Around Town

happenings here and there

balle balle: Danseuse Dona Ganguly judged the choreography competition at Iempact, the Institute of Engineering & Management fest, held in association with The Telegraph, at Nazrul Mancha on Thursday. Pictures by Aranya Sen

 

Conflict conclave

nThe first-year students of our human rights department were invited to Delhi for a three-day seminar on Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia. The director of the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Radha Kumar, introduced us to the subject.

Mike O? Brien from the International Community of the Red Cross, Prof A.R. Vijapur of the Ford Foundation of Dalit Studies and Nayena Bose from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees interacted with us. We learnt about issues varying from the role played by multi-lateral institutions in conflict resolution to humanitarian agencies in conflict, and also about music in inter-cultural exchange. The importance of world views in conflict transformation and the difficulties faced by social workers in remote and sensitive areas were also discussed in detail along with examples.

Mariya Salim,

1st yr political science (hons), Loreto College

 

Numbers know-how

nSchool mathematics is a subject most students dread. What is needed is the right ambience to learn the subject. Relating math to real life through various activities would help to interest the children. With this aim, the Central Board of Secondary Education is encouraging setting up of mathematics laboratories in schools.

One such laboratory was set up on 700 sq ft of space in Birla High School, conforming to the layout and design suggested by the Board. At present, classes VI to IX are using the lab, while Class X will have access to it later this year. The lab can accommodate 40 students at a time and is equipped with a white board, four computers, a combo apparatus containing LCD projector, CD writer and learning kits ordered from Ramanujam Museum, Chennai.

The students who used to fear math class earlier now breathe a sigh of relief in the laboratory, building models based on the fundamental rules of numbers.

For the past year, the math lab has also been a favourite haunt of the members of the school math club, which serves as a confidence-building platform to showcase fascinating facts about the subject and encourage the children to inculcate a positive attitude and aptitude for it.

 

Tips for teachers

nBefore the commencement of the new academic session, The Heritage School organised extensive workshops for its teachers at various levels. The sessions were conducted by Vikramshila Education Resource Society, in collaboration with Wipro Applying Thought in Schools.

The programme focused on the issues of learning difficulties and learning disabilities amongst students that are a cause of concern. It is estimated that nearly 10 per cent of school-goers experience some form of learning difficulty which gets aggravated as they grow up.

Providing tips on class management techniques and handling of different students in the same classroom, the sessions helped teachers better understand their attitude towards assessing children appropriately.

Separate workshops on improving reading, writing and pronunciation skills of the students were also held.