From the Principal’s Desk ………

14^th April, 2010,

The hot topic for this year has to be Mr. Kapil Sibal and his reforms.  As an educationist I am pleased with

• the right to education for all children.
• that the exams after Std.10 are on the way out (CBSE has already declared so, others will follow suit sooner or later).
• Children may not be failed – so the trauma at the end of the year (called Final Exam) will soon come to an end.
• Mr. Sibal has also announced that he is going to act against all the coaching classes which have mushroomed. Hopefully that will bring some sanity back to our society.

I sit back and see all my efforts bearing fruit. We were always on the right path – just a little ahead of time. We are a “thinking school” and I am happy to see that our country is dotted with such schools that are thinking ahead and charting new paths. Our ideas may not be revolutionary or earth shattering. But it is a great challenge putting ideas in to action!

The Vidya Valley Calendar: The 2-week Unit

Last year we implemented a new calendar based on a two week cycle. Our experiment was a success. Teachers and children are both happy. Because of the greater efficiency, we quickly recovered from the time lost due to swine flu.

Next year we will build on this learning. We will continue to question what we do and look for better and better ways to make schooling more efficient and more effective.

Shift from ‘Knowledge’ to ‘Skills’:

Traditionally we have been purveyors of ‘knowledge’. Now we need to teach skills: life skills, problem-solving skills, maths skills, science skills, arts and music skills. How does SKILL differ from knowledge? Skill is the application of knowledge to solve problems, the ability to put our knowledge to use.

We have already begun to make this transition with the Cambridge ESOL exams which were taken by Std 2 to Std 6. Children were tested on reading and comprehension, listening skills and speaking skills. Our teachers were trained on imparting these skills. Next year all our teachers who teach English and who teach through English will undergo training in English language skills. They will appear for tests conducted by Cambridge in September (Teaching Knowledge Tests).

These new methodologies are being incorporated into our teaching methods for all subjects. You can see the difference in our teaching of history, geography and the sciences. Children are making many more projects and presentations to their teachers and their peers.

Our methods of assessment are also evolving. Don’t look for answers in the text books. Start looking for them in the children’s minds. Forget the “Who” and the “What”. Start asking “WHY” and “HOW”. Sounds easy, but making it work is not so easy. As a society we have become used to spoon-feeding and rote-learning. Now we need to change and at Vidya Valley we are already changing.

Bus Services:

Our old buses may be noisy but they have proved themselves reliable and consistent. Now it is time for those old ladies to retire and take a well deserved rest.

We have contracted with a firm called Renuka Bus Services to provide us a fleet of new buses. They will provide the buses and maintain them. Nearly all the vehicles will be new. The present drivers and attendants will continue as usual. They know your children and they care for them. That is extremely important.

Std 11 – ISC

We will be starting our first batch of ISC (Standard 11) from June this year. Predominantly we will admit our own children. We will consider children from other ICSE schools, provided we are convinced that there will not be any issues on discipline. The first batch will all be taking Math & Science though we were prepared to offer Business and Arts courses also. The details will be posted on our website for interested parents.

SUPW  (Socially useful productive work)

The ICSE Board wants schools to focus on students’ involvement in Social work. This is also my own desire and the curriculum next year will reflect this. Students of Std 8, 9 & 10 will need to put in at least 20 hours of social work per year. They will be evaluated on the quality of the work (not on fulfilling hours). I am sure parents will be cheering us on because I know that many, many Vidya Valley parents are extremely conscious of our social responsibilities and they wish their children to imbibe the same values. I will be looking for some parents who will be committed to help us drive this program next year.

Classes in Performing Arts

This year many children have stayed back after 2:40 for an hour of music or art with our teachers. That was the good part.

Next year we will add consistency to enthusiasm and ensure that children are learning effectively. Our teachers will be encouraged to run classes at the school. Parents will have the option to pay and enroll the child for the class. At this point we can manage Tabla (Kathak & Bharat-Natyam), Dance, Guitar, Synthesizer and Indian Vocals. Parents, the ball is in your court now!

Tutorials

I see children running from pillar to post seeking tuition. I understand that many of you feel that the child needs to put in practice time (specially maths) under the guidance of some teacher. In the next year we are planning to increase our focus on worksheets and practice problems that children must do as part of their school work. I hope that there will be some children who will not have the need to run for tuition.

For the other children we will offer extra TUTORIAL classes. A tutorial class will be a small group with a teacher in-charge. These will be practice sessions, not teaching. We have time available till 5:30 pm. and buses to drop children. We will plan the details in consultation with interested parents.

I wish to emphasize that at Vidya Valley we spend many hours every week in reviewing what we teach and how we teach. Teachers consult each other and are reviewed by each other. On the other hand, tution classes do not spend even a minute reviewing their work or your child. Peer pressure thrusts children into these classes. What is it that makes you rush to these classes?

Most children don’t need extra teaching. They need a fixed schedule and their parents presence to ensure that the schedule is adhered to.

At school we can see the detrimental effect on your children as their spirits and stamina sag. Are you parents really unaware of it?

Games Uniform

We will be introducing vests for boys (in house colours) for playing. They will change into their T-Shirts after games. Hopefully that will result in less odorous classes!

We will also have better quality (and more flexible) shorts for boys in a new design. The samples will be displayed when you come here for Report Cards on 23^rd.

I am off for a vacation to meet my son in New York and then a short conference in the UK at Cambridge. I will be back in the last week of May at school with a fresh mind and lots of stamina!

Have fun and take care.

Nalini Sengupta