Tips for Battling Anxiety and Promoting Engagement in Class

1. When teaching in blocks of one and a half hours, take frequent pauses. Students are not machines, they need frequent periods of rest. Know when to stop. There is no point in going on teaching even when the students are zoned out!

2. Vary your teaching strategy, make it more interactive. Students are not single-track, rote-learning machines.

3. Encourage students to get up from their seats, move around, encourage gallery walks, or tell them to jump up high (their brains need a strong flow of fresh blood.

4. Encourage students to come up to the Green Board and take up the mantle of a teacher. They need to feel partners in the teaching and learning process!

5. Show them an interesting video, it could be related to what is being taught, or even something funny.

6. Become a student, connect to them and make teaching a joyful adventure! Remember, you learn as much from your students as they do from you. Learning new perspectives, creative alternative possibilities are all part of the adventure of learning as a two-way process!

8. In times when giving exams is merely about marks, back off from your demands of a magical 95/100, it is OK to let them know that you will respect them irrespective of the marks they get.

9. It is OK to have fun in class! Talk to students about other things such as interests and hobbies.

11. It is very important to "touch base" with students before really launching into the lesson.

12. Often the teacher's anxiety to complete the syllabus gets transmitted to the students. Remember, you can only get the content across to the students if they are relaxed and eager to learn, so just relax, gauge the mood and then move into the lesson remembering not to rush up.

13. Student success is to a great extent dependent on how happy they are in class. Happiness and joy in learning come from happy teachers. The best way to increase engagement in class is to be approachable, non-threatening and vulnerable yourself as a teacher. Be Human!

14. Never ever confront or challenge a student who doesn't agree with your point of view. It is better to fix some time out of class so that the others might not be exposed to unpleasantness. Use a parking ticket, tell the student that you will do some research, postpone the flashpoint.

15. In many cases, what might seem a rather confrontationist attitude might just be the unthinking honesty of a curious student who wants to explore out of the box options. Appreciate the workings of a curious mind of a student and offer the student opportunities to explore research on the topic. Do this even if you know the student is wrong. This is a learning opportunity that a teacher must never let go. Let the student learn by himself that he or she might be off the track.

Why Journalism?

Just today when I met my Journalism students after a gap of a fortnight, I wondered whether I should take up a new topic when suddenly it struck me that I had not asked them why they had decided to opt for Journalism in the first place! I had incidentally been taking Journalism with them since grade eleven as a Work Experience option and now they were in grade twelve. I, therefore, thought it would be a good idea for them to write a brief essay on why they wanted to learn journalism.

While I gave some of them a brief feedback after they were done, the rest I told that the feedback would be forthcoming. Having talked so often about how empowered the common man is thanks to internet-enabled devices like the smartphone I decided to give them overall feedback through a blog post. I had exhorted each one of them since grade eleven to start a blog, and most of them, I am proud to state, have blogs!

Unfortunately, most students believe that Journalism is a piece of cake and that it is more about desktop publishing. The fact, however, is that most journalists need to rough it out in the field and then it is only after proving one's mettle in the field that one moves up the ladder. Most of the students had written about how Journalism was their "passion" though they were aware of the criticism and ridicule that some articles received, they were also honest in stating that they were interested in taking up Journalism because they had read a powerful article that had opened their eyes to reality.

For many of them, the subject of Journalism gave them the opportunity to express themselves. For others, it was all about being aware of the events taking place around them and all over the world. They felt there was a need to connect with people around the world, through their blogs. Some felt that through their blogs they would be able to bring about a change into the world, noble thoughts no doubt!

A large number of students believed that by taking up Journalism, they would be able to polish and improve their written expression and they would be able to experience "the power of words". Thankfully, a great number of students believed that "words are the strongest weapons in the hands of mankind"  especially as they could start and end wars. A few of the Journalism students believed that the subject would help them overcome their reticent nature, self-consciousness and shyness. They believed that studying Journalism would have a therapeutic effect on them and that they would be able to transcend the sense of "embarrassment" they felt when others criticised them when they expressed their opinions. One very touching and honest answer to the question, "Why Journalism?" was that the student had chosen Journalism "to become the voice I couldn't [be]". The student went on to state that the choice was based on the need to "get over the fear of being scared to speak."

Yet another response was straight forward and honest enough as "It is only that we choose certain things because they excite us!" the student chose Journalism out of a sense of curiosity, and the "possibility of engaging with a cause and writing about it after having done proper research," (That student would surely become a feature writer as a Journalist). The student expressed the desire to "know more" about the world and "find a place in the world!"

Another student believed that Journalism was much more than a subject or even a profession. The student believed Journalism was a "right" of expression that could be exercised by everyone. For that student, Journalism was a tool that could teach one the skill for reaching out to a larger audience. For yet another student the choice was taken out of a desire to "explore" the world. 

One phrase that struck me really hard was that "Journalism is the perfect amalgamation of pragmatism and creativity." This showed that that student felt that the subject would help ground him or her. For another, it was about "a quest for truth" and a desire to avoid, floccinaucinihilipilification or looking at something as being worthless.

While the adage of the pen being mightier than the sword has become passe, what with the key-pad and touch-pad taking over, the fascination with the power of expression remains one of the biggest reasons why the students had decided to take up Journalism as a subject. The desire to "inform, influence, express" seemed to be the greatest motivations for taking up journalism. It was out of a desire to be "heard and understood" that they had come to me for direction! For one of the Science students who had taken up Journalism, (a student interested in Quantum Physics) it was all fed by a desire to learn the art of "describing facts with authenticity," and "being true to myself". Another, talented photography enthusiast who has a food blog stated that he had even considered getting a degree in Journalism thus making it a full-time career!

For many of the respondents to the question Why Journalism? it was all about something that interested them, it was about finding their voice, shedding their fears and inhibitions about expressing themselves to a larger audience. It was about empowering themselves with skills of expression and finding ways to overcome their shyness.
Perhaps the most direct and conclusive reason for joining Journalism classes in the first place was, 'I've found Journalism to be more than a component of media and communication. Attending Journalism classes helps me express myself clearly and concisely. I have learned to synthesize contradictory information, ask questions and record the answers accurately." This in itself is the aptest description of what is expected from a Journalist. So many of the students believed that studying Journalism somehow empowered them to be Citizens of the twenty-first century. It taught them the meaning of sound Digital Citizenship, it taught them to respect their freedom of expression and use it accordingly.

Bee-Eater Pair spotted at the Basai Wetland

Nothing can beat the antics of Bee-Eaters, especially when they are in pairs! Their gestures and movements seem distinctly human. 

The "I don't care!" attitude seems commonplace in Bee-Eaters!

Seeing eye to eye!

United we perch.

Begging to agree.

Giving each other the cold shoulder.

I am on my way!

We beg to differ!

Back to square one!

A Roadside Stand-Reference to Context Questions

Given below are a few references to contextual questions and their suggested answers based on Robert Frost's Poem, A Roadside Stand :

1. Lines 1 to 6
"The little...faint."

1. Where was the roadside stand located?


2. What was the roadside stand pleading for?


3. What figure of speech is presented in the words, "flower of cities"?


4. How is the flower of cities prevented from fainting?

2. Lines 7 to 12

The polished traffic...silver warts"

1. What does the "polished traffic" represent? What figure of speech is it?


2. Describe the attitude of the "polished traffic" with reference to the above lines.


3. What had marred the landscape according to the people driving by?


4. Prepare a list of the objects being sold in the roadside stand.

Lines 13 to 18

3. "Or Beauty...stand."

1. What is beautiful according to the first line of the extract?


2. Who is "You" in the second line and how is "You" mean?


3. How is the roadside stand's owner's complaint greater than that of the people who drive by?


4. How is the term, "trusting sorrow" an antithesis, what does it highlight?

4. Lines 19 to 24

"And ask...gathered in".

1. What do the people at the roadside stand long for?


2. Explain, "our being expand".


3. What is "moving-pictures' promise"?


4. What is the Party in power "keeping from us"? Who is "us"?


5. What is in the "news"?


6. How is the word, "mercifully gathered" ironical?


5. Lines 25 to 31

To live in...ancient way."

1. What will the relocated people be provided with, in the new village? Will they really help?


2. What does the poet mean by the statement, "where they won't have to think for themselves anymore"?


3. Identify the two figures of speech used in line 27.


4. Explain, "enforcing benefits".


5. What does the phrase, "calculated to soothe them out of their wits" mean?


6. How do the politicians "Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way"? What does the "ancient way" refer to?


6. Lines 32 to 37

1. What is it that he can "hardly bear"?


2. Whose "childish longing" does the poet refer to?


3. Which figure of speech has the poet used in the line, "The sadness that lurks near the open window"?


4. What is their "open prayer" for?


5. Why are the cars that pass by said to be "selfish"?


7. Lines 38 to 43

"And one did stoop...see?"


1. Why did one of the cars stop?


2. What figure of speech has the poet used in, "And another to ask the way to where...."?


3. Why did the car want a "gallon of gas"?


4. What was it that the cars "didn't see?"


8. Lines 44 to 51

"No, in country...my pain."


1. What does the poet mean by the lines, "No, in country money, the country scale of gain, the requisite lift of spirit has never been found"?


2. Why does the "voice of the country" seem to "complain"? What is the nature of complaint?


3. How does the poet feel in the above extract?


4. What would give the poet "great relief"?


5. Why does the poet have a change of heart?




For the answers click on the link given below:


https://rodrickwrites.blogspot.com/2019/03/a-roadside-stand-analyzing-robert.html

Technology Doesn't Drive Disruption, Humans Beings Do!

There is this rather huge misunderstanding amongst most of us educators that it is technology that drives disruption and thereby ushers change. What most of us don't realise is that technology is merely a tool in the hands of the educator! It all depends on how an educator decides to use technology. In the hands of an accomplished educator, technology can prove to be a great tool, a gamechanger and an enabler of effective education. In the hands of a not so good educator, technology might at the most prove to be a distraction that can only cause confusion!

This forces us to take a look at the two important elements, the teacher or educator or the tool! The Chalk and Greenboard, the figure drawn in dust and sand, the chart paper with a labelled drawing, all of them are tools to promote learning and thereby sometimes even drive disruption. One cannot assume that disruption is the gift of a technology-enabled twenty-first century! In fact, some of the greatest examples of disruption took place many years ago as when the idea of the universe revolving around the solar system was challenged by Copernicus in 1543 A.D. In 1610 A.D.,Galileo used a basic telescope (Today some of the Digital Cameras have more power!) to view the planet Jupiter and its satellites revolving around it!

In today's times, it is perhaps not even scientists who are driving disruption, in fact, is startups that are driving change. Established companies are constantly being disrupted by startups that use the same technology as the established companies but have people who are more innovative, creative and divergent thinkers. They use the same technology as established companies, but then the success of some startups cannot be attributed to the technology that they happen to be using!

It is what one does with technology and how one uses it that makes a person a driver of disruption, and innovation. The alertness of the Entrepreneur, the alertness of the Educator, the ability to switch techniques as per the demands of situations, the ability to evolve, juggle, improvise and adapt are the traits, habits and skills that drive disruption and innovation, both in the field of education and commerce!

It is unfortunate that drivers of disruption are disliked by others who stick to time tested strategies lulled into complacency by the gift of technology. Teachers who are innovative and adaptive, those who use technology to drive change, innovation and inspiration are at best the most underrated teachers. They are thought to be ineffectual and unskilled. Teachers who use technology to drive change are in fact highly intuitive, they map their students' potential to absorb disruption, and they plan if not in their written lesson then at least in their minds how they will use technology effectively. The showing of a video on the French Revolution in class would be merely entertainment if it was not followed by group discussions, exit tickets, and note taking that could be recorded for all to refer to later on!

Disruption is about challenging accepted beliefs, it is about looking at things from a different perspective, it is about doing things better, understanding things better. It is simply not about going with the flow, rather it is about intelligent questioning, looking at things from a different standpoint. It is apparently the human being that drives disruption and change, not the technology! Henry Ford introduced disruption into the automobile industry because of his innovative ideas of using the mass assembly system to deliver cost-effective Model T cars. It was not just the conveyor belt technology, but rather also his astuteness and shrewdness in developing a franchise system that made him a successful business magnate. One cannot argue that the other car manufacturers did not have access to the conveyor belt technology! They all had the means to use the technology that Henry Ford used, it is just that they chose to be happy with the way they used technology!

Technology can sometimes be a gamechanger. The Smartphone could be a gamechanger in the right hands. The internet is a gamechanger. Data mining is one of the fastest growing fields in Commerce. However, the biggest question that comes to mind is, How many of us use the smartphone effectively? How many of us use the Internet to do something useful? How many of us go beyond Data Mining to end up with Data Analysis? The answer to all these questions will be in support of the argument that it is the human being that drives disruption and change and not the technology, in the classroom or even elsewhere. 

Funnily enough, the greatest disruption that I see today, driven by the Smartphone is in the field of gaming. The online game, PUBG has hooked so many young people that one wonders if the greatest achievement of the smartphone might not be in the field of online gaming! I often notice most of my students using the internet to chat with friends, post updates, and perhaps even modified photographs of themselves, or, perhaps even do some online shopping. A large number of LMS modules introduced by schools might make the learning process more convoluted and tedious what with the usage of the platform seeming to be less user-friendly. I would advocate the use of E-Mail, Google sheets, Google Docs over dedicated LMS modules that are more limiting.
The use of technology in Education should not be an end but a means to better learning! Unfortunately, many of us educators believe that the use of technology alone is enough to drive innovation, inspiration and disruption. The fact is that Technology alone cannot drive disruption and innovation. In fact, it is the human factor that is a more important driver of new learning.