Dabbling in the kitchen: My mother has a complaint about me. She is bothered that I don’t use her carefully chosen Tupperware containers to store groceries. I am meticulous in general, however sometimes I simply don’t care too much. I only put the spices and rice that I use daily…
View More Kitchen is your Science Teacher
A week ago, an interesting conversation happened with my team during lunch time at office. A routine lunch-time conversation: We gather at the lunch table as usual; it was only the Three Musketeers that day – Varsha, Vasundara and I. Varsha’s lunch box had roti and ‘parval-aloo’ (Hindi). Varsha is…
View More Lunch-time conversation – Learning from everyday experiences
Pies – The tasty 3D circles I don’t have a sweet tooth like many of my friends. That doesn’t mean I can’t relish an occasional sweet treat. When it comes to Pie, I like all sort of them, Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie, Banana Pie, and so on. People actually argue…
View More My love for Pi and the Spheres in the Sky
I have been teaching my student for more than a year now, I still see confusion and fear in her eyes when I ask her a question and she doesn’t know the answer. I tell her repeatedly that it is okay if her answer is wrong, she needs to speak…
View More Why do we stigmatise mistakes?
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration – Thomas Alva Edison I have always wondered why I like the things that I like or why am I the way I am? When I meditate on this idea in solitude, I hit upon the thought that I am what I am…
View More Life – a wellspring of inspiration
Movie buff that I am, I always look for inspirational stories that make me think about my life choices. Be it Marvel’s Avengers for technology that could change class room teaching in the near future, or great biographies that tell us how holding on to what you believe makes all…
View More Am I mad enough?
Today learning is more challenging than ever. As the world becomes more digitally connected, we do not get to hear these so often. E.g.: Hey! how do yellow and blue make green? or how to build a tree house? Also, summer does not mean playing endless hours of old-school outdoor games…
View More Let them play: strategies to motivate your child to learn
‘My son/daughter doesn’t listen to me’ I hear this complaint from parents all the time. This is irrespective of whether the son/daughter is 2 years old or 42 years old. At least in the Indian setting, ‘listening to’ and ‘obeying’ parents is seen as a virtue of the highest order.…
View More Is obedience a virtue?
In the race of being unique, the current educational bodies have failed to define a standard curriculum, while being critiqued for wiping the creativity out from the individuals during the teaching process. In the light of this argument, a standardised curriculum has different layers. On the other hand, the decision…
View More Standardisation of curriculum: The good, the bad, and the ugly
One of my sister’s professors strongly propounds that there is a very thin line between finishing a job and completing it. I agree with him. My observations in various professional environments over some time now have led me to believe the same thing. I think the reason we finish any…
View More Are we making our children irresponsible?