Cover Story - The impeccable, charming lady!

“This was the first time that I had taught little Sikh boys and since I was not familiar with Indian names it was only when these charming little students with their big dark eyes and plaits stood up and I could see the shorts and not the skirt that I knew they were the boys.”

“No one ever dictated to me the methods I should use to teach so I was able to devise the best learning strategies for my classes.”

The International Women's Day celebrated on 8th March is a universal day for all women around the world. It endows them with a sense of honour, dignity and self respect for being the person that they are. This day marks a celebration of the economic, social, cultural and political achievements made by women over the years. This is exactly where MENTOR identified Mrs. Anne Warrior as the Woman of substance, as MENTOR’s choice this International Women’s Day writing to all of you women about her sojourn...

A woman, a mother has always been credited with being the ‘first teacher’ of a child.  It is she who guides the child with the first set of values in life. It is she who actually builds these values of loving, caring, sharing amongst her children and not to forget the man of her life.  Emotional and vulnerable, sometimes erratic, sometimes serene, she displays a wonderful range of emotions from being patient to being extremely courageous in times of crisis. A woman has been portrayed in various forms in fiction, non-fiction, in fairy tales to her all-enveloping roles of a mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, mentor..well the list can be endless.

Feature - Overcoming post exam stress

“While the exams were on, I was stressed about how I would do and now I am stressed about the results. I forget it for a while and then it comes back and I can’t sleep. I really need to enjoy this summer, I think I deserve a break but I feel guilty every time I do something remotely fun like shopping or hanging out with my friends.”

A great deal is said about the stress that students undergo during exams. However, the pressure on them is equally high post exams due to the uncertainty of their exam scores and the expectations set on them by parents, school and society at large, writes __________to MENTOR, stressing on how fatal post exam stress can be.

The much awaited results determine a students’ self esteem, further prospects of study and probable future career. At the time of results parents and psychologists alike are on high alert. Psychiatrists in India have acknowledged getting increasing complaints from children on sleeplessness, gastric ailments, headache or psychological complaints like depression, anxiety, hopelessness, avoidance behaviour, aggressive behaviour and in some cases suicidal tendencies. These daily stressors are associated with health and adjustment problems that have accumulated over a period. Many students find it difficult to handle the pressure and resort to drastic measures. Students are also driven into such action when one of their peers is seen to have taken such a step. It gives them a justifiable reason to act. Thus there is a need to take efforts to reduce stress and related emotional arousal amongst students.

The role of the School- Schools can play an extremely important role in helping students overcome their fear. One way would be to build a strong alliance with parents, students and teachers and explain to them the importance of minimizing negative thinking. As heads of institutions you may encourage your teachers to become aware of students' developmental levels and the pressure they may be placing on students prior to exams. You can also encourage teachers to address exam anxiety in class by exploring students' concerns and if necessary meet with the school counsellor and parents of identified students to confront this issue.

“NCERT and CBSE have often highlighted the growing need for effective school based counseling services.”

“In this emerging context, India is in need of taking a serious stock of the school based counselling services as the planning bedrock for the implementation, enhancement and monitoring of overall holistic development of children.”

Children are the most important assets of any country and the most important human resource for overall development. Schools are one of the settings outside the home where children can acquire new knowledge and skills to grow into productive and capable citizens, who can involve, support and help their communities to grow and prosper. Dr. Jitendra Nagpal, Programme Director and Psychiatrist of VIMHANS writes on school based counseling to MENTOR.

We have entered the new millennium and as part of a rapidly changing society, it is imperative that an appraisal be made of the psychosocial needs and influences on the child and adolescent who is leading the baton of human chain into the 21st Century.

With nearly 10-12% of children in our country needing professional help and guidance for emotional and behavioural problems, the role of school counsellors for a positive school climate is indeed paramount. The need to work with school children having such problems was recognized as early as the beginning of 20th century, especially in the USA. By the middle of this century it had drawn the attention of several professionals –social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychometrists. It soon influenced the educationists and mental health workers in our country too. NCERT and CBSE have often highlighted the growing need for effective school based counseling services.

Woman’s Day exclusive - Flow like a river

“Being a woman has never been an issue to overcome. In fact it has added many more dimensions, I feel, than a man would experience.”

Strand Book Stalls across the country has built its own rapport, its affinity with students and schools and teachers and Principals. This petite, pretty lady has often been associated with books and books that she can recommend at her finger tips to school heads.  On this Woman’s Day MENTOR profiles this dynamic entrepreneur Ms. Vidya Virkar, Managing partner of Strand book stall…

Today I run Strand Book Stall and its 7 stores in various cities of India. We nurture a data base of tens of thousands of loyal readers, are known as the 61 year old book shop that has set the standard for great book shops in India, serve up books at a minimum discount of 20% and much, much more and are present in Infosys and Wipro campuses across India. But it's rarely that one ever looks back at one's journey....

Living different - In retrospection, I have realized that my attitude to life and living was a little different right from the start.  I never harboured fixed thoughts about my future and the work I would do, enjoyed many diverse subjects and discovered strengths in many areas. Add to that my liberal thinking, legendary father Mr. T N Shanbhag , founder of Strand Book Stall.  It was he told me to 'fly in any direction' I wanted to and not  think of the bookshop as my only option in the future. My other source of inspiration was my singing, painting, great cooking, Bonsai growing mother Asha.

With this attitude I came face to face with life as a young person with a degree in Microbiology. In fact I did so well that I was a rank holder. Nevertheless, I suddenly realized that I simply wasn't built to work in laboratories all my life. What I wanted was a buzzing people environment. Whereas most people would have thought it reckless, I switched to Mass Communication - a new discipline at the time - without any apprehensions. Unexpectedly, I topped the class again. It just went to show what true interest can earn you. Confidence restored and with my excitement for the working world building up, I entered the portals of Doordarshan for producing documentary films. It was easy to see why so many youngsters get seduced by film and TV. As a discipline it requires 360 degree thinking and has a large dollop of glamour added to the mix! Everywhere you go you are treated like royalty. DD was a stepping stone to Scotland and a special TV drama course for young professionals. There again I was a topper. My career in the visual media was all set to take off. Maybe the BBC next! That possibility did not seem remote any longer....