What Can Schools Learn From the Recently Concluded G-20 Summit?

Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the recently concluded New Delhi G-20 summit was the inclusion of the African Union into the group. This is an important takeaway for all schools; building a culture of inclusion and acceptance is of utmost importance today. In times when the world is breaking into factions, silos and groups based on ethnicity, creed and culture, it is of prime importance for schools to have a curative function. Families are no longer what they were and values are no longer taught like they used to be in extended families. If we look at schools as extended families, then it is their moral responsibility to create an atmosphere of inclusion.

The second most important takeaway from the New Delhi G-20 summit was in the area of conflict resolution. While the summit did not name the two warring nations, it did, however send out a strong message that conflicts should be resolved through dialogue, discussions and communications. Schools will do well to address this issue by attempting to create an atmosphere of free and fair discussions because conflicts that are not resolved will add up to the toxicity of the atmosphere. An atmosphere of free and fair dialogue can only be created when there are people to hear each other. Creating an atmosphere of fear, whereby people are afraid to voice their concerns can only add up to negativity. The New Delhi G-20 summit found a way 'to give and take and negotiate and find a way to agree, to set a path for the world to see', according to Ajay Banga, President, World Bank, and that is exactly what we need to teach our students and their teachers. The community out there, if not the world is closely watching us and so we need to get our act together.

The third most important takeaway from the G-20 summit was its ability to achieve a 'consensus and a compromise on all important issues' according to Mr Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Economy of France. We need to create a culture of 'consensus  and compromise' in our schools amongst students and teachers alike. Often head on confrontations can vitiate the teaching-learning atmosphere. This can have a very bad impact on the image of the school too.

They say when you teach a girl child you teach a whole community, but then when you open a school you teach a whole city. When you have a good school with sound values you shut down a prison. When you have good school culture you shut down a mental asylum. When you work on developing a culture of sound mental health in students and teachers, you create a happy community. When you create a happy community you create a happy country. A country's happiness index matters to a great extent on the quality of education it provides to its students. By quality, I don't mean just rigour in academics, but rather sound emotional, mental and spiritual culture. The New Delhi G-20 summit proves that one can create a happy culture of consensus and compromise, to give and take, negotiate and agree and to set a path towards a common goal. These are the skills that we need to create in our students today, and this is the culture that we need to develop in our schools. While people might argue that the G-20 summit lasted much less than an academic year, one might still point out that if even in that short period of time it was possible to convince all the great leaders to a common consensus then it should still be possible to convince children who are more impressionable.

The New Delhi G-20 delved into the concept of sustainable development, financing important projects, empowering the world through through digital technology, making the whole world come together. The picture I have posted on top exemplifies what the New Delhi G-20 summit was aimed at and how its main aims could be used to improve school health. Social Emotional Learning programmes could benefit a lot by emulating how the G-20 summit was conducted.

Fun with Macro Photography

Macro photography has much to offer to the enthusiast, especially because one might not have to travel far and wide. In many cases, there will be enough objects to photograph. However, photographing insects will offer more excitement, especially if they are rarely seen insects. Photographing Damsel Flies can be especially rewarding, as photographing Umbonia insects in association with ants.

What is perhaps even more amazing is to see mutualism being exercised between ants and Umbonia bugs. The ants provide protection to the Umbonia bugs and the Umbonia bugs provide the ants with a nutritious liquid.

Moths come in various shapes and sizes and I have been most amazed by some of the moths I have come across. The first one has a rather distinct pattern on its body and it has blue eyes. The next two photographs are those of a moth I spotted at Jim Corbet Park. If you zoom in closely, you will notice that its head looks like that of a wolf or a fox. The last photograph is that of a moth! I would have missed it if it had not been for it flitting across my eyes.

Spiders are my favourites. Most of the spiders that I have come across have been rather shy ones and they will mostly try to hide behind leaves. It is the silent ones that you need to beware of because they might be venomous! My favourite one is called Telamonia dimidiata. It is a rather shy spider and will often slip behind leaves the moment it sees you. Its almost translucent body is difficult to miss.

And of course, who could miss stink bugs. I was able to spot a male, female and infant stink bug recently. Try and see if you can identify the female bug!

Rare Eustala Spider Photographed in School

Just today while I was looking closely at a few bushes and plants in school I came across what I thought was a Moth, however, when I looked closely, I realised that what I was seeing was a spider mimicking a moth! It is amazing how clever and intelligent spiders are though this was the first time I was seeing a spider that had deliberately contorted itself to look like a moth. This a rare spider called Eustslia spider an Orb Wweaver spider, according to Dr. Saraswat. This is a poisonous spider that can cause toxic reaction in those who come into contact with it.

After I had done photographing this master of mimicry, my attention was drawn towards two other bugs (that I have yet to identify) literally facing off.

Macro Photography of Bees

It is said that when the bees go, human beings will follow! I have always been fascinated by bees, apart from times when I was stung! Looking at those money bags on their legs bulging with honey is a rare sight. The photographs I am sharing in this post were taken in my school while wandering around in my free time. I used a Canon EFS 18-55 mm lens and a Canon 1300D body.

I used a shutter speed of 1/200 because that is the maximum sync speed between the flash and an f-stop number of 16 to 22. I use a fill in flash to fill in the shadows and get as close as possible to the bees. Using a dedicated macro lens might give sharper images.

Tripods are not for me, therefore I need to be as steady as possible while taking a close-up photograph of a bee. The problem with tripods is that they are unwieldy and bees never stay in one place for long! Having the sun in the right direction is of a great help. 

Recognizing Teachers for their long Period of Service in the Field of Education

Teachers of the school were felicitated for their services to the school on the 2nd of September in three slots, namely those who had served the institution for twenty years, ten years and five years. It was most heartening to see how the numbers in all three categories have increased. The day started with the paying of tributes to the founding father of the institution Late Mr. N. C. Jain. His philanthropic vision in the field of education made it possible for the school to flourish in the region.

The second part of the program lay in recognising the staff for serving the institution for a long period of time. Mrs. Neena Kaul, the Principal and Director expressed her appreciation of the teachers and handed over tokens of appreciation for each teacher who had served five, ten, fifteen and twenty years. She spoke highly of what teachers do, their dedication to a noble cause and contribution towards nation building. She went on to describe her own personal anecdotes when as both as a student and a teacher she was touched and impacted by the  her teachers and how she connected with her students.

The third part of the event was a trip to the Panchgaon Proudly Desi restaurant in Manesar. This was the fun part of the day where the whole school had gathered for a fellowship meal, snacks and lunch all thrown in together. It was a moment when all of us from all the three programs were able to get together over snacks and lunch. There was an atmosphere of celebration, fellowship, and everyone was busy with their photography sessions, and table-talk. It all looked as if one large family had gathered to celebrate being part of a great institution. I, for once was busy taking photographs, some good and some middling, thanks to the fact that I am more of a wildlife photographer than a photographer of people! Although I was able to take quite a few photographs, I have been able to share just a few of them on this blog post because of paucity of space.

And the fun snaps and candid moments, apologies for the liberty, but then, I guess these snaps capture the mood!

Nothing can beat the experience of being like children once again, even if one is a teacher because being a teacher also entails appreciating the child within and when you appreciate the child within yourself, you are able to connect to the children you teach. Nothing, I repeat can beat the joy of being rewarded with a 'Thank You' at the end of a class or else even an understanding, appreciative, respectful glance from a student. No accolades, certificates or even mentions from your directors or managers can replace the joy you have when you realise you have turned around a life, or perhaps made a student appreciate the joys of learning a subject.