Cover Story - And when miles grow to be milestones!

It was with apprehension filled in my mind that I landed in Guwahati when I was invited to train the teachers on the first session of the Manipal K-12 In service training professional programme for teachers. The man was adamant. He was keen that I visit the school campus and take one session at least with the teachers. There remained no choice but to travel all the way to the North East of the country. And lo behold! I was at speechless when I saw his campus, the planning that had gone into it, the infrastructure, the residential apartments and all less than a kilometer from the airport. I write about Miles Bronson Residential School, Guwahati and the Principal that I chose as the Editor’s choice for MENTOR’s cover story is Mr. Nripen Dutta, the Principal and Chairperson of the School…

Feature - Obbligato

“There is a thin line between sustaining a classroom environment in a healthy, positive and experience-enriching manner and turning it into a mechanical, cold and impersonal air.”

A 360 degree classroom management is impossible without a comfortable classroom arrangement. From the arrangement of desks to the type of flooring in a classroom, from the colour of the walls to the space for bulletin boards and posters, placement of doors and windows, size of indoor and outdoor space – all this and much more goes into building an ideal learning environment.

If the physical components of the classroom fail to reflect the students’ taste, interests and activities, then the school as an institution of imparting human knowledge and wisdom and producing conscientious people begins to falter. There is a thin line between sustaining a classroom environment in a healthy, positive and experience-enriching manner and turning it into a mechanical, cold and impersonal air. Adhering to numerous factors can result into the former; indifference to the same factors can result into the latter. Whereas a close attention to the students’ individual needs is offered by a sincere teacher, there is a lot that a comfortable learning space can do in realizing the students’ potential.

The end of February is usually associated with the approaching of final exams for most schools. As the countdown begins, a stressful atmosphere emerges for one and all. Stress is caused not by exams but by the need to succeed.

Exam preparations are in full swing and pressure is building up. For principals, a major concern is ensuring that their students come out with flying colours; while for teachers, completing the pending portions and ensuring that their students effectively recapitulate all that they have learned throughout the academic year. For students, the endless hours hunched over books, a syllabus that looks like a mountain, parents who are anxious and peers who seem to be miles ahead in their revision - all of which makes them feel like they are in a battlefield.