FOUNDER'S NOTE

I am not a teacher

Overwhelmed by the celebrations of Teachers’ day, and more so by the number of people who greeted me, I was forced to think…..

– do I really teach anything?

My aim is always to stimulate the mind, make others think, and come out with their own ideas, decisions, directions – and to build their own skills.

In fact I often learn from my students, I get so many insights from their questions, comments, feedback etc.

They are MY teachers.

Everywhere we keep hearing only about exams – annual, Board, entrance to colleges, entrance for post-graduation, selection for prestigious posts – the list is endless. No alphabet is left over if we list out exams: SSLC, PUC, CBSE, ICSE, IB, IGCSE, NDA, UPSC, IAS, JEE, NEET, CLAT, IIT, CA, ACCA, CUET, NET, etc., etc.

In all these preparations, tension, coaching, mock-tests, paperwork, what happens to the actual learning that education is supposed to provide? There are reports that the standard of education is going down, institutions are deteriorating, teachers’ motivation is going down, and students consider learning as a burden.

Can we at least inspire and motivate a few children to become curious, gain knowledge and skills – regardless of which exams they pass with how many marks.

At times someone we trust or love hurts us badly.

The person may have let us down, cheated us, humiliated us or ignored us.  When outsiders do the same we are upset for some time but we recover and move on.  But if the person was (or is) very dear to us then it becomes difficult to get over, and the emotional hurt persists for a long time.

Here are some simple tips to reduce the pain and thereby become more relaxed or functional:

1. Acknowledge and Accept Your Feelings, label them
2. Practice Self-Compassion
3. Challenge Negative Thought Patterns
4. Cultivate Forgiveness
5. Spend time with those who have been good to you
6. Do Healing Activities
7. Set Boundaries in to prevent hurt in future

Don’t expect quick results.  The above have to be practiced regularly for a long time before you feel lighter.  Best of luck!

The Power of Emerging Technologies

We have all heard the proverb, “The only permanent thing in life is change”.  But today change is taking place at such a rapid pace that it is not sufficient to adapt to change but one has to anticipate change and ensure that one is ready for its consequences and needs. Students who are taking the most important decision of selecting career need to be aware of what they can expect in future.  With constant improvements in health-care and longevity, young people should look at an average working life of at least 50 years.   Is it possible for you to allow your imagination to run wild and imagine what would be the technology, the lifestyles and the work pattern four or five decades from now?

The happiest people will be those who can visualize the future, at least to some extent, and if they can constantly be aware of the changes (and potential changes) that are taking place.  And I am not just talking about learning new technical skills or undergoing certifying courses to upgrade your work capability. To parents I often say that you should not worry about what career your ward is likely to take up, because the career that he or she will finally land up in has not been invented yet!

Let us reflect over some inventions and developments that everyone knows about, but do not understand their full significance: the mobile phone is hardly 20 years old, but it has become a part of life, not just a means to talk to someone.  Gaming has become a very lucrative career offering unique challenges.  Startups no longer have to queue up before banks begging for money – they are being offered crores of rupees or millions of dollars by private players who recognize capabilities. Prof. Kevin Warwick has become the first cyb-org, a combination of cyber and organic, with a silicon chip in his spinal cord with which he can communicate with cyber devices like his computer. Internet of Things has opened doors for objects such as cars, plants, household appliances and just about anything to be virtually connected without the help of any laptops or smart phones.

I know of people who are living in Bangalore (or even small towns), working for an American company, reporting to a boss in UK, having suppliers in Africa and customers in Singapore.  This is another indication of how geographical boundaries will no longer matter in the selection of careers.  Hence any person who desires to climb the career ladder smoothly and achieve success, will have to have a different perspective not in any way connected with questions like “Is there scope for automobile design in India?”  Scope will disappear completely because if you are good in anything that you do, and are willing to explore and work hard, you can create your own ‘scope’ in terms of jobs, earning and success.

The Disney Foundation that runs Disneylands all over the world had a dilemma: The creative people in their organization would design very attractive rides and hand over the blue prints to the engineers to execute them.  The engineers would find many flaws and reject the designs.  One day someone in Disneyland found a simple solution – they decided to start recruiting bright fresh engineers who have a creative streak in them and can do design.  Every design team now

spends days and months finalizing a ride, and then the entire team is transferred to the

production unit to execute their own design!  This has given rise to a new profession called ‘Imagineers’. Such new concepts will be coming up every now and then.

Smartphone addiction

Many research and survey findings are cautioning about how excessive use of smartphones may lead to different types of personal, social and even work or study-related problems. It is estimated that about 7% users are getting addicted.  Though so far technology-addiction has not been classified as a mental disorder but NIMHANS is already running a SHUT Clinic for those who wish to get away from technology overuse.  Those interested can contact 80-26685948 or write to shutclinic@gmail.com.

On the other hand, Pokemon Go seems to be actually helping people become more positive, friendly and physically active, particularly since it involves outdoor activities which other technology gadgets do not, and this game is actually helping people come out from their TV sets and laptops into nature.