Looking back and Looking forward…

Looking back, it’s been a good year overall for CASER, Change Agents for School Education and Research, considering how we began, not too long ago with baby steps, in March-April, 2014.
Despite several things that we bemoan, when we look around and see all the good things happening, even if it is in small measure, one feels convinced that it’s gonna be a great year ahead! And India does have a bright future – but we can’t just cross our hands, complain and hope things will change. We need to be out there and be the change we want to see! Continue reading →

Can Sanskrit enable India to become the Global Leader?

Sanskrit as a language needs to be seen as an integral part of our culture and all efforts should be made to preserve and revive the language. Inability of studying the original treatise in Sanskrit will lead to loss of cultural heritage and diminished understanding. Since 95% of Sanskrit literature is non-spiritual in content and discusses music, dance, mathematics, astronomy, etc. in great depth, it has in fact inspired many renowned institutions of management, engineering, science, architecture and others across India. Continue reading →

Working towards a more inclusive education…

There’s a need to educate everyone in the society and government towards an inclusive mind-set, and the needs of children with disabilities. The system will also need to be significantly ramped up to handle the different challenges. Continue reading →

Where our Environment Education MISERABLY fails!

Adithi Muralidhar Mumbai, 1830hrs, CST station…. I was traveling at peak hour, hordes of people making their way to their respective platforms. It was terribly hot and humid and the fans in our coach were not working. I was lucky to get a window seat in the first class ladies compartment. Fourteen of us adjusted … Continue reading →

On the other side of the classroom

It is well known that “People don’t leave companies they leave bad bosses” – the same analogy is true for our schools. ‘Students don’t dislike subjects but incompetent teachers.’… It is about time all the stakeholders -the education system, parents, students and teachers recognise this and pave the way to give society thought leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, risk-takers, artists, sportsmen and the like. Continue reading →

Disasters and school children: Some thoughts…

Adithi Muralidhar with inputs from Karishma Makeshwar Disasters can be categorized by their origin; natural or man-made. Natural ones are those that are related to life-threatening weather events (like floods, hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, blizzards, droughts) or geological events (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). Man-made ones include those that are related to an error made by a human … Continue reading →

RTE for Children with blindness & low vision- The Inclusive Way

Janki Pandya “Give me the opportunity to be equal, and the Right to be Different” – Dr. Phil Hatlen Often the Right to Education Act 2009 is discussed with regards to making education available and accessible to those who have been deprived or kept away from the mainstream education on the basis of their social … Continue reading →

Eyes and Healthy Food

Shaheeda Kirtane Your mom and grandmom have probably told you that eating carrots and other orange-colored fruits and vegetables is good for your eyes and protects your vision. Trust them, they’re right! Beta-carotene, a type of vitamin A that gives these foods their orange color, helps the retina and other parts of the eye to … Continue reading →

Teaching Environment & Sustainability: SOLAR ENERGY

Adithi Muralidhar with inputs from Ameya Pimpalkhare Image: Children from a school in a remote village in Karnataka with solar lanterns. Image Credit: Hypnale Research Station During our school days, we used to have chapters on Renewable and non-renewable energy (a.k.a. conventional/ non-conventional / exhaustible/ inexhaustible energy sources) all through grades 5 to 12. We learnt … Continue reading →

THE POTENTIAL OF THE MID-DAY MEAL SCHEME REMAINS UNTAPPED

In India, the Mid Day Meal Scheme is a massive programme run by the Government of India to improve the nutritional status of school-age children all over the country. A recent study carried out by Rachel D’Silva, Researcher at Observer Research Foundation Mumbai, assessed the nutritional conditions of children from urban slums in Mumbai. The study calls for an urgent need to revamp the Mid Day Meal scheme by… Continue reading →