Responsible Parenting

Children are born with an inborn temperament and a preferred style of relating to people and events. Raising children is one of the toughest and the most fulfilling job in the world. Parents are least prepared for this job.

Learning on the job how to be a parent can be fraught with pitfalls. So instead of talking about good or bad parenting, I think of it as effective or ineffective parenting. The best way to raise positive children in a negative world is to have positive parents who love them unconditionally and serve as excellent role models.

Tips of Parenting

Disciplining school-going children is the first major of a parent during a child’s growing-up years. Today’s busy parents are not always able to make time to find out what is going on in the lives of their teens. When a child does something wrong, it is advisable for parents not to freak out. Instead, talk to your child about it when you are alone with him/her.

Strong-willed children could be a challenge when they are young but if sensitively parented, they became terrific teens. They are self motivated and go after what they want. These children are people of integrity who are not easily swayed from their own view point. Parents should avoid power struggle by laying down a set of routine and rules. Let the child take charge of him.

If you give orders, the child will always get angry. If you offer a choice, he feels like the master of his own destiny. So give your child choices. He will learn to become independent. Under no circumstances should you try to break your child’s will or force him to give in to your views. Discipline him through the relationship, never through punishment. Most importantly provide a supportive and loving atmosphere at home.

A fest rooted in Ireland, yet global in scope

Brief History

§  Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17^thcentury and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Lutheran Church.

§  It marks the death anniversary of Saint Patrick (385-461), the foremost Irish Saint.

§  It also commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has grown into an international festival celebrating Irish culture through parade, dance, gourmet and a whole lot of green.

Unique Features

§  Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St Patrick’s Day dish. In 2009, roughly 26.2 billion pounds of beef and 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage were produced in the United States.

§  More than 100 St Patrick’s Day parades are held across the US, New York City and Boston.

§  There are seven places in the US named after the shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. The shamrock, which was also called the ‘seamroy’, was a scared plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolised the rebirth of spring. By the 17^th century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism.

§  As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with the English rule.

Interesting facts

§  The first parade held to honour St Patrick took place in the United States on March 17, 1762. The Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City playing music.

§  The parade helped them reconnect with their Irish roots as well as with fellow Irishmen serving in the English army. Various traditional Irish bands including The Chieftains, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem are gaining worldwide popularity and getting highlighted through St Patrick’s Day.

§  The colour green has been associated with Ireland since at least the 1640s, when the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation. Green ribbons and shamrocks have been worn on St Patrick’s Day since at least the 1680s.

Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Jerusalem

Brief History

§  Established in 1953, Yad Vashem is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust in Jerusalem, Israel. The memorial stands as a testimony to the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime led by dictator Adolf Hitler.  From 1941 to 1945, approximately six million Jews were systematically killed in the carnage.

§  The memorial houses several sites such as the children’s memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, and the museum of holocaust art that has a special collection of some 10,000 works on the genocide.

§  The Holocaust History Museum, a part of the memorial, contains original artefacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions by many Jews who died in the catastrophe.

Interesting Facts

§  Designed by well-known architect Moshe Safdie, the Children’s Memorial was built to pay tribute to the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who were slaughtered during the Holocaust. The memorial was made through the donation from Abe and Edita Speigel, whose son Uzeil was murdered in Auschwitz at the age of two and a half.

§  Another main highlight of the memorial is The Valley of Communities, which is a massive 2.5 acre monument dug out of natural bedrock. It was constructed in memory of several Jewish communities who lived across Europe until they were persecuted and murdered by the Nazi Germany. Over 5,000 names of some destroyed Jews communities are engraved on stone walls.

§  Many galleries at the memorial encompass Jew’s life before and after the Holocaust in Europe.

Unique Features

§  One of the galleries titled “The Awful Beginning” highlights the German invasion of Poland and discriminatory decrees by the Nazi Germany against Jews through pictures and text.

§  Several other exhibits, which include film, diaries and letters, among others throw a light on the trials and tribulations of the Jewish during the Nazi rule in Germany and its occupied areas.

§  The Hall of Names is the Jewish people’s memorial to each and every Jew who killed in the Holocaust. The main circular hall contains the extensive collection of ‘Pages of Testimony’ – short biographies of each victim of the catastrophe. The ceiling of the Hall is comprised of a 10-metre high cone highlighting 600 photographs of victims.

Is our education effective?

The world of technology touches every part of our lives. The resources available online provide each classroom with more interesting and diverse learning materials. Technologies have increased educational productivity by enhancing the rate of learning and reducing costs associated with instructional material.

Learners First

Student-centred instruction is based on the elimination of traditional teaching practice. The teaching learning process operates on collaboration rather than teachers taking a high seat. Conversation can occur between the teacher and the taught when homework replaces a lot of classroom activities, when learning is based on mutual respect and quest for knowledge. Involving students in conversation about their learning will not only boost up their confidence but they will be able to assess their work critics.

However hard we may try, our schools and colleges are not at par with international standards. We have not yet weaned ourselves or deviated ourselves from the patterns of education introduced by the colonial masters. Rote learning still plagues our system, students study only to score marks in exams, and sometimes to crack exams like IIT JEE, AIIMS, PMT, CAT or MAT. There are very few centres of educational excellence. Our educational institutions do not meet even the minimum standard. Focus on skill based education, inculcation of original and critical thinking, emphasis on research and innovation, involving smarter teachers , redefining the purpose of the education system, providing personalise education, etc are some of the steps which may enhance the standard of education in India.

Apart from providing financial security, parents provide emotional support and security to their wards. As prime educators, schools can also fulfil the role of the parents. If the schools provide a homelike ambience away from home, obviously they are fulfilling the role of parents. The school must realise that each personality handed over to them has special needs.

Clean up for real

It’s time for direct action to save the heavily polluted Yamuna.

Earlier this year the National Green Tribunal had asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to shut 1,200 industrial units that were dumping untreated waste into Yamuna. But it’s not just industrial effluents that are poisoning and choking the river to death. Though Delhi produces 3,800 million litres of sewage per day, the city’s 23 sewage treatment plants can process only 40% of that. The rest flows directly into the Yamuna through rainwater drains. And this is the river that provides 70% of the national capital’s drinking water.

The environment disaster brewing in our rivers must be reversed forthwith. Think of it as an investment not only in the public health of citizens but in enhancing tourism as well. Once the Yamuna has been cleaned up Delhi’s river front can be made to bloom, like the Seine in Paris or Thames in London.

Coping with Challenges

Life is not a bed of roses. We always face ups and downs in our life. During our good times we enjoy life to its fullest. At times of challenges, troubles and failure of our hopes and aspirations start bothering us.

In the real sense, every challenge makes us stronger and confident if we accept it in a positive way. Never forget that each one of us is born with a talent. The need is to identify it. With introspection, you will find that you possess a unique personality with lots of abilities. God has blessed you with brain and power. Always use them wisely. Few things are always beyond our control. It is controlled by the almighty. He tests our patience, hard work and determination from time to time.

Every failure teaches us a better way to deal with problems and every problem has a solution. The need is to accumulate our strength and start believing in ourselves. Always keep an optimistic attitude towards life. Gradually, we would find that every problem settles down with the passage of time just like our mind and body have the capacity to heal and rejuvenate.

National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico

It is known for world-famous repository of some 600,000 art and other objects relating to the country

§  Founded in 1825, the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico is known for world-famous repository of some 600,000 art and other objects relating to the country.

§  In 1964, the museum moved to a modern new building that housed a school, a library of some 300,000 volumes, a film archive, and public auditoriums.

§  Located in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, the museum houses significant archaeological and anthropological artefacts from the country’s pre-Columbian heritage, such as the Stone of the Sun and the 16^th- century Aztec Xochipilli statue.

Interesting Facts

§  It contains artefacts from the Olmec and Mayan civilisations. The museum extensively traces the lives of people of Olmec and Mayan civilisations with rare artefacts.

§  The giant colossal heads at the museum are a unique feature of the Olmec civilisation. These heads portray mature men with fleshy cheeks, resembling physical characteristics still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz, the Mexican states, which at once were dominated by the Olmec civilisation 3,000 years ago, with its height around 800 BC.

§  The Olmec were the oldest Mesoamerican culture which dominated areas in what are now the states of Mexico, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Tabasco as well as parts of Central America, and considered to be the founding culture for all of Mesoamerica.

Unique Features

§  Among other most important features of the museum is the ‘Stone of the Sun’, an Aztec stone calendar dating back to the 1400s. In 1792, two years after the stone’s unearthing, Mexican anthropologist Antonio de León y Gama wrote a treatise on the Aztec calendar using the stone as its basis. He concluded that some of the circles of glyphs for the days of the month, and some of the symbols may represent the five ages that the Mexican people believed the earth had passed through.

§  The museum houses impressive statues of Aztec goddesses and a remarkable miniature model of Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, long since replaced by present-day Mexico City.

§  One of the most valuable pieces is a ‘Monkey Cup’ made of black obsidian. The ancient Mexicans did not have access to diamonds, carving an entire cup with the form of a monkey on it and polishing it was not an easy task. Some scientists say it took generations t create such a piece.

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Statue of Tlaloc, also called the great goddess of water, considered an important deity in Aztec religion. He was worshipped as a beneficent giver of life and sustenance.

Standing for six hours can cut obesity risk

People who stand for at least one-quarter of their day may have a significant lower likelihood of obesity, a new study has claimed. While sedentary behaviour such as watching TV and commuting time has been linked to negative health effects, it is unclear whether more time spent standing has protective health benefits. A research team led by Dr Kerem Shuval, Director of Physical Activity & Nutrition Research at the American Cancer Society, examined reported standing habits in relation to objectively measured obesity and metabolic risk among more than 7,000 adult patients attending the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas for preventive medicine visits from 2010 to 2015. Specifically, the association between standing time and obesity was determined through three measures: body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and waist circumference. The association between standing and metabolic risk was assessed via metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors that increase the risk factors for heart diseases, stroke and diabetes. The study carried found that among men, standing a quarter of the time was linked to a 32% reduced likelihood of obesity (body fat percentage).

Act on terror

Global community must undertake united efforts to fight the menace

The G20 summit in Turkey was understandably overshadowed by the horrific terror strikes in Paris, forcing world leaders to push any economic agenda to the background. There were resolute assertions that all nations needed to unite to defeat the terror menace before it was too late.

There’s no denying the fact that the Islamic State (IS), terror group responsible for the Paris massacre, has exploited weaknesses in the global order to emerge as a threat to the entire world. It has not only preyed upon sectarian rivalries in the Middle East to carve out its so-called caliphate, but has also leveraged differences between major powers to expand its footprint. Take for example the situation in Syria. Hitherto, differences over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have seen the US and its Sunni Arab allies take an opposite position to that of Russia and Iran, even though both camps claim to be fighting IS.

This has only made sure the military operations against the terror group lack focus. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done well to call for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. This would include clearly defining terrorism, isolating states and actors that support it and delinking religion and terrorism. In fact, the biggest impediment to fighting terrorism in its current transnational form has been the use of terror groups by certain states for strategic gains. Unless this is stopped and a uniform approach to all terror groups-irrespective of their ideological hue-implemented, the menace will continue to spread.

Weaving values in curriculum

It is a challenge, in the present time, to develop virtues such as honesty, respect, humility, courage and generosity in our children. Over the years, parents are asking us how to help their children develop good human values like empathy, responsibility and gratitude.

The point of contention is- Can teachers redesign education to enable our children to hold themselves back when everyone else is mindlessly running in an undeclared race, introspect, think, own the concerns, empathise, analyse, express and take action.

Practical Approach

Preaching and nagging are out of question as they won’t serve any purpose. Children need to not only connect with this reconstructed educational design but also own and propagate it amongst their peers. So it has to be child-friendly, relevant in a contemporary way, ‘cool’ and interesting.

This ‘different’ kind of concept in education emerges from the premise that values cannot be taught, but they may be thoughtfully woven in the entire curriculum and the climate of the school so that children may grasp the values in action all around them and acquire a purposeful vision. Each curricular aspect of this moral construct must lead has to be interlinked – which may range from every morning in school beginning with motivational songs, inspirational audio-visual sessions followed by reflection, integration of values in curriculum, values interspersed in academic concepts, meaningful films, role play activities, gender sensitivity programme, inspiring personality project, positively stimulating class presentations, music, dance, drama, open house, self discipline through class discussions, school activities, community singing, regular counselling, peer educators, group leaders, community outreach programme, practicum in simplicity and minimalistic approach and responsibility towards environment. After all, children learn the most valuable lessons of life beyond textbooks and classrooms. 

Redefining role of teachers

Children are born illiterate. They are ignorant of the prevailing norms and achievement of the community in which they have been pushed into. With the right to educational environment they grow in to responsible citizens. Children, right from infancy go through a continual learning phase. A mind is an empty cabinet; it is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

As educators, their endeavour is to shape students into good human beings with moral values that are necessary to lead a healthy life. Teacher’s prime responsibility is to provide a safe environment and holistic education for the overall development of children. Hence, education has to be student-centric to meet the needs of today’s competitive world.

The traditional approach of lecture and note taking has lost its effectiveness as the modern day. Experimental teaching is the need of the hour. Teacher has to make the learning process enjoyable with subject-based classrooms and smart classes. Students can interact, understand and remember things very easily as these are innovative where visuals have more impact than just reading. The use of technology supports flexibility and choice in curriculum. Classrooms with pads and tablets provide children with an extraordinary learning opportunity. Technology has revolutionised the education sector and paved way for new models of learning. With changing content resources and teaching methods, there is focus on greater involvement on the part of students.

Parents play an important role as primary educators. Both parents and teachers together would be able to make the education holistic and complete. The importance of support system that a student gets from home is equally important as his brain power, work ethics and genetics which all work in the accomplishment of his goal in life.