Are we nurturing or killing creativity!

We have a very interesting education system. Our education system gives the memory unit of our brain a lot of exercise. Can anyone guess how does our education system gives a workout to brain? Yes, you all have guessed it right; it’s the retention and recall. Our education system has taught us how to memorize and how to reproduce what is learnt.
Picasso once said, “All the children are born artist; the problem is how to save and nurture the unique artist.” i.e. All the children are born with a unique talent. It is us the teachers who have the responsibility to nurture the artist within each child. But, do you all think that our education system allows us to do so? Do you think that only improving the memory power and testing the memory through various examinations we are nurturing the artist?
Our education system evolved in an era when industrialization was at its peak. To meet the demands of industries, education was designed to impart the knowledge to produce efficient workers. The only area we emphasize on is academics. Don’t do music, don’t do arts’, don’t dance, is all this going to get you a job? Do science, do math, study language that is what will fetch you job. Crash! Amidst all the jostling ofdemand, supply and producing human terminators, education system missed out on certain very critical and crucial point that is to develop the creativity in the child which will help him survive in the future. We have restricted or streamlined the learning curve to meet the current demands thereby strangling the creativity of the child. The kids are not afraid of exploring; they are not afraid of trying new things and experimenting. It is our education system in which mistake is the worst thing a child could do. As a consequence we are suffocating their creativity. We are not saying that being wrong is being creative, no. But what we do know is, “if we are not prepared to be wrong we will not come up with anything original” says Sir Ken Robensen world renowned coach in the field of creativity.
Despite of all the expertise, research and projections we do not know how the world will look like 20-25 years from now. In contrast we do not know how the child would adapt and flourish in this extremely unpredictable environment. So instead of being a Hitler, we should expand our boundaries for the children’s growth. The child should be given his own space to explore, adapt and flourish through learning and experiencing variety of things.
Our only hope for the future is to adopt a new course one in which we start to reconstitute our conception of the richness of human capacity. We have to re-think the fundamental principles on which we are educating our children. Our education system should be aimed at holistic development of a child. Both the scholastic and co-scholastic curriculum should be designed and given equal importance i.e. along with mathematics, science and languages- sports, art, music, drama and dance should be given equal importance to instigate the creative artist within each child. It is important to expose the child to do the right things at the right time to develop his creativity. Lastly creativity is not an inherent skill or only for those with a talent for it; it could be successfully taught to and used by people of any age, walk of life or cultural background.
Dr de Bono said creative thinking needs to be included in curricula as a distinct but parallel subject. “Mankind had tended to associate the term ‘creativity’ solely with its expression in the arts,” he said. “However, creativity was also about recognizing and creating value.”
So, my fellow inspirers, it’s up to us, whether we want to foster the creative talents of our children or to manufacture high speed data access human machines.
What will you do? The choice is of course, yours!

समय

समय

कौन समय ? कैसा समय ?

समय एक ऐसा,

करता नहीं इंतज़ार किसी का ,

जल्दी आता, जल्दी जाता ।

गर करें इंतज़ार किसी वार का ,

कभी नहीं वो जल्दी आता ।

न किसी का दोस्त, न किसी का दुश्मन ।

फिर भी वह साथ हमारे , पास हमारे ।

गर हैं हम साथ समय के, तो दुनिया कदमों मे ;

गर दूर समय के, तो अस्तित्व खतरे मे ।

समय का तुम करों उपयोग ।

करों सदुपयोग, बनो महान,

छू लों आसमान, पा लो मान ।

पहुचों बुलंदी पर, बनो महान

अंकित करवाओ अपना नाम,

करो देश को भी महान ।

करो देश को भी महान ।

समय एक एसा, जल्दी आता जल्दी जाता ।

शिक्षक:(मुकेश जोशी)
हिन्दी शिक्षक( आत्मीय विद्यामंदिर )

Top ranking CBSE English paper created by an AVM Inspirer !

C.B.S.E. has started an online forum for teachers. On this forum they allow all the teachers around the world to submit their sample question paper. It is an open site and is intended for the benefit of both the students and teachers. It is a matter of great pride and pleasure for us that our dear Paras Sir had submitted his English sample paper of standard 9th few months ago on this forum. His paper has received a rating of 4 out of 5 and is on the TOP of the list with the highest number of hits 8082 i.e. so far 8082 people have downloaded his paper.

Congratulations Paras Sir for crossing this milestone from the entire AVM (Atmiya Vidya Mandir) team. We wish You Good Luck for all your future endeavors! Paras Sir is a great teacher and a guide, mentor and friend of the students at AVM. We pray to god to help you continue with your excellent work and to keep sharing your experience & expertise with all the teachers.

This is a great achievement for him and hence for the school; so, let us all congratulate him together!

To download Paras Sir’s paper please click on the link below:
http://www.cbseguess.com/papers/sample_papers/ix/2009/english.php

Those who are interested to submit their respective subject sample paper for the year 2010, please follow this link:
http://www.cbseguess.com/papers/sample_papers/

Submitted by: Pranesh Shah

”सफलता का एक आधार”

”सफलता का एक आधार”

मैं लगातार,मेरा नाम लगातार,

मैं बार-बार और मैं ही हर बार।

मैं नहीं कहता कि,मैं ही हूं…..

पर,मैं कहता हूं कि,मैं भी हूं,

सफलता का एक आधार।।

मैं लगातार,मेरा नाम लगातार,

मैं बार-बार और मैं ही हर बार।

जिसकी इच्छा अभी अधुरी है,

तो वहां मेरा होना ज़रुरी है।

सफलता चाहे वो बुरी हो,

या

अच्छाईयों से भरी-पूरी हो,

जो सदा मुझे अपनाता है,

उसे

सफलता देना मेरी मजबुरी है।।

मुझे निरन्तरता भी कहते है।

निरन्तरता काम है,निरन्तरता सम्मान है।

निरन्तरता विश्राम है,

वास्तव में

निरन्तरता ही आराम है।।

ये तप है,तपस्या है,

जीवन का विकास है।

ये जिस-जिस के पास है,

दुनियां मे वो ही खा़स है।।

निरन्तरता के तपस्वी को

हर मुकाम पर शाबाश है

निरन्तरता के तपस्वी को

हर मुकाम पर शाबाश है।।



Submitted By: Pushpak Joshi

A prayer of an Atmiya Teacher

आत्मीय शिक्षक की प्रार्थना

शिक्षक वह है जो चाहे तो निर्माण कर दे,
शिक्षक वह है जो चाहे तो निर्वाण भी कर दे।
तार दे हमे जीवन से अपना अमृत बूँद के,
प्रेम- सिंधु बहाकर चाहे तो प्रलय फैला दे।

जीवन में अगर कुछ करना चाहो तो शिक्षक को नत मस्तक हो,
जीवन में अगर कुछ बनना चाहो तो शिक्षक को शीष धर दो।
शिक्षक वह है जो जो निरंतर प्रेम सिंधु बहाता,
कुछ पाने की न आशा मन में बस जीवन पर्यंत देता जाता।

मेरी एक छोटी-सी अभिलाषा, हे स्वामी-मैं एक ऐसा शिक्षक बन पाऊँ,
अधिक नहीं पर कुछ एक जीवन को अपना सबकुछ अर्पण कर जाऊँ।
अपना सबकुछ अर्पण करके मैं संपूर्ण में समा जाऊँ,
संपूर्ण की प्राप्ति करके मैं मोक्ष को गले लगाऊँ।

मेरी इस छोटी-सी प्रार्थना का आप सहर्ष स्वीकार कर लो,
मुझ पर कृपासिंधु बरसाकर एक आत्मीय शिक्षक का उद्धार कर दो।

Submitted By: Niharika Khatri

About IIT JEE – Applying, Studying and Cracking

IIT JEE is probably the toughest exam in the whole of Asia – the simple reason is that IITs are the best undergraduate institutes in the world. There are just ten thousand seats and lakhs of students vie for it (about 4 lakh students appeared for the exam last year). The competition is tough but to be an IITian is a dream for every engineering aspirant. Heres finding out how to crack the IIT JEE
Whats IIT JEE
Entry to IIT is based on one single exam and that is IIT JEE. Director of IIT Mumbai, Prof Devang Khakhar says, You have to be smart and work hard to enter IIT. It’s important to know the concepts and fundamentals well to pass the IIT JEE exam. You must be thorough with the basics taught at HSC. Praveen Tyagi, MD, IITians Pace says, It comprises of class XI and XII Physics, Chemistry and Maths syllabus. The difference between board exams and IIT JEE is that you need conceptual clarity in the concepts involved.
When to start
Earlier, students began studying for IIT after Std X exams, that is the routine now too. But with competition getting tougher, students now begin attending coaching classes right from class VIII, XI and X. Praveen says, The syllabus of Std VIII, XI and X is almost same as Std XI and XII. A class VIII student learns the subjects in depth and in point of view of IIT. If that is stressing then you can start off immediately after Std X. Sincere students should take a lead by studying immediately , adds Praveen.
Applying for IIT
You will find ads in the newspapers announcing the IIT JEE. The forms for can be collected from State Bank branches from Oct-Nov . December end is the last date for the form submission and the admit card is sent to the students within a month. The IIT JEE is conducted in the month of April.
Get ready for the challenge
I started studying after class X exams. A lot of practice tests prepared me. You need a lot of self study in the form of solving problems, says Pararth Shah, first year student of IIT and 4th ranker of IIT JEE 2009. The exam is not as tough as it is said to be, says Pararth. Your concepts should be clear and you should be able to apply it in new ways. The paper pattern and format of questions is new every year, so you have to be ready for the challenge.
Develop analytical skills
In school exams you are only tested for memory, but here you need analytical and problem solving skills. Shailee Mehta , last year IIT Mumbai student, says, They want to know if there is concept clarity, analytical thinking rather than cramming of definitions. Problems are 99% never seen before so its not like recalling it and putting it on paper. Its more about applying the concepts you have understood. They want to solve the challenging problems in technology and so they want the best students.
Being cautious
Because the exams are popular, one must do a proper verification of the coaching class as many of them are known to advertise results of students who have never studied at their class. Also check if the classes have teachers who are former IITians. You can also talk to current IIT students to get the right guideline. Praveen Tyagi says that it is not necessary that the child has to score top marks in SSC to get in IIT. IIT is not cramming. Right guidance is necessary. In depth studies are necessary either through proper self study or guidance through a coaching class, he adds.
Can Schools be of any help?
Yes, reading through the article one can easily understand that cracking an IIT exam is not easy for all the students and the basic reason for this is that only good memory cannot help one to crack this exam. You should have the basic and in-depth understanding of the concepts and that you should be able to apply them in different situations. Since the paper is completely different every year only the students who have good application, critical and creative thinking skills can crack this exam like having a cup of coffee. If the teachers at school focus more on the concepts than the examination or syllabus every child could possibly become a superstar student and make every engineering school an IIT.