My Silent Student

After going through series of situation in class room such as troubled student, dependent student, the loud student – here we conclude the series with the silent student.

It is always nice to have a quite class with students opening their mouth for need and pays attention to all the while. The silent student never volunteers in class isn’t any active problem, but deserves attention anyway. I have seen that these silent students have plenty to say, perhaps needs constant encouragement for awhile. As a teacher, I try to find some reasons to connect them through personal likes or language or association or remark on the approach and give them ample opportunity.

Some comments such as, “We would like to hear from the most silent students?” Sachin? Suresh? hmmm..Rohit?” It is healthy to keep call light than heavier. Based on their body language, then continue to invite them for future class-work.

We hope you enjoyed reading the series. We welcome your additional points to make a class-room a better place. You have a chance to win to a gift from Amrita Foundation for the previous article. God be with you!

My Loud-Mouth Student or Friend

It is fascinating to see that a student seated in the first few rows (sometimes in last row), has all answers for the questions (irrespective of right or wrong) for each question asked by a teacher. The student asks all possible complicated questions relevant or non-off the course. Whenever the student gets (some create opportunity) to answer the questions in length (may not relevant). Does it disrupt the class? Perhaps this happens among friends as well, a friend shows up with all answers to the topics or show case knowledge in any topic of talk.

As a teacher, it needs a cautious framing of sentences to tackle such conditions –

“I request you to not to call out soon; let’s us give a moment to other to think.”
“Shall we wait to finish the topic, to take up your question Tom?”
“I would like you to summarize all your points in less than 2 minute, so we get to hear other views, right?”

Generally students take these indications, and are expected to become valued contributors of the class. At same cases, I talk to the student in person to listen to the points. It’s always good to appreciate the class for their contribution and appeal them to participate. A message has to pass through to all the members of the class that all dominates not only one. By seeking help and cooperation this can achieved, by reminding the members if they forget that and begin the process again.

Amrita Foundation felt the need to make class-room a better to learn. If you have your points on making a class-room a better place to learn, send us your write up . Best write up will win a gift from Amrita Foundation and feature in our blog section. We wish you all a great learning!

The Dependent Student or Friend

Some of us like to have students or friends most of time around us, we are fine at seeking extensive personal advice or continuous questions. This might be true for many others, a teacher might feel someone is filling the office hours or pain in the neck. If that is the case, look into the problem and act.

1. It is possible that a student has chosen a course without minimum pre-requisites, perhaps its not a teacher job to supply personal tutoring. You can recommend right venue for extra tutoring or take up the course in near future or pick the easier one.
2. It is also possible that a student is weak in the subject, this is perhaps a extra responsibility of a teacher to help. A teacher might let know the student about the extra effort you are to add and recommend other readings.
3. Dependent students like to be taken care of or look for a shoulder to lean upon. This is perhaps not good for the student and a teacher need not always be the one for this. The more you allow them to be independent they more will be learn by doing it by self.
4. It is likely that a student might look for a friend or great companion in a teacher, possibly without realizing this explicitly. This can be good for a teacher know’s to balance, if not use subtle ways to show that personal attention is unwelcome. This can be businesslike, but to be done tactful.

Date with Student or Employee

I have been asked several times, whether I felt attracted towards a student(s) during training ‘Student attraction’, but to choose one of the most common. It is possible that an instructor (male or female) gets attracted towards a cute or beautiful woman or handsome man respectively. The beautiful women or handsome man might sometimes stays after class to make a comment. Don’t drive the discussion over coffee, and may ask her or him out.

I would say, as long as the person is a student, don’t. There is possible misinterpretation: no attraction from the student, looking for a mentor or guide, but not a date perhaps. It is possible that the person might feel uncomfortable or pressured if asked for a date. This can also upset other students, as it will spread in no time. It’s going to be challenging to go out for a date that you might grade in examination or provide recommendation letter someday. It is also possible that both of might fall in love at first sight, wait until the semester or course is over and the grades come out. If a student invites you to meet for lunch or dinner in her or his dormitory, you should decline gracefully, until and unless it’s an open space or public event with other teachers and students present. Avoid getting into situations that could prove awkward later. This is also true at work place for team heads or senior management.

Invisible Student: Make it Visible

I have come across from many students discussion on being treated as ‘Out Caste’ – ‘North’ or ‘South’ Indian in the class from their teachers or students. I would say this as a ‘Comparative Selector’ from teacher’s point and ‘Invisible Student’ from student’s perspective. These problems are clearly interrelated: each one influences and exacerbates the others. Comparative selectors overshadow the hands up or over pass them at many times. The expectations are low from invisible student by a teacher, this makes invisible student embarrassing and not judged same as others. Because of this comparison, if the invisible student succeeds well on an exam, it is considered as fluke or copied it.
At times these invisible students have raised concerns if they really belong to the system. Don’t we have desire or the ability to get an A grade? A teacher is expected to be aware of these common perceptions, and to be sensitive to them. It’s ideal that a teacher learns everyone’s name and treats each student equally.

How does one treat each student equally?
• Take interest in their work
• Invite them for discussion
• Reinforce on their challenges, questions and answers
• Communicate with high expectations
• Pay attention to unintended slights and misplaced sympathy

There are no reasons that each one of us deserves a better visibility by our efforts. There are no reason why the invisible student can be visible student by doing well in academic and career, and that he or she expected them to. No one is small or big!

Amrita Foundation welcomes everyone to join hands for this cause. Let’s stand united!

Student Of The Year (SOTY): An incident

Somethings do repeat in our life and past always lives with us whether we love or hate it. I am not going write any detailed review but would like to connect few points over here. I started appreciating the movie halls at many places as they play National Anthem. A sense to create patriotism, it was disappointed to see people seated during the National Anthem at a movie hall. A person had to actually come to awaken the sleeping people. I felt, we need to be patriotic and standing for the country is something still need to put into blood. As a trainer, I can probably train them on various skill sets, how do I train them for being patriotic? This small incident has made to think about an additional goal along with the training.

Lets move on with the movie, Karan Johar (KJ) knows how to explore their actors and he has done that again after fourteen years of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It will definitely connect all those students studied at Convent or Missionary school. The house group, competition, attitude to excel, friends, emotions, parents and challenges. Go watch this one with your friends (School) and parents.

Amrita Foundation slaute all the people who gave us an independent country and made life a comfortable. We also wish KJ to give us more simple film like this, that always keep us connected.

What Social Media Don’t Have?

Like me, many are glued to social media in specific Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

To reach 50 million people
Radio took 38 years
TV took 13 years
Internet took 4 years
iPod took 3 years
Facebook took 2 years

How are these social media able to capture these emotions of people? I am sure most of them agree that, whether we do other routine things or not, we logging at Facebook or Twitter default. If you looked into the innovation of Television (idiot box) never made life lonely. People still play it at home and makes them ‘Never Home Alone.’ Similar we all crave to have friends, relations, happiness and ways to vent our angry boss tantrum. There are various icons that makes us to glue such as ‘Like’, ‘Notification’, ‘Chat’, and ‘Message’.

I wish the social media had the following things

1. Work from home via social media
2. A button (application) to send a post to all at the same time rather than posting it on wall of an individual person or group
3. Work related space to store files, share and make online presentation to clients
4. Love or Hate or Find New button
5. Marry Me or Marry Someone else button
(4 and 5 would have simplified many heart breaks and social-cultural challenges apart from financial institutions of big fat weddings)
&
More

What else do you like to have at social media website?

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. I welcome your ‘Like’ suggestion, views and comments. Good day! God be with you always!

Image taken from bing.com for just representation purpose.

Come… Fall in Love ❤ in 34 minutes

Like millions of people, I love to watch Shahrukh on screen. Oct 20, 1995 DDLJ movie was released and we bunch of friends rushed to movie hall and watched, some of my friends made lot of noise and some were mesmerized at cast, songs, locations, dialogues, never ending list. It perhaps had all that ingredient to fall in love. I still remember we behaved and lived life of Shahrukh or Kajol and some Ambrish Puri or Anupam Kher.

These changes interested me to find the reasons for people falling in love. People say or think or believe that, ‘Love is blind’. After seeing some people in love, now I know – love is really blind!

According to Helen Fisher (Professor at Rutgers University, NJ) says that there are 3 stages of love –
1. Lust
2. Attraction
3. Attachement

Each of these stages are driven by different hormones and chemicals that are produced by the body. Does it mean we fall in love is of the same pattern? Does it mean someone fall in love sooner and some later? Prof. Arthur Arun (York Psychologist) has been studying why people fall in love and he came out with an interesting and simple technique to get to know the chemistry going with three easy steps –

1. Find a complete stranger
2. Reveal to each other intimate details about your lives for half an hour
3. The last step is interesting, stare deeply into each other’s eyes without talking for 4 minutes.

He experimented this with his subjects and found that many couples felt deeply attracted after the 34 minutes experiment. Two of his subjects later got married. You may try this and applicable only for single people and within Indian law!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article, we would love to fall in love with your suggestions, views, like and lovely comments! Good day!

How to get a job without an interview?

I was asked several times a simple and difficult question ‘How did you get a job without an interview?’ I found it interesting to answer such a simple and difficult question.Over introspect I have found answer to it, its just one word ‘Abnormal’. Whenever I told this to people burst out of laugh and perhaps uncontrollable at times.

If I had to look into the reasons for this one word answer are –

1. I did choose to study because the school/institution will provide value to one’s life. It will provide a path for more meaningful life not job.
2. The people orientation quality because of my parents made me earn more people rather money. Perhaps that’s something I thank them.
3. I wrote more than 500 articles, 16 Conference papers, more than 25 research papers in journals, took an extra mile to make things happen till date and continue to do so. I did it not think of winning or for certificate sake.
4. I value people and relationship and their family rather than my life at many a times.
5. Feel bad if the product is sold for just making money, never compromise in value addition.
6. Enjoy everything I do and know’s what to do. Loves work, perhaps mad about it. I create my own work and add more working hours.
7. Takes up tasks without salary and perhaps worked or helped without it.

Perhaps these were the reasons, I was never interviewed, rather jobs were offered in the past and continues to happen. It’s great to be in this abnormal life in the normal world.

I hope you enjoyed reading this abnormal article. I look forward for your normal comments. Good day! God be with you always!

A copy of book is available at Flipkart, Amazon, Pothi

Get a Job WITHOUT an Interview

English Vinglish – A Motivator

Does English as a language play so important and shows elitisim role even post-colonial? English Vinglish movie starring Sridevi, directed by Gauri Shinde answers it beautifully. The movie carries beautiful messages such as –

1. Never think any person is small or underestimate the presence because one got a better command over a language or expertise. Never take your close one’s always for granted. The agony of English speaking people at non-English speaking country is same as non-English people in English speaking country.
2. Value each one’s work and you get valued for your thought.
3. Criticism and vital incidents makes people to self-discover and adds confidence about their personality.
4. Is the language is a barrier to communicate our emotions? One of the best scene (I personal adored) was Sridevi saying about her feelings in Hindi to her chef friend Laurent, who replies back in French, is it about language barrier? The scene is shot such a way that, the audience could connect with emotions and understand their body language.
5. One needs to help himself or herself to achieve and perhaps its best way to shine and stand out among the criticism.Associate yourself with great motivators and better people than you, you will always find yourself better positioned.

Go watch this one with your family! Amrita Foundation wishes you and your family a great life ahead!