Summer of 2026

 Sun to start with

It burns like a furnace though

And ends in a cooler. 

The ride.

 Riding a bike while it rained, I was reminded of days when she hugged me from behind and kissed my neck. 

Unlike others, I was caught between rain and a storm.  While the rain made me feel colder, she, as a pillion rider, did the opposite. 

"Spare me dear!"

"Must I? In this weather?"

"Yes, baksh darling, baksh or else, skid karenge dono!"

Closing in further, she kissed one more time on the ear and holding me tighter,  she whispered,  "ab bhi?"

I slowed a little,clutched her hand and squeezed it. "Could have done this elsewhere.  Let the test continue!"

The ride continued.

The rain seemed to have had an impact on her. Like the river on a rise, she stayed aroused.

A slower and a careful ride, a beautiful girl to accompany and in the rain, with seduction in progress,  balancing the ride was more than challenging. 

Maneuvering all the hurdles and palpitations, we reached home drenched and dirty.

The door unlocked and slammed, with us in, everything started getting slammed. I kept the bike keys on the keyholder and letting the door stay ajar, I sank onto the bean bag, wet and soaked but, alone.

Looking at her frame on the wall, I questioned Him as always but the answers never came.

The rain teased and so did the hot tears which rolled down and tapped the wailing heart.

A few bonds stay strong yet untouched. Forever. 

The cab wala

 A majority of the auto and cab walahs anywhere, are the same. 

On my tours to Mumbai,  whenever I hire a fiat black and yellow cab to my destination, I sit to listen. Not to the songs but to the stories from the old drivers and young while I see the tall towers kissing the morning clouds or the rays, pass by. The driver in all these years must have seen the city develop, stay the same, submerge, move on... but must not have skipped his duty kyu k "gareeb k sapne nae hote, mehnat hi hoti h."

Given the size of the city in which he lives, drives and survives challenges everyday, it can be said that he holds the steering with the same conviction as the captain of a ship on a rough sea may be holding the wheel. Not easy. 

As a tourist while I enjoyed my stay, made memories and carried a few back home I wonder what does he carry with him every night?

The sheet beckons!

 Been days that I put my pen to work-

Unused, the ink yearns a touch and a scribble

On a sheet as pure as white yet dark.

Thoughts overflowing as a river flooded

I grip it's rubber and fiddle it slow,

Mulling on where to start from and with.

A bolt in the thoughts and a phrase set

I gently roughed that on the refined bark

Worth the glee of a child and an artist!

Scribbled, struck, scratched, wrote... 

Too many  strikes for it to bear 

Must it stay or go for a tear?

The sheet said none and none did I- 

Just let the flow and kept an eye

On the emotions and the sheet so scarred

The boy became a man

 From a kid with a bat and slippers on

He walked his way across the town

As a lion, as an elephant with a crown

He walked with ease and none to frown. 

Books, friends, fun and stress

Sun and breeze, months and years- 

they paused nowhere to freeze a frame

of childhood and life so young.

Onset the summers of a man so soon

A little too grown for the cocoon

Of merry walks and a walk for a game!

A little less comfortable,  a little to blame.

He now walks the streets with no ease

Neither an elephant with a crown.

He is now a man who guards his thoughts.

He is now a man who guards her crown.

He shuns the bat and picks a bag

He shuns his friends for his family. 

He shuns the world to work for them

He smiles for the world. His family.

A boy once, a man now.

The line of control and tolerance

 Till a few years ago when today was the future, life was uncertainly beautiful in retrospective sense. We enjoyed the Sun and the sea alike, we were having differences but unlike in the present, they were limited to a few instances which instigated reaction. Not that there were no grudges but the fact that they too were limited to a few boundaries cant be ruled out. 

As of now, there are all but blurred lines with maximum inflicts for reasons which are known but none of them seem to be a potential threat which can decimate a population. However, whatever has ignited the flame of insurgence and resistance will definitely test the line of control and tolerance levels before allowing the wildfire to wrap its ugly flames around the otherwise delicate fabric of democracy. 

The sleeper bloopers!

 Travelling by sleeper class after 4 years. I find it not so changed as was expected.  There is a rush of unreserved travellers, the designed beggars qnd destitutes, unrecognized vendors selling everything they could lay their hands on and of course, the usual stench emanating from the washrooms which go unflushed.

The baggage issues continue to consume the legspace and the menace never seems to end. Ticket collectors seem to have  a great time pocketing the extras without billing while the travellers don't mind shelling a few bucks. I wonder why they fail to book a ticket and how they are happy to shell an extra buck to stand and travel. Not to forget is the ease with which the reserved and the unreserved chew pan and gutka, smoke in the washroom and relish their abilities to shrug the norms and walk tall.


While we have started preferring flight to trains, the fact that a lot of issues need attention and streamlining cant be ruled out. If at all we are going to plan an airport like model for railways then, a lot of stringency in administration and supervision will become necessary. Mere installation of baggage scanners wont do if after a few years of operation they become a formality. Sign boards with warnings wont be effective if they are not followed by punitive actions against the defaulters.

That we have allowed lapses to be right and right to be wrong, railway travellers have had been facing the wrath of it in the form of overloaded walking space,  invasion of seats by the unreserved and the washroom pathway blocks which have proved costly for reserved passengers who may face threats in form of burglaries,  harassments, murders, kidnaps, extortions, arbitrary charges and beyond.
The recent case of repaying crores in lieu of an extra buck charged is an example of what happens when the voice is raised in the right manner at the right time.

While we expect more of this in days and years to come, there are 'miles to go' before railways become equivalent to airports in terms of operations and implementation.


D D S Sai Kumar 

Fill your void

 Fill your voids as it makes you dependent on others.

Fill your voids and opt not to be a loser.

Fill your void to stop to let time go out of your hands.

Fill your voids since one will never see what is whatwhat kept for you tommorow.

Fill your voids since you are your biggest fan

Fill your voids since there a power mighthier than you think, conspiring hiddenly to help you.

Fill your voids since you  are the one.

Fill your voids since everything is possible if you believe.

Fill you voids and feel how you relive.

Fill your void because it is only a mental block with  physical origin.

Fill your voids since you feel you are a loner.

Fill your voids since there is no one who can ever penetrate into your mind as skillfully as you do and act.

Fill your voids since it heals.

Fill your voids since it's the need of the hour.

#One life #believe#trust#love# be the one #be happy# never give up#

Annie

You are the one!

 You are the ONE

Loneliness stared at me claiming my heart to be its safest abode,

You are a ray of hope and delight yet to be unfold.

There is a corner of heart ,

Which cries tonight to make you my own.

A wish to make you my own,

 It feels years being unloved ,

It seems a strife never to be resolved.

One mistake cannot be so dreadful

One gap cannot be painful

A void so deep

This I never want to keep

Srp ,are you the answer to all my puzzle???

Since life has become a hurdle.

This is the journey of endless losses

You are what I only possess

Be mine is my wish

Being heard is what I wish

Love is a just miniature interpretation of infinite attachment I feel for you...

Always remember better love and then never ...never loved at all

Night is drifting 

You must be sleeping

This girl pray for you and dedicate endless reward for you that Make me yours and be mine

That will be day ,I will be in cloud ☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️ nine

I love you!!!!!!!!! R.k.

Animaa Patnaik

Yes! It's love

 Yes ! it's Love

Love was when I loved you ,💕💕

A sight of yours and I m glued!

Word gets numb,

Emotions fumble.

A glance of yours is enough to draw,

It feels that  had been you with me more.

A surge swell and heighten

Crazy thoughts muster 

to scream loud and love being roller coaster

Will word do justice to the my feelings for you in hidden

Thus reasoning so I keep it to myself.

Petrified ,if eyes speak out the mystery of heart.

Agonised if I lose u in innocence..

So hush hush is the pristine budding emotion.

Love was never so true as it being away still with you.

For AB ....my baby!!!

Animaa Patnaik

How must a leader be??

The title evokes interest, emotions, strategies and even moves leading to wars.

From dates recorded and read, it has been observed that anybody who possesses the power to impress, convince, dominate and initiate something/ revolt against, is called as a leader. Add to these qualities, the skills gained through academic training and experience, to make him/her the invincible. 

Mythological or otherwise, leaders have always been portrayed as those who have either acquired magical powers or those who instigated and inspired the masses to follow them, through their actions.

Mankind is replete with examples and so is the animal kingdom. Since this article is related to leaders and mankind, I will limit myself to us. 

In early days when management meant simply managing people, several leaders felt that applying what they have learnt or experienced (including gut feeling) was and is the right thing to do in situations which were similar and during challenging times without assessing the impact or the extent of benefit such an action would result in.

In short, a scientific approach to problem solving was rare to find. Those who did, were successful in steering their organization to the apex and are studied and followed as well, as an example.

Thanks to Globalization, the definition and the vision of all those who felt it was simply “people management” changed.

With passage of time and with competition playing a vital role in survival of the fittest, leadership started changing hands from old experienced people to young. With this, changed the way decisions were taken and resources managed.

Challenging times as the recession, demonetization and Covid saw leaders in managerial positions struggle and also emerge as resilient as they can to address the impact of these external environmental disturbances – political and financial, on their organizations and teams within.

Educational institutions too, were impacted and leaders here too, did what was necessary to contain the damage.

Tough times as these, thus, forced leaders to move out of their comfort zone and face challenges head on.

So, what are those traits which we look for in a leader today?

1.      Clear visionary – know what you must drive home and how?

2.      Resilient – be strong and mentally ready to accept challenges head on.

3.      Futuristic – work and base your vision on what matters now and what will matter in the coming few years than base your plans and strategies on what had been a better thing once. Align your actions and directions in the same direction.

4.      Creative – think out of the box to beat competition. Staying within the red ocean won’t help.

5.      Daring – your creative ideas reflect how willing you are to take the risk to steer your organization to level next. By staying on the same path as other organizations are, it will really be impossible to be different.

6.      Passionate – come what may; stay closer to your vision and your plans. They must matter the most above anything at any given point of time.

7.      Team leader – empower your team and allow them to take the lead. Be their spine. Train them first. Make them realize that they matter and can take decisions which they must. Look at them as leaders of tomorrow and not as mere employees. Shortlist potential leaders and mould them in silence.

Involve yourself in tasks you assign as a colleague and not as a leader. This will instill confidence in them.

8.      Accessible – let your office door be open to every employee irrespective of the position they hold. You never know who can suggest what and how a discussion can convince an employee to rethink his/her decision to resign and contribute better. In order to be accessible, a leader has to keep aside ego, judgments based on guesswork and hearsay, favorites and relations. 

9.      Empathetic – understand your team members. It means that you must know who is what and why beyond office and classrooms. This will help you to take decisions effectively and also bond well. This in turn will unlock their hidden potential and the make them feel free to work with you as a team member and not as an employee.

10.  Analytical – analyze every decision, input and output.

As a leader, while you must be a team player, you must also be a reliable management person, who can be consulted before financial/policy decisions are taken. Technical and Financial analysis soundness are important for a leader in any field.

11.  Technically smart – It is time that you and I are equipped with the best of what technology offers. Everybody owns a smart phone or a MacBook but not every leader knows how to use MS OFFICE, operate ZOOM or design e cards to wish his/her team members. There will be a few of us who might be academically qualified to design programs while others might be good and efficient with other talents. It however becomes necessary or quintessential to be familiar with a few applications, basics of MS OFFICE, net banking, mobile banking, tracking classes online and a lot more as it is time to be AI ready keeping aside hesitation and assumptions which will not help us in any way.

12.  Be 21^st century skilled leader

The work of any leader, in any given reputed organization, involves stress and pressure which cannot be ignored. It has been seen that leaders suffer from problems as diabetes, heart problems, ophthalmic issues, high blood pressure and migraine to mention a few. It is implied that being static for hours, a few hours of sweating either on treadmill or in the garden, a few minutes of a rigorous game or a brisk walk for half hour or an hour becomes mandatory. Other than these, a few of these practices can help us all to add life to an otherwise stress filled time table with no breaks in between:

1.      Early hours for self

2.      Yoga and meditation

3.      Trek/ walk on green grass

4.      Listen to soft music early in the morning

5.      A soft instrumental – flute/saxophone or the recitation of OM mantra during office hours to keep stress at bay

6.      Be positive and practice calmness

7.      Dedicate time for family members

8.      Dine with family (keep mobile away)

9.      Be a child with your children or be one with yourself after office hours.

10.  Draw, paint, sing, dance, write… do whatever helps you to distress yourself.

11.  Avoid alcohol and tobacco – they are not stress busters.

12.  Sleep early

These are a few ways in which the leaders can practice good health and good practices also.

 

 

Well being of teachers

 

·         Lesson plans

·         Designing teaching aids

·         Class attendance

·         Attending workshops

·         Attending meetings

·         Checking notebooks

·         Designing question papers

·         Preparing answer keys

·         Conducting exams

·         Evaluating answer sheets

·         Cross verification of answer sheets

·         Attending to students queries

·         Attending parents during PTM

·         Fee calling and follow up

·         Informing parents whenever a child is irregular/unwell…

The list of duties that a teacher must perform never ends.

Add to these, there will also be additional duties to perform.

Welcome to the new normal in educational institutions where a teacher is expected to be a multi-tasking human resource in this competitive and dynamic environment where teaching only is not considered as a duty. Thanks to the fast changing world and thanks to parents who consider admitting a child into a school is the only duty, teachers have been having a tough time managing students who have become their children unofficially.

 In these circumstances, a teacher is expected to evolve, acclimatize and emerge as a dynamic professional and meet the challenges with smartness, knowledge and skills which are essential attributes of a 21^st century educator.

It is however, found out that while carrying out the duties and fulfilling the desired objectives, teachers especially the female staff members, are prone to issues as traumatic as stress and tensions which take a toll on their wellbeing.                                         

A random observation of the total staff in schools I have worked and been working can be summed up in the ratio of 70:30 where the population of female staff members is higher than the male staff.

Staff	Age	Marital status	Percentage in total staff
Male	24-26	Unmarried	16%
Male	27 and above	Married	14%
Female	23-25	Unmarried	30%
Female	26  and above	Married	40%

Source: observations on the basis of appointments at different levels

 

The objective of bringing up this bifurcation is very important to the theme of this month – Teacher’s Well Being” because as compared to men, women are loaded with responsibilities which stretch from home-school-home. It however, does not mean that men are free from responsibilities and feel no stress. As such, along with the primary sources of data, dependence on secondary sources is also necessary to understand which age groups feel more stressed  and why.

A survey conducted by Statista shows the following results in our country:

“As per the results of a large scale survey conducted across India in 2019, young adults between the age of 20 and 29 years of both genders were the most stressed in the country. The major causes for the high stress levels among young people are peer pressure, pressure to succeed in academics or work and irregular routine.”(Source:https://www.statista.com/statistics/1137295/india-gender-distribution-of-stress-index-by-age-group)

A GENERAL VIEW:

It is a general notion that a man is made to be strong and bear all the challenges with a smile. In short, a man is a tougher creation of the Almighty. As such, his ability to take stress and manage it is higher as compared to a woman. A woman on the other hand, has opened the gates of her home and made redundant the thought that a woman must remain within the four walls of a home. She has excelled as a teacher, as a manager and also as a CEO handling people and by accepting challenges. She has, therefore, spread her arms wider and embraced challenges from every sphere possible; with a smile to prove that she is in no way, lesser than her male counterpart.

In India a woman, irrespective of the job she does or the position she holds, has an implied responsibility – take care of family members and in laws equally. As such, the stress levels of a woman who works and handles family, are on a higher side as compared to a woman who is a spinster but working. While in many a cases, the salary earned by a female teacher remains out of question, in a few cases, the liberty to manage her own finances and spend gets trapped in the so called orthodox social system thereby, creating new issues for her to address.

A man on the other hand, has his own reasons to feel stressed. Starting from planning to arrange for earnings to plan the earnings he has to take into consideration every aspect of his life style and that of his dependents, targets to be achieved at office, peer pressures and family issues at home.

A child and a retired person might have a few similar stress factors and a few differing.

Irrespective of the gender, the stress levels as have been pointed out in a study, “Aldwin (1990) argued that most life event inventories sample problems which are more relevant to younger age groups, such as marriage, divorce, starting new jobs, or having children” (Aldwin, Sutton, Chiara and Spiro III, 1996). This observation by Aldwin is true and relevant even today as has been mentioned in the lines prior to the statement referred. However, to say that there is a clear demarcation of who feels how much stressed would be a false claim as different studies have concluded that there is no conclusive evidence with regards to it.

 

 

The school stress:

Teachers are under immense pressure at any given point of time.

While a subject teacher who has an excellent command over his/her subject feels less stressed while planning his/her lessons, delivering it in the class and addressing student related issues, a teacher who is a fresher/has lesser experience feels more stressed with these basics.

Added to these basic tasks, a teacher is also required to keep a track of every student holistically – performance in academics, sports, fitness and the like. Such a tracking or profiling requires a very close interaction with the students and a sharp eye to observe and record their behavioral changes. This once again, becomes a bit easy for a teacher who is seasoned and understands child psychology well but for a teacher who does not, it is a stressful learning period which might make or break him/her professionally.

It has also been noted that other than the tasks mentioned above, a teacher is assigned tasks of examination department, cultural activities and the like which for a few, adds stress.

It is worth noting here that a teacher is assigned tasks which are supposedly his/her. The reason as to why it so happens that a teacher is assigned such tasks lies in the fact that the teacher is:

1.       Connected with students closely and understands them,

2.       Has a clear idea about their wellbeing/ their problem areas

3.       Can design strategies with ease to tackle issues and address challenges

4.       Students too, are comfortable sharing their ideas, problems and issues which they can share with none

Teaching might be a static job but the roles are not static any more. The duties are not limited to teaching and completing a syllabus – not any more. A teacher, like any other professional, has to have an ability to be considered as dynamic and smart, ready to accept challenges and be mentally ready to accept tasks assigned which might extend beyond teaching.

Stress areas:

When it comes to handling students academically, even experience fails to address and sooth the stress levels at times. There are a few areas where a teacher/ teachers might feel stressed:

1.       When the mission and vision of a school isn’t clear and the instructions are not clear

2.       While working to uplift a student from below average/ average levels to higher levels

3.       While working to enhance the overall percentage levels of  the class in annual exams esp. board classes

4.       While handling kindergarten and primary sections

5.       While accepting new responsibilities with apprehension even after being capable to handle

6.       Excessively overloaded with classes in school  and outside

7.       While trying to prove that he/she is trying to follow the path laid down by the management and work as per expectations

8.       While weighing the work load with financial benefits

9.       While procrastinating the work or failing to plan for the day/week/month

10.   When teachers ignore the instructions given in writing and through orientation programs conducted from time to time

11.   When in an informal circle which misguides

12.   When teaching as a profession is an option/ accidental.

What must be done to overcome stress and be mentally healthy?

There are no tailor-made remedies to overcome stress levels as it varies from teacher to teacher in terms of their capacity to take stress and assumption as to what might be considered as a reason for stress. While stress is necessary to excel in work and at work place, anything in excess of what must be taken, damages the arrangement incorrigibly.

Universally, it has been seen that teachers who are subject to excessive regulatory norms from different quarters, leave the job or take a break to rejuvenate them. In India, however, unlike other countries, regulatory norms are not as stressful as the internal environment of an educational institution is. This being said, it must be understood that, the internal environmental stress also is subject to historical facts.

For example, if a Principal of a school/ Dean of a college sets rules and ensures their compliance, stress will be temporary for new comers till the time they get used to the norms. With classical conditioning, teachers will definitely fall into line with the practices and feel less stressed. However, if the work environment under one leadership is not effective and teachers have been allowed to call the shots and then later, under the leadership of the next in line becomes absolutely opposite, where rules are defined, limits set and reward punishment guidelines get set, stress levels are bound to rise for both – teachers and the Principal for reasons well known.

All said and done, tackling stress isn’t easier and there are no tailor made remedies as was mentioned earlier. However, there are a few suggestions which can ease the tensions and reduce your burden of work and stress:

1.       Understand what the vision statement states

2.       Don’t miss meetings and orientation programs which clearly define the tasks, responsibilities and expectations from you as a teacher. If you don’t understand what is written, discuss with Principal and get a clear picture.

3.       Plan and design your activities according to the expectations

4.       Discuss with Principal if there are any bottlenecks

5.       In some situations, you may be feeling you are overburdened with additional tasks. Instead of avoiding the tasks, do it/them in coordination with other team members. If it does not work, discuss the problem and the suggestion with the Principal. The more it lingers, the greater will be the chance that it will lead to tension, stress and will be less productive.

6.       Design your lesson plans and teaching aids without waiting for instructions. These tasks are implied and need no orders from Principal. Waiting for instructions will add to burden and add to stress as well.

7.       Take leaves but in a planned manner so as to avoid penalty and burden for the Principal and teacher in substitution. Leaves are necessary to refresh yourself. If taken in a timed manner, you will return to your classrooms rejuvenated and not with a burdened thought of extra and pending tasks.

8.       Yoga, meditation to keep yourself mentally fit and happy. Remember this – the first few hours of the day (preferably 4 a.m. – 6 a.m.) are your own hours.  Use these golden hours for your self-development and improving mental health.

9.       Positive attitude and calmness – experience and exposure ages you to become a calm person with a positive attitude to life and challenges it puts forth. Learn to learn how to be maintain your demeanor in such situations and be a winner.

10.   Avoid assumptions, presumptions and reluctance – these are breeding grounds for misunderstanding which leads to increase in stress. The more you indulge in activities which are based on assumptions and not on directions from office, greater are the chances that you will have to prepare your scripts to explain why and why not’s of a work dishonored or done half-heartedly. 

11.   Accept changes with an open mind – learning a new trick/ attending a webinar or seminar etc are necessary parts of progressing as a teacher. They must never be avoided or considered as a burden.

12.   Work as one unit and avoid informal huddles/ groups – teams which work as one win. Teams which work as many, lose.

13.   If you feel you deserve a better pay and some other organization is ready to do justice, follow the resignation process and leave on a cordial note and avoid creating a hostile environment to bargain for a hike. Follow the same path if there exists an organization which treats you better and allows you to follow your methods without bothering you. This will ease tensions and apprehensions of what the next move might be.

 

While these points may not exactly be a direct suggestion to reduce stress, they, in some manner will help the stakeholders to reduce stress and tensions thereby enhancing the working age by a few more years.

 

Remember: tension and stress is felt when there is a gap in what you expect and what the school expects from you or when your acts fail to match with the actions expected.

 

 

Desiraju Durga Surya Sai Kumar

Principal

 

 

Jungles to concrete and back!

                                                                FROM JUNGLES, TO JUNGLES! 

Mudslides, flash floods, jungle fires and more!

Water bodies at spate and above danger levels have time and again reminded the supreme being that no one other than the elements of nature posses supremacy! 

Be it the Egyptians, Harappan or any other civilisation whose remains are being studied by historians - all of them met their end when the elements of nature felt it was enough!! 

Respect nature to be respected. 

21 ways to reduce stress (copied from simplywellblog.org)

 

Simple  and interesting ways to destress!

Throughout your day, consider these ideas to reduce stress.

1. Take five to 30 minutes in the morning to be quiet and meditate. Sit or lie down, and be with yourself. Gaze out the window, listen to the sounds of nature or take a slow quiet walk.
2. While your car is warming up, take a minute to quietly pay attention to your breathing.
3. While driving, become aware of body tension (e.g., hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, shoulders raised, stomach tight, etc.). Consciously work at releasing/dissolving that tension. Does being tense help you drive better? What does it feel like to relax and drive?
4. Decide not to play the radio, and be with yourself.
5. On the interstate, experiment with riding in the right lane, going five miles below the speed limit.
6. Pay attention to your breathing and to the sky, trees or quality of your mind when stopped at a red light or toll plaza.
7. Take a moment to orient yourself to your workday once you park your car. Use the walk across the parking lot to step into your life. Know where you are and where you are going.
8. While sitting at your desk, keyboard, etc., pay attention to bodily sensations, again consciously attempting to relax and rid yourself of excess tension.
9. Use your breaks to truly relax rather than simply pausing. For instance, instead of having coffee or reading, take a short walk or sit at your desk and renew yourself.
10. At lunch, changing your environment can be helpful.
11. Try closing your door (if you have one), and take some time to consciously relax.
12. Decide to stop for one to three minutes every hour during the workday to regroup and recoup. Become aware of your breathing and bodily sensations, allowing the mind to settle.
13. Use the everyday cues in your environment as reminders to center yourself (e.g., the telephone ringing, sitting at the computer terminal, etc.).
14. Take some time at lunch or other moments in the day to speak with close associates. Try choosing topics that are not necessarily work-related.
15. Choose to eat one or two lunches per week in silence. Use this as a time to eat slowly and be with yourself.
16. At the end of the workday, try retracing today’s activities acknowledging and congratulating yourself for what you’ve accomplished, and then make a list for tomorrow. You’ve done enough for today!
17. Pay attention to the short walk to your car, breathing the crisp or warm air. Feel the cold or warmth of your body. What might happen if you opened up to and accepted these environmental conditions and bodily sensations rather than resisting them? Listen to the sounds outside your work place. Can you walk without feeling rushed? What happens when you slow down?
18. At the end of the workday, while your car is warming up, sit quietly and consciously make the transition from work to home. Take a moment to simply “be,” and enjoy it for a moment. Like most of us, you’re heading into your next full-time job – home!
19. While driving, notice if you are rushing. What does this feel like? What could you do about it? Remember, you’ve got more control than you might imagine.
20. When you pull into the driveway or park on the street, take a minute to orient yourself to being with your family members or to entering your home.
21. Try changing out of work clothes when you get home. Take five minutes for a simple act that might help you make a smoother transition into your next “role.” Say hello to each of your family members or to the people you live with. Take a moment to look in their eyes. If possible, make the time to take five to 10 minutes to be quiet and still. If you live alone, feel what it’s like to enter the quietness of your home, the feeling of entering your own environment.

Join the conversation. Share your ideas on reducing stress in the workplace.

Excerpt from Mindfulness and Mastery in the Workplace: 21 Ways to Reduce Stress During the Workday by Saki F. Santorelli, EdD, MA, Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School

https://www.simplywellblog.org/2016/01/19/resolution-3-learn-21-ways-to-reduce-stress-during-the-workday/

VACATIONS, VALUE ENHANCEMENT AND FUN

 

Eagerness to meet our cousins/ grandparents, Antakshari, late night gossips, listening to the childhood/adventure stories of grandparents and parents, relishing homemade food and becoming sad at the time of departure…

This is how summer vacations used to be at one point of time.

A close look reveals how valuable these meetings were during summer breaks!!!

Summer/Winter breaks often helped children learn and develop interpersonal relationships, tackle problems and solve issues at their levels which technically are life skills, remain fit and enjoy life in real sense.

However, when technology made an entry and dominated every space which was otherwise personal, the fun of weekends and vacations vanished. The hangover of gadget will never fade. The reason is simple. Updates every other day, new applications, increasing fan following, soaring virtual attention… with something new happening every minute virtually why would one want to limit himself/herself to those same faces and games which are otherwise so boring now?

The impacts of excessive tilt towards the gadgets are:

•  Increasing ophthalmic issues
• Reduced memory space (brain space for retention of data naturally)
• Increasing obesity and allied diseases
•  Reduced attention span
•  Weakened personal relations and increasing gap between relations
• Excessive reliance and belief on/in virtual circles
• Selfie show off
•  Eroding self confidence
• Fading street smartness

    There are several other points as well which can find a space but have been intentionally left out to accommodate space for other points in the article.

       Can we accuse technology only for such a colossal drainage?

My answer is, no!!!

Add to it the waning patience levels, inability to control the wails of the children and their instability to be seated at a particular place as other reasons which have made children tech-savvy from the very month of their birth.

Android must not have imagined that for the mistaken comfort that parents must be accused; the software and the hardware are being blamed, convicted and sentenced virtually!!!

What can be done/What is being done to retrieve and reposition the golden era?

• Summer camps at school levels – the participation is 1/10^th of the total school strength
• Adventure sports/ games
• Reading clubs
• Art and craft crash courses
• Skating classes and a few similar activities to engage children during summer vacations.

While these are good and necessary, they fail to establish the connect with the family members as it used to be once upon a time.

What is required to be done?

A few suggestions to rebuild the lost world are as follows:

• Allow children to relive your summer holidays – recreate the scenario by planning visits to villages, reconnecting them to roots etc.
• Engage them in qualitative interactions by being a key note speaker or a moderator to the idea exchange that happens during such conversations
• Set no boundaries, let children enjoy and forget mobiles and technology
•  Plan adventure tours

Let us understand that if we can give time to our kids and allow ourselves to relive our vacations by reconnecting ourselves to the world of fun and bonding we had once, vacations can be fun and value filled.

Happy Vacations!!!

 

 

10 C’s for Teachers

1.       Be certified: posses the degrees necessary to be considered eligible for teaching

2.       Be capable: certificates alone are not enough if you fail to acquire the art of teaching

3.       Be creative: being capable is necessary, but being creative is quintessential. Learn to create a new you every day in order to ensure that the students fail to remain inattentive and understand with interest and intention, what you desire to deliver. Design teaching aids, acquire a few and motivate students to come up with innovative and comfortable ways in which they can understand a concept. These actions will help you to establish yourself as an edupreneur!  

4.       Be collaborative: when you work in a school/ college, you work in and with a team. An edu team is a set of different people who have skills and multiple ideas but work with a unified set of actions aimed at achieving the organizational goal of providing quality and innovative education. While you may be an expert in your subject, you might be falling short of the skill required to control the class or design a teaching aid. In order to ensure order, discipline and unity, collaboration or cooperation with the team leaders and within the team is quintessential. Work as a team, work as one. This helps.

5.       Be confident:  be assertive with your skills, words, walk and ideas. Assertiveness is a sign of confidence or the other name for confidence. While it helps you to clear your stand, it also injects a dose of confidence in students and colleagues. Remember this: confidence is contagious.

6.       Be a Communicator: Learn to speak and present things clearly. Words and actions communicate intention and a biased/veiled communication helps none. In order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency and leave an indelible mark as a communicator par excellence, learn to sharpen communication skills. Avoid grape wine talks to avoid miscommunication and character assassination.

7.       Be Constant: your approach towards teaching must not be influenced by anyone and anything other than the developments in your subject area. Make efforts to understand a student inside out and help him/her develop as a human being.  Make consistent efforts to help the students understand the subject with ease. Make continuous efforts to upgrade yourself as an educator par excellence. Be an inspiration. Always.

8.       Continuous development: as a teacher acquiring degrees is not enough. One has to ensure that he/she does continuous research and development in/on his subject. This is as necessary as upgrading a cell phone to keep it effectively functional. The moment you stop upgrading your skills, your content, your methods, your approach, your career becomes stagnant where demand will be less in proportion to your expectations and experience. Reading newspapers, maintaining a learning diary, attending workshops/seminars/webinars, enroll for online courses, using free content on and from social media platforms to develop speaking skills, writing skills etc.are a few instances of what continuous development means.

9.       Critical thinking:  Develop your high order thinking skills (H.O.T.S) to ensure that you match the expectations of the students and simultaneously develop the same skill in them.

10.   Computer literate: basic computer skills like typing and using MS OFFICE, reverting by e-mail are skills which are necessary. Stop assuming that these skills are for students and office goers and not for teachers. AI getting introduced into school syllabus is an indication that teachers must get ready to use it or be replaced. Use of technology during CoVID has to a greater extent made teachers IT enabled but there are miles to go before computer literacy becomes a non negotiable term of employment for any teacher.