Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do in life? Introspection: As a kid and even as an adult, this question always disturbed me. Why am I curious to know things? Why do I need logical closure to the questions in my mind? Why do I long…
View More Multiple Intelligence – In retrospect
Introduction In this part 1 of the language series, we are looking at various aspects of learning to make our speaking and comprehension more refined. Let’s discuss about how English Grammar can play an indispensable role in every part of our life. Language as a communication channel We all are…
View More English grammar – The key to a successful career
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
We have seen an increase in demand for private tutoring in the last one or two decades. Whereas earlier, students gained all their knowledge from school and there was no need for separate tuition classes. But, thanks to the mounting competition from very childhood days and the need for double…
View More Perspectives on taking tuition at home
Introduction How /ˈɒf(ə)n/ do you know the English Pronunciation of a word? Do you know about the notation I used in the last sentence? The notation I used is the Phonetics notation for the word “often”. Now try pronouncing it and check the following: Do you pronounce it with stress…
View More Phonetics – The tool for better English Pronunciation
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
Telling the whole story When I was a child, my dad used to often tell this joke. He tells it occasionally even today and I still laugh at it. A school boy brings a prize back home. He proudly proclaims to his parents, “I won second prize in running race…
View More Context! Context! Context!
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
There are two tea shops in the friendly neighbourhood around our office. Shop 1 has been our only option for coffee/tea for the last few years. We discovered shop 2 over the last couple of weeks. The taste of tea in both shops is comparable. However, the shape of the…
View More Chai pe charcha – Mathematics for amusement
School students are perpetually battered with the burden of ‘syllabus completion’ right from the ‘ripe’ age of 6-7 years. This ‘syllabus-gospel’ that schools and teachers stick to is hugely driven by the content in textbooks. There is no dearth of the number and variety of textbooks available in the market…
View More Conceptual clarity – why it is important in primary education?