छात्रो को स्कूल बैग व ड्रेस वितरित करते हुये श्री- मुकेश जी

                             

                         

अपना स्कूल के छात्रो के साथ श्री-मुकेश जी बच्चो को खेल-खेल में सीखाने की कुछ गतिविधिया करते हुये । साथ ही उन्होने छात्रो को ड्रेस व स्कूल बैग भी वितरित किये।

     A meeting with Dasara Mumbai On 26th December 2018, at Antara Senior Living-Dehra Dun.

Hot Chocolate River

Fun and games out in the open can offer a far deeper and meaningful learning than being always stuck inside the classroom, as we recently reconfirmed. About 20 children from classes 3-5 were split up in two teams for this activity called "Hot Chocolate River".

Each team had to cross this boiling river of chocolate without letting any of their body parts touch it. Instead, they had some paper plates on which they could step on and navigate their way with the condition that each paper plate had to be in human contact at all times, failing which it would "dissolve" in the river, leaving the team one less plate and so making the crossing tougher. The real catch in all this is that any one member of the team failing to cross the river means the whole team loses. 

The kids began in a predictable way, i.e. looking out only for themselves and not for their teammates. Some kids were seen celebrating upon 'crossing the river' and had to be reminded that it meant nothing if the all others are not able to do the same. Soon enough, after a few false starts, the kids began to grasp what was really going on- i.e. if one fails, then everybody fails. Then began the strategies, team-work, motivating each other, watching over their mates and so on. 30 minutes into the game, both teams were finally able to 'reach the other shore'. 

Later on, we had a discussion on the the visible inter-connectedness and inter-relationships between all things and beings using simple examples. The hope is that the kids were able to think beyond the usual framework of competition, self-centeredness, envy etc. and perhaps catch a glimpse of the possibility of there being another way of living. 

Fingers crossed!

                             Hauz construted by RWP project at  Puroli basti Banpur.

                     Hauz constructed by RWP project at Chamsain Basti Banpur.

      डॉ.एस.के.श्रीवस्तव जी, अनिल मैखुरी व पंकज जी WHOके कार्यक्रमो के मुल्यांकन पर चर्चा करते हुये।

हौज़ निर्माण कार्य प्रारम्भ बानपुर

बान पुर में हौज़ निर्माण कार्य करते हुये लोग(Hauz work start at Banpur. RWP.)

Uttarakhand Youth Policy workshop

दिनांक- 26 व 27 नवम्बर 2018 को युवा कल्याण विभाग उत्तराखण्ड द्वारा युवा नीति निर्माण हेतू एक दो दिवसीय कार्यशाला का आयोजन किया गया। कार्यशाला मे उत्तराखण्ड से उन संस्थाओ के पदाधिकारियो ने प्रतिभाग लिया जो संस्थाये युवाओ के विकास के लिये कार्य करती है। कार्यशाला मे युवा नीति ड्राफ्ट 2011व 2014 के प्रस्तुतिकरण,के बाद ड्राफ्टो पर चर्चा तथा युवा नीति के मूल ड्राफ्ट बनाने की पहल पर विचार विमर्श, किये गये। कार्यशाला मे समता का प्रतिनिधित्व एस.एस.रावत ने किया।

Fund Raising at big Bazaar

ग्रामीण क्षेत्र के बालक व बालिकाओ की शिक्षा हेतू दानपात्र के माध्यम से अंशदान एकत्रित करने का एक नया प्रयास....

Brain 'Brake'

Sometimes, we drop all that we are doing, no matter how "important" we think it is and just lie down with our eyes closed, breathing slowly and deeply, listening to the sounds all around us. 

The zipping and zooming train called brain needs some rest too.

Open Shut Them

Learning English with the help of a classic nursery rhyme.

Muchísimas gracias a Manos Unidas también.

 Workplan being made in a RWP meeting, by the community in Jhitaar on 15th November 2018.

 Water tank under construction by community in Banpur village.. (left and below; Pics received 29th Nov 2018)

Weather is cold but rains have stopped and therefore community is able to proceed..
The water in these tanks will sustain various crops in the higher fields which do not have access to irrigation..

Thank you Sohan and Mangat Ram ji!
Big thank you to Manos Unidas as well..

Introducing Kabir Das

The dohas and the wisdom of Kabir Das, the great 15th century poet and saint seem to be ever-present in the Indian folklore/colloquial wisdom. And yet there are so many layers of timeless wisdom in his words that no matter how many times one has heard or read them, there is always something new  to be discovered if one is paying attention.

It was our pleasure to introduce Kabirdas to our children at Apna school. Unsurprisingly, children seem to have fallen in love with his dohas, and also hopefully are beginning to sink their teeth into their meaning. 

Its impossible to miss the joy with which they sing!

November 2018, second half

24th Nov, 2018: Chain Singh ji ha attended a bridge course in Chakarat, offered by education department.

26th Nov, 2018: In pursuit of excellence, we requested Baba Bhuman Shah Vidyalay, to give us a glimpse of how they maintain discipline in their school. 

26 Nov, 2018: We participated in an open discussion facilitated by the Principal, Mr Abhishek Thakur, teachers and some children. From SMTA, Chain Singh ji, Ankush and Sachin participated. We have decided to introduce some new ideas in Apna School: a personal self-reflection journal by the teachers; a scoring system for every child documenting his / her behaviour in class (sort of profile, so that the child could be understood better and counselled appropriately. Lastly, corporal punishment will be given up in favor of better ways of motivating children. 

November 16th onwards

We had a staff meeting (four of us at Vikasnagar) at Assan barrage on 16th Nov.
From 18-21 Nov. Sachin visited Jakhadhar. He spent some time with students: taught an English lesson to class five and showed a movie: "Where the red fern grows". The students were also given supplemental nutrition too (see the picture).
On 20th Nov. Ankush and Sachin went to Jogio and interacted with community and the government primary school staff at Jogio.

Ruben Maggi return...

After a brief stay, Maggi & Ruben returned on 14th November.
11th Nov (Sunday) we had a general body meeting: most people turned up to greet Ruben and Maggi: Maya, Rekha, Pawan, Kunwar, Rachit... We had a meaningful discussion about the organisation and future course.
Cyril sahab had his birthday on 12th Nov. Golu drove Maggi and Ruben around most of the time and was extremely helpful. Ritika too served everyone very well. Here are couple of group photos (Moti too is there):

Visitors to SMTA...

Ruben, Sachin, Sultan, Kundan discuss and plan

Melanie from UK, Nagendra Kumar from Allahabad, Mangat Ram ji and Sohan from Tiuni, and now, Ruben and Magi from Bangalore have visited us - over last couple of weeks. Above all, 20 students from Jakhadhar visited us. Melanie told them about life and environment in UK; Nagendra ji told the children about the Kumbh mela (Compare Jogio mela with a Mahamela!). Golu took them to Asokan edict and Ashwamedh yagya site near Kalsi. Sohan and Mangat Ram ji are planning the second year of the RWP project, which has been delayed for a variety of unexpected reasons. Ankush is expected back any day, after a little deepawali break. Finally, we are breathing again..

Of Words and Actions

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a fun way of engaging the fidgety minds and bodies of the young learners and introduce them to new words in English language, besides livening up the morning assembly. Here are a couple of samples of our morning 'workout' ;)

Go Bananas!

We take a little break from studies and energize ourselves with banana dance. :)

 

Nothing like a train ride!

On 28 Oct, SMTA students go for an exposure visit to Vikasnagar and the nearby places. They take a train ride in Dakpatthar. They find a old smta teacher working in the park, who is very happy to give them a discount and a ride..

Children on an exposure visit at last!

Melanie, Marian's niece, visited SMTA on 27th Oct. Coincidentally, SMTA students also came down on an exposure visit, to our campus in Vikasnagar on 28th Oct. Twenty students from class 3,4 and 5. Along with two teachers (Mr Chain Singh and Ms Radha). Melanie told them about Europe, her country, her work and about environmental issues. She is working as Urban Ecology planner. Rekha, our president, also interacted with students, who later went to see Ashokan edict and Ashwamedha Yagya site near Kalsi. Both these sites are being preserved by archeological survey of India, as ancient sites of importance. Later they visited Dak Pathar. Next day, 29th. October, students went to Assan lake in the morning and left about 11 am, for  return to Jakhadhar, via Tiger Falls. Children seemed so excited, that even the adults around could not remain 'serious' for long!

Here are two videos, shot by Golu:
This captures the visit to Ashokan edict and Ashwamedh site, near Kalsi, where Chain Singh ji gave a commentary on the archeological importance of the sites.
https://youtu.be/Xv3mskikRsU
Below, Melanie is explaining (sachin translating) the life in general, in a small town in UK,
https://youtu.be/zQk-y-2Znng

English Medium School?

SMTA does not want to adopt that route of English Medium Schools, where children wear tie, greet "Good morning", say "thank you, excuse me" etc. Nothing wrong, but it was more practical for us to teach English as an academic subject as well as a second language- plus a lot more in English, as it opens a big world of discovery... but over all within our cultural concepts and milieu because here is a lot to learn and be thankful for, right here at home.. So, while we show them video clips of threatened Penguins in Antarctica, we also try and discuss the climate change nearer home in the Himalayas and how it is affecting cropping cycle in Garhwal. Just for example. The picture shows our new board, hinting at this. 

दिनांक-8/10/2018 को ईशिता मुखर्जी व अनिल जोशी जी ने जौनसार के सुदूरवर्ति गाँव बंतोऊ व लाखामंडल का भ्रमण कर ग्रामवासियों के साथ पारम्परिक वैध्यो द्वारा जड़ी बूटी की पहचान व  उनके उपयोग पर गहन चर्चा की ।

General body meeting and gbm

6th October, we had the meeting at Vikasnagar campus, which was made special by the participation of Sri N D Joshi, Jacob, Baraf Singh, Kunwar, Pawan, Belam, Rekha and others... lot of discussion and reminiscences...

To Be or To Have?

Can I use 'you' for him, and 'I' for you? I have a pen, or is it I am a pen?

The use of personal pronouns and the two basic verbs - to be and to have, can be quite tricky for young children to understand. After a couple of weeks of navigating bumps, steep curves and innumerable detours, our second graders are finally beginning to wrap their heads around these tricky tricky basics of English language.

Origami

Last morning we learnt together  how to make a paper box. Here's the YouTube tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd5Z8hmcb10