e-Classrooms of Today: The Quality Requisites.

An e-classroom as a hub of Quality Education has come up of late with lamination of Innovation in Classrooms with time and tide. Scratching heads and making the designs with the pen or the pencil in the class is actually a common sight in a classroom of today if it is not mounted and reflected by the sense of e-effect, the electronic fur in the classroom. The distraction in the classroom otherwise is expected to roll out with particular launch of the spectrum towards working or phasing out the teaching and learning environment.  What evaluates out of this methodology is the systematic approach towards working for the better to deliver the good out of the best.

As a matter of fact, the very use of technology in classrooms is changing everything from the way pupils learn and the way teachers teach, to the way parents and teachers communicate.  There has to be an updated  broadband connection to the Internet in order to make it possible for  growing schools to provide the Quality Base and Information of Learning with a comic effect which further details the information towards the liking of the children in particular.  The emphasis is on the requirements which promotes the Smart  Learning  Environment  which offers the students and the staff access to all the resources, online storage and communications tools they could ever need – not just during the school day, but beyond it too. As a matter of fact, further  the New technologies go way beyond paper-and-pencil to enable children to express themselves textually, graphically, numerically, aurally or visually but also to allow children to discover new ways to collaborate and learn.

The requirements in addition, as we know of observation, the overall, learning today is much more interactive than it used to be. On priority, the very Learning has had  become significantly richer as students have access to new and different types of information, they can manipulate it on the computer through graphic displays or controlled experiments in ways never before possible, and they can communicate the results of their efforts to teachers through a variety of media.  We need to involve them, make them a learning partner and above all explore their creativity further. New ways of obtaining and presenting information have given students powerful new ways of analysing and understanding the world around them, and research also shows that children who use technology to support their learning are more motivated and engaged.

With clarity and congestion, practically, Education is increasingly infused with media content, which can distract students by leading them into too many conflicting directions at once, discouraging their commitment to any one path. Teaching ethics and international relations in the classroom without borders is a commitment to our growth as human beings in a world in desperate need of humanity during a time of moral crisis.

Classrooms today are more diverse than ever before.  The same cannot be said about text books, curriculum, and lesson plans.  Teachers must design lessons that are accessible to all students and reflect their diversities. One has to as well, explore different approaches to traditional learning systems and find out how to implement new strategies to engage students in lessons.       The teachers of the new age of Demand and Liking need to be open to ADAPTING, Being Visionary towards perfection, Collaborating of choice and energy with sharing of routine operations towards betterment at ease and fraternity keeping the audience in mind. He or she needs to be having a modeling behavior, must be leading, open to taking risks and above all keen to learn. In addition the Quality Educator also models tolerance, global awareness and reflective practice, whether it is the quiet, personal inspection of their teaching and learning process or through blogs, twitter and others.

All children have the right to equal educational opportunities. By employing innovative ideas, elementary schools across the country can set the foundation for secondary and college educators to continue gender-neutral practices that will level the playing field for all students.     TEACHERS need to deal with perfection and excellence through CONNECT which implies towards………….

C          : Creating

O         : Opportunities

N          : New

N          : Networks

E          : Experiencing

C          : Collaboration

T          : Teaching

Also with this the students learning must be looked at through the Identification of strengths and learning needs. One need to monitor the student’s progress and provide the feedback timely so as to explore the corrective action to it.

In a nutshell a Quality Educator needs to preface of the following with the children to be popular viz: Acknowledge, Investigate, Emphathize, Adjust, Set Goals, Set free and Celebrate. The teacher is a unique teacher, a Quality Educator when he gives the children something to take home to think about besides homework. The teachers further need to give the children the ability to work and do the job with the best of mode possible. They need to as well impart the ability to find and use information with critical discrimination in order to build knowledge. The initiative must be to Learn Together, Network Together and Grow Together. As above all the fact remains to ponder over as “ Today’s Students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”. This is the GOOGLE GENERATION and is very hard to satisfy unless or until it is celebrated and honoured with recognition.  One hence needs to INSPIRE, Explore and above all Innovate. The priority must be on Every Student to be a Critical Thinker, A problem solver, an Innovator, an effective collaborator, an effective communicator, a self directed learner, must have a complete literacy towards Information and Media Literacy, globally aware and above all Financially and Economically Literate. The aim should be to promote our students to be effective 21^st Century Citizens.

My Teachers

I was always fortunate and blessed to have one or two great teachers during every phase of my educational period between 1936 – 1957. Evolution of the oath has resulted from what I have experienced and what I have felt and grown through my teachers. The first oath talks about the teacher loving teaching and teaching being the soul of the teacher. What is the significance of this? Here I would like to give the example of the teacher who really loved teaching.

 
Teacher loves teaching

It was the year 1936; I recall my initiation of education at the age of 5 years in Rameswaram Panchayat elementary school. I had a Teacher Muthu Iyer who took special interest on me mainly because I performed very well in a class exercise. He was impressed and next day he came to my house to tell my father that I was a very good student. My parents were happy and got my favourite sweet from my mother. Another important event while I was in first class, which I cannot forget. One day I did not turn up to my school. Teacher Muthu Iyer noticed my absence and same evening he came to my father to ask what the problem was and why did I not go to school and whether he can do anything to help me. On that day, I was having fever. Another important thing, which he noticed was my hand writing, was very poor. He gave a three page writing exercise and told my father that he should ensure that I do the exercise everyday regularly. By these actions of my teacher Muthu Iyer, my father told me in later years that teacher Muthu Iyer is not only a good teacher to me in teaching but he influenced and shaped me with good habits and he was a noble friend to my family. Even today I realize how my teacher loved teaching and took personal interest to bring up his pupils. Now let me talk about another teacher who taught me in my fifth class.

   
Teacher encourages questions from Students

I was studying in 5th class at the age of 10 who gave a vision for my life. I had a teacher, Shri Siva Subramania Iyer. He was one of the very good teachers in our school. All of us loved to attend his class and hear him. One day he was teaching about bird’s flight. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard depicting the wings, tail and the body structure with the head. He explained how the birds create the lift and fly. He also explained to us how they change direction while flying. Nearly 25 minutes he gave the lecture with various information such as lift, drag and how the birds fly in a formation of 10, 20 or 30 etc. At the end of the class, he wanted to know whether we understood how the birds fly. I said I did not understand how the birds fly. When I said this, he asked the other students whether they understood or not. Many students said that they did not understand. Our teacher was a real teacher and very good teacher. He did not get upset by our response.
 

In view of this, my teacher said that he would take all of us to the sea shore. That evening the whole class was in the sea shore. We enjoyed the roaring sea waves knocking at the rocks in the pleasant evening. Birds were flying with sweet chirping voice. He showed the sea birds in formation in 10 to 20 numbers, we have seen the marvelous formation of birds with a purpose and we were all amazed. And we were simply looking at the formation. The teacher showed the birds and asked us to see when the birds fly, what it looked like. We saw the wings being flapped. He explained how the birds flapped the wings to generate the lift. He asked us to look at the tail portion with the combination of flapping wing and twisting tail. We noticed closely and found that the birds in that condition flew in the direction they wanted. Then he asked us a question, where the engine is and how it is powered. Bird is powered by its own life and the motivation what it wants. All these aspects were explained to us within 15 minutes. We all understood the whole bird dynamics with practical example. How nice it was? Our teacher was a great teacher; he could give as a theoretical lesson coupled with live practical example. This is real teaching. I am sure, many of the teachers in schools and colleges will follow this example.
  
For me, it was not merely an understanding of how a bird flies. The bird’s flight entered into me and created a feeling on the seashore of Rameswaram. From that day evening, I thought that my future study has to be with reference to something to do with flight. At that time, I did not realize that I have to go towards flight science. I am telling this because my teacher’s teaching and the event that I witnessed inspired me to lead to the goal in life. Then one evening after the classes, I asked the teacher, “Sir, please tell me, how to progress further something to do with flight”. He patiently explained to me that I should complete 8th class, and then go to high school, and then I should go to college that may lead to education of flight. If I do all these things I might do something connected with flight sciences. This advice and the bird flying exercise given by my teacher really gave me a goal and a mission for my life. When I went to college, I took Physics. When I went to engineering in Madras Institute of Technology, I took Aeronautical Engineering.
 
Thus my life was transformed as a rocket engineer, aerospace engineer and technologist. That one incident of my teacher encouraging me to ask questions, showing the visual examples proved to be a turning point in my life which eventually shaped my profession. Shri Sivasubramania Iyer was an example for shaping not just students but igniting the youth both average and extraordinary by allowing them to ask questions and answering them till they fully understood.


   
Teacher puts the students ahead

 
Now I would like to discuss about my mathematics teacher Prof Thothatri Iyengar. As a young science student, I had an opportunity at St. Joseph’s College to witness a unique scene of divine looking personality walking through the college campus every morning, and teaching Mathematics to various degree courses. Students looked at the personality who was a symbol of our own culture, with awe and respect. When he walked, knowledge radiated all around. The great personality was, Prof Thothatri Iyengar, our teacher. At that time, ‘Calculus Srinivasan who was my mathematics teacher, used to talk about Prof Thothatri Iyengar with deep respect. They had an understanding to have an integrated class by Thothatri Iyengar for first year B.Sc. (Hons) and first year B.Sc. (Physics). Thus, I had the opportunity to attend his classes, particularly on modern algebra, statistics and complex variables. When we were in the B.Sc first year, Calculus Srinivasan used to select top ten students to the Mathematics Club of St. Joseph’s, whom were addressed by Prof Thothatri Iyengar. I still remember, in 1952, he gave a masterly lecture on ancient mathematicians and astronomers of India. In that lecture, he introduced four great mathematicians and astronomers of India, which is still ringing in my ears. They are Aryabhata, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Brahmagupta, Bhaskaracharya. Let me discuss one.

 
Prof. Thothatri Iyengar explained, based on his analysis, that Aryabhata was both an astronomer and mathematician, born in 476 AD in Kusuma-pura (now called Patna). He was known to represent a summary of all Maths at that point of time. Just when he was only 23 years old, he wrote his book ARYABHATIYAM in two parts. He covered important areas like arithmetic, algebra (first ever contributor), trigonometry and of course, astronomy. He gave formulae for the areas of a triangle and a circle and attempted to give the volumes of a sphere and a pyramid. He was the first to give value of pie. He discovered that the earth takes about 365 days to orbit around the sun. Prof. Thothatri Iyengar always puts the student to take a pride in India’s contribution in astronomy and mathematics and puts the students ahead. This great teacher combined his knowledge of science with his deep insight into many aspects of our civilizational heritage. Prof. Thothatri Iyengar was an example for continuously building capacities among students and putting the students well ahead in mathematical sciences. He also injected great thoughts in the minds of students and promoted nobility in thinking and action. Now I would like to discuss about the teacher who built the capacity of working together and evolution of integrated system design even during engineering student life.

 
Learning integrated system design

 
While I was studying aeronautical engineering in MIT, Chennai, (1954-57) during the third year of my course, I was assigned a project to design a low-level attack aircraft together with six other colleagues. I was given the responsibility of system design and system integration by integrating the team members. Also, I was responsible for aerodynamic and structural design of the project. The other five of my team took up the design of propulsion, control, guidance, avionics and instrumentation of the aircraft. My design teacher Prof. Srinivasan, the then Director of MIT, was our guide. He reviewed the project and declared my work to be gloomy and disappointing. He didn’t lend an ear to my difficulties in bringing together data base from multiple designers. I asked for a month’s time to complete the task, since I had to get the inputs from five of my colleagues without which I cannot complete the system design. Prof. Srinivasan told me “Look, young man, today is Friday afternoon. I give you three days time. If by Monday morning I don’t get the configuration design, your scholarship will be stopped.” I had a jolt in my life, as scholarship was my lifeline, without which I cannot continue with my studies. There was no other way out but to finish the task. My team felt the need for working together round the clock. We didn’t sleep that night, working on the drawing board skipping our dinner. On Saturday, I took just an hour’s break. On Sunday morning, I was near completion, when I felt someone’s presence in my laboratory. It was Prof. Srinivasan studying my progress. After looking at my work, he patted and hugged me affectionately. He had words of appreciation: “I knew I was putting you under stress and asking you to meet a difficult deadline. You have done great job in system design”.

 
Through this review mechanism Prof Srinivasan, really injected the necessity of understanding the value of time by each team member and brought out the best from the system design team. I realized that if something is at stake, the human minds get ignited and the working capacity gets enhanced manifold. That’s what exactly happened. This is one of the techniques of building talent. The message is that young in the organization, whatever be their specialization, be trained to systems approach and projects, which will prepare them for new products, innovation and undertaking higher organizational responsibilities. Teacher has to be a coach like Prof. Srinivasan.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Education for Persons with Disabilities in India- The Road Ahead

Disability is a lack of ability which may involve physical impairment such as sensory impairment, cognitive or intellectual impairment, mental disorder (also known as psychiatric or psychosocial disability), or various types of chronic disease. A disability may occur during a person’s lifetime or may be present from birth.

                Disability may be seen as resulting directly from individuals, in which case the focus is typically on aspects of those individuals and how they could function better. This view is associated with what is generally termed a medical model of disability. Alternatively, the interaction between people and their environment/society may be emphasized.

The United Nations uses a definition of disability as:

Impairment: Any loss of abnormality of psychological or anatomical structure or function.

Disability: Any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. 

Handicap: A disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or disability, that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal, depending on age, sex, social and cultural factors, for that individual. Handicap is therefore a function of the relationship between disabled persons and their environment. It occurs when they encounter cultural, physical or social barriers which prevent their access to the various systems of society that are available to other citizens. Thus, handicap is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the life of the community on an equal level with others.

Special Education in India-

Along with other parts of the world, India too, witnessed the emergence of Special schools for people with disabilities. The first school for the deaf was set up in Bombay in 1883 and the first school for the blind at Amritsar in 1887. There was rapid expansion in the number of such institutions. Presently, there are more than 4200 Special schools throughout India.

However, these Special schools have certain disadvantages which became evident as the number of these schools increased. These institutions are said to reach out to a very limited number of children, largely urban and they are not cost effective. But most important of all, these Special schools segregated CWSN from the mainstream, thus developing a specific disability culture.

Integrated Education

The emergence of the concept of integrated education in India during the mid 1950s was seen as a solution to these problems. Small experiments in this area were begun by the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind, and the Christopher Blind Mission. The Ministry of Education, too, launched a comprehensive scholarship scheme in 1952 — a rudimentary beginning of the integrated education initiative by the Government.

The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action (1992) gives the basic policy framework for education, emphasizing on correcting the existing inequalities.  It stresses on reducing dropout rates, improving learning achievements and expanding access to students who have not had an easy opportunity to be a part of the general system.  The NPE, 1986 envisaged some measures for integrating of children with physical and mental handicap with the general community as equal partners, preparing them for their normal growth and development and enabling them to face life with courage and confidence. 

India has also been a signatory to International declarations like the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (1994) and the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action (2002) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 that emphasize the need for fundamental educational policy shifts to enable general schools to include children with disabilities.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Education for the Disabled Children (revised 1992) is presently  being implemented in States and UTs in over 90,000 schools benefiting over 2,00,000 children with disabilities.  The scheme was introduced with a view to providing educational opportunities for children with disabilities in general schools, to facilitate their retention in the school system.  It provides for facilities to students with disabilities including expenses on books and stationery, expenses on uniforms, transport allowance, reader allowance, escort allowance, hostel accommodation and actual cost of equipment.  The scheme also supports the appointment of special teachers, provision for resource rooms and removal of architectural barriers in schools.

Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC)

Consequent on the success of International experiments in placing children with disabilities in regular schools, the Planning Commission, in 1971, included in its plan a programme for integrated education. The Government launched the IEDC scheme in December 1974. However, educational administrators have been slow in grasping the value of IE.

The aim of IEDC is-

• To provide educational opportunities to CWSN in regular schools,
• To facilitate their retention in the school system, and
• To place children from special schools in common schools.

The scope of the scheme includes pre-school training, counseling for the parents, and special training in skills for all kinds of disabilities. The scheme provides facilities in the form of books, stationery, uniforms, and allowances for transport, reader, escort etc.

In spite of all these facilities, IEDC met with limited success — only a little more than one lakh CWSN have been covered. However, it was successful in creating awareness on the importance of integrating CWSN in the mainstream of education, a fact noted in the National Policy on Education — 1986.

Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED)

In 1987 the Ministry of Human Resources Development, along with UNICEF launched another experiment: Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED) with which there was a shift in strategy, from a school based approach to a Composite Area Approach.

In this approach, a cluster, instead of the individual school approach is emphasized. A cluster, usually a block of population is taken as the project area. All the schools in the area are expected to enroll children with disabilities. Training programmes were also given to the teachers. This project was implemented in one administrative block each in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Mizoram, Delhi Municipal Corporation, and Baroda Municipal Corporation. The approach is an improvement over the special schools in many ways and appears to be the only way towards universalizing education of the disabled children. It is more cost effective and easier to organize, since existing school infrastructure is to be made use of.

Under PIED, there has been a significant increase in the number of not only mildly disabled, but also severely disabled children, with the number of orthopaedically handicapped children far outstripping other disabled children. All these perform at par with non - disabled children; in fact their retention rate is higher than that of non - disabled children and absenteeism is low. PIED has also had a positive impact on the attitudes of the teachers, the heads of schools, as well as parents and the community in general. Also, the interaction between the disabled and the non - disabled children is good.

Inclusive Education-

Another important paradigm shift in this area was initiated with the thinking that any difficulty that a child exhibited in learning was to be attributed not to a problem within the child, but to the school system. The organization and management of schools and the various programmes of teaching and interventions could also be one of the causes of children’s learning difficulties.

The new whole school policy is also referred to as the social or environmental model and rests on the theory that the child is a product of his/her experiences and the interventions the child has with various environments that impinge upon him/her. Thus to a great extent a child’s growth and development depends upon this.

Inclusive Education in DPEP-

This policy dictated the philosophy of inclusive education in DPEP. Moreover, DPEP also addressed core issues related to curriculum such as what factors limit the access of certain children to curriculum; what modifications are necessary to ensure fuller curriculum access. Thus, with its child - centered pedagogy, DPEP set a stage where children with special needs could be provided learning opportunities tailored to their needs.

IED was formally added in DPEP in 1997. By 1998, many DPEP states had conducted surveys, assessment camps and evolved strategies to provide resource support to those children with special needs who were enrolled in DPEP schools.

The IED guidelines in DPEP clearly mention that, “DPEP will fund interventions for IED of primary school going children with integrable and mild to moderate disabilities”. Towards this end DPEP supported:

• Community mobilization and early detection
• In - service teacher training
• Provision of resource support
• Provision of educational aids and appliances
• Removal of architectural barriers

IED was initially introduced in the states in a small way by taking one block/cluster as a pilot project in each DPEP district. From a few hundred blocks in 1998, IED is currently being implemented in 2014 blocks of 18 DPEP states. Ten states of Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Uttaranchal have upscaled the IED programme to all the blocks.

DPEP estimates clearly showed that there were a large number of disabled children in the relevant age group. Gradually realization dawned that UPE could not be achieved unless children with special needs were also brought under the ambit of primary education. This led to more concrete planning and strategisation of providing resource support and remedial assistance to children with special needs.

As the programme progressed many models of service delivery evolved with the sole aim of providing supportive learning environment to children with special needs. The thrust was on imparting quality education to all disabled children.

Constitutional and Legal Obligations and Policies at the International and National levels.

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
• UN Declaration on Education for All, 1990 (Jomtein Declaration)
• UN Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, 1993
• The Salamanca Declaration, 1994
• Article 45 and 93rd Amendment.
• National Policy on Education, 1986-
  “…Future emphasis shall be on distance and open learning systems to provide opportunities and access to all the major target groups, especially the disadvantaged, viz., women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the adult working class, and people serving in the far - flung remote areas.”
• Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, Passed by Parliament in 1992- This Act makes it mandatory for every special teacher to be registered by the council and lays down that every child with disability had the right to be taught by a qualified teacher. In fact it provided punishment for those teachers who engaged in teaching children with special needs without a license.
• Education Policy of Government of India, 1992 (Modified)

• Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995-A composite Act covering all aspects, it mainly deals with education and employment.
• National Trust Act (National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability), 1999

Being landmark legislation, this trust seeks to protect and promote the rights of persons who within the disability sector, have been even more marginalized than others. The salient features are:

1. First of its kind in the category of persons addressed
2. Recognition of range of independence in Skills, Daily Living and Financial Management
3. Protection - dominant, rather than autonomy - dominant
4. Local Level Committee - District Level Coverage
5. Decision making powers to Persons with Disabilities
6. Legal Guardianship - even for parents
7. Stake-holdership of Registered Organizations
8. Legality/ Responsibility linked to Bequests

Need for a responsive system-

The Census 2001 states that there are 2.19 crore persons with disabilities in India, constituting 2.13 per cent of the total population. However, this data is keenly disputed, with alternative estimates invariably much higher than the official ones. Compared to Indian statistics, the population of persons living with disability in India’s neighbours is

substantially higher: 5 per cent in China, 5 per cent in Nepal and 4.9 per cent in Pakistan. In the most developed countries this number raises to 18 per cent (Australia), 14.2 per cent (United Kingdom) and 9 per cent (the United States). One WHO report states that ten per cent of the entire world’s population live with disability (650 million) and that there are more people living with disability in India than in any other country. The tragedy is that the Census Commission failed to make any attempt to collect statistics on disability until 2001. The assumption is simple: no census, no statistics, and no problem. And now with a 2.13 per cent estimate in the 2001 census, the contentious status of figures for disability raises a fundamental obstacle to framing and implementing effective policies throughout India. The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 (PWDA) addresses the issue of education for children with disability as an ‘endeavor’ to promote their integration within mainstream schools. The focus is not on building the capacity of people living with disabilities, but rather on helping them cope within the existing mainstream Status of disability laws in India. India is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It is mandated for all countries that the substantive rights and principles of the Convention should reflect on the relevant laws of the land. The aim of this policy brief is to create awareness among parliamentarians, and also to promote and encourage them to respond proactively to the issues related to the disability sector in India today. This document seems to effectively inform and assist our representative bodies in working to secure the rights of people living with disabilities at the appropriate policy levels. In a country where terms like disabled, physically/mentally challenged, handicapped, impaired are used interchangeably to address or refer to a person with disability, it is difficult to protect and affirm the rights and entitlements of persons with disabilities in government policy and laws. This can be easily sighted in all three relevant laws, which are heavily loaded with terms such as ‘welfare’ and ‘endeavour’, and aim to implement all objectives only ‘within the economic capacity of state’. The principal reason for the inadequacies in existing policy can be attributed to the ambiguous approach of policy makers to disability. The existing law perceives a person with disability to have some sort of a ‘deficit‘, in need of social compensations from the government; Welfare based - people with disabilities are objects of state charity in need of medical treatment and social protection and Rights based - people with disabilities are citizens with rights, equally capable of claiming these rights and making autonomous decisions based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society. Participation of people with disabilities, prevention and early detection of the disabilities, employment, affirmative action, non discrimination, research and manpower, recognition of institutions for persons with severe disabilities, social security, etc. Here one clearly realizes that the ACT which is at the heart of all policies pertaining to persons with disabilities is itself conceptually flawed; to expect a Rights Based Policy from a Welfare Based Law is therefore misplaced. Of all people living with disability, 35.9 per cent belong to the 0 to 19 years age group, which in absolute terms amounts to 7 million young people. Across the subcontinent 90 per cent of India’s 36 million children with physical and mental disabilities aged between 4-16 years are out of school.

There is also no synchronization between the ambitious dreams of Education for All - Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) - drawn up by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, and the objective of integrated schooling outlined in the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. One more interesting case of social injustice through disability laws concerns people living with mental illness. The mental illness category has been officially recognized by the PWD Act. Yet, they are denied any employment quota: even free education is not accessible since mental illnesses are in most cases diagnosed after the age of 18, after which point free education is embargoed under PWDA. The definition of mental illness itself is loaded with concepts of illness and dysfunctionality more than functionality. The Mental Health Act, 1987, Out of school rates for CWD are high in all states and CWD account for a higher proportion of all out of school children as overall attendance rates increase. The Government of India has enacted three important legislations for persons with disabilities viz.

1. Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, which provides for education, employment, creation of a barrier free environment, social security, etc.

2. National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability Act, 1999 has provisions for legal guardianship and creation of an enabling environment that will allow as much independent living as is possible.

3. Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992 deals with the development of manpower for provision of rehabilitation services. India has also both signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It came into force on 3 May 2008, and makes it obligatory on the part of the government to synchronize laws or legal provisions with the terms of the Convention. However, by not signing the optional protocol India has managed to safeguard itself in case of not fulfilling the commitments made under CRPD. The general principles of the Convention are: recognition of inherent worth and dignity; individual autonomy and independence; non discrimination; full and equal participation; respect and acceptance of human diversity; equality of opportunity;

accessibility; equality for men and women, and respect for evolving the capacity of children with disabilities and their right to preserve their identities. Many of these principles appear in existing laws of disability, but the welfare based approach of the government presents major obstacles to all such concepts of empowerment. Besides the existing rights mentioned in the Acts, there are certain rights under the major themes of life and liberty rights, equality of respect and opportunity, right to association and social participation, right to political participation, right to health and double discrimination in relation to children and women in disability referred to in the CRPD but not appropriately

incorporated within Indian disability laws (Source: SRI survey, 2005).

Lack of disabled-friendly infrastructure and tardy approach towards an inclusive education system forces India’s disabled children stay out of school. A World Bank study points out that they are more vulnerable than those hailing from backward castes due to negative mindsets.

Only one percent of funds under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan are spent on inclusive education; employment of people with disability fell from 43% in 1991 to 38% in 2002 despite strong economic growth; and negative attitudes towards the disabled persist.

According to some of the recent findings of a new World Bank report on disability in India, a lot needs to be done for India’s 40-80 million persons with disability just to get them their basics rights. Low literacy, few jobs and widespread social stigma are making disabled people among the most excluded in India. At least one in 12 households includes a member with disability and children with disability are five times more likely to be out of school than Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) children, and if they stay in school they rarely progress beyond the primary level, leading ultimately to lower employment and incomes. Only around one percent of funds under the SSA are spent on inclusive education. And, the budget for educating children with mild to moderate disability in regular school settings has not increased commensurately since the focus on inclusive education began in the 1970s.Physical accessibility in buildings, transportation and services remain unavailable.

 Negative attitudes towards the disabled, even by their own families, deter disabled people from taking active part in the family, community or workforce. Those suffering from mental illness or mental retardation face the worst stigma and are subject to severe social exclusion.

The report finds that coordination between the Ministries of Human Resource Development and Social Justice and Empowerment, the Rehabilitation Council of India and the general teacher training system needs to be improved. Also, state-wise strategies on education for children with special needs have to be devised.

While the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has made a concerted effort to promote the inclusion of children with special needs, the system faces challenges in identifying these children and responding to their needs.

While the policy initiatives in India have helped in integrating the disabled children with the mainstream society, development with equity; still the country needs more concerted efforts in the area to make the system of education more responsive to the needs of the people and of course, more inclusive!!

Class room Notes Making

The note making is a very important aspect of teaching and classroom management. Most of the times students tend to talk if they are not making notes. The scientific way to make notes was developed by Cornell in 1949 and is very effective.

The note making is very important for concentration development, classroom management, recapitulation etc.

Here are some tips on how to achieve them. The questions based on LOTS and HOTS should also be marked with different colours. Using this shall surely enable students do well in class.

It explains how to take notes, what to do on right column or left column and summary at the bottom. Along with it I am posting level of questing handout. Use different highlighter colours to different levels. Study shows using colours help students to retain information better. Handouts are self explanatory.

Main Ideas/Questions	Notes/Details
What are Cornell Notes used for?  How do students set up Cornell Notes? How are Cornell Notes used as a study tool? What else can be in the left margin or notes section?	·        Can be used to take notes from the text or as they are given by the instructor ·        Can provide an outline for the lecture for students to fill ·        Can be a place to record movie notes or group discussions ·        Can identify the concept or term in the left margin based on its definition in the notes section ·        Can organize main ideas and sub-topics ·        Set up page with a margin and summary section ·        Write topic, date and information in notes section ·        Improve notes and left margin information by coloring or highlighting ·        After class, students formulate questions in the margin that correspond to information found in notes section ·        Students write a summary of what they learned to clarify and reinforce learning and to assist retention ·        Students review notes by covering notes column and answering questions in question column from memory ·        Can be used to get a quick overview and to determine whether students need more information or need to concentrate their study on specific topics ·        Diagrams, pictures, activities, problems, and concept map reviews
Summary: Cornell notes provide a way for students to record important information and reflect on that information multiple times. By writing questions, summarizing, coloring and highlighting, and reviewing the notes after class, students revisit key concepts several ways to better understand and internalize new material.

Level 1: Basic Input/Gathering Information

Count         Complete      Match             Name      Define        Observe        Scan               List               Describe     Select           Recite             Identify

Sample Questions

- What is…?                     

- How is…  ? 

- Where is…?                   

- How would you explain…?

- Why did….?                   

- How would you describe…?

- How would you show…? 

- Can you recall…?

- Can you select…?           

-Can you list …?

- Can you describe…?

  Level 2: Processing Information

Compare                     Contrast            Sort               Distinguish                  Explain              Why

Sequence                    Infer                  Analyze          Synthesize                  Make                  Analogies

Sample Questions

- How would you classify …?             

- What inference can you make?

- How would you compare…? 

- Contrast…?      

- Interpret in your own words….?

- Which statements support…?                       

- Can you explain what is happening..? 

- what is meant…?

- How would you summarize…?         

- How would you rephrase the meaning?

- What facts or ideas show…?           

- What is the relationship between…?

Level 3: Creating Your Own Ideas

Evaluate               Generalize    Imagine                Predict                                 

If/Then                 Speculate             

Hypothesize          Forecast                   Idealize                 Apply the Principle

Sample Questions

- What would happen if…?                                 

- Can you think of an original way for the…?

- What way would you design…?      

- What facts can you compile…?

- Can you predict the outcome if…?

- What facts can you compile…?

- Can you construct a model that would change…?

- Can you think of an original way for the…?

- Can you construct a model that would …?

Why do my students question me?'

Almost all teachers come across a student, student personality type or even whole nationality or age group that meet their grammatical explanations, suggestions for self-study or ideas on how much error correction they need with a sceptical look or even a “That’s not right”. With other types of people the fact that they do just as they are told or agree with everything you say could just as easily be hiding the same attitude. By looking at some of the reasons why these feelings of doubt can exist and/ or be expressed, I hope also to show how teachers can cope with this issue through changing their approach, showing the students what they want to see, or simply getting a sense of perspective. In terms of getting a sense of perspective, I should also point out that teachers usually get the benefit of the doubt rather than doubt every time they step to the front of the class, and this article is strictly about dealing with the few problem students or few problem situations that can come up. Another general point worth making is that the teacher does not have to be the source of all the solutions to these problems, and with things like showing students how much experience you have got the school can easily play their part in sending your CV to the HR department of in company classes or advertising the general minimum standards of all their teachers.

Reasons why students might doubt their English teacher

1.        They’ve caught you out before

You might think that a student catching you out on something is only a sign that you are human, but to some students teachers aren’t supposed to be only human! This attitude could come from having an infallible teacher before, or from having one who seemed infallible by never taking student questions, only saying what they had prepared and/ or giving wrong explanations with a totally confident attitude. Alternatively, they might only need one mistake from you to confirm one of the prejudices mentioned below. You can avoid or at least delay these problems by: checking everything you are going to do with dictionaries, grammar books and the teachers’ book; preparing what you are going to write on the board before the lesson; taking student questions right at the end of the class and answering them next week when you have had a chance to look them up; and showing off you knowledge of the things you do know very well. By the time you do eventually slip up, you should have gained their trust sufficiently that they will forgive you. If not, you can try to limit the damage by saying that is one thing that you have particular problems with and have always been better at grammar/ punctuation/ knowledge of English literature.

2.        They trust their previous teacher, who taught them something wrong

Some possible reasons why they trusted their teacher more than they trust you are given above and below, but it could also be that they just need time to get to know you. That being the case, you could just tell them you insist, leave it alone for a while and come back to it later in the course. Alternatively, you could tell them or show them statements from books, website or other teachers who support you. You could also try and find a nice way of explaining why the previous person had a different idea, like “That is a little old fashioned now” or “British English has become more like American English and less like what he/ she said nowadays”. These approaches also work if they trust the previous teacher’s explanation because it is easier to understand or fits in with their own misconceptions about grammar etc.

3.        They think you are too young

Lying about or not mentioning your age is an option, as is clothes, facial hair and hairstyles to make you look older. Alternatively, you could try and partly make up for it by making sure they know your qualifications, marital status, number of foreign languages spoken, number of years living abroad, famous companies worked for and/ or teaching experience. The secret then is to slip that information into a normal class format without it seeming like you are making a point of doing it.

4.        They only trust qualifications/ they don‘t think you are well enough qualified

This could be due to cultural misunderstandings, e.g. not realising that a 3 year British degree is a full degree or not understanding what a Diploma in TEFL is (even many native speakers don’t!). There are lessons in textbooks on education systems in different countries where you could try and slip in this information if you can. Alternatively, they may be right that you have far fewer qualifications than a school teacher in their own country’s school system would need. You could mention having taught in state schools in your own or other countries, or qualifications you have that mean you could do so. If you can do it really carefully, you could also tease out any negative feelings students have about their country’s education system, despite all the great qualifications the teachers have…

5.        They only trust experience/ they don‘t think you‘ve been teaching long enough

First of all, never tell paying students they are your first class since you qualified to teach. Although they might think that is cute when you tell them and be supportive, anything they don’t agree with in your classes will end up being your fault rather than theirs. If they ask you, you could try including your training period as part of your teaching experience and slipping in anything else that might make up for it such as studying English as university or studying foreign languages. You could also try comparing yourself to others (in a non-defensive way), for example by pointing out that their last teacher was in the same position when they started teaching them as well.

6.        They only trust native speakers

Although like all of these this is a problem that occurs much less than, for example, students not understand grammar explanations, some of the times when it can occurs can be totally unjustified ones like beginners whose non-native teacher is seven levels above them or even native speakers whose ethnicity makes their students doubt them. This is a notoriously tricky one, but people who get this reaction could use CDs with native speaker voices for all modelling of language, provide lots of correction, and try to show the advantages of being non-native such as having had to learn the language yourself. Lessons on “multiethnic Britain”, “English as an International Language” etc. can be very difficult to get students interested in, but can serve a purpose in tackling this misconception if done well.

7.        They have a bad impression of native speaker teachers

Again, most native speakers actually get away with far more than they should rather than being doubted, but as more students have previous experience of unqualified native speaker teachers and the local press pick up on this for genuine or nationalistic reasons, these feelings have become slightly more common over the years. The solution is again having the qualifications and experience that they would expect from a non-native speaker, keeping your mistakes low through preparation, showing off what you do know, and showing an effort to learn the students’ language and culture.

8.        They have problems with your gender

Although men of certain cultures and personality types not listening to women in the classroom gets the most publicity, romantic or family history can also produce arguments the other way round. I would love to be able to offer a solution to this in a few lines, but I am afraid this one stumps me!

9.        They only trust books or other media

The most annoying example of this is when students trust a 20 year old dictionary or electronic dictionary with single word translations against you. The only solution here is to battle them with a thicker and more impressive book, either by taking it into every class and showing that one student or everyone the relevant page, just mentioning what book or how many books you have seen what you are saying in, or bringing photocopies of information supporting what you were saying in the previous lesson into every class until they give up questioning you. Alternatively, if you have been published they might be suitably impressed that all your future statements are accepted as the written word.

10.    They can‘t accept alternatives

Some students have problems accepting that “Present Continuous” and “Present Progressive” or “Have a bath” and “Take a bath” are both equally valid and want to be told which one is better. Refusing to do so could occasionally lead to you losing their trust. If you really can’t bear to say something is better when it isn’t, saying “In my school we learnt…”, “Where I come from/ in my family we usually say…” or even “I personally prefer/ usually use…” are all fine, as students are usually only listening for the last part anyway.

11.    They can’t accept “It depends”

This problem (e.g. students wanting to be told that “If I was you” is wrong, not just that it is less formal) and the solutions are similar to the problem above.

12.    They can‘t accept that there is no explanation/ that it is just coincidence

Again, this situation is rare, but it can happen that students come up with difficult or random questions like “Why do ‘there’ and ‘their’ have the same pronunciation and different spelling?” and will only put up with so many brushings off. Like the two problems above, if you have a particular hatred of folk etymologies and “native speaker intuition” you can probably get away with starting all your explanations with hedging language such as “Some people believe that…”, “I once heard someone claim that…” or “The only possible explanation I can think of is…” as long as some kind of explanation follows.

13.    Their own language is more prescriptive

This is one of the most common cultural disagreements and/ or misunderstandings in the EFL classroom. While even the most “grammar Nazi” of teachers who screams every time they see a misplaced apostrophe in an English greengrocers must accept a descriptive view of grammar if they want to pass their MA, a student whose country has a Royal Academy who decides what is right in their language or has an education system that teaches them that dialects and other variations in speech are not acceptable anywhere but the home (if there) is unlikely to ever agree. First of all, you will need to know what the prescriptive rules of English grammar are, however little based in reality they are. You will then be able to give students explanations like “Some grammar books say…, but most native speakers say…” or “Your university professor might pick you up on it if you write…, but in business correspondence it is perfectly acceptable”.

14.    They‘ve taken your self-depreciating jokes seriously

Either due to more cultural differences or due to them looking out for any weakness for reasons written in other points here, there may be some students who will not see the funny side to having an English teacher who says “Silly me, I always make silly spelling mistakes like that”. Alternatively, they might be charmed by your Mr Bean sense of humour; you’ll just have to work that one out as you go along…

15.    It‘s due to a different tension

Although one of the other points here might be the trigger, it could be that the main reason the student is arguing with you not only has nothing to do with the grammar point at hand but also little to do with the teacher. Even more than completely unconnected problems in their personal life, tensions in the school but outside the classroom like problems with their host family or school admin can often cause tension in the classroom. If that is what you suspect, try talking to the admin staff in the school and/ or having tutorials with the students in which you mainly talk about their studies and then slip in some other questions about what they think about the school. Alternatively, you could tackle the topic of what you think the problem is connected to in a thematic class, e.g. host family rules for modals of obligation

16.    They are used to being deferred to/ listened to

For example, maybe the student works as a teacher and can’t switch off when they come to your class. In a communicative classroom you should be giving students a chance to give their own ideas during grammar work anyway, and then make your own explanation something that fills in the gaps or adds something to what the loudest student had to say. You could also try and get having their say out of their system before that stage by having a formal presentation or other whole class discussion which they can dominate for a couple of minutes.

17.    They just like arguing

Due to their culture or personality, arguing with their teacher might not be a sign of something bad at all, but simply a way of them thinking through their ideas or showing that they feel relaxed and at home. If so, just make sure that everyone gets involved and that it doesn’t carry on past its useful length.

18.    It‘s a wind up

It could be that students just enjoy trying to catch you out, and maybe not even in a malicious way. And if you remind them of their little brother at all, driving you to distraction with their pointless arguments might also appeal. The best approach seems to be just to laugh along with them.

19.    They want to catch you out because you are never wrong

Another less than productive but perfectly natural human feeling that could come out in the classroom is wanting to catch a smarty-pants (= you) out. If you don’t want to lose your grammar invincibility, you can give students this satisfaction by letting them test you on something else such as your world knowledge.

20.    It‘s revenge

Them trying to find fault with you could be revenge for you correcting them, knowing more about their country than they do, or just because of general jealousy for what they see as a nice lifestyle only (?) teaching 25 hours a week and living in a foreign country permanently on holiday (?).

21.    They really do know more than you

Hopefully I have not given the impression in any of the points above that the aim of classroom interactions is to make students accept everything you say and never speak back. Quite often you will find that you were wrong or at least did not explain yourself very well, and when you are not in a combative situation with students there is nothing wrong in admitting to them and/ or yourself that you were wrong and finding out better information before next time. You can also anticipate this by studying things that students often know more about than teachers, such as grammatical jargon, old fashioned and formal written language and prescriptive grammar rules.