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Making a Shift Towards STEM Education at Middle School Level: Lead Points

 STEM is acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and STEM Education is the integrated way of teaching the four subjects along with development soft skills, higher order thinking skills and value of collaboration. The integration requires combining technology elements with science in the form of 'technical studies'. According to Pickup (1976), the National Centre for School Technology (NCST) spells out the following main objective technical studies is to develop an understanding of a range of basic scientific principles related to the structure and use of materials and the availability and use of energy resources; as well as to to familiarise pupils with machines, instruments and processes. If one goes through the modules of the NCST, at the junior high school level, students are required to be skilled in the use of basic hand tools and properly perform the the associated operations and develop adequate technological language or vocabulary in communication. H...
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Makar Sankranti: Short notes and haiku

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  SHORT NOTE In 2025, the festival of Makar Sankranti being celebrated on January 14 dedicated to Lord Surya (Sun Deity) marked by beginning of longer days and warmer nights. It is also a harvest festival that signifies a shift in astrological and agricultural cycles in India.   Furthermore, the festival also gives the spiritual message of triumph of good over evil since the India Hindu mythology informs that on this day the divine figure Kikrant had vanquished the demon Sankarasur.   On this day, people wish one another "Happy Makar Sankranti!" and mark the day with bathing in rivers, sun-worshiping, fasting, kite flying, bonfires, and local delicacies.:   Spiritual message in haiku   Makar Sankranti - Be self-luminous like sun To dispel in-gloom *** Grow in purity Gain wisdom and self-knowledge Shine with inner light *** Divine pervades all Self-ignite the spark within To shine forth like Sun  
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A short poem on Lohri for cultural and STEM integrated education of the harvest festival

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 Here is  a  short Hindi poem on Lohri  लोहड़ी लोहड़ी आई , लोहड़ी आई खेत में हुई , फसल कटाई। लोहड़ी आई , लोहड़ी आई आग जलाओ, नाचो गाओ। लोहड़ी आई , लोहड़ी आई पकवान  बनाओ, मिलके खाओ। लोहड़ी आई , लोहड़ी आई गीत गाओ, दो बधाई। Transactional guidelines • Make children sing the poem  with a protocol: Modelling, echo-recitation, remediation; corrected echo-singing; practice for solo-recitation • Prepare a worksheet for vocabulary development • Practice of writing / spelling a few words • Successive line drawing of bonfire STEM LEARNING Problem: Stubble (Parali/ left overs the crop) burning is the practice of setting fire to leftover crop residue after harvesting the crop and collecting the grain grains. It is a common air polluting practice in northern India. Scientists and activists inform and warn that the practices releases many toxic gases and harmful ash that are harmful to living beings as well as impact badly the climate and health of people. STEM project idea:...
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National Youth Day: Know briefly Neo Vedanta philosophy of Swami Vivekananda

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  Nation is observing Vivekananda Jayanti today on January 12. It is held that he had devoted  his life to national regeneration and motivated many youngsters to work towards the task of nation building.  Swami Vivekananda’s (1863-1902) Vedanta philosophy, often called Neo-Vedanta, is based on realism that combines both the ‘Being’ and ‘Becoming’ precepts.  His birth anniversary is observed as National Youth Day by projecting him as a youth icon since he had died young, and yet, was able to create a positive image about Vedic philosophy globally. His speech on Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893 had stressed the spiritual precept that ‘all living beings were an embodiment of the same divine self’ and advocated for religious harmony. Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission to propagate his Neo-Vedanta philosophy that is considered to be realistic and relevant. Swami Vivekananda’ Vedanta philosophy s...
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Need to take sketchnoting to next level of generative scribing, says India's lead sketchnote scribe Deepak Arora on World Sketch Day

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  I  had the opportunity to meet Deepak Arora, medical physicist, working with a private hospital in Delhi who has developed himself as a professional sketchnotes scribe and  whose work has been recognised by TEDx for whom he has organised a few workshops for training of functionaries in recording the proceeding of events through sketchnotes. He was engaged for a short conversation and his responses about journey in sketchnoting and its higher level are given here as his comments. On sketch noting Sketchnoting is a powerful tool of describing events through visual and text codes. Visual code condense content and describe things in a jiffy which requires a lot of words or textual narrative, I practiced the skill and now have reached a level of spontaneity in it. My engagement with conferences and workshops got sought after. Then I thought of moving a step forward and took to graphic recording of events. On graphic scribing This skill combines visual codes with ic...
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विश्व हिंदी दिवस: विश्व की सर्वाधिक बोली जाने वाली भाषा को पुनर्प्रतिष्ठित करें

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  हर वर्ष 10 जनवरी को विश्व हिंदी दिवस मनाया जाता है।   इस की सोच पहले विश्व हिंदी सम्मेलन 10 जनवरी 1975 शुरू हुई थी।   यह सम्मलेन महाराष्ट्र के नागपुर में आयोजित हुआ था जिस में 30 देशों के सैंकड़ों   प्रतिनिधि सम्मलित हुए थे।   परन्तु 10 जनवरी को विश्व हिंदी दिवस के रूप में मनाने की घोषणा 2006 में   हुई थी।   यह घोषणा तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्री डॉ . मनमोहन सिंह ने की थी।   विश्व हिंदी दिवस उद्देश्य विश्व की सर्वाधिक बोली जाने वाली भाषा को सम्मान देना है तथा इस का महत्व अवगत करवाना है।   इस वर्ष   विश्व हिंदी दिवस इंटरनेट एवं सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म पर मनाया जा रहा है।   कई   बधाई संदेश   फेसबुक पर मिलें हैं . जिन में से कुछ एक कोलाज के रूप में यहाँ   दिए गए हैं।     सरकार अंग्रेजी माध्यम के स्कूल खोल रही है।   मेरा मानना है की प्रारंभिक शिक्षा तो स्थानीय बोली में होनी चाहिए। ...
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Mindful eating: Citation on prayer, quotes on eating and a prayer before a meal

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  According to Tyagi (2012). Prayers, Meditation, and Contemplation are the integral parts of spirituality, she states [1]:  "Prayer is verbal communication to the divine. It involves praising and honoring the divine, confessing sins, sharing one’s thoughts and feelings, and requesting guidance and assistance. Meditation is about one-pointed concentration without involving any word or image. Its purpose is to first clear the mind of surface thoughts and feelings, then to attain higher spiritual states on the path to enlightenment. Contemplation is to focus the mind on a text, an image, or an idea. " Quotes on eating In the 21st century and bey ond, eating healthy foods alone is no longer medicine. Eating habits are. ~ Christopher Oseh Mindful eating is about awareness. When you eat mindfully, you slow down, pay attention to the food you're eating, and savour every bite. ~ Susan Albers  Eating well is a form of self-respect ~ Molly LeGay We do food every single day! Consci...
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