Greetings from news.desk

March, a month which introduces us to a hot summer is also known to heat-up a whole lot of other aspects of our life

The annual Budget
- This year K-12 education got exempted from service tax
- The expectation from the budget outlay and focus on education is high
The season of exams
- Annual exams
- Carreer oriented entrance examination preparation gathering pace
Anxiety of the next academic year
- Schools preparing for the beginning of the new year in April
- Planning admission season for the schools looking to additional new students
The corporate world
- Appraisal impacting increments/up gradations
- Annual plan reviews and new plans for the next financial year

Last but not the least finalizing plans for the summer breaks of our children.

We at Develop Schools are not immune to the above either. While our expectations from the Indian economy are high, we are positive that our education system is in for a change. Though gradual, there will be a change for the better. With the continued government focus on K12 education we see a lot of interest both by the local corporate as well as foreign organizations.

I am sure that with all the above we will Develop Schools.

In this edition we have

Our Guest editor, Sarita Manu, from Designin Schools writes 'Making Space for Design in Education'.
Our Chief Editor, Mrs. Rita Wilson with her views on 'Quality Circle Time'.
I share my views on 'School Sports'.
Web links on the happenings in the education industry.
You could know more about Develop Schools' services, the itinerary of our associates for you to benefit from during their visit to your locations.
We conclude with unfurling the topic of our next issue. Send us your articles. If your entry is selected we will cover your article in our forthcoming newsletters.

I now invite you to read on and send us your feedback / suggestions. After all we improve when you assist us.

Feel free to FORWARD this newsletter to your Trustees / Managing committees / References.

Sincerely,

Melwin Braggs

Business Editor

Making Space for Design in Education

Our Guest Editor - Sarita Manu

Architect & Researcher - Designin Schools, Mumbai

www.designinschools.in

When we hear creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson say that schools kill creativity, we all nod our heads

in agreement. The question to ask is how we are working on infusing creativity into mainstream education. Education, especially in K-12 schools, influences and shapes children's minds; develops their skill sets for day-to-day life; prepares them for the future; and widens their understanding of diverse aspects of life.

Let us look at a creative domain like design. Design is a process that encompasses creativity, communication, planning and purpose - a result of which is experienced by everyone in some way. Today, mainstream education needs to engage itself with tools like design thinking rather actively to sensitise both children and teachers about design thinking and creativity.

What is design thinking?

Design thinking is a process of identifying a problem, analyzing it and creating an innovative solution to the problem. The solution: a process; a product or a system is the recognised intent / purpose of design. Design thinking not only solves new problems every day but often creates new solutions everyday for the same problem. Teachers and children have a large stake in the future and when sensitized about design thinking and creativity can be lead to several inspiring moments in their learning environments.

To facilitate the above, we require educators and design professionals to come together to build space for design thinking and creativity in the school programme. In designing their class; the content; the curriculum and the learning environment, educators and curriculum developers are constantly designing, though only unintentionally. Incorporating design thinking, consciously into their daily activities will enable them to learn from different disciplines, especially through meaningful collaboration with each other, and also empower them to further nurture creativity in children. Children can similarly expand their field of learning through a subject like design.

There can be many challenges in formulating such comprehensive educational models through which children can be educated on the basic concepts of design. For instance, should we take a` more organic approach to teach the concepts of design or should we take a more classical approach, resembling the educational system through which a design student is trained. As design practitioners, we believe that an organic structure founded on awareness and appreciation of the medium can augment the experience than a rigid model of design education of schools.

QCT - Quality Circle Time

- Rita Wilsom, Chief Editor

(Ex Chief Executive and Secretary, ICSE)

The culture of change, change within families, communities, schools, nations is with us for the foreseeable

future. Many of us lead such busy lives that rarely do we have time to sit and listen to our children without being distracted. We need more time to encourage them to explore their relationships in a calm manner. Many children benefit from sitting calmly in an 'emotionally safe place' with people whom they know. They need opportunities to learn how to listen, respect other people and express how they feel.

This is what Quality Circle Time (QCT) provides for the child.

Quality Circle Time is a structured group process that teaches young people how to understand themselves and relate to others. The circle time method involves the teacher in a short, weekly meeting where all the participants including the teacher, sit in a circle and take an equal responsibility for solving issues the group members have themselves highlighted. The structures and techniques within Circle Time teach individuals to communicate more clearly, directly and honestly with each other. By learning to express their feelings in a clear way, they learn to develop positive relationships.

The strategies involved for children include cooperative games, pair work, rounds, drama techniques, and puppet play - each strategy appropriate to the emotional and intellectual level of the group. Through cooperative activities and discussion, circle time ensures that each child experiences success and, used on a regular basis, it promotes a feeling of equal value and group identity.

Quality Circle Time is a democratic and creative approach used to consider a wide range of issues affecting the whole school community. At the heart of the Circle Time Model is a class meeting which involves the whole class sitting in a circle to look at issues relating to personal, social, moral and health education. The circle meetings aim to encourage the development of positive relationships, self-discipline, conflict resolution, assertive communication and democratic group processes along with the skills of speaking, listening, observing, thinking and concentrating.

Circle Time follows a clear structure. The structure is designed to build a sense of class community and the teacher acts as a non-authoritarian facilitator, encouraging co-operation and creating a climate of emotional safety.

Effective training is seen as vital to the success of Circle Time. Without adequate training, the process can become diluted and ineffective. In untrained or inexperienced hands, Circle Time can be disappointing or even destructive. At its worst, it can be misused by teachers to try and shame children publicly and coerce them into 'behaving'. Or, it can be simply mediocre, where it can become boring and repetitive.

School Sports

- Melwin Braggs, Business Editor

It has been often debated whether sports should be compulsory at school or not?

It cannot be denied that sports enhances the abilities of the child and develop challenging spirit. In the age of television,computer and video games, school students are becoming highly inactive which consequently leads to health complications in their later life. So I believe that sports activities should be encouraged from the very early days. Sports and outdoor games play a very important part in development of a healthy and fit body. Today, many schools incorporate outdoor school sports activities like cricket, soccer, lawn tennis, table tennis, swimming, volleyball, badminton etc in the sports curriculum. Physical training is compulsory in schools unless children are excused on medical grounds.

We are aware of the importance of sports in instilling discipline, perseverance, sacrifice, the value of outworking and outhustling an opponent, and the importance of communication in the heat of a battle and teamwork in the youngsters who participate in sports at schools. These are values that they will take with them throughout their lives, even if they never again participate in a sports event. These values will serve them well in all future endeavors as parents, professionals, responsible adults.

Being 'educated' today has come to mean one thing: having a critical mass of a certain kind of knowledge so that one can perform well on a test. What type of knowledge have we deemed important? Literacy, math, science (and in some cases engineering and other specialisations). Aren't we more than this? I like to think that I am more complex and 'whole' than the sum of these few subjects. Isn't there more complexity to life than just literacy?

In today's examination-oriented educational environment, it's no surprise to see "success" defined largely based on academics. Schools are "good" or "bad" based on how many students pass certain testing benchmarks or graduate on time. But it's also critical to remember that not all students learning is consolidated in the classroom. In fact, many of the "real-life" lessons students will learn throughout their schooling years will come not in the classroom, but out on the athletics fields .

Even we at Develop Schools have now put together a unique child centric holistic development programme Develop via the right brain To ask us more click - Inquiry

With games and sports now proposed to be a compulsory part of school education it is now a matter of time that students will expect more of school environment and so together let us Develop via right brain through Develop Schools.