Issue of the week

Recently, there was a debate in the political circles about the absence of jobs, the opposition blaming the center for the situation. The center insisted that jobs were in place but skilled personnel were not available to fill the vacancies.How do students develop skill-sets to fill the available vacancies when ...

By Nitya Sundaram There have always been arguments for and against tests and exams; a debate that goes on and on with no end in sight. So, ultimately, what is the validity of assessments? A few examples and considerations will throw some light. Validity of Assessments: Let us say, a ...

By Nithya Sundaram One of the biggest issues our education system is facing is the tussle between a popular teacher vs a professional teacher. There is continuous pressure on teachers to be popular with children since that seems to decide how proficient a teacher is. Very often the hapless teacher ...

By Nithya Sundaram There is a constant debate that is going on regarding homework. How can parents help in their child’s education? A recent court order from Madras High Court has categorically stated that children of grades one and 2 should not have homework or tests. Their bags should carry ...

By Nithya Sundaram Two types of parents seem to be everywhere in every place I have worked. There are, of course, some very sensible parents and their children grow up into responsible and dignified people. Among the others, there are two types. The first is the `helicopter parent’, who hovers ...

By Nithya Sundaram The recent directive from High Court in Chennai that classes one and 2 should not get any homework has triggered a debate on the value of homework for young children. There are fundamentally two perspectives to it; the learners and parents. The school perspective should ideally be ...

Botany is considered to be a dud as far as career-opportunities are concerned. Both Yashaswini and I being post-graduates in Botany, we found it depressing to note this. When A Journalist Reveals started out looking for environmental entrepreneurs to be covered by our website, we wanted to know how could ...

By Ms. Nithya Sundaram There is a well-known video for educators, known as Austin’s butterfly. It is about a 6-year-old boy, who has to draw a butterfly exactly as in a photograph, stripes, et al. He makes at least four drafts before he gets it perfectly. What made him do ...

By Ms. Nithya Sundaram Abhishek was an average student given to mischief. He made fun of teachers and played the fool around in school most of the time. His mother, who regularly turned up for all parent-teacher meetings, was a quiet lady. The boy used to simply take her for ...

Ms. Nithya Sundaram This incident happened several years ago when I learnt that parental reaction to children’s activities determines the character of children in many cases. When parents hyperventilate about what the children go through, it can set the minds the progeny in a direction which may not be healthy. ...