assetscope december 2012
DESCRIPTION
A monthly newsletter for schoolsTRANSCRIPT
We’ve Got Skills!
This Month’sIssue
Teaching Social ...............
Children’s Day ................
Accidental Inventions .....
Year Planner ...................
Thoughtful Story ............
Book Review ..................
Teacher’s Bite .................
Anecdotes Relating ........
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Teaching Social Skills in Schools
We live in a competitive world and being initiating interactions and sharing both by or let her class decide which skill they globally connected, we need to project methods and in classroom would need to work on first. understand and experience diverse situations. Inter-personal skills are Depending upon time and resources, cultures. We would need to determine sometimes also referred to as people the teacher might have to work on a whether every child is ready to skills or communication skills. Active different skill each week, highlighting contribute in a competitive and listening, response, delegation and these on the bulletin board.interconnected world, in our current leadership are core components of inter- 3. It is not enough to say, “Be nice!” A education system. personal skills. Some others are active teacher has to help students identify
listening, praising, staying on tasks, Experts feel that the focus on the mastery exactly what they need to do and say helping others, etc. of core subjects has to be supplemented in order to improve the identified
with relevant social and life skills such as: social skill. The teacher can make a effective communication, collaboration laminated poster for her bulletin and team building, creativity and board and write the social skills in the innovations. Social skills are critical for box at the top. Then the teacher survival in today’s world. They are a should ask students to talk about their combination of the ability to understand possible actions and when they would and manage one’s own emotional state as need to demonstrate these skills. well as understand and respond to other 4. After the discussion on the nature of people. the skills and how they can be Students need to know how to manage demonstrated, she should provide an oneself by identifying emotions and opportunity to practise these skills, scenarios, and developing ways to deal through cooperative learning Steps to Teach Social Skills:with personal emotional states. activities. 1. A teacher first needs to demonstrate Interpersonal Social Skills: 5. At the end of the activity, the teacher through videos or stories, a few
should get the class to reflect on how examples/case studies, highlighting As said earlier, the ability to understand well the social skills were used. the sufferings of individuals lacking others’ emotional states, wants and
social skills. She could get students to needs is critical not only for success in brainstorm lists of social skills and school, but also in life, as life demands guide them on how to acquire these. constant interaction with diverse people
across cultures, both at personal and 2. While teaching social skills, it is best to professional levels. focus on just one skill at a time. A
teacher can choose the skill by herself Teachers can use tools like team building,
T h e m o n t h l y n e w s l e t t e r
Issue 88 | December 2012 | www.ei-india.com
By Jitu Mishra, Educational Specialist, EI
Accidental Inventions
invented food: the potato chip was born waiting for! His vulcanized rubber is used when cook George Crum (yes, really his in everything from tires, to shoes, to name!) tried to silence a fussy customer hockey pucks (Meaning of ‘puck’ - a who kept sending French fries back to the vulcanized rubber disk 3 inches in kitchen for being soggy; Popsicles were diameter that is used instead of a ball in invented when Frank Epperson left a ice hockey).drink outside in the cold overnight; and ice cream cones were invented at the 1904 World Fair in St. Louis.
Saccharin But no food-invention has had as much success as Coke.Saccharin, the sweetener in the pink
packet, was discovered because chemist Atlanta Pharmacist John Pemberton was Constantin Fahlberg didn't wash his trying to make a cure for headaches. He hands after a day at the office. mixed together a bunch of ingredients.
The recipe is still a closely guarded Prepare to get icked.secret. It only took eight years of being RadioactivityThe year was 1879 and Fahlberg was sold in a drug store before the drink was
trying to come up with new and Two words that you don't ever want to popular enough to be sold in bottles.interesting uses for coal tar. After a hear said in the same sentence are productive day at the office, he went "Whoops!" and "radioactive." But in the home and something strange happened. case of physicist Henri Becquerel's
surprise discovery, it was an accident that He noticed the rolls he was eating tasted brought radioactivity to light.particularly sweet. He asked his wife if
she had done anything interesting to the Back in 1896 Becquerel was fascinated by rolls, but she hadn't. They tasted normal two things: natural fluorescence and the to her. Fahlberg realized the taste must newfangled X-ray. He ran a series of have been coming from his hands -- experiments to see if natural ly which he hadn't washed. fluorescent minerals produced X-rays
Vulcanized Rubber after they had been left out in the sun.The next day he went back to the lab and started tasting his work until he found the Charles Goodyear had been waiting One problem - he was doing these sweet spot. years for a happy accident when it finally experiments in the winter, and there was
occurred. one week with a long stretch of overcast skies. He left his equipment wrapped up
Goodyear spent a decade finding ways to together in a drawer and waited for a
make rubber easier to work with while sunny day.
being resistant to heat and cold.When he got back to work, Becquerel
Nothing was having the effect he wanted.realized that the uranium rock he had left
One day he spilled a mixture of rubber, in the drawer had imprinted itself on a sulfur and lead onto a hot stove. The heat photographic plate without being charred the mixture, but didn't ruin it. exposed to sunlight first. There was When Goodyear picked up the accident, something very special about that rock. he noticed that the mixture had hardened Working with Marie and Pierre Curie, he
COKE but was still quite usable. discovered that something was radioactivity.There are many stories of accidentally At last! The breakthrough he had been
Children’s Day is a Day for Children to Engage in Fun and Frolic
At Rani Meyyammai Matriculation School, Puliyur, the class rooms were beautifully decorated with flowers and balloons, to make the children feel special. The celebration started with our KG kids planting saplings. The function was presided by our Principal. The students of KG had a Fancy dress competition, which showcased the innate talents of the kids. The best part about Children’s Day is that children didn't wear their regular uniforms to school. Instead they put on their best colourful dresses. In the Primary and Middle sections, various competitions were organized for all classes. The children expressed their creativity and skills. Almost all the teachers were the participants in variety entertainment programs. They celebrated the children’s Day by engaging in various plays, Kathakalashebam, music (songs) mimicry, anthakshari, and fancy dresses with social messages. The teachers disguised themselves as children and presented various programs for their beloved children. Children’s Day is all about respecting and honouring children who are considered to be the future leaders of the nation. Teachers recalled their childhood day while they participated with great zeal. The day was full of fun and relaxation for children.
The Best Librarian in India
A will to serve combined with a sense of social justice has been others, Super Star Rajinikanth adopted him as his father.the guiding principle of P. Kalyanasundaram, who has spent
The Union Government has acclaimed him as ‘The Best over 45 years in social service. A Gold Medallist in library
Librarian in India'. He has also been chosen as ‘one of the top Science, he is also an MA in Literature and History. During his
ten librarians of the world'. The International Biographical 35-year-career as a librarian at the Kumarkurupara Arts
Centre, Cambridge, has honoured him as ‘one of the noblest of College at Srivaikuntam in Tuticorin district, he gave away all his
the world’, while the United Nations Organisation adjudged salary for charity and did odd jobs to meet his daily needs. He
him as one of the Outstanding People of the 20th Century’. An has also come forward to donate his body and eyes to the
American organisation has also selected him as the ‘Man of the Tirunelveli Medical College. Moved by his passion to help
Millennium.'
Source: The Hindu
Source: http://science.discovery.com
By: Co-ordinators, Rani Meyyammai Matriculation School, Puliyur
Join India's First
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Accidental Inventions
invented food: the potato chip was born waiting for! His vulcanized rubber is used when cook George Crum (yes, really his in everything from tires, to shoes, to name!) tried to silence a fussy customer hockey pucks (Meaning of ‘puck’ - a who kept sending French fries back to the vulcanized rubber disk 3 inches in kitchen for being soggy; Popsicles were diameter that is used instead of a ball in invented when Frank Epperson left a ice hockey).drink outside in the cold overnight; and ice cream cones were invented at the 1904 World Fair in St. Louis.
Saccharin But no food-invention has had as much success as Coke.Saccharin, the sweetener in the pink
packet, was discovered because chemist Atlanta Pharmacist John Pemberton was Constantin Fahlberg didn't wash his trying to make a cure for headaches. He hands after a day at the office. mixed together a bunch of ingredients.
The recipe is still a closely guarded Prepare to get icked.secret. It only took eight years of being RadioactivityThe year was 1879 and Fahlberg was sold in a drug store before the drink was
trying to come up with new and Two words that you don't ever want to popular enough to be sold in bottles.interesting uses for coal tar. After a hear said in the same sentence are productive day at the office, he went "Whoops!" and "radioactive." But in the home and something strange happened. case of physicist Henri Becquerel's
surprise discovery, it was an accident that He noticed the rolls he was eating tasted brought radioactivity to light.particularly sweet. He asked his wife if
she had done anything interesting to the Back in 1896 Becquerel was fascinated by rolls, but she hadn't. They tasted normal two things: natural fluorescence and the to her. Fahlberg realized the taste must newfangled X-ray. He ran a series of have been coming from his hands -- experiments to see if natural ly which he hadn't washed. fluorescent minerals produced X-rays
Vulcanized Rubber after they had been left out in the sun.The next day he went back to the lab and started tasting his work until he found the Charles Goodyear had been waiting One problem - he was doing these sweet spot. years for a happy accident when it finally experiments in the winter, and there was
occurred. one week with a long stretch of overcast skies. He left his equipment wrapped up
Goodyear spent a decade finding ways to together in a drawer and waited for a
make rubber easier to work with while sunny day.
being resistant to heat and cold.When he got back to work, Becquerel
Nothing was having the effect he wanted.realized that the uranium rock he had left
One day he spilled a mixture of rubber, in the drawer had imprinted itself on a sulfur and lead onto a hot stove. The heat photographic plate without being charred the mixture, but didn't ruin it. exposed to sunlight first. There was When Goodyear picked up the accident, something very special about that rock. he noticed that the mixture had hardened Working with Marie and Pierre Curie, he
COKE but was still quite usable. discovered that something was radioactivity.There are many stories of accidentally At last! The breakthrough he had been
Children’s Day is a Day for Children to Engage in Fun and Frolic
At Rani Meyyammai Matriculation School, Puliyur, the class rooms were beautifully decorated with flowers and balloons, to make the children feel special. The celebration started with our KG kids planting saplings. The function was presided by our Principal. The students of KG had a Fancy dress competition, which showcased the innate talents of the kids. The best part about Children’s Day is that children didn't wear their regular uniforms to school. Instead they put on their best colourful dresses. In the Primary and Middle sections, various competitions were organized for all classes. The children expressed their creativity and skills. Almost all the teachers were the participants in variety entertainment programs. They celebrated the children’s Day by engaging in various plays, Kathakalashebam, music (songs) mimicry, anthakshari, and fancy dresses with social messages. The teachers disguised themselves as children and presented various programs for their beloved children. Children’s Day is all about respecting and honouring children who are considered to be the future leaders of the nation. Teachers recalled their childhood day while they participated with great zeal. The day was full of fun and relaxation for children.
The Best Librarian in India
A will to serve combined with a sense of social justice has been others, Super Star Rajinikanth adopted him as his father.the guiding principle of P. Kalyanasundaram, who has spent
The Union Government has acclaimed him as ‘The Best over 45 years in social service. A Gold Medallist in library
Librarian in India'. He has also been chosen as ‘one of the top Science, he is also an MA in Literature and History. During his
ten librarians of the world'. The International Biographical 35-year-career as a librarian at the Kumarkurupara Arts
Centre, Cambridge, has honoured him as ‘one of the noblest of College at Srivaikuntam in Tuticorin district, he gave away all his
the world’, while the United Nations Organisation adjudged salary for charity and did odd jobs to meet his daily needs. He
him as one of the Outstanding People of the 20th Century’. An has also come forward to donate his body and eyes to the
American organisation has also selected him as the ‘Man of the Tirunelveli Medical College. Moved by his passion to help
Millennium.'
Source: The Hindu
Source: http://science.discovery.com
By: Co-ordinators, Rani Meyyammai Matriculation School, Puliyur
Join India's First
Social Networking site
for students
www.assetambassador.com
YEAR PLANNER 2013
‘A WORLD WHERE CHILDREN EVERYWHERE ARE LEARNING WITH UNDERSTANDING’
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ASSET
Test Dates
August5th - 9th
SUMMER ROUND
ASSET
Test Dates
December2nd - 6th
WINTER ROUND
YEAR PLANNER 2013
‘A WORLD WHERE CHILDREN EVERYWHERE ARE LEARNING WITH UNDERSTANDING’
JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER
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ASSET
Test Dates
August5th - 9th
SUMMER ROUND
ASSET
Test Dates
December2nd - 6th
WINTER ROUND
Thoughtful Story
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around the cocoon.with a swollen body and shriveled wings.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If It never was able to fly.God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the have been.butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of
And we could never fly.forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from
BENEFITS OF STRUGGLING
Teacher’s Bite
to be calmly and gently taught rules and manners repeatedly till it becomes a way of life.
Each teacher has to handle classroom management on her / his own. The best way to handle a class is to make it interesting and filled with exciting work for the children to DO. Teachers have to lay down parameters of behaviour expected in their classrooms and then ensure that they are adhered to without
Who has most influenced you to become an the atmosphere becoming threatening. The final aim is to get educator, and how did they influence you? the children to LEARN, not to remain still and silent, isn’t it? But
the class has to be calm enough to ensure that no child is In all honesty, I cannot think of any individual teacher disturbed or prevented from learning.who influenced me to become a teacher / educator. However, I
enjoyed my school days in a well-known boarding school of What are your views regarding the 'Importance India and felt that there was immense potential in this job for of Teacher Training and Development' in being able to make life interesting and educative for young educating Students?people. I began life as a teacher rather tentatively but then
This is the most important and essential aspect of education. found that my students responded so enthusiastically and We know very little when we embark as new young teachers in marvelously that they gave immense meaning to my work. I a real classroom, no matter which degree or qualification we think my students influenced me to make a career and a ‘calling’ may have obtained. When we are required to transact a out of a mere job and to keep enjoying it. The challenge of curriculum to a very varied student population, the challenges making oneself grow is also very appealing as there is new begin to emerge and they keep emerging throughout one’s learning emerging every day and makes work exciting.teaching life. So it is essential to keep learning more about one’s
What is your approach to classroom subject and about one’s work – how to do it better and better- management and student discipline? right through one’s working life. I cannot stress on this strongly
enough!Essentially, each teacher and each pupil should know what the school stands for and the ethos of the school will What is your view regarding the ASSET Test?begin to determine the actions and decisions of the school
The ASSET test has made a difference to the quality of community. There should be a written school code and rules teaching in our school. It is a great example of ‘valid which should be clearly communicated to everyone – teachers,
assessment’. Many tests and examinations which are carried students and parents. The rules should be fair and friendly but out in India now – even by boards of education – do not really firm enough to ensure a well-mannered community life of the test what students have understood. ASSET tests do that. The school. Finally, they must be followed by everyone and must be critical aspect of providing feedback to teachers on what their upheld. I am completely opposed to corporal punishment. I students have not learnt or understood correctly is the best actually believe that if the teacher is screaming or hitting, feature of the ASSET tests.students has already lost the battle and cannot be called an
educator. A school should not require ‘policing’. Children have
Q:
Ms. Jyotsna Brar,Principal,Welham Girls’ School,Dehradun
Q:
Q:
News Bite
On the lines of Aadhaar number of the Unique Identification December.Authority of India (UDAI), the government has decided to
As part of the drive, every student’s photograph, thumb provide permanent identification numbers to all students from
impression, date of birth, blood group, birthplace, details of class I to class X to check the dropout rate and ensure the
parents and address would be collected.enforcement of Right to Education (RTE) Act in all schools in the State. The details of each student would be uploaded on the
Education Department’s website before issuing the students’ A decision has been taken to fill 4,000 posts for teachers in the
permanent identity numbers. Any government department government primary schools.
can access the details of the students.The Minister for Primary and Secondary Education,
The main objective of the unique code is to track the progress Visweshwara Hegde Kageri said that preparations have been
made by students, check dropouts, and misuse of government made to issue 16 digit numbers to students of all government
schemes such as distribution of free textbooks and uniforms. It aided and unaided schools.
would help avoid duplication in admission of students, the The unique code numbers have been given to some students Minister said.and the process is expected to be completed by the end of
Permanent Identity Numbers for Students in Classes 1 to 10 in Karnataka
Q:
Book Review
The Mahabharata is India’s greatest epic which tells us an ancient tale of war, kingship, honour and revenge.
However, the massive cast of characters portrayed in orthodox literature may not be viewed with the same respect by children. This is established through Samhita Arni’s campact and accessible narration: ‘The Mahabharata: Part 1 and 2: A Child’s View’.
Samhita wrote and illustrated this version of the Mahabharata when she was 12 years old. Her Mahabharata is bold and unorthodox in its depiction. She has written the volumes to encourage questions and curiosity, especially in India, where our education system discourages curiosity and rewards rote learning and memorisation. Samhita illustrates this with the example of Nachiketa from the epic. She says, children like Nachiketa are punished and scolded for asking questions that fall outside the purview of the curriculum.
Samhita also encourages children to engage with the epic and explore deeper meaning about human society and life through it. In one of her stories, Samhita questions the authoritarian stance of King Yayati: 'King Yayati is cursed to turn old by his Brahmin guru father-in-law (a teacher) when he angers his wife Devyani by falling in love with her maid. Yayati is distressed and his father-in-law relents. Yayati can become young again if he
In this fate, children turn out to be wiser than their parents and can find someone willing to take up the burden of his old age.
teachers. Authority – in the figure like Yayati who pursue his The king approaches his sons, but his elder two sons are
personal pleasure at the cost of others and his kingdom – is unwilling to give up their youth. His third son, Puru, the
questionable.ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, is willing to take on his father’s curse – and so his father rewards him by disinheriting The books are a worldwide success. They are translated into his elder sons.' Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.
The Mahabharata: Part 1 and 2: A Child’s ViewBy Samhita Arni, Published by Tara Books
By Jitu Mishra, Educational Specialist, EI
Thoughtful Story
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around the cocoon.with a swollen body and shriveled wings.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If It never was able to fly.God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the have been.butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of
And we could never fly.forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from
BENEFITS OF STRUGGLING
Teacher’s Bite
to be calmly and gently taught rules and manners repeatedly till it becomes a way of life.
Each teacher has to handle classroom management on her / his own. The best way to handle a class is to make it interesting and filled with exciting work for the children to DO. Teachers have to lay down parameters of behaviour expected in their classrooms and then ensure that they are adhered to without
Who has most influenced you to become an the atmosphere becoming threatening. The final aim is to get educator, and how did they influence you? the children to LEARN, not to remain still and silent, isn’t it? But
the class has to be calm enough to ensure that no child is In all honesty, I cannot think of any individual teacher disturbed or prevented from learning.who influenced me to become a teacher / educator. However, I
enjoyed my school days in a well-known boarding school of What are your views regarding the 'Importance India and felt that there was immense potential in this job for of Teacher Training and Development' in being able to make life interesting and educative for young educating Students?people. I began life as a teacher rather tentatively but then
This is the most important and essential aspect of education. found that my students responded so enthusiastically and We know very little when we embark as new young teachers in marvelously that they gave immense meaning to my work. I a real classroom, no matter which degree or qualification we think my students influenced me to make a career and a ‘calling’ may have obtained. When we are required to transact a out of a mere job and to keep enjoying it. The challenge of curriculum to a very varied student population, the challenges making oneself grow is also very appealing as there is new begin to emerge and they keep emerging throughout one’s learning emerging every day and makes work exciting.teaching life. So it is essential to keep learning more about one’s
What is your approach to classroom subject and about one’s work – how to do it better and better- management and student discipline? right through one’s working life. I cannot stress on this strongly
enough!Essentially, each teacher and each pupil should know what the school stands for and the ethos of the school will What is your view regarding the ASSET Test?begin to determine the actions and decisions of the school
The ASSET test has made a difference to the quality of community. There should be a written school code and rules teaching in our school. It is a great example of ‘valid which should be clearly communicated to everyone – teachers,
assessment’. Many tests and examinations which are carried students and parents. The rules should be fair and friendly but out in India now – even by boards of education – do not really firm enough to ensure a well-mannered community life of the test what students have understood. ASSET tests do that. The school. Finally, they must be followed by everyone and must be critical aspect of providing feedback to teachers on what their upheld. I am completely opposed to corporal punishment. I students have not learnt or understood correctly is the best actually believe that if the teacher is screaming or hitting, feature of the ASSET tests.students has already lost the battle and cannot be called an
educator. A school should not require ‘policing’. Children have
Q:
Ms. Jyotsna Brar,Principal,Welham Girls’ School,Dehradun
Q:
Q:
News Bite
On the lines of Aadhaar number of the Unique Identification December.Authority of India (UDAI), the government has decided to
As part of the drive, every student’s photograph, thumb provide permanent identification numbers to all students from
impression, date of birth, blood group, birthplace, details of class I to class X to check the dropout rate and ensure the
parents and address would be collected.enforcement of Right to Education (RTE) Act in all schools in the State. The details of each student would be uploaded on the
Education Department’s website before issuing the students’ A decision has been taken to fill 4,000 posts for teachers in the
permanent identity numbers. Any government department government primary schools.
can access the details of the students.The Minister for Primary and Secondary Education,
The main objective of the unique code is to track the progress Visweshwara Hegde Kageri said that preparations have been
made by students, check dropouts, and misuse of government made to issue 16 digit numbers to students of all government
schemes such as distribution of free textbooks and uniforms. It aided and unaided schools.
would help avoid duplication in admission of students, the The unique code numbers have been given to some students Minister said.and the process is expected to be completed by the end of
Permanent Identity Numbers for Students in Classes 1 to 10 in Karnataka
Q:
Book Review
The Mahabharata is India’s greatest epic which tells us an ancient tale of war, kingship, honour and revenge.
However, the massive cast of characters portrayed in orthodox literature may not be viewed with the same respect by children. This is established through Samhita Arni’s campact and accessible narration: ‘The Mahabharata: Part 1 and 2: A Child’s View’.
Samhita wrote and illustrated this version of the Mahabharata when she was 12 years old. Her Mahabharata is bold and unorthodox in its depiction. She has written the volumes to encourage questions and curiosity, especially in India, where our education system discourages curiosity and rewards rote learning and memorisation. Samhita illustrates this with the example of Nachiketa from the epic. She says, children like Nachiketa are punished and scolded for asking questions that fall outside the purview of the curriculum.
Samhita also encourages children to engage with the epic and explore deeper meaning about human society and life through it. In one of her stories, Samhita questions the authoritarian stance of King Yayati: 'King Yayati is cursed to turn old by his Brahmin guru father-in-law (a teacher) when he angers his wife Devyani by falling in love with her maid. Yayati is distressed and his father-in-law relents. Yayati can become young again if he
In this fate, children turn out to be wiser than their parents and can find someone willing to take up the burden of his old age.
teachers. Authority – in the figure like Yayati who pursue his The king approaches his sons, but his elder two sons are
personal pleasure at the cost of others and his kingdom – is unwilling to give up their youth. His third son, Puru, the
questionable.ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, is willing to take on his father’s curse – and so his father rewards him by disinheriting The books are a worldwide success. They are translated into his elder sons.' Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.
The Mahabharata: Part 1 and 2: A Child’s ViewBy Samhita Arni, Published by Tara Books
By Jitu Mishra, Educational Specialist, EI
Educational Initiatives Pvt. Ltd.302 & 613, J. B. Towers, Opp. Doordarshan Tower,Drive-In Road, Ahmedabad - 380054Phone : 91-079- 40269696Fax : 91-079-26841400 Email : [email protected] : www.ei-india.com
We would like to receive your feedback on the contents of ASSETScope and the activities of EI. Please send your com-ments / opinions / suggestions to [email protected], [email protected] or to the postal address men-tioned on the left. This is a platform meant for you and it would be great to exchange ideas with you.
Anecdotes Relating to Mahatma Gandhi
Bookpost
THE SALT OF LIFE
"Do you think a sense of humour
is necessary in life?" was a
question put to Gandhiji by a
visitor and his reply was: "If I had
no sense of humour, I should
long ago have committed
suicide.
A PARTING GIFTA British journalist met the Mahatma shortly before he died. "Have you anything for me, Mr. Gandhi?" he asked. "Not unless you want my shawl," was the reply.
THE LION AND THE LAMBGandhiji was asked by The Times of India representative at Nagpur: "What will become of the British, if your Swarajya is established within a year?" He replied: "The lion will lie down with the lamb."
HIS RELIGIONWhile he was engaged with Mahatmaji, a young American missionary asked him what religion he professed and what shape the future religion of India was likely to assume.
His reply was very brief. Pointing to the two sick persons in the room, he said, "To serve is my religion. I do not worry about the future."
DRINK EVIL
"Why are you so uncharitable to
those who drink?" asked an
English student of Gandhiji when
the latter was staying in London
towards the close of 1931.
"Because I am charitable to those
who suffer from the effects of the
curse," Gandhiji replied.
A BIRTHDAY MESSAGE
Gandhiji sent the following reply to the
organizers of the World Fellowship of
Faiths, who had requested him to send
them a 'message' on the occasion of
his birthday (2nd October, 1933):
“What message can I send through the
pen, if I am not sending any through the
life I am living?"