There's more to morning assemblies than prayers now. Some schools devote up to an hour, with presentations, news and also a thought for the day. The prayers are increasingly secular, and the venues are covered halls instead of school grounds.
At Delhi Public School, RK Puram, the primary section starts the day with a secular prayercentred on truth and honesty. This is followed by a moral principle and the day's headlines. Every day, some students also present a cultural programme. The older students have theirassembly in the audio-visual hall where a presentation is made on a large screen.
"There is a theme for every presentation. It was gratitude yesterday. A student gives a short speech on a subject, which is followed by an entertainment programme," said principal DR Saini, adding that the assembly is held in the air conditioned hall so that students don't get distracted in the summer heat or the winter chill. Although it is an English medium school, DPS RK Puramhas its assembly prayer in Hindi. "I feel it has more meaning," says the principal.
In some schools, the assembly time has a spiritual flavour. At Kulachi Hansraj Model School in Ashok Vihar, children recite not only religious prayers but also the Gayatri Mantra. It is followed by a thought for the day and a talk by a teacher for two to four minutes.
Sometimes, the national anthem is sung and there are short performances by students, says Principal Pammi Dutta.
Students feel a lot more can be done to make assembly periods less boring. A standard XI student of Greenfields Public School, for instance, feels the prayer can be more secular in nature to make children from all sections comfortable. He also said it can be shorter with more space to understand children's issues.
"We recite the Gayatri Mantra and then we have an English prayer called 'Hail Thy Children'. Teachers usually speak on a certain theme for a few minutes and then there is the National Anthem or 'Vande Mataram'. I feel the assembly can be made more colourful by using relevant discussions for students," he said.
For Devyansh Sharma, a student of Class VIII at GD Goenka Public School, assembly is the time to calm his mind and prepare for the hectic day ahead. "We have an English prayer, a Hindi prayer and the national anthem on selected days, followed by announcements by teachers. Sometimes, there are special assemblies where children perform. They either recite or perform a play or a dance. I enjoy the assembly period because it's a nice welcome to the students before starting studies."
Indian school teacher set for US space programme More...
01-02-2012
Pune:Over 1,100 students andteachersof the reputed VidyaValleySchool here screamed with joy when Vandana Suryawanshi became the first foreignteacherto be chosen for a prestigious US spaceprogrammenext April. And she herself is already looking forward to sharing the knowledge she gains there with her pupils.
A thrilled Vandana, who teaches atthe school, told IANS: "I had submitted a project entitled - 'The effect of atmospheric pressure and gravity on human beings and plants, on earth and in micro-gravity,' which was approved. I got a congratulatory message Jan 24, followed by the announcement this week."
An excited trustee-principal, Nalini Sengupta, said: "Our biology and earth sciences teacheris the first foreigner and only Indian to be selected for the US-based Space Foundation's National Flight ofTeacherLiaisonprogramme."
A non-profit organization, the Space Foundation encourages and supports space activities, space professionalsand educationabout space.
"Each year, 20 LiaisonTeachersare selected based on various criteria and they attend workshops, learnhow to teachabout space, essentially using the 'thrill of outer space' to teach science," Vandana, 48, explained, adding she would travel to Colorado Springs in mid-April for the trainingprogramme.
For the first time in10 years, the Space Foundation experts panel, comprising experts and military and space, has chosen ateacherfrom outside the US - Vandana will join 19Americaneducators who have been selected for their active promotion of space and science education.
The 2012TeacherLiaisons will also participate in workshopsand education programmes at the 28th National Space Symposium, she said.
"After I return, we shalldesign aspecial period for students in the secondary section which willincorporatethe knowledge and experience gained there," said Vandana, ateacherfor over 20 years.
Incidentally,last yearVandana had been selected for a NASA spaceprogrammein the US where she was given complete astronaut-style training in a simulated environment.
Sengupta expressed hope that with Vandana's distinction, even theIndian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)would be inspired to consider launching similar programmes to foster the scientific spirit among students andteachers.
Vandana lives in Pune with her husband and two grown-up daughters, both of whom are in the IT industry.
Edwise is organising the 12World Education Fairat The Lalit on February 9, Thursday (10.30 am-5 .30 pm). Delegates from several universities will be present at the event with on-the-spot offers, interactions , admissions, scholarships and application fee waivers. Some of the UK universities attending the fair will include Aberystwyth , Anglia Ruskin, Birkbeck, Birmingham City, Coventry, De Mont Fort, Glasgow Caledonian , Liverpool John Moores, Manchester Metropolitan, Southampton Solent, Brighton, Essex, Glamorgan, Leicester, Plymouth, Salford and St Andrews.
The universities from the US include Hult International Business School, Kent State, San Francisco State, Long Island, James Madison,University of Massachusetts ( Boston), University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth ), University of Massachusetts (Lowell ) and Western Kentucky.
While on the one hand, Centennial College , Fanshawe Humber, Fraser International College, International College of Manitoba , Niagara and Thompson Rivers from Canada will be participating at the event, the Australian universities include Curtin Sydney , Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, Newscastle, University of Western Sydney and UTS Insearch Institute.
Other participating universities include Waikato from New Zealand and Curtin, East Asia School of Business, Informatics Academy Pte Ltd, James Cook, Management Development Institute of Singapore, PSB Academy , Singapore Institute of Management from Singapore; the universities from Switzerland will include Swiss Hotel Management School, among others. For the last 21 years, Edwise, an overseas education consultant representing over 450 universities across 14 countries, has been assisting students interested in pursuing their studies abroad. It helps students not only with their application and admission process, but also offers free counselling to them. Student queries about courses, visa, scholarships, loans, etc, will be answered by delegates at the seminars that will be held every hour. Some institutes will also provide an application fee waiver (up to Rs 35,000) and scholarships or spot admissions to students . Prior registration with Edwise is essential for personal interviews with delegates . Candidates can register for the event and bring in their academic originals along with five sets of photocopies for the May/Sep 2012 spot offers before February 8, 2012.
Mumbai teachers learn how to promote heritage More...
25-01-2012
MUMBAI: The Mumbai chapter of Intach (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) has initiated a Heritage Club programme for schoolteachers in the city. It will train educators to sensitise students to Mumbais built and natural heritage.
Tasneem Mehta, who heads the Mumbai chapter of Intach, said the two-day inaugural workshop was conducted at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum(BDLM) of which she is thehonorary director. BDLM is the citys oldest museum built in 1872 and is located in the precincts of Byculla zoo.
Teachers representing 15 schools participated in the workshops held on January 17-18. Day 1 of the schedule familiarised them with the activities carried out by Intach as well as the restoration work it has carried out at BDLM. Teachers from Al-Jamiatul Islamia International, Bombay Cambridge, Gopi Birla School, Greenlawns, Nalanda, Navy Children School, R N Podar, Sacred Heart, Singapore International, Tridha Academy, Villa Teresa, Diamond Jubilee High School for girls as well as boys and Arya Vidya Mandir were present.
Sharmila Ashtamkar, who teaches at Bombay Scottish, said she would incorporate these lessons into the schools Unesco Club which she heads. We have been familiarising students with Indias cultural heritage (built and living). For instance, when Unesco declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests, we organised a film show on the subject. We took a field trip to acquaint them with the preservation of churches and convents in Goa which is a World Heritage Site, she said. Such training programmes help to update our knowledge.
Yamini Purohit, who teaches history at Tridha Academy, appreciated the interactive nature of the workshops that were held on day one. We were reacquainted the various elements of Indias cultural heritage. These are things we have always known but we tend to forget, so this session served as a reminder, she said.
Ranchi: Digital classes give rest to chalk & duster More...
24-01-2012
LOHARDAGA: This year has brought a complete change in the system of education at Greater Triveni Public School, a plus-2 level institution of the district. For the smart age students, the school has introduced digital classes for the first time in the district, free from chalk and duster.
The digital smart classes have gathered excellent response from the students of classes from IV to 11. Sakshi Kumari, Ankit Agrawal and Shubham Kumar of Class VIII and IX said the digital smart classes were far better than that of the normal ones.
"Visual interesting pattern, easy revision modes for unlimited times, facility of desired writing with the help of special sticks used by teachers, graphics and deeply studying system, particularly in science, to study any body part of object from various angles are the benefits which give a while aspect of thinking and better grasping power since the medium is interesting a lot," said Sunita Chittora, the in-charge of the school.
There is no dust of chalk and need to clean the blackboards as well as tiredness of teachers in repeating the lessons which students often need to be revised and many other interesting features set by Pearson Education Service Private Limited of Bangalore that operates the software from Bangalore on a certain payment. The courses being provided through these smart digital classes are same as designed by the CBSE. All 46 teachers of the school were trained by Bangalore engineers. "They are successfully running the smart classes to set education on this tribal belt to a height," said Praveen Kumar Singh, the director of the school. He said that parents interested to see the digital class functions were allowed to demonstration classes on Sunday.
Learning begins in the assembly now 
