Preparing Child for School

School Readiness
You should assist your child in having the kinds of experiences that will help them be successful in school at an early age. School readiness means being sure your child has the social, academic, independence, and communication skills that are required to do well in school. Talking, reading, and playing with others will help your child prepare for their school career.

Academic Readiness
Before beginning kindergarten, children need to know about their families, themselves, and the world. Children can start school with a lot of skills that teachers can build upon, if they have already had good learning experiences at home and with their parents. You can do the following things to prepare your child academically: 
• Try to read to your child every day and talk about what was in the story.
• Ñheck out books in the library.
• Sing songs and finger plays.
• Help your child to recognize his or her name in print by writing it in various places that will be seen by your child.
• Teach your child to write.
• Help your child to learn colors by pointing to and naming items like, red pencil, green rug, or yellow shirt.
• Puzzles and games that involve counting and problem deciding are good to learn by.

• Let your child write, draw, cut, and paste.
• Teach your child the alphabet song, and show them toys that will help him or her to better understand the alphabet.
• Choose childcare that teaches children with fun activities.
• Allow your child dance, sing, run, and ride bikes or tricycles.
• Visit with your child various places, like the store, playground, zoo, or an amusement park. Speak with your child about the things that they did and saw.

Social Readiness
Social readiness is also very significant. Children need to learn to be in harmony with other children, obey rules, share, take turns, and to leave their parents during school. You should do the following to prepare your child socially:
• Establish rules and give punishments when they are broken.
• Give your child a bedtime and a time for meals.
• Speak with your child about how to play and talk with other children.
• Teach your child to take turns and share.

First Day at School

First day at school is very important for your child. First impression plays important part in general impression forming and the child’s desire to study. That’s why you should make appropriate preparation for your child’s first visit to school.

Here are some tips on how to make your child’s first day at school or kindergarten exciting and unforgettable:

• First day at school shouldn’t be the first. It would be better for you and your kid if you make introductory visit to school. It’s a great chance for the child to get familiar with the classroom and teachers.

• Acquaint your child with his or her classmates. It won’t be that scary to enter the classroom for the first time if you know somebody in there. How to arrange it? You can ask phone numbers of other parents from the school staff and make a couple of phone calls before the school begins. Arrange a meeting with their kids. This will contribute greatly to your child’s confidence.

• Give your child an opportunity to communicate. Social skills play important part in your child’s adaptation in the new environment. If your child attended kindergarten or any other pre-school institution, he or she probably won’t have any troubles in getting along with people. But if he or she doesn’t have such experience you should try to arrange it. You can take your kid to summer camps or play groups in order to develop his or her social skills.

• Familiarize your child with school (kindergarten) routine. If you have an opportunity to visit school in advance try to explain all rules in the school. Accent that nobody is allowed to fight, the teacher is main hear, toys are for everybody and no talking during classes. Also you can involve the teacher into your explanation.

• Your child must have self care habits. It will be much easier for you and your child to get used to the school. Children at age of 6-7 years have to dress by themselves.

• Try to set your child’s mind at rest. Explain that there is nothing to worry about. Ask him or her what are the main questions he or she would like to get answers on. You have to assure your child that there in nothing to worry about, especially if your child asks such questions as how often he or she will be able to use the bathroom or which bus to take after school.

• Help your child to pack all things into the schoolbag in the evening before the first school day. It will be useful to write down your child’s name on the back of schoolbag and lunch bag etc. Explain the purpose of each item to your child so he or she will be able to pack the schoolbag by his/her own.

• Before the school begins check your child’s health. Such checkup should include vision and hearing screening. Very often students have problems in school because of health problem. Also all necessary vaccinations should be given to your child before school.

The Fourth International Conference o Environmental Education

For the first time, India hosted the International Conference on Environmental Education, held every 10 years. The 4th ICEE was jointly sponsored by UNESCO and UNEP. India bid for this Conference as an opportunity to showcase the sustainable development work being done by its government and corporate sector. CEE was the nodal and host agency for 4th ICEE.

ICEE brought together approximately 1500 participants around 600 of which participated from outside India. The participants included key policy makers, communication specialists, field practitioners, researchers, educators, youth representatives as well as persons from various UN and other international agencies.

An International Advisory Committee composed of experts in one or more technical areas related to EE and ESD provided guidance to realize the Conference objectives, and helped in consolidating the outcomes of the Conference in the form of Ahmedabad Declaration and Conference recommendations. ICEE examined what has emerged out of the discipline of EE since Tbilisi and the role of EE within ESD. Further, it sought to explore how EE can support ‘ESD’ – the emerging specialized discipline. The Conference aimed to establish linkages between EE and ESD and helped set the roadmap for progress through the DESD. Since by its nature EE needs to foster partnerships with many disciplines, ICEE looked into identifying such partnerships in consultation with practitioners from these areas.

The plenary sessions included special sessions to address the role of education in the context of Climate Change, Education for Water Resource Management, and HIV AIDS.
The thematic discussions at ICEE were structured as thirty workshops, reflecting the EE and ESD concerns and issues that have evolved in the areas over the last 30 years since Tbilisi. Every workshop took stock of their specific area in the context of ESD and identified the role of EE within this. The workshops also reviewed and reformulated EE in the context of the DESD. The workshops ran in parallel, from 21st to 28th of November. Individual working group sessions varied from one day to five days.

Crosscutting themes on Climate Change, Water and Food and Sustainable Lifestyles were addressed throughout the Conference. These were discussed during the plenary sessions and in various working group sessions.

ICEE provided an exciting forum for discussion, debate and professional networking. The exhibition area had arrangements for poster presentations, interactive exhibits, live demonstration areas etc. A dedicated section on DESD showcased activities undertaken by various Governments as initiatives towards achieving the objectives of the Decade. Special events included a Campaign for Sustainability by the Auto-rickshaw Driver’s Association of Ahmedabad, the launch of Hand Print for Sustainability, workshops for children etc.

The CEE campus which served as the Conference venue was planned based on an environment-society-and culture-friendly strategy. An attempt was made to limit waste generation. For example, participants were given a refillable bottle at the beginning of the Conference and filtered water coolers were placed all over the campus, in order to avoid use and throw bottles /glasses.

‘Energy modesty’ meaning energy saving and efficiency is keenly followed at CEE. The buildings are designed to harness natural light and air. The wooded surroundings helped in reducing the campus and indoor temperature by 2-3°C.

The ICEE Daily helped delegates keep track of the multitude of events during the Conference.

Parallel Workshops:

1. Reorienting Formal Education towards ESD (Strategies, Pedagogy and Assessment)
2. Teacher Education: A crucial contribution to the UNDESD
3. Supporting Sustainable Development through Open and Distance Learning, including Technology Mediated Open and Distance Education (TechMODE)
4. Higher Education for Sustainable Development
5. Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs)
6. Non Formal Spaces of Learning
7. Youth: Trend setters of ESD
8. Health Concerns
9. Art, Design and Ecology - The Role of Artists and Designers in Creative Environmental Education for Sustainable Development
10. Workshop on Education for Disaster risk Reduction
11. Education towards sustainability concerns of Natural Resources in Fragile Ecosystems
12. Efficient use of energy and Alternative systems – addressing climate concerns through focused information support and capacity building
13. Education for Innovation and Technology
14. Mobilising Knowledge for Sustainable Development
15. Integrating Values of Sustainability into education: The promise of the Earth Charter
16. Linking Knowledge, Skills and Practices for Fostering Community Leadership, Education and Benefits – GEF UNDP Small Grants Program
17. Meeting Challenges of Knowledge Management in Water and Sanitation
18. Education for Sustainable Livelihoods
19. Education for Sustainable Cities
20. Sustainable Waste Management
21. Responsible Corporate Citizenship: Key to a Sustainable Future
22. Media and ESD workshop - ‘Building Public Awareness and Understanding of Sustainability’
23. Roadmap for Creating a Research Foundation to Support the DESD
24. Monitoring and Evaluating Progress during the UN DESD
25. Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites: Learning Laboratories for Sustainable Development
26. Making Zoo Education Sustainable – with special focus on Fund Raising, PR and Marketing
27. Education for Sustainable Consumption through the DESD
28. Government Session - Sharing experiences and promoting collaboration
29. UNEP’s Global Environment Report Volume 4(GEO 4) 2007: Promoting Environmental Research and Learning for Sustainable Development
30. Role of Education in addressing Livestock, Environment and Development issues.

Valedictory Session
Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, addressed the valedictory session on 28th Nov 2007. He highlighted ten key aspects emerging from the Conference:

1. The importance of the contribution of EE to ESD and to the DESD.
2. The urgency of right decisions and the right actions.
3. The non-formal and informal approaches to EE and ESD should be recognized as just as important as the formal education system.
4. Teachers are a cornerstone of effective ESD programmes. They must draw upon local inputs, contexts and values as well as foster community ownership of the curriculum.
5. It is necessary to unpack the category ‘learners’ in order to devise and implement suitably targeted approaches. They may include politics, business, media, professions etc.
6. The importance of research into ESD along with the effective dissemination and utilization of research results.
7. DESD has stimulated the launch of serious work on monitoring and evaluation and on the development of indicators of ESD.
8. The Conference engaged with different frames of reference for ESD and EE, each capturing a dynamic link between the global and the local.
9. ESD is a great vehicle for respecting our differences and building a common vision.
10. We must listen to the voice of the youth.

Conference materials on the internet

• Presentations of plenary sessions
• Workshop reports, recommendations and presentations
• Overall recommendations
• Conference Declaration in English, Spanish, French and Japanese
• Conference photo gallery
• ICEE daily networking newsletter

Participatory Budgeting

Sanskriti Menon, Centre for Environment Education

Participatory Budgeting programmes are innovative governance processes. They can provide citizens with the opportunity to give their inputs in resource allocation and to monitor public spending. Social and political exclusion can be better addressed as low income and traditionally excluded citizens or groups get the opportunity to participate in decision-making.

Over 250 cities are applying participatory budgeting methods. The majority of these are in Brazil (where participatory budgeting began, in Porto Alegre). Participatory budgeting initiatives have been taken up in recent years in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia as well as in some European cities.

The basic pattern of participatory budget processes is that community groups identify spending priorities and submit these to their local civic offices / representatives who transform community priorities into concrete project proposals; facilitators provide technical assistance in project proposal development; once local lists of projects are ready, citizens prioritize these and vote on which projects to fund; the public authority then implements the projects.

Participatory Budgeting has been tried in a few Indian cities as well, especially in Karnataka and Kerala. In Bangalore, Janaagraha facilitated a participatory budget process in 2002-2003 across 10 wards. The experiences gained from this exercise, as well as the materials produced – a book on participatory planning, a video on surveying neighbourhoods, survey forms to record citizens requests for works, etc – are now helping participatory planning and budgeting processes in cities such as Hubli-Dharwad and Pune.

Participatory Budgeting in Pune
In Pune, the municipal corporation initiated participatory budgeting in 2005. Meetings of citizens and civic officials were organized through local agencies such as the National Society for Clean Cities and Nagrik Chetna Manch. A few hundred citizens participated and submitted requests for projects. The experience helped lay a base for citizen engagement in ward level budget processes of the municipality. In 2006-07, a more detailed and formalized process was followed, with facilitation support provided by Janwani and CEE.

Citizen engagement in the slums was done through the Urban Community Development Dept (UCD) and the Community Development Society (CDS) structure promoted under the Urban Self Employment and Wage Employment schemes. Community volunteers were trained to conduct the budgeting meetings with members of the self-help groups and neighbourhood groups.

For citizen engagement through the ward offices, CEE and Janwani worked out a more elaborate process. This was needed as there is no outreach mechanism parallel to the CDS structure. Fourteen students from the Economics Dept of University of Pune were selected and trained as facilitators. For CEE, this was part of its work as the Sectt of the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies Regional Centre of Expertise on Sustainable Urban Development.

The main tasks for citizens were to survey and identify works for their neighbourhoods, submit these in the specified format and to attend a prioritization meeting. At the prioritization meetings, citizens were grouped by electoral ward and they sorted through the lists of requests to arrive at the final lists within the allocated ward budget.

Community Meeting at Bhawani Peth
The meeting was held under a large peepal tree in a courtyard in a slum neighbourhood. Over a hundred women attended. The issues they discussed included:
a. Inconvenient timing of waste collection as it is water filling time; the consensus was that this was a management issue, not of infrastructure
b. repair of drains and manholes
c. lighting needed in the common meeting space

When the meeting was about to end, a karyakartas of the local councilor arrived on the scene. He demanded to know what was going on; he reprimanded the women for describing the issues of their neighbourhood/ community to ‘outsiders’ (since the meeting was being filmed) and asked why they did this when ‘hum hain na’. The women argued back that here was a chance for directly asking the PMC for some of the works they needed done, and that he should not interfere. For PMC, the main tasks were their own preparedness, publicity about the process, fine-tuning the works in conjunction with the citizens who submitted the ideas, costing the suggested works, holding prioritization meetings and preparing the final lists.
The sequence of activities was as follows:

1. Preparatory Meeting at PMC- Head of the PMC Citizen Facilitation Centre, Zonal Commissioners, Ward Officers and Junior Engineers
2. Publicity through the press, e-groups, phone calls to citizens groups and housing society representatives
3. Citizens’ Meetings at 4 Zonal Offices to explain process and timelines
4. Classification and Costing of Works at Ward Offices and preparation of electoral ward-wise lists
5. Prioritization Meetings
6. Finalized lists of Citizens Works

Participation of the Poor
Writings about participatory processes have highlighted that poor women often find it difficult to make the time to participate in planning processes, in addition to their domestic and wage-earning responsibilities.

In Pune, attention was drawn to this by Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Sanghatan (KKPKP) when the timings of the NHG meetings were revealed। Since the overall focus of the requests was to be localized neighbourhood improvement or repair works, KKPKP felt that it wasn’t a big disadvantage that rag-picker women were not present in the meetings। On the other hand, being able to submit requests for sorting sheds in the areas where they work for scrap collection was seen as a valuable opportunity (see ‘The Ward as Work Place’).

The Ward as Work Place

The city is also a work place and should be conducive to a range of economic activities। While commercial spaces are generally planned for, informal economic activity often survives on ‘informal occupation of city spaces’. City planning, and therefore neighbourhood planning has to take into account the role of a range of informal economic activities, and allocate space for these. As a case example, the participation of waste-pickers / waste collectors was especially sought as their services are related to the municipal function of SWM, and it is also an economic activity for them. The municipality policy for SWM encourages decentralized sorting and processing of different materials. A key component in managing different streams of waste materials is space for sorting of recyclables materials and their sale to scrap shops. With the help of the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (ragpickers’ trade union), waste pickers participated in the citizens budgeting exercise, and requested that budget allocations be made for sorting sheds in a few locations. These are envisaged as public amenities just like bus stops, hawker zones, vegetable markets etc.

Changing Governance Patterns
Participatory budgeting processes can help governance become more transparent and accountable. In Pune, Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer stressed that the PB process is departure from the 'you ask, we give' mentality. Describing this as a method of making democracy more effective, the Municipal Commissioner said that the next step would be for citizens to locally decide how their area is developed, including inputs into the development plan.

Announcing a participatory budgeting scheme in UK recently, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears said "The public will be able to decide whether their priority is play areas, youth facilities, traffic calming or more community wardens. Participatory budgeting is not just consultation. It is where people come together, set priorities and vote on what is going to happen."

Pune Mayor Rajalaxmi Bhosale expressed similar sentiments when after the Pune participatory budgeting exercise she said “This will help consolidate the relationship between the municipality and the citizens. The corporators will be under constant scrutiny from the citizens.”

Highlighting the role that elected representatives could play, Hazel Blear said "councilors must not feel their democratic mandate is bypassed, and instead recognize that it will strengthen their relationship with their local community". Also, that, "I think the world has changed. I think voting every four years and basically handing over responsibility and power to other people and then doing nothing again for four years, I think our democracy is not like that any more."

Citizens realize this too. Having attended a prioritization meeting, a citizen in Pune said, “The projects have been listed along with the name of the recommender. It is the responsibility of the concerned citizen to keep an eye on the progress of the work. The corporation also has the responsibility of providing details about the development of the work and clarifying doubts of the citizens.”

In Pune, as the city prepares for another round of participatory budgeting, several citizens, and the new municipal commissioner too, are asking for an assessment of last years’ process and how many projects have been or are being implemented। There is recognition that some project ideas are mundane (fix a pavement), and that the fact that citizens have to say it is a telling comment on how these very aspects are ignored in conventional budgeting processes। There are the not-so-usual ideas as well – sorting sheds, composting units, benches, hawking zone platforms, etc। There is also recognition that there is a long way to go to streamline and encourage this fairly new process.

References

• Dove, Lesley (2004), Providing environmental urban services to the poor in Andhra Pradesh: developing strategic decision-making. Environment and Urbanization 2004; 16; 95
• Cabannes, Yves (2004). Participatory budgeting: a significant contribution to participatory democracy. Environment and Urbanization 2004
• Wintour. P. “Voters to get direct say on local spending”. Guardian, July 5, 2007, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2118822,00.html (accessed July 15, 2007)

For more information contact
Ranjit Gadgil
Programme Director, Janwani
MCCIA, ICC
Senapati Bapat Road
Pune 411005

Sanskriti Menon

Ward wise meetings of citizens to discuss priorities for neighbourhood projects - a very important aspect of the participatory budget process.

Prakriti Environment Education Bus

Gopal Kumar Jain and Keren Nazareth, CEE

The green bus with its vibrantly painted exterior is now a familiar sight in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bharuch, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Tapi and many other places around Gujarat.

The idea for such a bus came five years ago from the Club of Youth Working for the Environment (CYWEN). They felt:
- Young people could be Environment Educators
- Young people need resources to carry out awareness programme

CEE started to explore the concept of a mobile resource centre – Prakriti Environment Education Bus – with support from BG India and Gujarat Gas Company Limited (GGCL). The content and communication design was decided through discussions with teachers, youth, educationists etc.

Prakriti was launched in September 2005 by Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat in Gandhinagar. The launch began an era of CNG as well as accessible environment education beginning with the districts of Ahmedabad, Surat and Bharuch.

The Bus Structure
The bus is built on a Swaraj Mazda chassis and it runs Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

The sides have been modified to make information panels. While the bus is moving, these sections are closed and covered by glass shutters. The side panels have:

• A collage featuring people, lifestyle and places (cultural heritage) of Gujarat appears on one side of the bus
• Panels on natural heritage highlighting the richness of biodiversity

The back of the bus is used to display 3D models and to screen films. The bus carries with it a screen, speakers, LCD projector, generator, computer system and a public address (PA) system.

The bus is a one stop-shop for environment education. Users can set up an exhibition, activities, games, film shows, demonstrations, puppet-shows and conduct group discussions. Reference resource materials on various issues are also placed inside the bus, for those interested in more details on any particular issue.

Prakriti Visits and Partnerships
Having created the bus, the next step was to organize its visits, mainly to areas where access was limited or existing systems had not been able to reach.

CYWEN chose to partner with local organisation working with youth: Nature Club Surat and the Nehru Yuva Kendra, Bharuch. Both these local partners have a strong youth volunteer base and youth were trained and oriented to carry out Prakriti programmes in their respective districts.

The first point of entry of the bus was through rural and urban schools. Over the years this expanded to events, programmes organised by groups, companies, corporate social responsibility projects, colleges and schools in neighbouring districts such as Gandhinagar, Tapi, and Vadodara.

A typical activity includes the bus exhibition, games, activities, film shows, demonstrations and discussions.

All these require well grounded, patient and enthusiastic individuals. The core team comprises one programme staff, one project staff, two interns, and the most important member, the driver of the bus. The strength of the Prakriti bus is its core team and the volunteers that help organise and carry out events.

Prakriti works on strengthening existing forums and platforms by providing resources, support, guidance and expertise over a period of time, to help such forums conduct their activities more effectively.

Prakriti also reaches out to schools through the eco-clubs set up and run as a part of the National Green Corps programme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Eco-clubs have taken up the issues of health, biodiversity, plastic management, renewable energy, herbal medicines and plants, deforestation, noise pollution in their yearly projects.

Prakriti Projects
Projects have been undertaken by schools on concerns in their immediate environment. One such issue focussed is biodiversity. Projects include those on Spiders, Birds, Mosquitoes and their impact on health; medicinal plants and how they can be used to make home remedies for various ailments. A school in Surat has also done a survey on the types of trees in Surat city.
“The children interviewed doctors from the local hospital to get their expert advice on the types of mosquitoes, their life cycle and the diseases they cause.” Eco-club teacher, Bharuch
“The children were shocked to find out the number of birds that had either gone extinct or were on the verge of extinction in their areas.” Eco-club teacher, Bharuch

Few eco-club Prakriti schools focussed on maintaining the greenery on the school grounds and also cultivated green patches with flowering plants; vegetable plants and medicinal plants. Two schools have initiated the practice of giving children from the eco-clubs saplings to plant in their homes and take care of them. “We do a continuous follow up with the children as to how their plants are faring. Those who don’t have space around their houses, we’ve given them potted plants.” Principal of Anjuman-E-Islam High School, Ahmedabad

At the end of the year an event which brings together the entire year’s learning, partners, collaborators, groups of youth and children is organised. It is a meeting of ideas, innovation, creativity and a platform to share and learn from the experiences of the students, teachers and youth volunteers. The event is held either at a district level or at the State level and has competitions, presentations, training sessions, workshops, cultural programmes, bird watching sessions and other excursions.

The event also provides an opportunity for the Prakriti team to evaluate the year gone by and plan for the up coming year.

Prakriti’s programmes have evolved over the last three years from generic outreach to all NGC schools to a more focussed one with selected schools that are interested in collaborating with Prakriti.

Prakriti has also collaborated with the Gujarat Paguthan Energy Corporation (GPEC), for their CSR programme in ten villages in Bharuch. In the past year (2008) Prakriti focused on “Eco-friendly festivals” to convey the impacts of synthetic colours used during holi on health and the environment, while also providing an option of organic colours.

During the last three years, over 100 youth particularly from the three project districts have been involved as educators for conducting programmes. For these young people, engagement with Prakriti was a good learning experience.

Using the Prakriti experience, a youth organisation in Vallabhvidyanagar has initiated its own resource centre. Nature Club Surat too is developing a programme to provide opportunities for youth to play the role of educators. Resource centres such as these are good tools for environment education.

Learning Mathematics for Life

People from many countries have expressed interest in the tests students take for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Learning Mathematics for Life examines the link between the PISA test requirements and student performance. It focuses specifically on the proportions of students who answer questions correctly across a range of difficulty. The questions are classified by content, competencies, context and format, and the connections between these and student performance are then analysed.

This analysis has been carried out in an effort to link PISA results to curricular programmes and structures in participating countries and economies. Results from the student assessment reflect differences in country performance in terms of the test questions. These findings are important for curriculum planners, policy makers and in particular teachers – especially mathematics teachers of intermediate and lower secondary school classes.

The High Cost of Low Educational Performance

While governments frequently commit to improving the quality of education, it often slips down the policy agenda. Because investing in education only pays off in the future, it is possible to underestimate the value and the importance of improvements.

This report uses recent economic modelling to relate cognitive skills – as measured by PISA and other international instruments – to economic growth, demonstrating that relatively small improvements to labour force skills can largely impact the future well-being of a nation.

The report also shows that it is the quality of learning outcomes, not the length of schooling, which makes the difference. A modest goal of all OECD countries boosting their average PISA scores by 25 points over the next 20 years would increase OECD gross domestic product by USD 115 trillion over the lifetime of the generation born in 2010. More aggressive goals could result in gains in the order of USD 260 trillion.

Television & Kids

Undoubtedly that Internet, television, interactive video games can be exceptional sources not only for kid’s entertainment buy also has great educational value. That’s why we should not forget that too much screen time can have unhealthy effects and harmful influence on your precious child. That's why it is of current importance to limit and control the time your child spends watching TV programs, shows films etc. during a day.

The American Academy of Pediatrics insist that kids under age of two should not have screen time at all, and that kids older than two should watch no more than one to two hours per day of television programming. Despite this fact the typical child spends over four hours a day in front of the TV screen.dangerous-television

Little children cannot easily differentiate between real world and the world of fantasy. Small child finds frightening images that nowadays overfill TV industry and this can easily lead psychological trauma. Scenes of violence can provoke real fears, shock and even to traumatize; child can acquire a fear of becoming a victim of violent crime. Fear of violence may influence and reduce the amount of time children spend outside house.

Television frequently depicts dangerous and harmful behaviors such as drinking alcohol, taking drugs, and smoking in an attractive light. Negative behavior becomes something regular and usual for kids, especially for teenagers.Children need time to communicate with parents, relatives, friends; to discover their imagination. Children learn something by doing it, with the help of practise. Passively sitting and watching educational or educational TV programs is a poor alternative for interesting game or creative thinking.
It is a brilliant idea to provide kids with wide variety of leisure time activities like reading books, playing with friends, doing sports, which plays a vital role in developing a healthy body and mind.

The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts

Dear Homeschool Parent:

My name is Lee Binz. I'm just a regular homeschool mom who four years ago struck gold in the form of those two full-tuition scholarships.
Ever since then, parents have been asking me, "How did you create such beautiful transcripts for your boys?" Well, the truth is: it wasn't easy.

When I started homeschooling high school, I was filled with insecurity and self-doubt. I mean, who was to say what colleges wanted in homeschool records? The truth was, I didn’t know. Worse, I KNEW I DIDN’T KNOW and that truth terrified me.

My husband and I wanted desperately to graduate our boys from homeschool. We had tasted the bitterness of public schools when our kids were younger and we were positively committed to not returning. And we didn’t have the money for college, let alone for private Christian high school.

Besides, homeschooling our boys had been the most WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE of our lives and we would have done ANYTHING to finish the job right. Still, every time I thought about preparing and maintaining a high school transcript, I’d break out in a cold-sweat.

I’m sort of different in the way I deal with stress, though…. I research like crazy until I master the information! When I was studying how to create my sons' transcripts, I noticed none of the homeschool experts seemed to agree about ANYTHING!

I would read six different books and end up with seven different opinions on how to do a transcript! Each book would have an entirely different approach to grades, credits, record keeping, co-op classes, format and just about every other aspect of creating a transcript. It was SO FRUSTRATING!

So, I decided to look into the popular options of accreditation programs and alternative education. These groups, however, seemed to totally dismiss and discount my method of homeschooling and made me feel inadequate as a teacher and a mother.

Homeschooling

Advantages

* Educational freedom
* Physical freedom
* Emotional freedom
* Religious freedom
* Closer family relationships
* Well-Rested kids
* No Busywork


Disadvantages

* Time restraint
* Financial restraint
* Limited team sports
* Living outside the norm


Planning

* Prepare: Home schooling your child will take a great deal of work. You must be able to devote a larger portion of your time to your child’s education. Once you begin this journey you start to understand the tremendous responsibility you are putting on your shoulders. You will determine your child’s future.
* Determine the style and method of home schooling you will use.
* Plan the curriculum. The amount of material for home schooling is astounding. You must do your research and determine which method you will use.
* Find support: Chances are there are others in your community who are home schooling their children. There may be a support group available in your area. Joining such a group will give you support when you need it.
* Legality: Find out what is necessary in your state to make home schooling legal. Each state is different and it is important that you register correctly for your state.


Highest Rated Resources

The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts. Lee Binz Shares The Secrets Of Creating Great Homeschool Transcripts That Will Impress Colleges. No Matter How You Homeschool, Parents Are Capable Of Creating Effective Transcripts That Provide A Clear Picture Of Their Students Academic Record.

Knowledge Quest, Inc. & Homeschooling ABCs. Classes And Resources For Home Educators.

Homeschool Cash – Make A Full Time Income By Homeschooling. 6 Month Membership That Teaches You How To Make A Full Time Income Within 6 Months By Homeschooling Your Kids! Great For Home School Moms And Parents Looking For Extra Cash.


Research on childhood education

In earlier days, enlisted professional tutors were an option for elite group of people. Hence most of the children were educated by means of homeschooling. Compulsory education came in to existence in 17th century. Many researches were done on early childhood education and their effect on children physical and mental development. The research results were as follows:

Formal schooling before ages 8-12 was harmful to children. Earlier enrollment of students also caused nearsightedness, increase enrollment of students in special classes. The bond and emotional development of children developed long term with parents are cut short by earlier enrollment in schools. This can not be replaced by any institutional policies.


Methodology

Children in homeschooling are taught by various methods and materials. Some of the methods are “unschooling”, Montessori, school at home, Waldorf Education and others.

Unit studies: This approach integrates several subjects in to one topical theme

All-in-one-curricula: This is also called school in a box. This cover many subjects, usually an entire year’s worth of material. They contain all needed books and materials.

Student-paced learning: This is similar to all-in-one-curricula. This method allows students to progress at their own speed.

Online education: This method improves the quality of homeschooling. Parents can be with their children during online learning. Also, online tutoring helps disabled students or students who cannot travel to learn.

Natural learning: Also called “unschooling”. This helps students to pursue subjects of their interest. The term “unschooling” was coined by John Holt. This method recommends that you “educate children by doing”.


International status

Countries with most prevalent home education are Austria, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some also have regulated home education as an extension of the compulsory education such as Germany and Brazil.


Famous home schooled individuals

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of United States taught himself how to read, write and do arithmetic.

George Washington, 1st United States president.

Che Guevara, Guerilla leader in Cuba, Africa and Bolivia.

Elizabeth II, the queen of the United Kingdom received early education at home.

Thomas Edison, an inventor and businessman received most of his education by reading on his own.


Summary

Home schooling is a great way to stay close to your children. At the same time you can help them become well rounded adults. It gives parents the opportunity to help shape their child’s future. Parents are more able to inject their lifestyle and beliefs into their children’s educational experience.

Home schooling is also much safer that attending public school. Parents have much more flexibility to individualize their child’s education. Home schooling is not as easy as it sounds. It is more difficult than most parents are ready for.

Parents have to brush up on their own education in order to home school. Many parents are unprepared for the curriculum their children need in home schooling. If you are thinking about home schooling your child you should do some research first. You need to make sure that you can understand the curriculum necessary to teach your child.

A few of the steps to home schooling your children are:

Many parents are not prepared for the challenge of teaching their children. It is hard for many parents to separate teaching from parenting. But by using some of the resources available, it can be a rewarding experience for parent and child alike.

Look Before You Leap

Figuring out how to pay for college isn’t easy. For most people, savings, grants and scholarships don’t cover all the costs. Working helps, but working too much while you’re in school (more than 15 hours a week) can hurt your grades and chances of graduating. Using student loans to fill the gap can help you stay and succeed in college, but it’s important to shop around and borrow only as much as you really need.

If you’ve been offered student loans as part of your college’s financial aid package, talk to a financial aid officer to see if you might be eligible for more grants. If your financial situation has changed, or there are relevant circumstances not reflected in your FAFSA, you may be able to borrow less. If you’ve decided that borrowing is a good choice for you, here are some tips to help you get a fair deal:
Start with the safest loans

*

Federal loans are the safest place to start. Interest rates on federal loans don’t change over time and aren’t affected by your credit rating. Federal loans also come with some guaranteed borrower protections in case you’re unemployed or have other financial problems after college.
o

Perkins and Subsidized Stafford loans are the safest and most affordable federal loans. If you qualify for them, they’re a great deal, because the government pays all the interest while you’re in school. The interest rate for Perkins loans is fixed at 5%, and for Subsidized Staffords it’s fixed at no more than 6.8%.
o

Unsubsidized Stafford Loans are the next best option, and they’re available to everyone, regardless of income. Interest builds up while you’re in school, but you don’t have to start making payments until six months after you graduate, and you still get the federal borrower protections. The interest rate for Unsubsidized Staffords is fixed at no more than 6.8%.
o

PLUS Loans, which are only for parents and graduate students, have a higher interest rate of up to 8.5%, but they are generally a better deal than private loans (except, perhaps, some home equity loans).
*

Private student loans, sometimes called “alternative” loans, are much riskier. They’re a lot like credit cards: even if they start at what seem like low rates, those rates can shoot up at any time, and the interest costs can quickly surpass whatever you borrowed to begin with. Also, they don’t have the borrower protections that come with federal loans.
o

If you have a lot of financial need, use federal loans before you consider a private loan.
o

Beware of private loans in disguise: some schools put their own name on private loans, or the loans may have other brand names that make them look safer than they really are. Lenders often offer both federal and private loans, so make sure you know what you’re getting before you sign on the line.

College Information

Budgeting, financial aid, SAT prep, scholarships, admission requirements...applying and choosing a college can, indeed, be overwhelming.

Tips Classroom Learning

Knowing more about educational psychology and the different instructional strategies out there can help you work with your child's teacher to provide a better, more tailored learning environment. Read on for comprehensive descriptions of classroom teaching techniques, educational theories, instructional strategies and classroom management strategies.

School and Academics

You want the best possible education for your child, but knowing how to choose your child's school and get involved in their education can be as challenging as your child's math homework! We've gathered top-notch articles on everything from helping your child learn to read to communicating with your child's teacher. We've got you covered, so that you can ensure your child develops a lifelong love of learning.

Study of Montgomery County Schools Shows Benefits of Economic Integration

The debate over reforming public education has focused mostly on improving individual schools through better teaching and expanded accountability efforts. But the study, to be released Friday, addresses the potential impact of policies that mix income levels across several schools or an entire district. And it suggests that such policies could be more effective than directing extra resources at higher-poverty schools.

The idea is easier to apply in areas with substantial middle-class populations and more difficult in communities, such as the District, with large concentrations of poverty. Yet it lends fresh support to an idea as old as the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954: Segregated schools - in this case, separated by economics, not law - are rarely as good as diverse ones at educating low-income students.

"Today, 95 percent of education reform is about trying to make high-poverty schools work," said Richard Kahlenberg, senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank based in New York that published the report. "This research suggests there is a much more effective way to help close the achievement gap. And that is to give low-income students a chance to attend middle-class schools."
ad_icon

The study tracked the performance of 858 elementary students in public housing scattered across Montgomery from 2001 to 2007. About half the students ended up in schools where less than 20 percent of students qualified for subsidized meals. Most others went to schools where up to 60 percent of the students were poor and where the county had poured in extra money.

After seven years, the children in the lower-poverty schools performed 8 percentage points higher on standardized math tests than their peers attending the higher-poverty schools - even though the county had targeted them with extra resources. Students in these schools scored modestly higher on reading tests, but those results were not statistically significant.

"The conventional wisdom - and I don't want to knock the foundation of it - is that we really need to infuse the poorest schools with lots of resources," said Stefanie DeLuca, associate professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, who has studied the issue and read an advance copy of the report. "This study turns that wisdom on its head to some extent. It says, actually, it's who you are going to school with."

Independent researchers call the report a step forward in studying the benefits of economic integration, which has been difficult to measure because it is hard to find large numbers of poor kids in wealthy areas. But Montgomery provided an ideal laboratory because of a long-standing policy of requiring developers to set aside housing for low-income families, who win spots through a lottery.

That randomness strengthens the study, researchers say. It mitigates a problem that hampered previous studies in which parents actively chose to place their children in better schools, making it difficult to separate the effect of the schools from the effect of having motivated parents.

Researchers see the results as especially significant because Montgomery, one of the nation's best and largest public school districts with 144,000 students, has been uncommonly aggressive in seeking to improve the performance of students in schools with higher poverty.

It has divided the county into a high-performing, more-affluent green zone and a high-needs red zone, where schools receive about $2,000 more in per-pupil funding. And yet, the low-income students in the study performed better in the green-zone schools.

Montgomery School Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said that the report's findings were no surprise but that his policies are designed to counteract the ill effects of housing patterns that concentrate poverty in certain areas.

Labaree on why low standards for education are good

No education scholar in America throws an analytical knuckleball as well as David F. Labaree of Stanford University. You are reading along, enjoying the clarity of his prose and the depth of his research, thinking his argument is going one way when--whoops!--it breaks in another direction altogether.

It is dizzying, but in a fun way, like an intricate rollercoaster. In a recent book, for instance, Labaree showed that education schools like the one that employs him teach theories that have little to do with how schools work but--here comes the twist--that's okay because education school graduates ignore those courses once they start teaching.

He is at it again in his new book, "Someone Has To Fail: The Zero-Sum Game of Public Schooling." The book is only 280 pages long, but so rich in contrarian assaults on cherished American assumptions I cannot adequately summarize it. I will describe pieces of it instead, like the thrilling part where Labaree disembowels the argument for higher U.S. school standards made by Bob Compton, the high-tech entrepreneur who produced the film "Two Million Minutes" and completely skewered me once on cable TV.

Education for Sustainability The Energy Sector

We need to urgently enhance the services that energy provides, while improving efficiency of energy use. This would not just keep our energy consumption under control but also reduce the social and environmental impacts associated with energy production and use; and keep costs under control. This requires better choices by energy consumers, changed role of workers in the energy industry, as well as better planning by energy policy makers and implementers. In short meeting the mammoth goal of achieving rapid development while maintaining energy security and controlling impact on global warming needs changes in paradigm implicit to our institutions, reflected in planning as well as day–to–day operation of systems and consumer habits.

Awareness and education at all levels is urgently required to achieve this mammoth task of doing a course correction and adapting a to new paradigm. Educational efforts need to reach out to all major actors in the energy sector, that is, consumers, the utilities and other implementation bodies, and policy makers. This short article gives examples of the large task we have in front of us along with the large impact that can be achieved through a modified vision and behavior.

Education for Consumers
Energy consumers need to be educated on the impact of their actions and provided information which can help them to change their actions. Hardly any consumer is aware of the wide difference in the energy consumption of similar looking appliances that are being sold in the market. Figure 1 shows the large potential saving by choosing a specific model of refrigerator. Less dramatic, but similar story exists for almost all appliances and industrial processes. Education through such means can improve consumer choice and reduce energy consumption in addition to increasing sales of efficient appliances, creating an incentive to produce more efficient appliances.

The Akshaya Prakash Yojana is a good example of what education for consumers can do in terms of community action. This was a Voluntary Load Reduction Scheme in villages and Small Cities run by the Maharshtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL) under which the MSEDCL offered to substantially reduce the load shedding hours on the conditions that (a) the citizens/users do not run any power intensive appliances, such as flour mills, water pumps during the evening peak hours and (b) the community comes together to identify and stop the power theft (hooks — that powered the water heaters and electric hot-plates). As a result, the agricultural pumps got reliable supply at good voltage, overall electricity consumption reduced and MSEDCL could reduce or even remove the load shedding in these villages. The scheme rapidly expanded to nearly 5,000 villages and resulted in saving over 900 MW. But unfortunately, the scheme was wound up due to reducing benefits — due to lack of proper monitoring and control by MSEDCL. Figure 2 shows a heap of water heaters removed by the villages under the Akshaya Prakash Yojana. Community actions such as these are important and are possible only after education campaigns that preceded the Akshaya Prakash Yojana.
Water heaters voluntarily removed in Maharashtra village under Akshaya Prakash Scheme

Courtesy Mr Girish Sant

Although sizable power theft is by urban rich and industry, the rural areas are not free of the malice. Power intensive devices such as water heaters and cooking hot-plates are being used in conjunction with power theft by rural poor.

A spectacular public awareness campaign was carried out in Thailand some years ago. As a curtain raiser, a country–wide advertisement campaign was done to sensitize people about resource wastage in their daily life. The campaign culminated in a one-hour programme which was aired on all TV channels, at prime time. The programme itself started with a series of statements from experts within the power sector and celebrities who spoke on energy efficiency and the need for demand side management and how individuals can make a difference. The key point in the programme came when the consumption of electricity through the day was shown as a graph, including the consumption at that moment. At this point, viewers were requested to switch off any one appliance that was not being used at that time. And within a few minutes, the graph that was being generated in real time, showed a significant dip in consumption as one–by–one gadgets were switched off all across the country. To put this example in our context, just one lamp put off by each consumer in India can reduce the power need by as much as 7000 MW — three times Enron’s Dabhol plant!

Education for Industry
It is not uncommon that industry and appliance manufacturers themselves have little idea of potential impacts of their actions. There have been several examples of major awareness campaigns for the industry, which have yielded significant results. Under a program, some of the European countries initiated series of actions to improve awareness among the industry CEOs. In addition to pointing out the potential saving in their industries the governments instituted tax benefits to industry meeting targets of reduced energy usage. In several cases, these targets were met much earlier than expected, resulting in government announcing new targets for increased energy saving.

Appliance manufacturers have a much larger impact on the economy and energy consumption. However many manufacturers are too small to have the capability to invent or adopt efficient designs on their own. In the mid 1970s, California commissioned the Berkley National Lab to carry out a detailed study on mechanisms to reduce the energy consumption of refrigerators. This source–book was freely given to all manufacturers and then they were told to ensure that their products meet the efficiency standards being set by the government.

The case of Japan is very illustrative. The Japanese government promoted awareness on the importance of efficiency in a big way, following the oil price shock in the mid–1970s. Even today, Japanese products — are recognized for their energy efficiency. Japanese cars and motorcycle designs lead in efficiency. This has contributed to their success in terms of capturing major share the in world market. Another indicator of this has been the Japanese oil consumption level, which remained steady for decades after mid 1970s despite the country achieving major economic growth.

Awareness building of CEOs along with change in incentive structure or imposition of standards / rules are critical for rapid and dramatic changes.

Education of Planners
Utility managers and energy planners are the most critical actors, as they can shape policies and government actions that have long–term and deep impacts on society. Most managers and planners have grown–up in a paradigm that has been supply–based and without limits to consumption. When we need to change the paradigm, they need to be made aware of the possibility of a different paradigm as well as tools required to operationalize the new paradigm.

California provides an example of how policy makers and manufacturers and utilities worked together to reduce energy consumption. The per capita consumption of electricity in California has remained stable since the mid 1970s while the US national average consumption has increased since then by as much as 50%. Figure 3 shows the per–capita consumption of three states and the US average.

Per-capita Electricity consumption in different states in the USA

The per-capita consumption of Texas or even the US average has been steadily increasing. California has been an exception. Since, mid 1970s, its consumption has remained constant. Utility and government led programs to conserve electricity; building and appliance efficiency standards and changed incentives have been the major drivers for this change. (Source – Presentation by Jayant Sathaye, Leader, International Energy Studies Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA)

In 1976, California faced the possibility of having to build a nuclear power plant to meet energy needs. The California government realized that the energy consumption by refrigerators in the state was equivalent to building five plants of the type planned. Improving the energy efficiency of the refrigerators would offset the need to build a new power plant. Stringent appliance standards were adopted by California and this led to improved home refrigerators as mentioned earlier. California adopted a different mode than most other states. The utilities promoted efficient appliances through information campaigns and rebate schemes for consumers. In the process the utility avoided the need for building expensive new power plants.

Two years ago, Prayas and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (of the Ministry of Power, Govt of India) organized a workshop to promote the efficient lamps (called CFLs). In recent years, several states have embarked upon schemes to replace the incandescent bulbs with CFLs. The Uttar Haryana Electricity Company has taken up a massive campaign to replace the regular incandescent bulbs with good quality CFLs. High initial cost and lack of availability of good quality CFLs was a barrier for consumers — both were linked to the small market share of CFLs. Utility intervention has made CFLs available easily and widely, at a low cost. The Haryana campaign includes a publicity campaign, a guarantee on the life of CFLs, a scheme to take back/replace worn out bulbs, and a provision to avail of 3 coupons while paying the electricity bills to buy CFL lamps.

The role of education in radically changing the paradigm in transport sector is also noteworthy. Cities in several countries are changing the way they look at transport systems — these are being designed to move persons rather than creating space for moving cars! Efficient public transport, cost–based pricing of road tax on cars are some of the tools used for this transformation. Reduced congestion, reduced travel time, reduced energy consumption and air pollution have been some of the advantages of this change. Some cities in India have started this process in a small way. Interest free loans were given to taxi drivers in Delhi, who were willing to convert to CNG. Pune is experimenting with Bus Rapid Transit System and so on.

Policy formulation is not a one–time task and hence continued awareness and education is essential. Policies made today would bring about changes over a few years, which have to be assessed — did changes take place, what was effective, and if not, what prevented positive changes from occurring. Policy formulation is an iterative process and educational processes can help at all levels — policy formulation, implementation, evaluation and refocusing.

Conclusion
Education plays a key role especially during evolution of a paradigm. This is a large task considering that we have thousands of planners and managers in key positions in energy utilities. Media leaders are critical in shaping public debate. The numbers are much larger in the energy consuming industry and appliance manufacturing industry. If we do a good job in educating them, wider awarenesas building of consumers can become a manageable task.

Addressing Gender Issues and HIV/AIDS through Formal Education Institutions in India

Sandhya Chandrasekharan

The concept of gender emerges from the understanding that biological sex (male or female), is not the only factor influencing the formation of human identities as Men and Women. Various structures and institutions through the (unseen and unquestioned?) ideologies that operate within them create what is ‘commonly accepted’ as ‘Men’ and ‘Women’. This socially constructed identity is gender. It is about Femininities and Masculinities and the process of their creation in societies. For this reason, gender identities also lend themselves to analysis (and ideally, change) in relation to ideas of social justice and well-being.

The word gender has become a politically correct synonym for the study of women. Gender, however, does not refer to women, but to the manner in which male and female differences are socially constructed.Is Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) an extension of Environmental Education (EE) which has been in vogue since the 1970's? Without going into a detailed analysis, it may help to start from what exists and reflect on whether within formal education systems like that in India, EE has largely became nature appreciation and ‘do and don’t messages about the natural environment.

The United Nations-Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14), by giving prominence to ‘ESD’ has at one level encouraged a shift in focus from ‘natural environment’ to ‘sustainable development’ that encompasses a broader environment or surrounding shaped by ecology no doubt, but also social, economic, political and cultural realities.

Secondly, several consultative processes of educators and education policy makers at the international level, have tried to emphasise that ESD is not so much education about sustainable development (information being passed on), but education for sustainable development (facilitating certain thought, feeling and action). These serve as important starting points in this attempt to establish the link between ESD and addressing HIV/AIDS.

1) From EE to ESD: While the content area of 'traditional' environmental education has been topics on energy renewal, science and technology, nature studies, biodiversity etc. ESD is also about equity education in various realms including political and social life, intercultural understanding and gender.

2) Because ESD is education for SD, traditional examination-based classroom centred teaching-learning methodology that tests retention of information (ie: education about something) but not the affective or the capability-enhancing dimension of that information, need to be enlarged and broadened with teaching-learning spaces and processes that are both effective and capable of catering to the specific nature of content.

Central to both tasks, is the need to construct within educational institutions the ability to intervene in gendered roles, relationships and stereotypes that shape young men and women. Essentially, given the appropriateness of or learner-readiness for certain kinds of information at certain stages of physical and psychological maturity, gender-aware education can lay the foundation for more empowered and responsible behaviour in relation to sexuality in both young men and women at a later date. Given the prevalent 'South Asia pattern' of morbidity due to HIV/AIDS where entire families are affected normally through the male 'head' of the family, ESD provides an imperative to examine dominant gender socialisation and cultural norms on sexuality often reinforced or ignored within educational institutions. The dominant gender division of girls and boys (as two very different, rather than as two very similar groups with only different reproductive roles, which they may or may not take on) find expression even in schools’ every day routines in terms of delegation of tasks and roles and specific arrangements such as classroom seating and assembly formations.

The educational institution is often unaware of the processes by which it, along with other social institutions like the family and the media are engaged in socialising children into accepting and naturalizing iniquitous ‘gender roles’. The mass media works most commonly to strengthen the traditional social norms related to gender identity and gender values. The stereotyping in the portrayals of men and women, and the asymmetric roles that they are depicted in, reinforce the relative space accorded to men and women in society. Advertising is increasingly 'objectifying' the body (more often the female body and placing it under the 'male gaze') for the purpose of selling products. As a result, while women may take on new roles — as economic agents and social actors, the fundamental unequal relations between men and women remain unchanged.

Spaces for questioning the disempowering effect of these messages can be created within the formal curriculum and in so called extra-curricular ways in a manner suitable to different stages besides in certain overarching ways (eg: rethinking assembly formation).

Teaching social studies in a challenging manner would involve wanting children to learn to think independently, make well considered choices, and reflect on what goes on in their minds and around them. Understanding the importance of support for the educator, several non governmental organisations have taken up the cause. Avehi-Abacus is one such (http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~ams26/adoptaproject/avehi.html) that one school educator recommends (Seshadri, A (2004) A New Way of Thinking for Children: New Approaches to the Curriculum). The Abacus project developed materials that have been tried in the government school system and has helped influence overall curriculum modifications in Maharashtra. It is committed to empowerment through education and to using the potential of audio-visual media to facilitate rational thinking, social awareness and social change.

A toolkit called Sangati comprises six teaching-learning kits, each on a specific theme, two each for classes 5, 6, and 7. They consist of a teachers’ manual, and set of visual aids. The titles are:
• Myself, my body, our needs
• Our earth and the web of life
• How societies developed
• The way we live
• Understanding change
• Preparing for our future

The kit is not about subject matter alone which closely ties up with social studies but one that provides a new way of thinking and learning for children, of looking at and interpreting the world around them and themselves; of helping them see the links between everyday experience, and what they learn. The Teachers’ Manual contains detailed plans for the sessions to be conducted during the year, background and supplementary information, and skill building inputs for teachers. The methodology enables teachers to build a confidence in the children that they will be heard, their views are valuable, that there is space for differences and divergent opinions… a key element in more egalitarian gender socialisation. The structure of the class is built into each kit: there is a component of information dissemination, space for discussion and debate, and opportunity for individual exploration and learning. The kits have visual teaching aids such as posters, flip charts, picture cards.

The manual for class 6 on ‘The World We Live In’, deals with a wide range of issues including families, gender and stereotypes. The note to the teachers explains the reason for inclusion as deliberate and necessary. The presentation of the issue is such that it is as relevant as possible to the children’s reality and ensures that the discussions do not remain at a theoretical level, but actually draw on the experiences and opinions of the students. For instance, the story-cum-discussion based on the flip card ‘Maya’s Story’ is about a young girl Maya who tells her story about the male-dominated and autocratic family structure which does not allow her to make decisions about her life. A 16-year-old, she is unhappy about the fact that her father is deciding to get her married. Her mother gives her all the old arguments such as, ‘...put up with it, that is the way the world is and it is all for your good...’ her uncle tries to intervene on her behalf but he is not given any space. Maya thinks of how her father had loved her when she had been younger. She wonders if she could draw out that affection and talk to him about her feelings. The story ends there. Children are invited to imagine what happens when Maya steps out to talk to her father, and then through a discussion, look at gender-based norms in relation to marriage, right to education, economic independence, freedom of expression and in decision making, family support, societal response and so on.

For the slightly older child, adolescence, the crucial time of marked internal development and massive cultural indoctrination invites thoughtful interventions. Family, peers and society communicate in various ways strong social norms that can be disturbing or damaging, or simply difficult to cope with. It is a time of adjusting to physical changes and being authentic in ‘owning’ emotions and thoughts related to the body. Adults tend to be moralistic about adolescent expressions and experiences: ‘Don’t do this and don’t do that...’ or ‘Your clothes are provocative and that is why you are eve-teased’. Peer pressure that surrounds the period of growing up merits special concern. Schools have taken to addressing these concerns in meaningful ways. It could take the form of a workshop, or an open forum like a bulletin board. Some schools (especially if they have branches in a region) formalise a youth organisation for their older students, with local and regional chapters and a scheme of activities concurrent to the academic calendar. The Chinmaya Mission Schools Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (abbreviated as CHYK) is one such. Informed and sensitive guidance, in whatever form, is the key. This may also mean access to a competent social worker/ counsellor if need be.

For high school and college students the psycho-physical and socio-cultural elements of HIV/AIDS can be introduced more directly. The epidemiology of the HIV/AIDS in India, the societal response, and the related issues, can be discussed in relation to key trends — say, the higher rate of growth of infection in, and mortality, among Women, the Urban-Rural pattern of spread, and increasing prevalence of infection among teenagers and young adults. Audio-visual media can powerfully supplement the messages and engage young people.

One such attempt by CEE used a 17minute clipping from Anand Patwardhan’s documentary ‘Father, Son and Holy War’, and the music video ‘Babul’ by Shubha Mudgal to examine Masculinity and the Woman’s status within marriage, respectively. Besides students’ involvement as ‘subjects’ in the theme, they can be engaged as potential ‘agents of change’. Examining various interventions to address HIV/ AIDS serves to highlight their role as citizens in supporting the challenge of bringing about a more comprehensive socio-cultural response.

The concept of gender emerges from the understanding that biological sex (male or female), is not the only factor influencing the formation of human identities as Men and Women. Various structures and institutions through the (unseen and unquestioned?) ideologies that operate within them create what is ‘commonly accepted’ as ‘Men’ and ‘Women’. This socially constructed identity is gender. It is about Femininities and Masculinities and the process of their creation in societies. For this reason, gender identities also lend themselves to analysis (and ideally, change) in relation to ideas of social justice and well-being.

The word gender has become a politically correct synonym for the study of women. Gender, however, does not refer to women, but to the manner in which male and female differences are socially constructed.

Wonkitorial: Lights Out

In yet another sign that our country is in serious trouble, some municipalities are turning-off street lights while others are allowing paved roads to revert to gravel:The lights are going out all over America — literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being

Back To School At Warp Speed

Now we've seen it all.A jet-powered school bus that can reach speeds of 367 mph.Will the Wonders of this Modern Age never cease?

Investing The Union Way

The California Teachers Association, which forcibly withholds money from each of my paychecks, now has an authorized website to help me invest gamble what remains of my ever-declining teacher salary.This union legalized syndicate has some nerve.

COP 9 - Convention on Biological Diversity

Bonn, Germany, 19 - 30 May 2008

The ninth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity was the last meeting of the Parties before 2010 – the decisive date by which heads of state and government want to significantly reduce the loss of biological diversity. The “Bonn Agenda for global biological diversity” adopted during the ministerial meeting identifies areas where progress is particularly important:

• adoption of an internationally binding agreement on the fair sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of biological diversity,
• continuation of the Life Web Initiative for a voluntary global network of protected areas on land and at sea,
• mobilisation of financial resources, detailed assessment of the 2010 target and conclusion of a study showing the economic costs caused by destruction of nature.

Bonn also saw important decisions taken in other areas:

• Illegal logging: Calls for further national and international measures against illegal logging and trade in illegal timber are far more explicit than before.
• Marine protected areas: Delegates committed to establishing a global network of marine protected areas by 2012.
• Biofuels: The Delegates agreed on sustainable production and use of biofuels, with a view to biodiversity conservation.
• Genetically modified trees: It was agreed that without a risk analysis, Parties have the right to forego the use of genetically modified trees.
• Climate protection and biodiversity: The cooperation between the CBD and the Framework Convention on Climate Change is to be improved.
• Fertilisation of marine areas: COP 9 took a clear stance against activities for the artificial fertilisation of marine areas with the goal of carbon capture.

The German delegation also presented two new initiatives: the LifeWeb Initiative and the Business and Biodiversity Initiative. The LifeWeb Initiative facilitates the financing of new or existing protected areas in a swift and unbureaucratic way. With LifeWeb, Germany and other countries will provide additional funding, including for the financing of existing or new forest protected areas. In the framework of the Business and Biodiversity Initiative, 34 internationally active companies presented their voluntary commitment to make biodiversity conservation an important component of their future corporate and management policies.

In addition, the fourth meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety took place from 12 to 16 May 2008.

Urban Biodiversity and the Role of Cities

“We can’t afford to shut nature out of the cities. It’s not just a quality of life issue for city dwellers—it’s about protecting life itself.”Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological DiversityBonn, May 2008“

With more than half of the world’s people now living in cities, 191countries for the first time, discussed ways to promote biodiversity in an urban setting at the Biodiversity Conference that took place in Bonn, Germany in May 2008. Cities have long been viewed as major contributors to the pollution, consumption, waste and habitat loss that have contributed to the accelerating loss of biodiversity around the world. But in recent years, many cities have been at the forefront of efforts to conserve biodiversity resources within the urban setting. The Conference of Parties adopted, for the first time, a decision on cities and biodiversity—decision IX/28. This decision encourages the 191 Parties to the Convention to recognize the role of cities in national strategies and plans, and invites Parties to support and assist cities in implementing the Convention at local level.

Indeed, one of the greatest achievements of the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties is
the recognition that the implementation of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity requires the full engagement of cities and local authorities.

A plan of action on cities and biodiversity will be submitted to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to be held in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in October 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. A Nagoya Summit on Cities and Biodiversity will be convened during the meeting.

Fifty mayors, from 30 countries, representing over 100 million urban dwellers met in Bonn on 26-27 May 2008 the under the theme “Local Action for Biodiversity” to underline the importance of urban biodiversity. The Mayors at the conference and urban experts discussed ways to incorporate biodiversity into the urban context through projects to protect water supplies, treat sewage, manage garbage, provide recreational facilities, and conserve biodiversity-rich areas adjacent to cities.

Community Driven Biodiversity Conservation in Dudhwa National Park

Community Driven Biodiversity Conservation in Dudhwa National Park

Neeraj Pal, CEE North
Spread over 616 sq Km, with a core area of 490 sq Km, the Dudhwa National Park (DNP) forms a unique ecosystem in the Himalayan foothills of the Terai Arc Landscape. Known for its tall Sal trees, swamps and grasslands, DNP is home to swamp deer, Hog deer (Axis porcimus), Spotted deer (Axis axis), Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac) and Sambar (Cervus unicolor) found together only in Dudhwa and no where else in India. Dudhwa is also home of two critically endangered species Hispid hare and Bengal florican. The great Indian one horned Rhinoceros was successfully reintroduced in this area in 1984.

The area is also inhabited by the Tharu tribal community, traditionally dependent on forest resources for their livelihoods. Till 1976 they lived in thirty seven forests villages, two of which were in the core area and the remaining in the buffer area. Today Surma village with ninety nine families still lies in the core area, while all the others lie in the buffer zone of the park.

The agricultural fields of the villagers adjoin the buffer area of the park. When there is a shortage of fodder inside the protected area, especially in monsoon and winter season, wild herbivores migrate to the cultivated fields and cause heavy crop damage. Occasionally, carnivores follow the herbivores igniting further man and animal conflict. The Forest Department has installed electric fences on the forest boundary adjoining the cropping fields with the support of NEDA (Non Conventional Energy Development Agency). The Forest Department also compensates the community for crop raiding or cattle lifting.

CEE with funding from Keidernan Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF) stepped in 2005 with a project Community Driven Natural Resource Management for Biodiversity Conservation in Dudhwa National Park. The project aimed to develop capabilities for sustainable livelihoods amongst the village community that would in turn ensure conservation of biodiversity in the region.

Understanding Issues and Participatory Action Planning
The first phase of the implementation started with collection of detailed information of the park, the status of the natural resource base, conservation issues and threats, initiatives being implemented by the Forest Department, etc. Awareness and discussion workshops were organized at department and community level to build initial rapport and understanding about Natural Resource Management, its related practices and the role of the communities in it. The exercise helped prepare a community based plan and agenda for action. In order to initiate a dialogue with students, a Dudhwa Utsav (festival) was organised during Wildlife Week.

A cluster of four villages closer to the protected area were selected where mobilization of the local community has been carried out. Village biodiversity conservation committees were set up to facilitate active participation of the communities. The ultimate goal of the biodiversity committee formation was to institutionalize the collaboration between the forest department and local communities.

A baseline survey was done to assess the extent of dependency of people on forests. It also helped in a needs assessment of the villagers living close to the national park. Based on the baseline data analysis and need assessment a framework for action component for further work was drawn up.

Conservation with Participation
In year 2007, the second phase of the project was initiated with the objective of conserving the biodiversity of Dudhwa by managing the natural resources through communities’ participation and networking with key institutions.

Community level activities included improvement of community’s livelihood skills through capacity building, training and providing alternatives for fuel wood and market facilities for the tribal handicraft. The main emphasis was on to reduce the pressure from the PA. Meetings were organized in each selected village with community members to disseminate and discuss the findings of the earlier survey and discussions. An annual fuel wood consumption assessment was also done and its results shared.

Based on discussions with the communities, capacity building programmes were devised. The first training programme was done on sustainable energy options with the objective to minimize the fuel wood pressure from the DNP. This was done in partnership with Non-Conventional Energy Development Agency (NEDA). With the State Education Department another training programme was initiated for teachers in schools around Dudhwa.

Two artisan groups were identified from Dhyanpur and Barbata village of Sonaripur Range of DNP. These groups are engaged in preparation of traditional handicraft items like baskets, hand fans, file folders and mobile covers. The artisans, mostly women, prepare handicraft items from local grass varieties Kansa (Saccharum spontaneum, Linn) and Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus). The handicraft items with little modifications in designs had a good market demand. They are a potential sustainable livelihood option for the community.

CEE decided to provide some market linkages for these articles. A networking exercise was done to bring in partners for product design, development and marketing. The Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED) supports tribal artisans groups in the form of registered self help groups or committees by providing marketing support. A plan for skill based training, development of products; promotion of the handicraft in market was discussed. The network developed to support project implementation included Sarvangeen Vikas Samti, World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Non-conventional Energy Development Agency, TRIFED, Forest Department, Primary and Secondary Education Departments, SVS, WWF, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, etc.

Developing Sustained Conservation Practices
The present activities are focused on developing an eco village to demonstrate sustainable energy and livelihood options, in collaboration with WWF. Balera and Maura villages have been selected based on willingness of the community members and the overall support provided by the villagers during the earlier work. It is planned to demonstrate a toilet linked biogas unit in both the Balera and Maura with community participation. The improved chullah (stove) is also being demonstrated in both the villages with a view to reduce the pressure of fuel wood collection. Organic farming practices are being discussed with selected villages.