Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Lincoln's Letter to his son's teacher
Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob
and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.
Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him,
because only the test of fire makes fine steel.
Let him have the courage to be impatient...
let him have the patient to be brave.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order, but see what you can do...
He is such a fine fellow, my son!
-Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher
(Courtesy: School Magazine, The New Indian Express, August 22, 2007)
and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.
Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him,
because only the test of fire makes fine steel.
Let him have the courage to be impatient...
let him have the patient to be brave.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order, but see what you can do...
He is such a fine fellow, my son!
-Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher
(Courtesy: School Magazine, The New Indian Express, August 22, 2007)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
'Train Your Brain' by Ravi Samuel
How to get your brain to function more effectively?
The most important brain functions related to studies are attention, concentration, memory, abstract thinking, comprehension, learning, processing-thinking speed and reasoning.
There are three aspects to memory: Learning, Registration and Recall. Never read something without understanding. After reading, think about it, visualise pictures, diagrams, flow charts etc. Revise the points and not the text as you will be able to remember the text when you remember the points. Before revising, recall and see how much you remember. Use flash cards for revision. Comprehension is nothing but how well you are able to understand. If a student listens to the teacher and then reads the relevant material, it will improve comprehension. After reading a sentence take a moment to think what the sentence is about. Try to explain to yourself in your own words the meaning of the sentence. The whole process of studying is to know, but sometimes in a hurry to complete portions some students ignore this aspect and keep memorising without understanding. If you read with an intention to learn the material, then you are likely to understand and remember every word you study. Ask yourself questions about what you have read.
The speed in which one can read to understand and then remember can vary from person to person. Students must know their own speed of learning. When a student reads a subject for the first time, he should read the text slowly and understand every point. Then with repeated reading the student can increase the speed.
Brain Functions
Language is another important brain function related to studies. The material is remembered as words and also reproduced in words along with diagrams. Language develops only with constant usage. Read about the subject as widely as possible from magazines, journals, books and so on.
While speaking use as many words as possible. All arithmetic applications are done in the back of the brain. From simple calculations to very complex calculations, all are done in the occipital lobe.
If you are weak in calculation, whenever you find time, do mental calculations. Do not jump to the answer. Go step by step in your mind, don't worry about the time you are taking. It is important that you derive the answer. Repeatedly practise calculations; in one month, you will be super fast.
If we don't know how to ride a bicycle, we don't say the cycle is bad. Similarly, we should train ourselves to make use of the brain to our advantage. The most important step to develop the brain is by saying, "I have a super brain!".
(The writer is a Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapist based in Chennai.)
(Courtesy: Young World, The Hindu, August 10, 2007)
The most important brain functions related to studies are attention, concentration, memory, abstract thinking, comprehension, learning, processing-thinking speed and reasoning.
There are three aspects to memory: Learning, Registration and Recall. Never read something without understanding. After reading, think about it, visualise pictures, diagrams, flow charts etc. Revise the points and not the text as you will be able to remember the text when you remember the points. Before revising, recall and see how much you remember. Use flash cards for revision. Comprehension is nothing but how well you are able to understand. If a student listens to the teacher and then reads the relevant material, it will improve comprehension. After reading a sentence take a moment to think what the sentence is about. Try to explain to yourself in your own words the meaning of the sentence. The whole process of studying is to know, but sometimes in a hurry to complete portions some students ignore this aspect and keep memorising without understanding. If you read with an intention to learn the material, then you are likely to understand and remember every word you study. Ask yourself questions about what you have read.
The speed in which one can read to understand and then remember can vary from person to person. Students must know their own speed of learning. When a student reads a subject for the first time, he should read the text slowly and understand every point. Then with repeated reading the student can increase the speed.
Brain Functions
Language is another important brain function related to studies. The material is remembered as words and also reproduced in words along with diagrams. Language develops only with constant usage. Read about the subject as widely as possible from magazines, journals, books and so on.
While speaking use as many words as possible. All arithmetic applications are done in the back of the brain. From simple calculations to very complex calculations, all are done in the occipital lobe.
If you are weak in calculation, whenever you find time, do mental calculations. Do not jump to the answer. Go step by step in your mind, don't worry about the time you are taking. It is important that you derive the answer. Repeatedly practise calculations; in one month, you will be super fast.
If we don't know how to ride a bicycle, we don't say the cycle is bad. Similarly, we should train ourselves to make use of the brain to our advantage. The most important step to develop the brain is by saying, "I have a super brain!".
(The writer is a Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapist based in Chennai.)
(Courtesy: Young World, The Hindu, August 10, 2007)
Grateful thanks to The Hindu.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Words of Wisdom-6:
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." - William Arthur Ward
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Letter to Students from Swami Purushottamananda
If you are a student, deeply interested in learning, in acquiring knowledge that can enrich your life, here is a booklet that can do just that for you. It has a number of practical hints. It was originally published in Kannada and the response to the book from the student community was overwhelming. There was a persistent demand for an English version for the benefit of those who do not know Kannada and the swamiji himself rewrote the booklet in English. It has been published by Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore-560019 and is priced at Rs.6 per copy. Those who want to read and benefit by it may contact the Math. Their e-mail-id is: rkmblr@vsnl.net and rkmblr_publi@vsnl.net. ISBN 81-7907-042-5.Friday, August 3, 2007
Robert Frost on Education:
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." - Robert Frost
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Words of Wisdom-3: "The Drawbacks of Mere Book-Learning"
Modern education is highly advanced.... Yet, the day to day problems in the society have not diminished. Miseries of the masses are piling up. Hypocrisy, corruption, beastliness and such vices are eating into the human race. It is totally disheartening to notice the educated and the executive class falling prey to darker vices. These hard facts force us to stop and think a while. Yes, education centred on mere book-learning and bread-winning cannot be the panacea. - Srimat Swami Purushottamanandaji Maharaj
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