GRIT –‘Saying YES when your fear says NO’
/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersThe silver shade of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst,
That you must not quit”
NEVER QUIT, the message given by the imposing poem above reflects a very important value which the Suhradam House was privileged to celebrate: GRIT –‘Saying YES when your fear says NO’ from 10th to 15th Nov ‘14. The house members put in sincere efforts to help the students understand the core concept of a winning personality – GRIT.
On Monday, the value was introduced by respected Gautam Sir using a few illustrations about how grit helps in a student’s life. The message conveyed was that a student with grit is not the one who works really hard and eventually gives up after many trials he is the one that always stretches his limits and strives for improvement.
In addition to this, a few videos were shown about how all great achievers of the world had displayed that grit was the one of the most important characteristic responsible in helping them to achieve their goals.
Moreover, the interesting thing told to the students was that keeping grit is a choice. It’s an attitude. It’s not something that someone is born with, nor is it something that is given to them. In fact, grit can be developed through an optimistic mind set and coping with setbacks, disappointments and failures. This elucidation really strengthened the eagerness of students to attain GRIT.
On Tuesday, respected Anand Sir explicated the value Grit as “sticking with things or plans over a very long term until you master them”. To make this definition more meaningful, he provided students a real life example of Juliane Koepcke. She was a 17 years old girl when the aircraft in which she was travelling was destroyed by a storm and crashed in the jungle and she had fallen down about 10000 ft from the aircraft into the Amazon rain forests. Her struggle for survival really moved the students and it worked as a great motivational source for them due to the message and learning derived from the story.
On Wednesday, respected Archana Ma’am enlightened all about the value grit with the saying: “A smooth sea never made a skilful mariner.” She explained that winners always endure, they never quit. For instance, she said, “Athletes put in years of practice, and commitment for a few seconds or minutes of performance”. She also provided two highly inspiring incidents from the lives of Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lankan cricketer) and Chris Moon (a double amputee who has competed in a wide range of marathons and ultra-distance races). It helped the students really believe that “Characters cannot be developed in ease and quite. Only through trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. Triumphs don’t come without effort.” It also left the students with a zealous heart full of desires to reach their goals.
Thursday brought its own charm in form of divine blessings from Param Pujya Swamishree, manifestation of GRIT Himself, when respected Prajval Sir helped students to learn the value from him. A video clip from one of his discourses at AVM was shown wherein He asked students to do three prayers whenever they visited the prayer hall:
- the ability to score above 70% marks in all the subjects,
- to have a company of good friends, and
- the ability to keep calm and never get angry in any situation.
TED Talks week by Shivam House
/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Online Resources and Technology /by AVM Teachers- Vijay Kumar – Robots that fly … and cooperate
- Anthony Atala – Printing a human kidney
- Louie Schwartzberg – The hidden beauty of pollination
- Louie Schwartzberg – Hidden miracles of the natural world
Children were astounded to see the videos and listened to the talks with utmost curiosity. Every day after listening to these talks they expressed their curiosity by asking a lot of questions to their teachers in the class. They were inspired and promised to explore the site ted.com to watch more videos and get more information of things happening around the world.
Incidentally, it was a matter of honour for the house that 8th October, Wednesday, marked the 82nd anniversary of the Indian Air Force. On this day, all were introduced briefly to the history and achievements of this glorious establishment and some videos were shown that highlighted the contribution and might of the Indian Air Force.
Body and Kinaesthetic Intelligence Interhouse Competition 2014-15
/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates /by AVM TeachersSimple Life High Thinking
/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM Teachersજે વ્યક્તિ સાદુ જીવન જીવે છે તે જરૂરિયાત મુજબ જ વસ્તુઓ રાખે છે. પરંતુ આજનો માનવી દેખાદેખી પ્રમાણે વસ્તુઓ રાખે છે. જો મારો પડોશી કાર લે તો મારી પાસે પણ કાર હોવી જ જોઈએ, જો પડોશીના ઘરમાં નવી ટેક્નોલોજી વાળું washing machine આવે તો મારે પણ લેવું જોઈએ, જો મારો મિત્ર iPad Air લે તો મારે તેની જરૂર ન હોવા છતાં લેવું જ જોઈએ. આમ, આ બધા ઉદાહરણો બતાવે છે કે મારું જીવન સાદુ નથી. સાદુ જીવન જીવનારા વ્યક્તિને કોઈપણ લોભ કે લાલચ પોતાની તરફ આકર્ષિત નથી કરી શકતું. તે પોતાના ઉચ્ચ વિચારોથી સંપૂર્ણ જગતમાં સન્માન પ્રાપ્ત કરી શકે છે.
સાદુ જીવન જીવવાથી જીવનમાં શાંતિ મળે છે. આવા વ્યક્તિના જીવનમાં કોઈ દેખાડો હોતો નથી. આવા વિચાર વાળા વ્યક્તિઓનું વ્યક્તિત્વ અને તેમનું ચરિત્ર એકદમ સાદુ હોય છે. તે હંમેશાં બીજાના હિત માટે વિચારતા હોય છે. તેમના જીવનમાં ખરાબ ભાવ માટે કોઈ જગ્યા નથી હોતી. તેમના જીવનમાં સ્વાર્થીપણું નહિ પણ જનહિતપણું છુપાયેલું હોય છે.
આપણા વિશ્વના ઈતિહાસમાં એવા કેટલાય મહાપુરુષોના નામ છે કે જેમણે પોતાના સ્વાર્થને ત્યાગીને હંમેશાં બીજાનું કલ્યાણ જ સર્વોપરી માન્યું છે. ગાંધીજી, ઈશ્વરચંદ્ન વિદ્યાસાગર, રવીન્દ્નનાથ ટાગોર, મધર ટેરેસા, ગુરુનાનક, ગૌતમ બુદ્ધ, સ્વામી વિવેકાનંદ, પરમ પૂજ્ય હરિપ્રસાદ મહારાજ, તથા બીજા ઘણા મહાપુરુષોએ એકદમ સીધુ સાદુ જીવન જીવીને માનવતાના વિકાસ માટેના કાર્યો કર્યાં છે. આ બધા સમ્પન્ન પરિવારોમાં પેદા થયા હતા, પરંતુ સંસારના ભૌતિક સુખ તેમને પોતાની તરફ ન ખેંચી શક્યા. આ તમામ મહાનુભાવોના જીવનમાં મુખ્ય ગુણ ‘સાદગી’ રહેલો છે.
સાદુ જીવન જીવવાથી ઉચ્ચ વિચારો પોતાની જાતે જ મનમાં પોતાનું ઘર બનાવી લે છે. જે વ્યક્તિના વિચારો ઉચ્ચ નથી હોતા તે પશુ સમાન છે. સાદગી પ્રિય વ્યક્તિ કઠોરમાં કઠોર વ્યક્તિના હ્નદયને પરિવર્તન કરવાની ક્ષમતા ધરાવતો હોય છે. આવો વ્યક્તિ જ સમાજ તથા રાષ્ટ્રનો નિર્માણકાર બને છે.
મહાત્મા ગાંધીએ કહ્યું છે કે “સદાચાર એટલે કે સારા આચરણમાં થોડી પણ ચૂક રહી જાય તો મને રડવું આવે છે.” આવા વિચાર વાળા વ્યક્તિ કેટલા આદર્શ હોય છે.
પરમ પૂજ્ય સ્વામીજી કહે છે કે, “યુવાનો મારું સર્વસ્વ છે.” કેટલો ઉચ્ચ વિચાર….!!!
સાદુ જીવન, ઉચ્ચ વિચારમાં વિશ્વાસ રાખવા વાળા સજ્જનોનું ચરિત્ર બધા લોકોને આનંદિત કરી દે છે.
તો આવા જ સજ્જન પુરુષોની ચર્ચા સુહ્નદમ હાઉસની ટીમે અઠવાડિક પ્રાર્થનાસભામાં કરી હતી. જેમાં પ્રથમ દિવસે પ્રેરક સરે PPTના માધ્યમથી વોરન બફેટનો મહિમા વર્ણવ્યો, ત્યારબાદ મંગળવારે પ્રભુમગ્ન સરના સાનિધ્ય હેઠળ ડૅા.ઈ.શ્રીધરન વિશે માહિતી આપી, ત્યારપછી બુધવારના રોજ આનંદ સરની પ્રેરણા હેઠળ શ્રી નરેન્દ્નભાઈ મોદીના દેશ માટેના ઉચ્ચ વિચારો વર્ણવ્યા, તથા ત્યારબાદ શનિવારના રોજ અર્ચના મેડમે અઝીમ પ્રેમજીના જીવનમાં રહેલી સરળતા અને ઉચ્ચ વિચારો વિશે આત્મીય વિદ્યા મંદિરના વિદ્યાર્થીઓને માહિતગાર કર્યા.
આમ, શિક્ષકોના માર્ગદર્શન હેઠળ, સુહ્લદમ હાઉસની ટીમે વિડિઓ, પ્રસ્તુતિઓ અને ભાષણો દ્વારા દૈનિક પ્રાર્થનાસભામાં Simple Life High Thinking ઉપર ચર્ચા કરી બાળકોમાં મૂલ્યશિક્ષણ શીખવવાનો એક નમ્ર પ્રયાસ કર્યો હતો.
આજના આ ભાગાદોડી વાળા જીવનમાં સમાજનું જીવનદર્શન તથા જીવન સ્તર બદલાઈ રહ્યું છે. આજે કૃત્રિમતાએ આપણને પૂરી રીતે જકડી રાખ્યા છે. આપણી આંતરિક ઉન્નતિ તરફ કોઈ ધ્યાન નથી આપતું. આપણે બીજાની નજરમાં તો મહાન બનવાની કોશિશ કરીએ છીએ પરંતુ પોતાની જ નજરોમાં આપણે પડી જઈએ છીએ. આપણો અહમ આપણને ખોટું કાર્ય કરાવે છે. જેના કારણે આપણું નૈતિક પતન થઈ જાય છે. પરંતુ આપણા માટે તે શ્રેષ્ઠ હશે કે, આપણે પણ આવા મહાપુરુષોના જીવનમાંથી, પ્રેરણા લઈને બાહ્ય દેખાડાથી બચીએ, તથા સરળ જીવન જીવવાની સાથે સાથે ઉચ્ચ વિચાર રાખીએ.
જય સ્વામીનારાયણ.
GURUTSAV 2014: A National Level Essay Writing Competition
/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Students' Creations, Teacher, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersTo highlight and make the students of our country understand and share the importance of their teachers in their lives. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, announced ‘Gurutsav 2014‘ a national level essay competition for the students of our country, conducted on 1st of September, 2014.
From Atmiya Vidya Mandir, seven students’ were registered for the competition in the 1st category. These students were allotted one hour from the announcement of the topic, to record their feelings when they got a good remark from their teacher in a two minute audio recording. Two students from grade five, two from grade four, and three from grade three participated in this group. Students’ got their topic at 9.40 am and they were given 30 minutes to prepare on the given topic. After which, with assistance of their teachers, students’ responses were recorded and sent successfully by 10:40 am.
One inspiring observation made by the teachers during the competition was that, one student remembered even the date and month the remark was given to him by his teacher. All students spoke filled with confidence about the remarks that they had got and how it brought changes in them. The competition was designed to encourage young students to voice their opinions about their teacher. The little kids participated enthusiastically in this competition.
The topic that was announced for the second category was “The year when I got a new teacher……” The word limit in this category was 500 words and the time allotted was one hour from the announcement of the topic. Students showed their passion for the competition and typed to their best, recollecting their past reminiscences about their new teacher. The students were not allowed to use reference books or the Internet for the competition. Four students from grade 6, four from grade 7, and six from grade 8 were registered for the competition. They were very excited for the competition and one could see the joy on their faces recollecting their memoirs about their teacher and penning them down. It turned out to be a challenge for the students as on one hand they were so very eager to keep writing about their experiences and on the other they had to conclude it in the given time frame.
From the high school section, a total of 25 students registered for the competition: three from grade 9, five from grade 10, eight from grade 11, and nine from grade 12. Their topic was – “I can never forget the particular teacher because.…..” The students in this category had to write a 1000 word essay in one and a half hours. In the first half hour of the competition, it was difficult to miss the expression of deep thought and contemplation on the faces of the participants and their body language. Thinking and taking notes in the book. Occasionally, the thoughts also brought a smile on their faces. Once they started writing their thoughts in the word processor they never looked back, engrossed, going back in time mentally and remembering how their teachers had helped them and made a positive impact on their life.
Finally, out of the total 1,18,622 entries, only 148 students were declared winners across all categories at the national level. Out of that, only 5 were declared winners from the state of Gujarat. One in junior category, two from middle school and two from high school. Out of the five winners selected from Gujarat only one participant was selected from the city of Surat.
We are very happy to announce that from the high school category, Jaybhai Bariya, a student of 11th Science from our school was declared a winner by the MHRD. His winning essay can be found here. A felicitation ceremony was organized in the school auditorium on 9th of September. Principal Mr Anthony of J. H. Ambani School was the chief guest of the function. He awarded Master Jay Bariya with a certificate, a book gift and a cash prize of Rs. 5,000 sent by MHRD, India. Mr Anthony on this occasion also shared his experience with the students of the school, highlighting the importance that teachers play in the life of the students.
The competition gave an excellent opportunity to the students, to remember the involvement and inspiration their teachers provide to them day in and day out.
Satyam House celebrates the value Sincerity
/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersSatyam House began by presenting an invaluable description of the life of Param Pujya Swamiji whose sincerity, right from the childhood till date, is immeasurable and unspeakable. Imbibing lessons of Sincerity, a bit every day, from the life of this divine entity enables us to inherit the qualities of modesty, integrity and value oriented life.
There are various aspects that could be considered in order to understand this important value of sincerity. How can we say that a person is sincere? Is it when he/she is honest, faithful, truthful or hardworking?
When we say a person is sincere, then the virtues like honesty, innocence, nobility, faithfulness and truthfulness are bound to be found in that person. The real quality of a ‘BHOOLKU’ is that he/she never compromises with the quality of work that he/she undertakes.
Throughout the week, the students were explained that in order to be successful in any field, whether it is academic, sports, arts or music, one has to be sincere in his/her work. ‘Sincerity means to put our 100% efforts in whatever we do’.
To further justify the topic, anecdotes from the lives of the great personalities who have encouraged all by living a life that demonstrates sincerity were highlighted.
Through these assemblies, the students were assisted to gain the understanding that development of the nation not only depends on the intelligent human resources but also on the sincerity and honesty of these human resources.
Thus, Satyam House put in humble efforts to inculcate the important value ‘sincerity’ in day–to–day life. The seeds of sincerity that have been sown in the students’ hearts and minds will definitely bear fruits in their attitude in the coming time.
The budding writers, poets, orators of AVM
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Creativity, Thinking Skills /by Seema JoshiInter-house Carrom Competition 2014-15
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Sports /by AVM TeachersLike many sports, carrom also requires focus and determination to succeed but, in addition to that, carrom also requires a good knowledge of geometry and angles to put the difficult coins in the pocket. Even though students don’t play carrom when the outdoor activities are possible, the spirit shown by the students indicates the enthusiasm especially amongst younger students.
In the Sub-Junior category, Sundaram House took the first and the second place while Satyam House took the third place. Harshilbhai and Vrajbhai became champions by beating the other Sundaram House team of Pranambhai and Aryanbhai.
Sundaram House continued their good showing with taking the second place while Shivam House took the third place. However, Satyam House duo of Gauravbhai and Dhruvbhai won the category by beating Sundaram House pair of Shreemadbhai and Shivangbhai.
The Sundaram House pair of Rajveerbhai and Mantavyabhai won the senior category by beating Shreybhai and Harshbhai of Satyam House. Shivam House took the third place in the category.
Here is the brief summary of the final score:
To a Research Laboratory – an overwhelming experience!
/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Teaching, Thinking Skills /by AVM Students
Although the experiment was long, there wasn’t any trace of tiredness on anyone’s face and enthusiasm seemed permanent! And then the time was for results of the experiment and of course it had to be the best due to the Grace of Swamiji, efforts put by students as well as our teachers. We were very much satisfied due to the achieved outcome. In the evening, after a long day of learning and exploring the field of Biotechnology, the team enjoyed a delightful dinner at Subway.
On the 27th July, we were back to school with new learning, new experiences and satisfied curiosity, all due to the grace of Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji. And not to forget all the enthusiasm and support of Sarvajit Sir and Archana Ma’am (our Biology teacher) who patiently executed this wonderful educational trip in such a way that it could not have been any better. Their determination, dedication and devotion towards the academic welfare of students made such a learning process possible. We all express special gratitude to them.
This well planned trip taught us the important virtues such as Atmiyata, patience, hard work and a very essential scientific approach.