learners, and when given an opportunity to seek more knowledge they will be very eager to do so and will show greater enthusiasm in keeping themselves updated with real world issues that affect their particular stream. This brings about a change in their approach to teaching and benefits the students and the institution.

“The art of leadership is saying 'no', not saying 'yes'. It is easy to say yes.”-Tony Blair.

An exposure to MUN from high school will create better leaders for tomorrow. Students learn the art of leadership when they Ÿ acquire practical skills (public speaking, research etc) which enables them to become efficient and effective leaders, Ÿ look at a situation with a holistic point of view, Ÿ understand diverse perspectives on world problems, and how Intergover nmental Organizations function, Ÿ recognise why decisions are not as easy to take as we think, Ÿ lear n about various cultures and different personalities, Ÿ Learn to compromise in order to reach team's goals along with their own personal or professional growth, Ÿ think out of the box, take chances, question the policies of nations and pass resolutions on innovative solutions to world's complex issues.

MUN events often support schools and the students to achieve their goals. The trend in schools today is to provide holistic education and the management encourages their students/wards to participate in a number of extra-curricular activities. Throughout the academic year schools organize and execute events in line with their goals and objectives. Students are given an opportunity to participate in these events like music and dance competitions, poetry recitation, essay w r i t i n g, j u s t - a - m i nu t e a n d s p o r t s eve n t s enthusiastically. Such participation, besides giving the students a chance to win awards and prizes, also exposes their innate abilities and talents which can be further fine-tuned with practice.

Similarly, MUN conferences too will give a chance to the students to speak, be heard on global issues and to put forth their views in public. These events help the child become more confident in a public forum and will aide in developing their oratory skills by boosting their morale and self-esteem. Thus, with proper guidelines, an accomplished trainer/facilitator will be able to plan MUN events in line with the aims and goals of the school as well as that of the students.

The outcome will create a phenomenal change in the approach to education, as students consciously or unconsciously absorb the skills that they experience while participating in a MUN event. It would be appropriate here to quote George Bernard Shaw, “What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.”

A regular Mun-er will learn to sift through hundreds of pages easily, pick out the important information needed, and use them appropriately. S/he will begin to appreciate the impact of his/her own actions, for example, during a moderated caucus the participant has to be attentive for him/her to contribute towards the

In conclusion, it can be stated that MUN is an educational roller coaster which should be incorporated as an extra-curricular activity in schools. This will benefit the school, staff and the students alike.

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sudhasubaraman@hotmail.com

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Bulletin boards – An underrated tool for teaching Payal Bedi

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s. Payal Bedi started her career as a Montessori Teacher in Ryan International School, Chandigarh. She is a science graduate and holds a Master's degree in Sociology from the Panjab University, Chandigarh. A self-motivated teacher with a positive outlook she joined The Millennium School, Mohali in the year 2008. She has received Shantanu Prakash Excellence Award by Educomp for being the best facilitator for the year 2014-15. She has taught varying age groups in last 10 years of her teaching career and is currently teaching Science at the primary level in the same institute which is now the Learning Paths School, Mohali. In this article for Mentor she writes about how bulletin boards can be utilized in classrooms.

The class room in which students spend majority of their time in school ought to be inviting and appealing.

It's important to make the classroom a welcoming place for students so that they look forward to visit it. The walls of each class room must have bright, colourful and captivating bulletin boards that facilitate the learning process of students all through the day whenever he or she looks at it.

Bulletin boards, display boards or pin boards are imperative components of any classroom as these are creative ways to share information, display students work and are powerful tools in teaching – learning process. These not only display the essential information about the time table, daily schedule ,rules and regulations of the classroom, class room management team, stars of the week/month, discipline chart, directions or instructions given by the teacher, messages for the students, inspirational quotes etc. , these also create an informative and learning atmosphere in class. Bulletin boards speak volumes about the atmosphere of the class. Positive quotes inspire students to give their best. Creative and artistic displays in the classroom add to the aesthetics of a classroom.

Bulletin boards not only add to the beautification of the class room, these are versatile in their usage and can be used flexibly. These also reflect the personality of the teacher, the kind of environment she wants to create, her expectations and the values she wants to instil in her

students. It also allows one to sneak a peek into the topics covered in class. Concisely, the display boards make the classroom come alive. The displays in the class act as visual teaching aids and are of great help to the visual learners while interactive boards help kinesthetic learners. Apart from making the classroom more alluring, these can be used in a number of ways. It's necessary to create the display boards that will inspire and educate children to be better and strive for more success. Remember bulletin boards should have information displayed in bold letters which is legible from a distance. Instructions should be clear, unambiguous and precise. Language should be easy to understand.

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Bulletin boards should be put at the eye-level especially because it is interactive; students need to be able to reach it. Don't forget to add colour and make them vibrant and bright.

Ideas to choose content for your board Always keep in mind your aim while making the board.

What do you want to convey? What will the students gain out of it? Remember the board is meant to be educational and have to be used. It is not meant to be just a part of the decor.

Here are a few ideas which will help you choose your topic. Ÿ Simple directions such as Pick up the trash, Wash hands before eating, Be punctual etc. can be put up on the board as these need to be reinforced many a times. Further, the reinforcement of the desired behaviour can be done using the bulletin board. A few examples are- Say hello, be helpful, share, be honest etc. The teacher can also put across her expectations from her students on display. Now it is the teacher's responsibility to emphasize on these instructions each day, thereby using the display board. Ÿ There can be headings such as I'm a good reader, I'm helpful, and I'm a team player etc. The teacher can keep adding student's names under these headings.

This develops a sense of pride in the students and keeps them motivated. Ÿ Motivational quotes too can be a part of the board as students can derive inspiration from them. Ÿ News outlet: Latest news and developments can be collected and put to display by the students. This helps the students become aware about the latest news utilizing the bulletin board in its true sense. Ÿ Using the board as a tool to teach also reduces the burden of creating extra flash cards which further helps to save on resources, time and effort. There are

a number of ways in which a teacher can use the boards as effective tool in teaching.

Use the boards as a medium to introduce a topic which helps to build interest in students. You can also recapitulate the concepts done already. Topics of history (such as a time line) which are otherwise hard to memorize can be put on the board which makes them easier to remember. Interesting homework can be given through these. For instance, the pictures of monuments can be displayed and students can be asked to research and find their names. This kind of activity is challenging and fun at the same time making learning enjoyable.

There are numerous ways in which vocabulary of students can be enhanced through display boards.

For example, students can be asked to write as many adjectives or verbs they can think of on flash cards given to them which later can be displayed on the board. When narrating a story, sequence of events can be displayed on the board either in the form of pictures or simple sentences. Similarly, students can be asked to come up with a different end to a story narrated in class and display it on the board, the next day. To make it more challenging the teacher can display grammatically wrong sentences on display with a note to correct and submit the same in the chart pockets given below the sentence. This is an example of an interactive board. Responses can be collected and the one who gets the correct answer can be rewarded.

“ Information when displayed in the form of graphic organizers and mind maps leave a deep impact on the minds of students and make it easier to remember Ÿ

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Math formulas, rules of algebra, important points to remember can be displayed and reinforced each day as the topic is being taught in class. At the same time, challenging problems can be displayed on the

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board and students can be asked to submit their responses which can then be discussed or the correct solution can be displayed on the board later.

Science diagrams, pictorial charts and projects can be displayed and reinforced thereby, helping the facilitator and students in teaching-learning process.

Awareness about the environment helps in creating responsible citizens. Issues and facts which we seldom notice but affect our lives each day can be displayed leading young minds into thinking zones.

The kind of damage plastic is doing to our environment, how much sugar are we consuming with each bottle of soft drink, how much water is being wasted every day, how can we introduce sustainable sources of energy in our lives, how many species of plants and animals are getting extinct each year etc. are a few examples of such topics.

Thought provoking questions can too be displayed on the boards. Such questions can be regarding our society or the latest developments or any new laws passed etc. These can be then discussed in the classroom and a conclusion can be drawn from it.

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Information when displayed in the form of graphic organisers and mind maps leave a deep impact on the minds of students and make it easier to remember. A particular theme too can be displayed on the boards may be, at different levels supporting the concept of theme based learning. Assignments done beautifully can be displayed for others to derive inspiration from and keep students enthused.

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Ways to create appealing and interesting boards Ÿ

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Remember as a teacher your priority should be to create a student-friendly environment for learning to happen. Boards are meant to educate and should be used regularly.

Be creative and use the resources effectively so as to minimize the wastage of time, energy and effort.

Remember the display boards are not just for beautification, these need to be useful too.

Involve students; create your own interesting activities so as the display boards become interactive too. Interactive boards add to the excitement in learning as students take time to understand, move pieces and reach an answer. These can be in the form of puzzles, crosswords, quizzes etc.

Reuse the boards once created to save on resources.

For this, try to laminate the charts and use durable stuff particularly if you are making interactive boards as the material should be sturdy enough to be handled repeatedly. Breathe life into old stuff by

using your imagination.

Student's work too can be displayed on the board as they feel proud of their creations helping them become more confident and instilling a sense of ownership and belongingness in them.

Use old newspapers and magazines to create backdrops of the board (you are reusing hence, contributing in saving trees!). Even cloth can be used for background. Always put a border in your board.

This makes it aesthetically very appealing.

Introduce headlines which make the topic clear and don't forget to highlight the main points you want to lay stress on.

Try to use different materials when making boards.

Don't limit yourself by using merely paper. Get creative! Use things which we use in daily lives so students can relate to them such as cereal boxes, CDs, fabric etc. Try making the board three dimensional as it catches student's interest instantaneously.

Once done, it's essential to maintain the boards. No one likes to see a ripped board as it is not welcoming at all.

Therefore, keep your boards updated and change them on a regular basis. Don't go overboard. Try to keep the board neat and avoid overcrowding making it easier to understand what the teacher wants to convey. I would like to conclude that bulletin boards are an integral part of teaching-learning process. There are limitless ways of creating them. So, put on your thinking hats and get started.

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payalbedi8@gmail.com

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

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Sustainability – A revolution in the making Vandita Sharma

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andita Sharma is an educator whose passion is teaching. Being an alumna of St. Mary's Convent, a Catholic school has been a boon and an added advantage to be a teacher, guide, friend, philosopher and mentor. For the last one and half decade she has worked in some of the topmost schools in the country beginning with DPS Varanasi to Birla Balika Vidyapeeth to , Pilani, where she is presently working. Her innovative methods, experimentation and understanding the idiosyncrasies of her students have helped them in securing good results.

Through Mentor she wants to bring to light why schools should adopt a sustainable approach in governance.

providing a holistic approach where they are able to inculcate in their students the three pillars of sustainability namely Ÿ Environmental sustainability - the ability to maintain rates of renewable resource harvest, pollution creation, and non-renewable resource depletion that can be continued Ÿ Economic sustainability - the ability to support a defined level of economic production and

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it, two key concepts: Ÿ The concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and Ÿ The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet the present and future needs.

To this effect the United Nations has chartered the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as ‘Transforming our world’: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a set of 17 "Global Goals" with 169 targets in them. The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon believes that “Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise e nv i r o n m e n t a l s t e w a r d s h i p a n d s t r e n g t h e n governance”.

Teachers are the pillars of our society and who better to shoulder this responsibility than them. They are the ones who can influence and mould a child’s way of thinking. Thus the onus has again shifted to the schools to advocate and impart this concept of transforming the world. But before they are able to impart to the students they need to practice it first. The burden lies on them of 12

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level and each member of the society from top to bottom has to contribute without thinking of their status. It can be effective only when we all join hands and give in our best. We need to contemplate on a plan which is effective and not restricted to paper only. The seeds of transformation need to be sown at a tender age and who better than the schools of today and for this the 5P’s of sustainable development namely ‘People, Planet, Partnership, Peace and Philanthropy’ need to be propagated among the students.

People are the best resource of a country, a resource if optimally utilised can prove to carve a niche for not only them but for the entire world. Ÿ They need to be educated on the value of human life.

Human life is precious and man with his intelligence can surmount many a things which were next to impossible centuries back. Through his knowledge he destroyed the world and now is the turn to reconstruct what he destroyed. The time has again come to utilise his knowledge and intelligence. Ÿ It should be emphasised that people irrespective of age or gender are an important source for the other Ps of sustainable development. Thus the essence of teaching should be about life irrespective of gender or age because as Dan Shechtman says, “Sustainable development requires human ingenuity. People are the most important resource”.

Planet, Earth is the only place that supports life and though efforts have been made to find life on other planets, it is still a distant dream. Ÿ The students need to be taught that our planet is a mine of natural resources and how, because of our greed we have taken away those resources.

Social sustainability - the ability of a social system, such as a country, to function at a defined level of social well- being.

The teachers must make the ‘millennials’- the 21st century learners aware of the fact that the resources are depleting and there is a hue and cry all over the world for finding means and ways to replete our resources and one w o r d t h at i s o n eve r y l e a d e r, e d u c at o r a n d knowledgeable person’s lip is none other but sustainable development. Actions speak louder than words. Though we talk about sustainability and growth, when it comes to actual practice we come to a point of nothingness. We need to pave a path for our future generations where instead of paucity of resources there should abundance of it. We need citizens who care for their surroundings and not ruffians who ransacked Tejas Express on its maiden journey.

In a country of a billion plus when it comes to working as a team very few join hands and we talk about sustainable development. It is always said ‘Practice what you preach’ and this is the most appropriate time to put it into practice. According to Kofi Annan, “Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rests the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development” and what better way than to use education as a tool to transform our surroundings, society, country and the entire world. Education has the power to change our mind sets. It empowers us with the ability to use our thoughts in the right direction bringing about innovation and discoveries to help in sustainable growth.

The development has to be initiated from the grass root Ÿ

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but our time too.

Thus, the schools will indirectly infuse in the students ‘value of money’. Money is power and can help in growth. We need to give stress on utilising money and not wasting on possessions which will just remain possessions. We need to restore in them that every rupee counts. We need to have economic stability before we can venture into projects involving Universal brotherhood. Ÿ This can begin with not wasting food in weddings or leaving left overs in restaurants, taking the amount in small quantities because food wasted is money wasted. With that food we can feed so many.

Food is our lifeline but we need ‘to eat to live and not live to eat’. Jacqueline Novogratz has aptly said, “A sustainable world means working together to create prosperity for all” and this is possible only when we work together irrespective of gender, colour or creed. Let us encourage group work and team spirit so as they can think of themselves as ‘we’ and not ‘I’.

Peace, Today we are at the brink of the Third World War which may be caused because of Water. Isn’t it ironical that our planet Earth comprises majorly of water but most of it is not consumable? True that only a little is fit for drinking and for that we are at war. In India there are disputes over Cauvery water, SYL (Satluj Yamuna Link Canal) and River Brahamaputra. Can’t we resolve these matters peacefully instead of fighting over it? Ÿ We need to sort out our differences and realise that wasting time on such trivial issues hamper our progress. It should be emphasized on the students that our social responsibilities are on a higher pedestal than these insignificant matters. Ÿ Students need to be shown the importance of peace and harmony and how it can assist development.

Making them practise camaraderie and team work can be instrumental in an enormous change, a change that can turn the tides in our favour.

We need to give emphasis to lust for our survival and sustainability. The incessant desire to live may help them think about their surroundings as in, its sustainability lies in our sustainability. Ÿ They should be allowed to explore and appreciate their environment and encouraged to plant and nurture those saplings. The project Go Green has been promoted but it is generally restricted to a month, Van Mahotsav or Environment Day and for the rest of the year it is a forgotten case. Ÿ We need to instil the insatiable hunger in our students to promote greenery, to create a bright and blossoming future and this is plausible when the entire school ropes in to this idea, to provide life to our environment..

Jack Dangermond said, “our world is evolving without consideration, and the result is a loss of biodiversity, energy issues, congestion in cities. But geography, if used correctly, can be used to redesign sustainable and more liveable cities” and we need to underline this very fact to our students to generate Environmental Sustainability leading to prosperity and progress. Ÿ

Ÿ

“ Sustainable development... offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance Partnership is the soul of progress and prosperity. We, in our quest for power think about ourselves and forget that each member of the society plays an integral role in the development of a nation. Ÿ For a common objective we need to join hands, work as a team. Many hands make the work lighter and if practised we can save not only our precious resources 14

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the children towards others’ adversities and is a step towards philanthropic vision.

Deepak Chopra’s words are a message to us on how to inculcate and imbibe the attitude and attribute towards transforming our world. “New Age values are conscious evolution, a non-sectarian society, a non-military culture, global sharing, healing the environment, sustainable economies, self-determination, social justice, economic empowerment of the poor, love, compassion in action, going beyond religious fundamentalism, going beyond nationalism-extreme nationalism, culture.”

Adopting these Ps will help in catering to sustainable development and to build a brand image of ‘we care’ schools. This will inculcate the ‘we care’ attitude among the children, the authorities and the country planners.

This attitude when transmitted among the parents, teachers, society and all alike will be an investment in children and nature which in the long run would result in a resurgence of hope, vitality. These Ps will also help in revitalising the Education system where instead of creating products in the assembly line we will be crafting human beings who have a desire to do something for themselves as well as for the Universe, a desire which is so deep rooted that they would be conserving their heritage instead of uprooting the entire value system.

With this holistic approach towards education the day is not far when we will accomplish the 17 goals proposed for sustainable development.

For this we don’t need to take gigantic steps but we need to think big. As Confucius once said, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” so let us take that step. Let us pledge and create a world where Babe Dioum’s words can come true, “In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught”.

Let us empower them with Vasudeva Kutumbakam - the world is one family by keeping our differences aside.

Philanthropy is an attribute which very few practice but all want to reap its benefit. Our education system can deal with this by encouraging the children to empathise with the problems of the people. Ÿ Making them aware of the people’s hunger, deprivation and lack of basic needs may help them acquire a philanthropic vision. Small steps like donating food along with their old clothes, books can help in resurrecting our value system. Many schools go in for such drives to bring out these feelings in the students under their care. Ÿ We should emulate Japanese school practices where the authorities, teachers and students alike help in the cleaning of classrooms and campus. Ÿ Some examples can be cited from school projects which have ‘lend a hand’ towards ‘sustainable development’ Ÿ An eager group of 10-year-olds, all members of the Eco Club, boast proudly about their clean-up drive at a local market and the school’s paper recycling machine and composting pits. Ÿ A few miles and a world away, on the manicured green campus, enthusiastic pupils in crisp white uniforms tend to a medicinal herb garden, make bags from discarded newspaper to supplant plastic ones and soak up the knowledge they'll use to pester their parents about conserving electricity and water. Ÿ Students while returning from school throw the left over water from their water bottles in a tank which is later used to irrigate the plants. Ÿ Cracker free Diwali, playing Holi with natural colours are some other ways of a sustainable approach. Ÿ These steps are imparting core values and sensitising Ÿ

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INSIDE THE MIND OF A LEADER The world's simplest idea. The Golden Circle, coined by Mr. Simon Sinek. A man who deciphered the minds of leaders like the Wright brothers, Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King. It is said that exceptional leaders have a way of life, a manner of doing things and realizing this gave birth to the idea of the Golden Circle.

It consists of 3 concentric circles. It begins with the why?

How? And finally what? The purpose of this is to understand what a leader is made of in their core and what drives them in this dynamic world.

In this Issue of Mentor, Ms. Sunitha Satheesh, Principal of The Choice School shares insights and knowledge of running one of India’s top ten schools.

WHY? Tell us about you, about your story.

What made you embark on this remarkable journey and what keeps you going every day?

Born and brought up by my well educated parents, my father's key goal was to provide the best education to both me and my sibling. A commerce graduate with Post Graduate Degree and M Phil in Sociology, I joined The Choice School in 1996 as a KG teacher and there has been no turning back from there. My supportive family and close friends stood by me throughout the journey, which helped me tremendously in my professional growth. Dreaming big, attempting to shoot for the stars, trying the impossible and latching on to challenges was my forte from my teenage years. Two decades in this profession has not been smooth sailing throughout.

There have been checks and balances all of which contributed to making me who I am today. It was a long, arduous ride. Some days, when it's too taxing I see the little faces running around the school premises with hope and innocence and at that miniscule moment I see clarity, I feel it's all worth it. The rich experiences life keeps offering has taught me to be a better individual and a confident professional. Being part of the

Entering the field of education was totally by default but soon after I realized that I was a born teacher. Even after 21 years as an educationalist, what keeps me motivated are my enjoyment, passion and commitment to the profession I am in today. The force that kept driving me to teaching was the children. The first time I taught KG students, where I began my career, I still remember that's the day I realized that this was it.

Credit goes to my father who molded me and my brother into determined and confident individuals. He strived to make us both hardworking and passionate individuals inspire me every day. In a time when education was a privilege my father made sure both of us were blessed with it in abundance. For which, I am forever indebted.

The amount of dedication and thirst for knowledge my father instilled in me, still inspires me to run one of the top 10 schools in India. It showed me the potential power of education and how I could use it to encourage thousands of students.

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Share an instance that tested your strength and how did you overcome it?

A couple of years ago, the chairman of the Choice group had sent me to China to purchase furniture for the new school building (with a dead line, of course). There were multiple challenges and requirements I faced from the top management to meet the deadline. But I was focused on the target given to me and overruled all the thoughts that came from the top management and took my own decisions in order to meet the deadline.

Swimming in the sea of bureaucracy was not easy especially since I was a relatively young employee. This was a very controversial moment but I was sure that I was right and stood by my decisions. For the next two months I was alone in the game but I ensured that the order was delivered in time and in the most cost effective manner. Lo and behold, the chairman appreciated my courage and determination in completing the task as scheduled. I realized the small things didn't matter while thinking big. Small things like playing to the piper's tunes. Think big, focus on your targets and don't give up. Just like in any organization there is work pressure, dexterity in handling manpower and difficulty in implementing and getting your ideas across the team, these are only some of the challenges I face as part of my routine.

governing body of a school that has so much going on with respect to scholastic and co-scholastic activities and the sheer volume of the school has taught me many lessons of life.

Tell us your core belief.

My core belief is to “Be Human”. We are all adaptable, we make mistakes but we can with hard work and inspiration bounce back from anything. Trust, believe, guide, motivate people, and respect one another for best results. Strive to achieve only the best and don't settle for anything less. This is my core belief and has worked well for me always. There is not a day that has passed by where I have given up on something; the perseverance to achieve the best has helped me both personally and professionally. On my journey of this exciting career, very experienced individuals have told me that to be someone or go someone in life you should project yourself, get noticed and impress the right people and I have done nothing of this sort.

“ The simple mantra I follow in life is to put your best foot out in anything you do, do not wait to impress or catch anyone's attention

HOW? How have you translated your aspiration into reality?

The simple mantra I follow in life is to put your best foot out in anything you do, do not wait to impress or catch anyone's attention. Believe in yourself, stay focused and success will automatically follow. I have tried to implement as many programs and engaging activities as I can in the school in order to inculcate in students a sense of responsibility, dedication and adventure. I feel children should be exposed to environments that are thriving with life and energy in order for them to grow as individuals which is why we have many events like annual drama shows, charity drives, engaging assembly activities and many such co-scholastic experiences.

Tell us about some of the instances that changed your life? The instance that you felt was your calling.

I remember my first day in The Choice School, the minute I stepped into Kinderland with a bunch of smiling and welcoming faces greeting me, I knew this was my calling. This is exactly where I needed to be, creating future leaders and innovators. Each day has been a learning experience for me. I confidently faced and accepted the challenges of life, the tough turns and bends that are tests along the journey of life. These challenges teach you to mold and alter the life style according to our needs.

How have you channeled your passion into your present role as a leader?

Our vision, at The Choice School is to provide a happy, caring and stimulating environment where children will recognize and achieve their fullest potential, so that 17

COVER STORY learnt the value of the bigger picture.

they make their best contribution to society. Giving life to this vision was relatively easy for me as I loved to bring in progressive changes that would push the children in the right direction. As I had mentioned earlier my passion among many other things is doing the impossible which made it easier for me to transcend pedagogy in the school to a different level. We have been bringing avant-garde teaching styles since 1991 to ensure that the school is always ahead of its times. As impossible as it sounds, we have high-tech Science Labs, Composite Labs, Innovation and Design Labs (Robotics) all of which are available for students to explore and innovate in.

Take us through the process of ideation, plan of action and execution of one of the best practices / idea that you implemented in your school.

We collaborate and ideate on how we can always remain ahead of the curve and come up with new experiences for students. We have learnt that there is no substitute for real life experiential learning, no textbook can replace that. One example of an activity that we implemented was a Life Skills program where in students from grades 5 to 12 were given hands on real life lessons on manners, values, etiquettes and lessons of life like changing the tire of a bus, replacing a bulb, setting a dinner table etc. These classes were slotted thrice a week to equip students with basic life skills.

How have you impacted your school's growth since your joining?

The Choice school has grown and matured since its inception in 1991. The Choice School was ranked No.1 by the Education World Award 2015. I am proud to have contributed and played a key role in making this school a success story. My team has, together, strived to achieve where we are today. Being a risk taker has helped me drive innovation and induce best practices in the school.

WHAT? What all changes have you brought about in your school that was parallel to your belief for a better future for children?

We want to know what your leadership strategy is in the field of education and how you implement it.

Everything implemented in the school is in lines with my convictions in life. Ÿ I have put into practice the concept of sharing through charity and donation drives and programs.

We engage students in such activities to imbibe in them values of empathy and accountability. Ÿ I tried to do things outside the text books which are charted for the students to be better individuals and face the realities of life. Ÿ To add global dimension to the teaching and learning process and to break monotony of

My leadership strategy is pretty straight forward. I believe collaboration is the key. Listen, listen and listen.

Listening to people and understanding their perspectives is the key to good leadership. But there is something else that is truly remarkable that is saying, “No.” It is something I learnt over the years, to fearlessly say no irrespective of hierarchy, age or gender.

It has set me back a couple of times but as the saying goes, 'Let your work speak for itself'. Implementing this in the field has become instinctive now because I have

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Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

“ My core belief is

conventional teaching methods, we bring visiting faculty who are sometimes expatriate teachers, to teach earmarked portions of the curriculum.

In order to groom the future generation we must think like them. I have taken forward steps to engage students more with nature through our various vigorous sports programs like Swimming, Kabbadi, Basketball, Shooting, Table Tennis, Badminton, Athletics for which our school teams have qualified to the National level.

Included the implementation of Campus Wallet in order to facilitate Cashless transactions within the school campus, Beyond The Bell, an extended hour program, conceived with the idea to provide all students with an opportunity to acquire new skills in areas ranging from the arts, sports, music, theatre to culinary arts, Assemblies which are theme based, conducted class wise once every week are a new and fun way of inculcating values and social awareness in the students, Mega-Shows, a dramatic display of a story involving students who want to showcase their talent to a wide audience TEDx – We take pride in mentioning that we are the first school in Kerala to have hosted this event.

TEDx Choice School was an opportunity for students to interact, discover and celebrate locally driven ideas by elevating them to a global stage. All these engagements have a lesson for all. We are striving to drive our students far away from rote learning to an experiential learning approach and to craft a maker mindset in them in order to be ahead of times.

to “Be Human”.

We are all adaptable, we make mistakes but we can with hard work and inspiration bounce back from anything What have you done in your school that represents the belief system that you would like to instill in children?

Hands on education, student-centric lear ning methodology and skill-based learning, are some of the concepts that we have adopted to enrich academics. It is a proven fact that children born in this digital world are far ahead in their thinking process and there needs to be a consequent paradigm shift in education. Keeping in mind these shifting trends in education, The Choice School offers a curriculum, which emphasizes activity oriented teaching and creates opportunities for the children to observe, explore, analyze and conclude, thus making them independent learners.

Some of the activities that resonate with my belief system loudly are: Ÿ Charity Drives and the STEM platform. Everyone's accountable for the society and its apparent deterioration, and as educator s it is our responsibility to be teaching children the importance of giving back. Some of the activities that has been conducted as part of the Charity Drive are 'Ceiling on desire' where students give up a part of their birthday treats as donation which is later used to buy medicines for patients of the cancer ward in government hospitals, 'Fistful of rice', a fistful of rice is kept aside each day to consider the less fortunate, the activity is carried out in order to 19

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Ÿ

Building. This unique structure will be capable of rotating as a wind mill which will provide another alternative energy resource i.e., the wind. We came from small beginnings, with only 10 staff members and 90 students in 1991, today The Choice School has 2775 students and 520 staff members.

inculcate a caring and selfless attitude and is distributed to the needy in the near vicinity, 'Candlelight project' - An initiative of Mr. Vijay Menon – a well-known philanthropist, is a student managed program where they volunteer to aid and serve the needy by providing necessary items like blankets or medicines or food to the members of the indigenous community.

Another initiative that I feel will create a thirst for knowledge and innovation is the STEM platform we give students. The STEM department includes exciting labs: High-tech Science Labs, Three computer Labs, Composite Labs, Innovation and Design Labs(Robotics), Math Lab which is open to young enthusiasts of science and technology to explore and innovate. We want children to think technology and sustainability. They should understand the importance of sustainable living, sharing economy and co-existing. With this platform they will get an opportunity to unleash their creativity and be abreast of all technological updates.

“ Being a risk taker has helped me drive innovation in the school… just believe in yourself, stay focused and success will automatically follow

What is the future you want for your school? What will you do to bridge the gap, if any?

I want us to be the best in the country. I definitely feel 'The Choice School' has the mark of quality and potential to become the best. We plan to achieve this by becoming innovative in all aspects related to the school.

We want to transform our school using advanced technology in teaching, learning, and research. This is possible for us due to the existence of our STEM branch.

In the near future we intend to generate alternative energy resources through a Solar Dome which would serve as the ceiling for our soon-to-come Panorama

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Chai time chit-chat Tell us your life journey all the way from your first step into a school to right this moment.

I got to know about a vacancy at The Choice School through a friend of mine. Incidentally we both applied and joined the school together in 1996 as a Kindergarten Teacher soon after my graduation (However, fate was cruel and took her away at a young age and I proudly remember her today). It was a gradual but steady growth from then as a Primary teacher, Coordinator, Vice Principal and then to become the Principal of the Choice School. I owe it to God, my family, wellwishers and critics who helped me climb the ladder of success smoothly.

If you could pen down your mantra for managing a school into words, what would it be?

I would suggest staying on top of things. Delegate responsibility and make people accountable. Be unbiased and frank in expressing opinions. Don't hold back.

Do you think you chose this profession or did it choose you?

I could say that the profession chose me. I got into this profession by default and being motivated right from the start, I developed a passion for it and from there it was a smooth sail.

If you could witness any event of the past, present or future, what would it be?

An event of the past which I would like to witness is the grand Musical 'The Lion King', a mega production presented by the Choice School in January 2013 with over 400 students. I had the privilege of organizing this in my capacity as Vice Principal. It was a truly unforgettable event.

Tell us a time when you learned something important outside of school.

The school exchange programs to USA and UK have been exciting experiences. The different teaching style, the freedom to execute a job and the professionalism maintained by individuals is worth emulating.

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Tell us about someone who has had a significant impact in the making of the leader that you are today.

I owe it to many people who have helped me attain this pivotal point in my life including people like the former Vice Principal, Principals who identified my leadership skills and paved my way. I would give a lot of the credits to my father for grooming me to become the person that I am today. Also the Chairman of the school who trusts and believes in me, who supported me without which this growth would have been impossible.

As a leader what kinds of changes do you aspire to make in the future of education?

My dream is to have an education system where children learn by experiencing and not by rote learning, they should be able to choose the subjects of their interest after their early school years.

What is the most unexpected thing you have learned along the way as a leader?

The most unexpected thing I learnt along the way is that, to be an effective leader you need to learn to stay calm and composed at all times. Displaying your emotions or inner feelings in the profession will not help you in the long run. You will meet different kinds of people from different parts of an organization; take them along with you in spite of these differences. This provides a platform for diverse perspectives.

Tell us 3 government initiatives that you have included in your school.

We had introduced cashless campus, yoga sessions for the past two years and have been practicing inclusive education for last few years which is in tune with the educational policies of the Government. Our Parent and student community has appreciated the new changes and have benefitted from this.

sunitha@choicegroup.in

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Emotional Intelligence in Educational Leadership: Is it Really Necessary?

Maike Sundmacher

M

s. Maike Sundmacher is an education and development professional with over fteen years expertise in higher education as a university lecturer, researcher, trainer & mentor. She holds a Master of Applied Finance degree, a Master of Business Management degree as well as various certications in Training & Assessment, Coaching and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She has worked with people of various ages and backgrounds: cultural, ethnic and socio-economic, including marginalised groups such as refugees and people living with a mental or physical illness. In her Mentor article, she discusses the relevance of emotional intelligence competencies in educational leadership.

In this context, it is important that educational leaders and their staff demonstrate emotional intelligence skills so students have the opportunity to observe and model behavioural excellence in effectively managing intraand interpersonal relationships. This is particularly vital for more impressionable and hence vulnerable younger students given the potentially wide-ranging implications of their behavioural development at such a crucial junction.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been at the forefront of discussions since its popularisation by Daniel Goleman's landmark publication of the book with the same title in 1995. It is a skill that –just like any other – can be learned. The question is, however: is it a necessary skill in schools and educational leadership or just another fad that detracts from academic achievement?

Working on the premise that educational institutions seek to create well-rounded individuals who – upon graduation – are able to effectively contribute to the development and transformation of society, we propose that, indeed, emotional intelligence assists with establishing a school climate that allows students to develop freely and to excel academically.

Emotional Intelligence: a Recap Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been at the forefront of discussions since its popularisation by Daniel Goleman's landmark publication of the book with the same title in 1995. Originally based on Harold Garner's work on multiple intelligences, including interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence, the term EI was coined by Peter Salovey and John D Mayer in 1990.

Although still an emerging science, EI has slowly but surely penetrated different life arenas and it seems as if it is here to stay. Indeed, several studies have highlighted the benefits that arise from heightened levels of emotional intelligence in people: be this in the context of stress management and the resulting overall wellness level of a person; their ability to effectively navigate personal and professional relationships; or their capacity to learn and perform in a constantly changing and often exceedingly demanding environment. Whilst high levels of emotional intelligence alone may not be 22

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Emotional intelligence is a skill that – like any other – can be trained and developed. The level of finesse involved in a person with a highly-developed emotional quotient is beautifully summarised by Aristotle who said, “Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.”

But just because a skill can be trained and developed, doesn't mean it has to. So the question is: what is its role in education and – more specifically – in educational leadership? Should emotions and emotional intelligence be acknowledged in an educational context? And do both, educational leaders and educators, need to be at the forefront of EI or is this simply a skill to be transferred to students through social-emotional learning activities?

In order to answer these questions, we need to take a step back and briefly remember the objectives and historical context of educational institutions and the overall field of education.

Education: Objectives and Historical Context in Brief In the modern world, educational institutions seek to equip their students with knowledge and skills that prepare them physically, mentally, emotionally and socially for their entry into society and the workforce.

This means that, ideally, the role of education is to ensure that – upon graduation – students are prepared for life and that they are able to form a functioning part of society. It is hoped that at this point the graduates have had an opportunity to explore who they are, how they best fit into the workforce and what unique talents and skills they possess to effectively contribute to the development and transformation of society.

This, of course, requires educational institutions and their staff to not only provide students with content knowledge but also with the development of a variety of skills, values, attitudes and behaviours that allow them to conform to societal expectations. Indeed, during their maturing phases from toddler to pre-pubescent to young adult, students have diverse needs: ranging from academic and social needs to psychological and physical health needs; all of which – in one way or another and to varying degrees – need to be addressed by the educational system if the idea is to develop wellrounded individuals of impeccable knowledge, skill and character.

Historically, however, the objective of schooling was not always as comprehensive – nor was a systemised approach to schooling an integral part of society. In fact, systemised education is a rather new occurrence.

Whilst in today's world compulsory schooling or the

sufficient for achieving optimal outcomes, in combination with other variables, such as intelligence (as measured by the intelligence quotient, or IQ), its application can have powerful positive effects on people's lives. But what is it and what does it do? In its simplest version, EI is about knowing yourself and others as well as handling your relationships with yourself and others. This means that we're looking at two distinct arenas: the arena of intrapersonal intelligence and the arena of interpersonal intelligence.

As indicated by the term, intrapersonal intelligence refers to the ability to understand the self. This includes the notion of self-awareness, i.e. the ability to identify and name felt emotions at any point in time as well as arising changes and triggers; and the notion of selfmanagement, i.e. the ability to manage emotions as they arise and change.

“ It is up to educational leaders, such as principals and vice-principals, to lead from the top ..to contribute to a school climate that is conducive to developing wellrounded individuals..

Interpersonal intelligence, then, refers to the ability to understand others. This includes the ability to identify and respond to other people's emotions, to be empathetic towards other people and to use this knowledge to effectively manage relationships. It also gives rise to social awareness. In a sense, EI is the blending of thinking and feeling that allows an individual to decide how to best respond to situations as they arise. This means that a person equipped with high levels of emotional intelligence is likely to be able to more objectively respond to those kinds of situations that, otherwise, have the tendency to escalate quickly due to emotional triggers.

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plant growth is not only dependent on the inherent quality of the seed but also on the quality of the soil, the ongoing nurturing and the overall climate. The same holds true for the development of people and particularly students, given their younger age and hence increased vulnerability and impressionability.

As such, school climate is an important determinant in student success. In order to be most effective, learning needs to occur in a safe, inclusive and conducive environment; one that promotes respect and a sense of belonging. Despite the fact that school climate can be somewhat fuzzy and hard to measure, there seems to be a general consensus that at least four major determinants contribute to the quality of a school's climate. These are: safety, relationships, teaching & learning and the institutional environment.

As an example, safety could refer to social and emotional security and hence to students feeling free from verbal abuse or exclusion, whilst relationships could demonstrate the virtue of respect for diversity and the social support staff and management provide to other staff and students. Similarly, the institutional environment may be designed in a way that promotes a sense of engagement and connectedness between students, staff and the school.

The crux of the matter is, however, that none of these factors can be successfully addressed without the glue that holds them all together: emotional intelligence. In order for students to feel free from verbal abuse and exclusion and in order for them to witness respect for diversity, understand the importance of social support and feel a sense of belonging and connectedness, staff and educational leaders alike need to demonstrate and live these values and behaviours. This requires certain levels of intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence when managing own emotions, stressful situations or conict between students or staff.

right to education is the norm in many countries, this has not always been the case. Traditionally, a large proportion of a child's education came through home schooling activities as well as self-directed play and exploration; the latter being a concept that, more recently and in selected countries, has found its way back into the modern classroom.

In any case, dependent on the era and country, the overall aim of education has not necessarily been to produce well-rounded individuals, but, instead, to create, for example, better workers or soldiers. In other words: to produce a particular set of skills, morals and behaviours in line with a certain type of citizen or person as the educational end product. This, of course, has had a signiďŹ cant impact on the structure and set up of learning as well as the values and behaviours instilled in the students: ranging, in case of our example, from punctuality and discipline to reliability and the ability to conform and to follow instructions.

To a certain degree, this system has prevailed. It is still the case that in many classrooms around the globe academic performance and the adherence to a uniform code of conduct is highlighted in preference to the social-emotional needs of students. And one might even wonder if an increased emphasis on emotional intelligence and thus on nurturing the emotional capacity of students would hamper their academic performance. The good news is that research indicates that this is not the case and that, in fact, there is a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and academic performance; meaning that the nurturing of emotional intelligence fosters academic performance as opposed to inhibiting it. If this is an acceptable notion, then the question remains what this means for educational institutions and their leaders.

The Importance of Environment and Role Models As any gardening enthusiast will know, the success of 24

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respond to life determines their model of the world well into adulthood: from how to act when angry, over what it means to be successful, to when it's safe to cry.

Whilst, of course, each person continues to develop over time, these formative years are of particular importance in determining how children perceive and interact with the world in their later years. In fact, observations in early years often become the basis of the child's ongoing reality well into adulthood since – at that early an age – a child is neither able to discriminate nor filter information like adults are able to. This means that given the “sponge-like” nature of younger children and the importance of role models in their overall development, it is crucial for educational leaders and their staff to demonstrate behaviours that they wish to develop in their protégées and not those – not even on a staff-to-staff level – that they themselves deem undesirable. This will allow them to prepare students physically, mentally, emotionally and socially for their entry into society and the workforce.

Yes, emotional intelligence may have arisen as just another buzz word. Yet, there is merit in considering its potentially powerful impact on student development and performance. It is, however, up to educational leaders, such as principals and vice-principals, to lead from the top and to encourage staff, parents and students alike to contribute to a school climate that is conducive to developing well-rounded individuals: mentally as well as emotionally.

The success of any venture stands and falls with its leaders. It is therefore an imperative that educational leaders actively put themselves at the forefront of emotional intelligence initiatives, leading by example.

Only a top-down approach, in which educational leaders model the attitudes, behaviours and skills that they wish to develop and observe in their staff and students will allow for a favourable school climate, in which students can safely unfold and achieve academically.

Demonstrating behavioural excellence via navigating inter- and intrapersonal relationships on a day-to-day basis with confidence and ease is particularly important since students, especially in younger years, are highly susceptible to and influenced by the opinions, actions and attitudes of people in their immediate environment.

Besides their parents, siblings and relatives, this – of course – mainly refers to their teachers.

Bibliography: Cohen J., Pickeral, T. & McCloskey, M. (2008/2009). “The Challenge of Assessing School Climate”. Educations Leadership. Vol 66 (4): 1-7; h t t p : / / w w w. a s c d . o r g / p u b l i c a t i o n s / e d u c a t i o n a l leadership/dec08/vol66/num04/The-Challenge-of-Assessing-SchoolClimate.aspx.

Freedman, J (2007). “A Case for Emotional Intelligence in Our Schools”.

Six Seconds: The Emotional Intelligence Network; http://www.6seconds.org/pdf/case_for_EQ_school.pdf.

Goleman, D. (2006). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, 10th anniversary ed., Bantam Dell, New York.

Gray, P (2008). “A Brief History of Education”. Psychology Today; https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200808/briefhistory-education.

Jensen, A., Freedman, J. & Stillman, S. (2016). “A Case for Emotional Intelligence in Our Schools”, revised case. Six Seconds: The Emotional Intelligence Network.

Lipton, B. H. (2011). The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles. Hay House Publishing, London.

Noddings, N. (2006). “What does it mean to Educate the whole Child?”

The Best of Educational Leadership 2005-2006. Educational Leadership. Vol 63: 2-6.

Stone, H., Parker, J.D.A., & Wood, L.M. (2005). “Report on the Ontario Principals' Council leadership study.” Toronto: Ontario Principals' Council.

“ EI is about knowing yourself and others as well as handling your relationships with yourself and others Based on their behavioural observations of their key influencers, these young people learn to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable social behaviours.

In other words, how they see their key influencers 25

maike@corepowercoaching.com.au

SCHOOL LEADERSSHIP

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School Leaders – changing with the tides Shriram Tarawade

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hriram Tarawade, the author of this article is a Marketing Manager at the India School Leadership Institute (ISLI), an organization that focuses on supporting school leaders in private and government schools to drive high-performing schools that commit to academic achievement and character development of children from underserved communities.

Mr. Shriram Tarawade shares with Mentor, research backed insights on the importance of effective and dynamic school leaders.

The role of school principals It is no exaggeration to say that how leaders of schools – principals, headmasters, and school management, perform will impact the future of the nation. The role of principals in fostering student learning can, therefore, be a key lever to the revolution. ‘The Impact of Leadership on Student Outcomes’ published last year

by Christopher Dey provides evidence of how successful principals, directly and indirectly, achieve and sustain i m p r ove m e n t ove r t i m e by c o m b i n i n g b o t h transfor mational and instr uctional leadership strategies. A report released by New Leaders for New Schools suggests that nearly 60% of student achievement can be attributed to principal and teacher quality in schools with principals accounting for 25% of a school's total impact on achievement. These are just a few of many studies that talk about the influence school leaders have on student learning.

Indian Education Sector – Where are we today?

No government can drive up school standards alone. It requires change at the level of all stakeholders – principals, teachers, students and parents. Despite several initiatives taken by Government and Private institutions, the glaring problems that still plague Indian education industry are access to good quality education, sanitation, lack of strong leadership, teacher to student ratio, and corporal punishment. The 2013 ASER report shows that more than half of fifth standard students cannot read a second standard text.

PISA (Programme for International Students Assessment), an accepted litmus test for gauging countries’ future intellectual potential ranked Indian students 72nd out of 73 participating countries (PISA, 2009). In response to this, India did not participate in PISA in years 2012 and 2015. The need to improve India’s primary and secondary education performance could not be more urgent.

Building a sustainable model Currently, there are nearly as many as 31 lakh NGOs working across sectors in India. This number is more than double the number of schools which is 13 lakh as per data compiled by the Planning Commission of India in 2011. The presence of such large numbers often leads to school administration becoming excessively dependent on social groups or NGOs. So how do we create a long-term, sustainable model of leadership that enables school leaders for self-improvement? The answer 26

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leadership, the impact of school leadership program on personal development of school leaders, teachers, and learning experience for students.

As per the survey report, 48% of school principals confirmed personal leadership & development as the biggest motivation to join the leadership programme.

Regarding benefits of school leadership training, 60% of school principals witnessed an increase in the growth mind-set of teachers after joining the leadership programme. 30% school principals confirmed the impact on students regarding better engagement with teachers, improved classroom participation and reduction in corporal punishment in schools.

When participating school leaders were asked about the value addition of leadership training, almost half of them committed to having acquired skills that enabled them to conduct lesson observations and give effective feedback to teachers. 30% said that they could now delegate responsibilities more efficiently with teachers as well as students. These numbers clearly affirm the fact that school leadership is an idea which has largely been ignored but is the key to establish schools with a quality learning environment for students in India.

lies in creating a robust structure which allows gradual and continuous skills-building of school principals along with personal leadership development.

An ideal school leadership programme will be a blend of theory and application and include workshop, seminars, academia coupled with in-school support to school principals and headmasters by educational experts. It is important to acknowledge and address starting points and concerns for each of the school principals so that the training stays relevant to the context of respective schools. Once school leaders are well acquainted with best practices of teaching and classroom learning, they can gradually begin to self-evaluate the progress, research and identify key areas of improvement. This becomes an instrumental step as school principals begin to involve teachers in setting a system of self-improving school. Effective and regular feedback from school principals motivates teachers to leverage their strengths and impart quality learning for students. An ideal school development plan will also include a council of students who participate in school improvement activities. The trickle-down effects of successful school leadership programmes result in school principals being able to share the leadership responsibilities with teachers as well as students. The delegation of leadership role helps school principals focus more on core activities & strive towards building quality education environment in the school.

Future of school leadership in India Educational experts have learnt over the last couple of decades that, as much as teaching quality matters, so do empowered principals, for their schools’ performance.

Ritika Chawla, Curriculum Head at ISLI says, “A school leader once said to me that ‘Leadership is a very lonely space. You have so many people looking up to you but whom do I turn to?’” As per the recent news, Kerala has decided to set up a State School Leadership Academy to provide leadership training and effect capacity building in school administrators, primarily school principals.

The academy will help gauge the performance of schools across several indices, including academic performance, teacher development, learning outcomes and inclusion.

The challenge at hand is to improve the quality of current leadership and simultaneously develop a sustainable leadership for the future. Hopefully, initiatives like the above will pave the path towards building efficient learning systems for our country’s future generation.

School Leadership – Need and Impact To correctly measure the need and impact of school leadership, ISLI, a non-profit organisation which works towards leadership development of school principals from underserved government and budget private schools, conducted a survey in July-Aug 2016 in the four cities where it is operational. The survey was aimed at understanding the need for leadership training in India.

The research surveying hundred plus school leaders probed information areas such as the need for school

References Indian Express article on State of education, Half of Class V can’t read Class II text Times of India, Indian students rank second last in global test, Jan 15, 2012 Sage Journals, The impact of leadership on student outcomes, By Christopher Dey, Qing Gu and Pam Sammons, Feb 9, 2016 New Leaders for New Schools report, prnewswire.com Indian Express report, Aug 1, 2015 The Hindu, The state to set up school leadership academy, Feb 10, 2017

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shriram.tarawade@indiaschoolleaders.org

INNOVATION

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Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in classrooms Yuvraj K Sharma

Y

uvraj Krishan Sharma is the Co-founder & Director of Kompanions – an innovative Ed-Tech-Sci organization with a vision to re-visualize education and to make the learning processes fun, easy and impactful. A graduate in B.Tech – Electronics & Communication from C.I.E.T, Chandigarh, Yuvraj was chosen by the CII to attend their Young Indians (Yi) program on communication in IIM Ahmedabad (2007-08) during his nal year of graduation.

Mr. Yuvraj brings to Mentor the application of VR and AR in schools and how it can be an effective tool in pedagogy.

How can AR & VR enhance learning & visualisation?

This article talks about AR & VR technologies in the education sector. What are the challenges in the adoption of these technologies in schools in India? What will the scope of this sector for the coming years be in India? The author also outlines how this technology will help the children in learning.

According to recently released TechSci Research report, “India Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market

By Product Type, By End-user, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 – 2021”, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) market in India is projected to register a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 55.3% during 2016 - 2021. Rising adoption of AR & VR based products such as head-up display, head-mounted display, etc., among various end users including defense, automotive, consumer electronics, etc., is anticipated to drive the growth in the country’s AR & VR market over the next five years. In addition, a rising number of consumer electronics applications such as gaming, entertainment, etc. are witnessing increasing adoption of AR & VR devices in the country. According to Citi analyst Kota Ezawa, the VR market is expected to grow to a $15.9 billion industry by 2019. Citi also anticipates that the market for hardware, networks, software and content will reach $200 billion by 2020.

Today, the progressive schools, technology conscious parents and children are slowly adapting to this

technology for fast and fun ways of learning. By using VR and AR technologies, students can be actively involved in the classroom instead of just sitting and watching the board or studying from the textbook or simply listening to the teacher’s lecture.

Schools in India have realised the effectiveness of AR & VR technology as they feel it can provide a better understanding of complex content and facilitate a tactile experience. This is the reason why tech companies are increasingly tying up with publication houses to change the way textbooks are written and presented. School curriculum is also being augmented with this technology. For instance Pearson has integrated its newly developed pedagogy involving Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) with Pearson's MyPedia program. Another publishing house that's betting big on AR/VR is 44-year-old RatnaSagar, whose books are used by schools across the country.

VR and AR have enormous potential for making daily lessons more immersive and interactive for children.

Learning through VR can open a whole world of exploration and discovery for the child. Ÿ The concepts can be presented through interesting VR journeys - simple exploration-based or gamebased. Ÿ VR can also be used to create environments that are difficult to experience in reality like the solar system or even the ones that are not real, like a maze of words or a historical timeline journey.

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Ÿ

Similarly AR allows an individual to interact with computer-generated holograms within their own environment and brings the classroom into your living room. This technology can enhance learning by simulating images, videos, three-dimensional charts, graphs, etc., that otherwise would have simply been drawn on a whiteboard or shown on a computer screen.

“ One of the important parameters of a well written piece is its effectiveness in making the reader imagine … what it is trying to describe…like being able to hear the thunder or feel the rain

things/problems/ situations in different perspectives.

The benefits of AR and VR in learning are huge.

However there are a few challenges that come on the implementation front although those can be easily addressed. For the large scale adoption of these technologies, it is imperative to overcome some fundamental challenges, such as the current high price tag of HMDs (Head Mounting Displays), smartphones and tablets and lack of quality AR/VR apps. So, it r e q u i r e s b e t t e r & a f fo r d a bl e h a r d w a r e a n d software/content.

Given the flurry of activity in this space, it is important that issues be tackled effectively to ease the path to widespread adoption. These are Ÿ Headsets must be tethered to computers capable of running high-end VR software, which adds to the cost. Cheaper HMDs that use smartphone displays are currently limited by the poor battery life of most smartphones and the low quality of displays (although display manufacturers should close the quality gap over time). Ÿ Both VR and AR headsets will have to deal with the fact that one size does not fit all. Ÿ To enable widespread enterprise and consumer uptake, VR and AR will need similar universal standards that allow developer s to make applications that are open and interoperable across different headsets. For VR alone, the current HMD market is filled with companies working on software and content; however, there is a mix of proprietary and open approaches.

Some schools might not want to dedicate a large chunk of their budgets to such an emerging technology while others will not be able to afford it at all. While mobile VR such as Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR and others offer great (and cheap) alternatives to full VR units, the VR apps available are still somewhat limited (although this is changing with the advent of a few companies). On the other hand, augmented reality in

The interactive aspect of this technology is the key — like VR, it can increase engagement, material retention, and collaboration in the classroom. AR and VR, both help in the “visualisation” of concepts or topics.

Visualisation is proven to be a very effective tool for long term impact of learning. Visualisation is not just about images or visuals. It is more than that. Take the case of books/written material. One of the important parameters of a well written piece is its effectiveness in making the reader imagine or almost feel what it is trying to describe. It is like being able to hear the thunder or feel the rain or feel cold in snow as it is being read. Imagine feeling like an astronaut floating around planets as you read about the solar system. It further aids in relating to, or immersing in content and in turn deriving enhanced learning experiences leading to more impactful learning. This powerful tool of visualisation not just helps in education related content but also trains the mind for approaching and viewing 29

INNOVATION

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discover through self paced journeys. The scope is vast for this technology to be effectively used in transforming the way learners learn especially in subjects ranging from geography and history to art and craft. AR and VR aid experiential learning in many ways through reinforcing concepts and promoting total engagement in the learning process.

Moreover, such technologies facilitate higher learning retention, for longer periods, and take students on a path of discovery wherein they apply the learning to their real life world.

theory offers the best learning experience, with AR offering - in the long term - a relatively cost-effective option for schools to provide classwork that can work nicely with AR apps, making the content 'come alive' in the classroom.

Another limitation is content, specifically the applications that will run alongside the VR hardware.

While there are various VR videos on YouTube and a lot of apps available for both iOS and Android, a lot of this content is neither high quality nor made specifically for educational purposes.However, there are a handful of companies out there that offer both the hardware and educational content for schools, and it's these companies that could make it more accessible to schools.Once materials (books, task sheets, textbooks and more) are set up and the apps and content is made, implementing AR is a pretty cheap option for children with smartphones or schools offering tablets.

The technology draws its power from three wellestablished principles: experiential, self-directed and visual learning.

Visual Learning Dynamic visual representations of ideas allow students to process greater amounts of information more efficiently. Half of the human brain is dedicated to visual processing. Visually, the human brain can process 1,000,000,000 bits/characters per second. When coupled with a student-controlled environment, students are able to see relationships based on their own actions.

Ÿ

Experiential Learning Students learn underlying principles and master n e c e s s a r y b e h av i o u r s t h r o u g h a c t ive experimentation. Learning in Virtual Learning can also be understood as an everyday field trip where students are “taken” somewhere to better understand ideas. This approach is highly engaging and helps students better connect academic concepts to real life.

Technology and education have always offered an immense opportunity for transformation but the change has always been slow to come due to institutional inertia and lack of purchasing power. According to Goldman Sacs, the market for AR/VR in education will touch $0.7 billion by 2025. India has realised its potential with few Indian start-ups waking up to the immense possibilities that AR & VR hold. Some Indian firms are making a meaningful contribution in the evolution of AR & VR not only in India but globally as well.

Ÿ

Self-directed learning These technologies enhance self-directed learning.

Both AR and VR, help the learners explore and

Ÿ

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yuvraj@kompanions.com

JULY 2017

Beyond Schools and textbooks Sagneet Kaur

D

r. Sagneet Kaur is working with LXL Ideas in the research and development domain. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology, and has more than 9 years of experience in the area of cognitive developmental and applied psychology.

She was appointed Research Intern/Fellow by Maulana Azad National Fellowhip, under the UGC grant, which included full time teaching assignments for postgraduate students in the university. Applied psychology and impact measurement have been her areas of major interest throughout her short career.

In this edition of Decoding Kids knowledge share, Dr. Sagneet Kaur shares research driven facts on how children can effectively utilize their leisure time.

Focusing on the importance of a child's extra-curricular activities Books, subjects, marks, ranks, competitions and much more is and has always remained the focus of every parent, teacher and society as whole. More than one third time of a child's day goes into school related learning. What do they do after school? What kind of outdoor and indoor activities would a kid prefer to do after school or during leisure time? Is it important to be nurturing the importance of physical activity and health awareness in children from when they are young?

a click, are changing the preferences of the kids in terms of what they want after their school hours. Ÿ Research shares that, 53% of the kids prefer playing video games, watching television and working on internet. And only 10% prefer to play outdoor sports (LXL Ideas, 2014) Ÿ Indoor activities are majorly sedentary in nature, least active children spent more intervals (85% of their leisure time) in sedentary lifestyle than most active children (55% of their leisure time) Ÿ 23% of children follow light physical activity and only 7% children follow vigorous physical activity Ÿ 44.79% of children spent only 2 hours and 25.75% of children spent only 3-4 hours per week in any kind of physical activity (LXL Ideas) Ÿ Children from 6-10 years spend 5.3 hours/day and 911 years spend around 9 hours/day watching TV, surfing internet, gaming, reading and studying (ISCOLE, 2016) Ÿ Significant increase in the duration of tuition and school classes lead to significant reduction in the duration of physical activities These changing preferences from outdoor play to more and more structured & home bound indoor play is alarming.

India, the fairly young nation, holding the world's largest youth population i.e. 1.8 billion or 28% of the country's population belongs to the age range of 10 to 24 years (UNFPA, 2016). This right here, 'India's major

Trends Among Children: A study conducted by LXL Ideas (2014), showed that: Ÿ Most preferred hobby leisure time activity, which children enjoy is playing sports (46.25%). Ÿ Physical activities preferred by Indian kids are sports/games (57%), swimming (10%), dancing (19%), walking (7%), yoga (2%) and gym (5%). Ÿ Outdoor activities preferred by 10-13 year olds are bicycling, walking, jogging, dancing, skipping; playing badminton, football and volleyball. Ÿ Preferred indoor physical activities are walking, riding bicycles, running and sedentary activities are watching TV, snacking, studying, playing games, surfing the internet and self-care (Ronghe et al., 2016) Changing lifestyles and education patterns, ease in accessing the internet, advent of getting social with just 31

MENTOR THOUGHTS

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activity guidelines (60 minutes or more moderate to vigorous daily physical activity) Ÿ In age range of 13-15 years, only 38% of Indian Kids meet the physical activity levels. Ÿ 13.9% of preschool kids are overweight and 12.3% of them are at risk (Ogden et al., 2006) Ÿ A study conducted across 6 Indian metropolitan cities found that only 17% of children between 3 and 11 years meet physical activity guidelines (Gulati, 2014) Ÿ Dear th of implementation of gover nment strategies, policies and investments in regard to physical health and fitness of kids in India was also emphasized (PHFI, 2016) Ÿ Non-metros score higher than metros in terms of BMI levels and fitness parameters (e.g. better flexibility, good upper body strength etc., (Edusport, 2015)) Ÿ Geographically, children in all five regions of the country were deemed more or less equally unfit with unhealthy BMI scores of 37% (Central), 54 % (East) 37% (North), 38% (South) and 36% (West) (Edusport, 2015) Ÿ 65% of girls have healthy BMI scores compared to 59 % of boys. However, girls score lower than boys in other fitness parameters (anaerobic capacity, flexibility, upper body strength and abdominal strength). Girls generally engage less in outdoor play, games and sports (Swaminathan & Vaz, 2013) Research indicates that globalization, urbanization and adaptation to modern lifestyle patterns among children (e.g. high intake of junk food, low physical activity and uncontrolled eating) leads to malnutrition and anemia, which becomes the major cause for obesity and anorexia. The weight problems among children is highly correlated with low levels of stamina, low endurance and low levels of fitness (muscular and cardio pulmonary) as well as is highly correlated to problems in respiration and of high blood pressure.

Inactive lifestyle also prompts unhealthy body composition, reduced level of fitness, increased susceptibility to various health risks. Sedentary lifestyle is also associated to psycho-emotional and behavioral outcomes such as low self-esteem, decreased academic achievement (PHFI, 2016), aggression, reduced academic achievement, cognitive functioning, reduced sleep time and earlier initiation of high risk behaviors (Active Healthy Kids Canada, 2010). All in all, sedentary lifestyles, the popular one among children these days is a bane to this generation and should at any cost be changed or taken action against. All stakeholders involved in the upbringing of a child needs to take responsibility to instill in them the value of

resource' is seemingly more probable to become a liability than an asset, as the research mentioned below shows the dropping trends in the health and physical fitness in the Indian children and youth.

“ This alarming situation addressed here, calls for the opportune intervention by schools, educators, parents and government to promote health behaviors and physical activity among children and the youth of India National and International Health Index Trends: Research also validates the low levels of physical activity, fitness and health index across the world as well as within India. Ÿ The levels of physical fitness in India in comparison to other countries is fairly poor. Survey conducted by 'Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance' (Tremblay et.al, 2016) across 38 countries from 6 continents evidence that India scored C, D and INC grades on ten parameters measuring physical index. Ÿ Indian kids hold a grade C, i.e. more than 50 % of kids are pursing sedentary lifestyle- television viewing, playing video games, computer use, driving automobiles, and reading (PHFI, 2016) Ÿ India scored grade 'C-' in the overall physical activity, which means that approximately half of the Indian kids and youth are not meeting physical 32

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healthy lifestyle and life itself!

Benefits of Regular Physical Activity: Physical activity is found to be associated with the following (Active Healthy Kids Canada, 2010). Ÿ Healthy weight maintenance, lowered risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), colon, breast cancer, cardiovascular fitness, healthy blood pressure, and increased life expectancy Ÿ Encourages muscle growth, helps develop strong bones, achieve and maintain a healthy weight, improve sleeping habits & relaxation. Ÿ Helps improving psychological health e.g. increase levels of self-esteem creativity, improves mood, learning and academic performance through improvements in cognitive function (e.g., c o n c e n t r a t i o n , m e m o r y, p r o bl e m - s o l v i n g skills/abilities) Ÿ Improves social behavior (such as conflict resolution, prosocial behavior, socializing more and making friends) Resolution?

Physical activeness creates a positive and healthy mental and physical aura around you. Healthy resources mean a prospering nation. As it is rightly said “health is wealth”. So the wealth and prosperity of every nation depends on how healthy and fit the citizens are, especially the young ones.

So, as educators or change makers we should gaze into the issue and think about the health and fitness of the nation as an important resource. This alarming situation addressed here, calls for the opportune intervention by schools, educators, parents and government to promote health behaviors and physical activity among children and the youth of India.

Some of the ways to deal with the issue in hand, based on research reports (PHFI, 2016), are: Ÿ If children are exposed to a variety of leisure time physical activities that they can enjoy, active participation can be ensured

Ÿ

Ÿ

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Appropriate support and encouragement for participation of students and establishment of proper sports infrastructure in schools like courts and proper sports equipment Ensure safety for students to fearlessly involves themselves in post-school activities like safe transportation to and from recreational facilities Promoting awareness about government policies and support will stimulate sports at the school, community/local and national level Active sports /physical activity participation by parents will generally involve their children as well as they tend to mirror their parents' behavior

Bibliography: Active Healthy Kids Canada: A report, 2010 Hallal, P. C., Andersen, L. B., Bull, F., Guthold, R., Haskell, W., Ekelund, U. (2012). Global physical activity levels: surveillance progress, pitfalls, and prospects. The Lancet, 380, 247-257 Indian Children need more playtime in School, Edusport, 2016 Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), 2016 Ronghe.D.R., Gotmare. D.N., Kawishwar D.S., 2016 Physical activity level of school children of age 10-13 years.

International Journal of Biomedical & Advance Research, 7 (6), 281285 Swaminathan S, Vaz M, 2013 Childhood physical activity, sports and exercise and non communicable disease: A special focus on India. Indian Journal of Pediatrics 80(1) Tremblay M.S., Carson V., Chaput J.P., Connor G.S., Dinh T., Duggan M., et al., 2016. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep. Journal of Applied Physiology Nutrition & Metabolism, 41(3) The International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE), Group Research, 2016 United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA), 2016

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sagneet@lxl.in

MENTOR THOUGHTS

kalpa@lxl.in

A much needed break Kalpa Kartik, Editor, Mentor Magazine, Director, LXL Ideas

T

eachers are the most sought after individuals in a school; the student, parent and the principal are affected by the teacher’s absence. Yet the least amount of emphasis is given to a teacher. The amount of work a teacher puts into her daily routine is always underestimated. Thus the question arises, how does one perform to the best of their ability without taking regular breaks at work, no career path charted out and even worse, when the profession is treated as optional to mainstream lines of work? A survey conducted by LXL Ideas (2017) on teacher’s motivation and recruitment, found that 51% of teachers cited lack of career growth as one of the major reasons for switching their jobs. Due to the absence of direction given by their leaders and their management’s inability to project professional growth, teachers are often left in the dark about their future.

Staff retreats are essential to build team strength, navigate through the systems smoothly and ensure that everyone is aligned to one vision. Few things to keep in mind when we begin staff retreats are: Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ

Gone are the days when the country’s best were the teachers. Sustaining growth can be a challenging task for a leader now but with competent and well-motivated staff alone, plans can be delivered and goals can be achieved for a school. Acknowledging the teachers’ work and giving them proper direction can be a significant aspect of a leader’s role.

Ÿ

Communicate the vision of the school so everybody understands and views the larger picture/agenda of the school Focus on building a culture in the school. It is the teachers that impact the culture among kids Inspire and entrust responsibility. The feeling that I need to do my best for the good of the students has to come from the teachers Share stories: Teachers are the unheard/unsung heroes in this rat race. Encourage them to voice their stories and let them know that you are listening Focus on team work: Create an environment of trust, mutual respect and understanding among team members through different sessions

Everyday you work under pressure and get no time with your colleagues. Whether your objective is to get to know each other better, to build a team to work together better, to be more innovative, or to get down to work on your strategy, you will achieve much, much more if you get away, change environments and allow time to settle into processes. The principal and management should take a purposeful pause at each step of growth to review the past, acknowledge and celebrate successes, identify gaps among people and processes, plan for the future, and establish improved guidelines for the teacher and the school.

Constant reinforcements and encouragements are extremely important for the staff in any organization and most importantly for a school! We all need a break, a break from the routine, a break from the monotony of life or work. Nowadays the need for staff retreat for a school is becoming more and more apparent, irrespective of the size of the school. All teachers need to get away from the work environment to rejuvenate and approach the new year with zeal and enthusiasm.

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