Edu-Beacon-Light

Examinations are a few months away. It is time you – my dear students – started your exam preparations earnestly.
Prepare a exam study timetable and follow it without fail.
Study at least 4 to 6 hours a day
take nutritious diet
do exercises at least for 20 to 30 minutes a day
Follow ‘read, recall, write the recalled, and recite’ cycle to score well
All the best

There are two vital functions schools should perform: one is developing a positive physical culture and the other  effective mind training. Here, let me focus on ‘positive physical culture’.

‘Physical culture’ means the cultivation of life style habits that would ensure a healthy body.

The  Physical Education teachers need to impress upon their students with normal health to focus on aspects such as –

• early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy and wise – getting up between 4 to 5 am is advisable for all normal children
• starting the morning with taking at least two glasses of warm water
• clearing bowels at least twice in a day is good for health
• doing warm up exercises, to start with, followed by bending, stretching and skipping exercises
• deep breathing exercises (if you do not have respiratory problems) will replenish  the oxygen needs of the body
• following a good exercise chart depicting exercises for 30 to 45 minutes 
• Taking a glass of milk after exercises
• for those who love walking, a walking 4 to 5 km a day 
• warm water bath after exercises

If done in moderation, exercises can be done on all days of the week as well.

Since physical exercises keep the body well toned, well tuned and functionally alert, exercises can be made an integral part of daily routine with interest and focus.

For those who do exercises, drinking adequate amount of water is essential. Depending upon the need, one can take one to two liters of water in a day.

Aspects which develop positive life style include allotment of time for

various day-to-day activities such as:

1.time for exercises

2. time for studies

3. time for work (for students, it is attending school, and for others the duties of their office or professional work)

4. time for family and friends

5. time for relaxation and recreation

6. time for creativity and imagination

For those who cultivate positive life-style habits in all the above mentioned six areas of activities, life will be a boon and blessing.

 

 

 

Training is meant for developing skills. More often we see teaching is resorted to in the name of training.

The person who is having certain well defined competencies – a cluster of knowledge, skills, attitude and performance – in the subject matter of training – can be a trainer.  The list given below is not exhaustive, but can certainly be useful for those who want to develop as an effective trainer:

1. Subject expertise – you should be thorough with the subject matter  ( both K and S components of the subject matter) that you want to transact during training. This includes besides knowledge, skills, attitudes as well.
2. Effective communication: training is a two-way communication. Exhibiting effective communication skills is a prerequisite for effective transaction of knowledge, demonstration of skills etc
3. Training strategies: using different training strategies is a must, else, monotony will  creep in which will have a negative impact on  the learning outcomes. Expertise in variety in training and the opt use of them that suit the purpose and audience would help a trainer actualize his training objectives
4. Training evaluation: A trainer can not take his expertise for granted. His success is purely based on the value additions he could make in his trainees in the domain of their Knowledge, skills and attitudes as planned. He has to do while-training assessment and after training evaluation
5. Trainee attitude: trainers and training courses as a matter fact focus on knowledge and skills. But it is imperative to include the dimension of attitude as an integral part of training to ensure the success of training efforts.
6. Trainer performance: The trainer performance – a combination of a cluster of activities well planned, well sequenced and well executed – can ensure the success of training. Rehearsing the performance, going through the video recording of the proceedings of training, analyzing the constructive feedback of the trainees, researching on the post-training performance appraisals etc would be of great help to the trainer to evaluate his performance .
7. Trainer preparation: A well structured trainer preparation is a must. Personnel in the field should look out for courses conducted by reputed training institutions and complete the course(s) before embarking on the real task of training
8.  We have a large expertise in the field of talk-shops. But trainers should be strong in both talk-shop and work-shop performances.

The list above focuses on common minimum essentials for a trainer. ‘Once trainer – always a trainer’ is a dictum. Hence it augers well for trainers to keep learning and evolving to be successful in the field.

As a teacher, if you want to reveal the test results to students, keep in mind the following points:

1. Every student has a self-image; do not break it
2. Do not reveal the marks or scores scored by the students in public for students see it as ‘public dressing down’
3. Reading out test scores of students in the class affect the self-esteem of them
4. you may present the data with regard to the range of scores of students
5. Help the student get to know his mark/grade in person from you
6. let there be a word of encouragement irrespective of the mark/grade scored
7. A brief analysis of the strengths and grey areas in the test/exam performance be given to the student
8. Outline the remedial course of action to the student after revealing the test result
9. Be available for support and encouragement

These actions of you as a teacher will go a long way in helping your students do well in tests and examinations