🌱 The Happiness of New Things First Times are Miracles Disguised as Moments. Ever wondered how it feels to hold a win in your hands for the very first time? Remember the first poem you read out in the class? The first debate you wrested from your opponent? The first time your name was announced from the podium and you walked proudly to the stage? That glow after the win, the warm, fuzzy feeling that lingers the next morning and stays for days, can’t quite be compared to anything else. We never forget that moment. It becomes a prized memory. In my early years as a young teacher, my father would often say, “Every student should be rewarded. Give every child five points — just for facing the class, for reciting a table, for simply coming forward and standing there.” I’d laugh and say, “Dad, that’s not how it’s done.” In retrospect, I understand what he meant. There was deep psychology behind those words. Every child should be rewarded — because rewards are powerful extrinsic motivators. Here’s what they do to a child’s psyche: ⭐ Build confidence ⭐ Reinforce positive behaviour ⭐ Increase the likelihood of success ⭐ Tap into a student’s intrinsic desire to do well ⭐ Make them aware of their own growth ⭐ Strengthen their sense of competence ⭐ Help them see success as achievable Each new achievement — no matter how small — is a spark. That spark is The Happiness of New Things. ----------------------------------------- 💥 Hello, I’m Ipsita Choudhury, School Leader 💥 I write about School Leadership, Learners & My Journeys 💥 I post every Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 9 a.m. IST 💥 Connect and press 🔔 to stay updated

 THE DAY WHEN MY SCHOOL LEARNT WHAT INCLUSION REALLY MEANS

What happens to a School when 20 students from an impoverished background is suddenly admitted to a school?

 

In year 2010, 20 students were admitted under a Rajasthan Govt sponsored scheme to our school, all hailing from the Sansi community. Parents were either into scavenging work, some without jobs, while some were into illegal activities.

 

After the initial “shock” to the parents,students and teacher community, things settled down. The initial challenges were about hygiene- these students didn’t know about the concept of daily baths, brushing, combing or plaiting hair. Many had no shoes,came in chappals. They all came to school on an as-is basis. The Govt did not provide for shoes,stationary and like. In any case, what they provided as reimbursement of fees, books,etc was not enough. 

Teachers and myself, all chipped in. We got shoes from an NGO, I bought tiffin boxes and stationary boxes. School provided notebooks. We allotted a support staff for helping the children with brushing hair, polishing shoes,etc.

The next challenge was acceptance and integration with other students; parents were adamant, demanding creation of separate section while we were determined to integrate them with others. Claims of abusive language, pilfering, stealing of school items were rampant, some true while some were fictitious.

Another challenge was bridging the gap between what school was expecting and what was actually the reality. The struggle was uphill and quite difficult. Some teachers were gung-ho with the extra work while others claimed it was difficult to work.  One teacher who till today is in my conscience was an aged otherwise mature lady, who point blank refused, claiming that she could not work with these students as they “smelled”. That was the day when I actually felt deep anger, made me more determined to prove everyone wrong. My resolve to prove that these children mattered became harder and stronger.

 What happened next?

Life happened. Over the years; these kids found their passion and became excellent sports persons, public speakers, singers. Every event, function, trip was their calling card. Their persona changed, self esteem grew. They became their own person.

 

This batch of students passed out their AISSE in year 2023. The lowest percentage within the group was 60% while the highest was 86%.

 

Of all the 39 years I worked as Principal, this batch will remain in my heart forever.

…………………………………………..

 💥 Ipsita Choudhury, School Leader
💥 I write about School Leadership, Learners & My Journeys
💥 I post every Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 9 AM IST

 

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NIGHT WITH THE MOUSE

                                                                                                                         Ipsita Choudhury

 

Last night was an adventure; a fight of wills, a show of ingenuity. Protagonists? I and a Mouse. Not a meager weakling thing but a big brown-black healthy mouse with a long tail, its plump body shining and sharp teeth glistening through the dark. Clicking off the lights, I suddenly realized that I was looking at two shining eyes peering out into the dark at me. I hate rats,mice and all such. First reaction fear followed by disgust.

I knew I had to do something, so reluctantly at first but with determination I at last zoomed on my weapon of choice; a long handled broom. The dance to death started around 3pm and continued a good two hours till dawn. Faced with a challenge to evict the rodent, I resorted to all the agility and cleverness at my disposal. In fact, I surprised myself with the jumps and climbs I carried out on the furniture- bed to table, table to almirah, almirah to bed and so on. The mouse was resilient, leading me on to a merry dance around the room clearly outfoxing me with its small size and ability to wriggle into corners, nooks and crannies.

Varieties of evil thoughts ran in my brain, should I bring a pot of boiling water and pour it on the fellow or will hot oil do the trick? Wish I had a machete, or a sharp blunt long handled blade. I could spear the damn bastard and then show it as a prize. Or better still cut it into pieces and say RIP. A clever movie I had seen had this blessing R.I.P; Rest in Pieces. Well, all my blood thirsty genes handed down by my forefathers had woken up, edging me on in a fight to the finish.Was there even an iota of remorse or regret for such evil thoughts? No, not at all. In fact, I reveled on it.

So, the question to be answered now, who won? Well we compromised; the Mouse and I. I opened the windows and it climbed out. I could not do the dastardly act finally, not because I developed conscience but because I was not swift enough. Age and swiftness was on his side and he escaped. God Bless him

Travel Tales

Last summer we visited Ajanta and Ellora caves and had the opportunity to see first hand the rock carvings and paintings. The Ellora caves are divided into 3 groups; the Jainism caves, the Buddhist ones and then the Hinduism related ones

The first batch we visited had huge sculptures of the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, Shiva and his various forms, Durga or the Shakti in her various incarnations and some highly decorative scenes from the Ramayana with intricate carvings of floral designs.

The Jain caves had beautiful murals with Lord Mahavira and the various tirthankars sculpted out of huge rock faces.It also had spaces carved out for the bhikshus. The Buddhist ones were more or less designed on same lines with alcoves for the bhikshus to study and meditate.

The most interesting were Caves no-1 to 16 where the whole rock edifice had been so sculpted to hold the mountain with exquisite elephants. The surrounding caves had different forms of Shiva in all his glory including his postures from Tandava.

The immense spread and grandeur of the edifice makes you feel insignifcant and at the same time fills you with wonder. Imagine a time when there were no modern present day gadgets, no new fangled technology and yet Man could think and build such huge symmetrical and aesthetically beautiful structures. It is a testimony to his ingenuity and nature. 

COLLEGE CONUNDRUM

Whole of 2017, I spent in tracking my son's progress through the final years of his school graduation. Then came, the long and tedious process of college applications.

The first realisation was that there is no central body to regulate admissions in any state across various courses.

Except for the admission process carried out by the JoSSA and NEET body, others are all scattered and extremely chaotic. All states have a separate admission process and one has to  comprehend layers of literature(res rules and regulations) and then proceed. Most parents neither have the patience nor time to wade through the entire process and JUST GIVE UP.
Result-Private Colleges.

The Government has practically outsourced higher education to private players with no regulation on either the admission process or on the fees they charge. This is all under the fancy name of ENTREPRENEURSHIP!!!

Recently, a younger friend/colleague of mine was arguing about Govt's role in regulation of fees. She said that it was rather like asking Apple to sell iPhone for a lower price. Private schools or colleges should decide own fees entirely with no role of state.
My argument is that education should be outsourced/privatized ONLY and ONLY when we have achieved the objective of "quality-education-for-all" through state run institutions. People who opt out of these can then have the luxury of going to institutions which cater for niche education for the select few/gifted/etc. Education should not be the fiefdom of the rich and powerful who treat it as a machinery to churn out more profit.


The second realisation was the way the reservation system works in India. Being a General category student in our country is bad business. To a layman, reservation means SC/ST/OBC. Once you start filling forms you suddenly realise the different categories
SC
ST
OBC
SINGLE GIRL CHILD(in some states)
POW
WAR WIDOW
BORDER AREAS
J&K MIGRANT
BC
RELIGIOUS MINORITY
PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED
TERRORIST VICTIMS
SPORTS QUOTA
NRI
EX-SERVICEMEN
DEPENDENT OF ARMED FORCES KILLED IN ACTION
FREEDOM FIGHTER QUOTA


People talk of Finland's education system a lot where the state runs all schools and colleges through the taxes collected from the population. There is no fees, no examination, no burden of homework till you reach a certain age. The compulsory education system in Finlan consists of a nine-year comprehensive schooling from ages 7 to 16 which is mandatory. Home schooling is rare
All Nordic countries(Denmark,Finland,Iceland,Sweden,Norway) provide higher education free of charge for their own citizens and until recently even for international students(now only Finland.Germany,Iceland and Norway do not collect fees from International students). 

India needs to do a lot in the education sector and the sad part is that not much is happening in this area. It is low priority area for everyone.

The story of my name

There was this couple...........................probably wanting a son; they already had 2 daughters. They had this INTENTION to have son.Nothing was expressed but the desire was there, latent.Never spoken,never voiced but alive always in their minds.
So what happens on the D-day?
A child is born,upside down. Neither the nurse nor the doctor can make out the sex of the child. A few exclamations...............oh it's a boy, a boy!!!

Lo and Behold, the child is lifted up and turns out to be a girl. So the INTENTION becomes INTENDED 

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