ams - Literary Commemorations - November 4, 2024

 

Cityscapes and Landscapes

 

An eco-friendly environment will always create positive vibes. The news report which appeared in the Guardian Weekly (November 1)  underlines the importance of creating green spaces inside the crowded cityscapes. One of the findings in the review published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is that green spaces within the cityscapes will improve public health, lower the rates of heat-related illness and deaths and will also lead to better mental well-being. This news article be read along with the United Nations celebrating the World Cities Day on 31^st October every year. The theme for 2024 is  ‘Youth Leading Climate and Local Action for Cities’. The official website describes the importance of observing the Day, which is promote international community’s interest in global urbanisation, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities addressing challenges of urbanization and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world. 

 

It was a coincidence that we visited the Kalaignar Centenary Park on October 31, 2024. It is situated in the Gopalapuram neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in India. The park has been established on a 6.09-acre land. Kalaignar Centenary Park (KCP) is managed by the Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops. It is one of the largest green spaces inside Chennai city. It houses a 10,000-sq.ft glass garden, a horticultural museum, a 500-m zip-line, a musical fountain show, and an aviary. 

It is a commendable effort by the Government of Tamil Nadu to create this green space in the heart of the city. We felt that maintaining the park will be a big challenge. We could see one of the glass windows of the Glass House was already damaged. Some of the plants have withered away and the birds in the aviary were sick and lifeless. We expected more greenery inside the aviary. The fact that we had to remove shoes to enter the aviary was another unpleasant experience. Inside the aviary we had to walk barefooted over the bird droppings and come back wear our shoes and slippers again. The staff didn't exhibit any professional traits. We paid for the entry ticket (100 INR), Aviary Ticket (150 INR), Glass House (50 INR) and 100 INR for the still camera. The total amount for two adults was 700 INR. 

The park has the potential to be one of the best in India provided there is an enthusiastic team to take care of the nook and corner of the 6 acres of land. 

ams - literary commemoration - November 3, 2024

 

The Goodness in my Students which I Couldn’t Recognise

 

A teacher must be blessed with copious amount of goodness.  The act of teaching must be measured by this statement. Yuval Noah Harari in his book ‘Nexus’ writes “Afterall, alongside greed, hubris, and cruelty humans are also capable of love, compassion, humility and joy”. The goodness mentioned earlier is defined through these four words. Teaching is all about making an emotional connect with the students. This will convert teaching and learning into an organic activity rather than a mechanical one. Education as a process of self-discovery which should lead to transformation and change in the learners. This involves minimizing or removing the negativities, badness and creating a space for nurturing the goodness in each learner. Every student is a slice of life. His attitude, cultural and financial background will be unique. The teacher should identify this uniqueness and nurture love, compassion, humility and joy. The Social Emotional Learning (SEL) concept can be used a reference for this transformation.  It is the process through which individuals learn and apply a set of social, emotional, and related skills, attitudes, behaviours and values that help direct students. The five pillars of SEL are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. 

 

When I started brainstorming for this blog, the following questions crept into my mind: 

 

• What good can human beings / students do? 
• What are the ways to measure human capabilities? 
• How can we quantify the goodness in a human child? 
• What are the ways we can map out the social emotional system of a student?
• What are the available systems which will help us to create this template?
• What are the challenges in this journey? 

 

What I have learned in my 25 years of teaching experience is how I respond to an irritated/ bored/ sleepy/ uninterested student makes a big difference in the teaching and learning process. The challenge is to find the real personality inside each student. My mission statement will be to uncover the goodness in each student and nurture love, compassion, humility and joy in the student. Based on this semester’s teaching experience I have a few examples which underline the important of SEL. 

 

A first-year student was always irritated when I asked him questions or tried to interact with him casually. During a deep conversation with him, it was known that he along with another boy was elected as the class representative. He was feeling a bit inferior that he was not given importance in the class. 

 

A girl whose mother was no more was always hyperactive in the class. She led a life which was filled with Christian prayer meetings and visits to the hills stations in Tamil Nadu. She along with her friend used to create ruckus in the classroom. 

 

A boy who was a fitness freak and a body builder used to move around the campus along with a coterie of friends. He was not afraid to talk and always reposed his faith on the body muscles rather than the brain muscles. 

 

He was part of an organization that promoted social justice. He used to travel around a lot in Tamil Nadu visiting different districts and was an active volunteer for community development. He used to absent for many days. Whenever he came back to attend classes, he used to look dishevelled and totally removed from the lessons discussed in the class. 

 

There was this girl who used to talk while the lecture was in progress. She had many friends especially boys and I have seen her hanging out with boys in the suburban railway station. She was polite and was totally disconnected from her studies. 

ams - literary commemoration - November 2, 2024

 

Climate Literacy Posters

 

ams - literary commemoration - November 1, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 31, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 30, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 29, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 28, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration 2 - October 27, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 27, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 26, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 25, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 24, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 23, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 22, 2024

 

ams - literary commemoration - October 21, 2024

 

ams - literary commemorations - October 1- October 20 , 2024

 

Memory Studies?

Memory Studies - What it is or what it entails? It is a research field that explores both personal and collective memory. The possibility of an ‘entanglement’ of both these versions is bound to occur, especially when we examine historical events like the Holocaust and the Partition of 1947. Memory studies is an interdisciplinary area of study that borrows ideas and concepts from sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, psychology, architecture, cognitive sciences, archaeology, history, literature, and more. Memory is not just about remembering; it also deals with forgetting or erasure. Sometimes forgetting is induced by external forces, such as the state, or it can be internal, with the individual choosing not to remember specific traumatic and distressing memories. Memory studies always operate on three levels: personal, collective, and official. All three interact with each other. Today, memory studies also examine how technology facilitates both remembering and forgetting. This is reviewed in the context of the current trend of ‘excessively commemorating personal events’ through photographs (selfies) and vlogs on social media platforms. The key areas in technology-driven memory studies are digital memory and prosthetic memory. The independent project, titled 'after the memory space,' is one man's dream to learn more about memory studies, a field of study that has emerged in recent years. The founder of after-the memory space is Premjith Mathew, who also serves as the chief investigator of the project. 

ams - commemorations - August 1 - 31