1. Jungle Book:

Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale, “Jungle Book,” has been brought to life through an educational TV adaptation perfect for educational cartoons. The show follows the adventures of Mowgli, a young boy raised by wolves, as he navigates the perils and wonders of the jungle. With themes of friendship, bravery, and respect for nature, Jungle Book imparts valuable moral lessons while encouraging children to embrace diversity and foster a love for wildlife, providing positive learning on TV.

2. Dora the Explorer:

Dora, the curious and adventurous young girl, takes children on a journey of exploration and problem-solving. With interactive elements that encourage viewer participation, Dora the Explorer teaches basic Spanish vocabulary, and problem-solving skills, and promotes cultural awareness. This show fosters positive learning on TV in a spirit of curiosity and empathy, encouraging young viewers to be more open-minded and compassionate.

3. Little Einsteins:

Combining music, art, and adventure, Little Einsteins inspires young children to appreciate the wonders of classical music and art. The educational cartoons show emphasis on teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity cultivating an early understanding of music composition and art appreciation, fostering a lifelong passion for the arts, and encouraging imaginative exploration.

4. Art Attack:

Art Attack is an exceptional show fun and educational TV for children that encourages children to unleash their creativity through various art projects. From simple crafts to intricate masterpieces, the show introduces young viewers to different art techniques and mediums, fostering a love for self-expression and artistic exploration. Art Attack nurtures a sense of confidence and accomplishment, empowering children to express themselves through the beauty of art.

5. MasterChef Junior:

MasterChef Junior is not just a cooking show but also a fun and educational TV for children; it’s an educational platform that teaches children the art of cooking and the importance of culinary skills. With its emphasis on teamwork, creativity, and healthy eating habits, MasterChef Junior inspires young viewers to experiment with food and develop a deeper understanding of various cuisines. This show encourages children to embrace their passion for cooking and nurtures essential life skills in the kitchen.

6. Ask the StoryBots:

Ask the StoryBots is an engaging educational show for kids that answers children’s curious questions through fun and interactive animated adventures. By exploring various topics such as science, technology, and the natural world, Ask the StoryBots promotes critical thinking and encourages a thirst for knowledge. The educational TV shows entertaining approach to learning makes complex concepts more accessible and encourages children to inquire and explore the world around them.

By incorporating these educational TV shows into your child’s screen time, you can provide them with valuable learning experiences and foster their creativity, curiosity, and understanding of the world. These shows not only entertain but also lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning and exploration. With careful moderation and guidance, television can be a powerful tool in shaping your child’s educational journey.

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 Here is a list of the top 5 online educational games for kids.

1. Word search

Parents usually find word search online games for kids as an inappropriate choice but little do they know it is one of the best educational games to promote various skills simultaneously. The pieces of this game in the background add to improvise literary, language, maths, and science skills. Word search is a good fit for preschool learning games because it includes new words according to the apt age group which increases the knowledge and vocabulary of the children.

2. Complete the words

Schools often make the students learn new words, topics, and concepts by making them write the important letters within words just as an activity to complete the word. Preschool games should definitely include this game to enable children to increase their thinking skills and help them build interest in learning. It is fairly important for parents to encourage their children towards fun learning which can be done through online educational games.

3. Board games

Wondering how board games can be learning games for kids? Board games can be a good choice as online games for toddlers because they will help parents and children to bond and learn simultaneously. Preschool games like Ludo, snake, and Ladder can help children understand numbers, addition, and subtraction and be a part of learning games for kids. Board games are a worthy option as an online educational game.

4. Pictionary

Children find learning interesting when the lessons are more about pictorial representations than the write-up. Pictionary is one such online educational game that is a picture-based dictionary. Pictionary makes it fun for children to identify, classify and learn about various letters and words through pictures. Pictionary is one of the great online learning games for kids to increase their retention power and to make kids enthusiastic about learning new words.

5. Whiteboard teaching

It is always beneficial to create a school-like environment for toddlers at home to help them grasp things in one way. Whiteboard teaching is an online educational game that can help parents to revamp the concepts done at school on a daily basis. Whiteboard teaching can be incorporated as preschool learning games online because children can access the same at any time of the day. Parents can make it interesting for toddlers by using an online whiteboard game as a slate.

Conclusion

Online educational games are a salient way to build a child’s interest and motivate them to learn quickly and easily. Online learning games make it easier for parents to make their children sit and study. It helps children to maintain a good pace of learning concepts in school.

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We have all heard that different generations deal with different problems of their times; this topic is representative of that generational turn that has taken place. For all of us born in times before these, lack of physical activity was never a problem; if anything, there was abundance of it.

However, in today’s time with the attractions of technology, children become addicted to it before they even know it. From introducing children to technological devices early on in their childhood to our excessive reliance on it for all things, there are multiple reasons for such a transformation. While no one could deny the benefits of technology, this trend among children is also dangerous. There needs to be a discovered a middle path that can reduce this disturbing trend. What follows are some suggestive measures that can be adopted to achieve the same.

• Establish routines for the family- One-way young children acquire all kinds of habits is by looking at the ones around them, especially the parents. Hence, in order to ensure that children imbibe habits of outdoor playing is by doing it yourself. A fixed routine can be followed whereby all the members of the family can together perform outdoor activities like playing games, cycling etc., for a fixed period of time every day. Such measures ensure that our children spend a certain amount of time outdoors, and provides a good opportunity to spend some quality family time which is crucial in its own ways.
• Encourage sports as long-term engagements- It is safe to say that Indians are not very athletic people. The kind of mindset we have towards sports leaves a lot to be desired. The excessive pressure on kids to focus on their studies and limit their sporting activities is actually damaging in the long run. We generally fail to realize the necessity of sports in a children’s life, and the positive impact that it has on them. It is a time when a child can truly feel liberated and unrestricted. Such quality time can do wonders to the psychology of a child. It is also important to encourage sports without looking at it as a professional option for your children, for such expectations produce its own kind of pressures on a child. Hence, it is important to value sports as simply an activity that is as crucial to growth of a child as good education, and food.
• Promote physical activity wherever possible– This goes back to the larger point of establishing routines. It is important that physical activities like walking, cycling, climbing stairs, etc. are promoted wherever possible. The initial desire to use easier options of travelling by a vehicle, using elevators, etc. must be discouraged among children at all possible times. Such values can be inculcated among them over time, and can prove to be really beneficial in the long run. There can be so many more instances of enforcing such healthy ways of lifestyle like sending children to grocery stores, encouraging them to walk to school if possible, etc. In order to ensure a healthy lifestyle for the kids, it becomes crucial to resort to all such possible measures and ensure a balance.
• Minimum use of technological devices– A very common phenomenon that we witness today is how young children are introduced to technology through mobile phones, computers, tablets, etc. at such a young age, which becomes hard to undo. Internet is an addictive place, for the vast amount of resources it is capable of introducing us to. Thus, it becomes crucial on part of the parents to ensure that children are not used to such platforms and devices at such an early age, and excess to them is limited to fulfilling only their needs. Children today have multiple options where they can look for entertainment. Thus, it is necessary that these options are reduced and outdoor activities are incentivized over mobile phones & other technological devices. Further, it also becomes crucial for parents to regulate their own use of such devices, especially in front of children. A narrative has to be produced around the importance of physical activity in the family, and the parents have to change their own lifestyles accordingly.
• Taking lessons outside the classroom– Teachers can also play an active role in ensuring that children spend enough time outdoors to keep their minds fresh. Sports is also crucial for its capability to teach players a lesson or two in life. The importance of team-work, the need to take care of others, friendships are values that can be promoted & taught by sports. Lessons can thus be built around such sporting activities and values taught to children outside of the classroom. It serves the dual purpose of educating them and keeping them fit.

There can be so many more ways of encouraging physical activities amongst children. There are all sorts of events that organized built around the idea of getting people out of their homes. There are dancing clubs that children can join, planning family picnics is another way of ensuring some physical activity, and many more. The larger idea must be to always be on the lookout for the possibility of such activities. There must an awareness as to the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, and to always incentivize the performance of such activities.

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How to be a Good Preschool Teacher

In the literal ’70s in India, Early Education and Preschools did not actually attract the larger attention that it was supposed to.

Long back, our society had this perception of treating preschool teachers as not so professional personnel. This included taking preschool teaching as a job for granted that can be done by anyone. It was also often associated only with women, and especially women who were housewives, or did not have much to do. There was an unconscious bias against preschool teachers who were often thought of as not contributing much to society.

How did we then deal with such a perception???

A lot of the buzz around this was because of the way in which preschools traditionally worked in the Indian society. We could find regular women in our neighborhood, especially housewives running small preschools in their houses itself. To correct this perception has then required a change in the larger idea of running a pre-school.

Slowly and gradually, the utility of preschool education came into existence by the means of its importance in India, followed by the western inhibitions. As soon as the people started to understand the needs of a child, there came a major boom in the reputation of becoming a preschool teacher.

It could also be said that such perceptions are beginning to deconstruct in some parts of the country. This change can be attributed to the existence of certain good preschools operating professionally. They focus on the quality of the education and also the educators. The educators are professionals that destroy the pre-conceived notions attached with the preschool teaching methodology.

With various institutions taking up early educational courses seriously, we can see a number of people taking up Nursery Teacher Training for higher studies, including males who are well-read, specialized in the field of teaching, and much more. It is this setting up of standards for good teaching that this blog is aimed at, and how to reach there.

Advice for a New Preschool Teacher!

Once the clouds around the notions of considering preschool teaching as a professional’s task got clear, the natural line of inquiry leads to asking what is the criteria of a good preschool teacher or how to become a good preschool teacher?

The list is not at all difficult, just a blend of following preschool teacher tips and traits along with certain Advice for a New Preschool Teacher is all that needs to be adopted.

• Power of Passion!

A preschool teacher has to be passionate & inherently excited with the idea of being with children. There is no other way to do this job & excel at it unless you’re connected with your heart and soul to what you’re dealing with. Passion can be the only drive to perform a task that can otherwise be demanding & exhausting at times. Best of the teachers are passionate about the idea of working with children & teaching them the basic skills of life. And this is what is needed!

However, what is meant by passion is not necessarily the motherly emotion of spending time with children. The passion can come for various other reasons. Just the idea of helping small children learn the basic life skills that can define their success later on, providing parenting tips to guardians & help the society, in general, can be very exciting for many youngsters like us! Also, the bundle of sweetness that children are, does work for many teachers.

• The CAP Formula: Being Composed, Affirm and Patient!

As we all know, working with children is not always hunky dory, and things are bound to get messy at times. What really defines a good teacher is how they behave in situations when children are just not ready to listen to them, or how to make them work when they are in a good state of mind to do everything properly.

We cannot say that patience is a virtue possessed by all. But, it is something that can be cultivated & worked towards. There can be situations when teachers end up losing their calmness & dealing with children harshly. However, a good teacher will always be able to reflect on the situation and take lessons from it. It is about being able to learn from mistakes quickly & having some realistic expectations from toddlers that defines a good preschool teacher.

• Creativity and Personal Touch – Master Keys to teaching!

One thing that every preschool teacher tips series will tell you is that no children in the classroom would want to follow a strict pattern of working & learning. Following a similar set of practices & activities for a few days is enough to bore the children & make them disinterested in the classroom learning. Thus, the ways of keeping classrooms vibrant & exciting for children is to always be on your feet and come up with creative styles of functioning. A curriculum will only suggest you a few fun activities & tasks, but it takes a lot more than that to get children interested. Also, teachers have to be creative in their ways of connecting personally with every child since personal connections with them are extremely crucial.

All of this also goes back to how passionate & dedicated a teacher is to their job. A good teacher will always travel that extra mile to ensure that the classroom space is a happy space for every child. This requires taking the job personally.

• Fluidity and Limits: Balancing the Super Powers!

As mentioned above as well, engaging with children in one set pattern can be difficult. It is also unfair towards the little ones at a certain level. Their mood swings & unpredictable behaviors are something that cannot & should not be curtailed. Thus, the ability to allow fluidity in the timetable & not get agitated by it is something that a good teacher should possess. They realize that things will not always go as planned and make room for those diversions.

However, at the same time, it is also crucial to define limits of behavior in the class. There are always some actions & behavior’s that a preschool teacher must know to prohibit & discourage. Thus, the art of getting this balance right must be known to a good preschool teacher.

The above list only highlights certain essential characteristics that a good preschool teacher possesses or can be acquired in order to become a pro at preschool teacher tips. The experiences of the classroom bring up these factors in a more nuanced manner & above everything else a teacher aspiring to become great at their job, should always be aware and expect the new challenges. Self-reflection, in that sense, is one of the crucial characteristics that any aspiring preschool teacher must look forward to…

Till then … GOOD LUCK!!!

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Preschool teaching is a complex art to say the least. It involves dealing with children that are venturing out of their homes from the protective care of their parents for the first time, and require a caring atmosphere. Having said that, pre-schooling is also about teaching students the basic practices of life that they develop on. The small children require a rich education at the hands of professional teachers, which is slightly harder to come by especially in India. There is a growing need for professionals and not many are as good as that.

However, in doing all of the above that is required of a professional, there needs to be a empirically researched curriculum that must be followed by institutes & teachers. There has to be a well-researched pre-school curriculum that helps in developing the cognitive abilities of children & helps them to develop various skills of reading, writing, etc.

As it is, there is no neatly designed preschool curriculum that is followed across the pre-schools in India, and every pre-school has it own panel of experts working out a curriculum that they think to be best. Nevertheless, there are certain basic elements that are generally considered important in any preschool curriculum. They are enumerated below & can also be looked upon as points to be kept in mind while, designing a preschool curriculum.

Reading skills of children- Any decent curriculum for small children will focus on & revolve around activities that encourage reading habits among children & help to improve upon it. The classrooms should ideally be a place where children are introduced with exciting reading material & develop an ability to read.

Writing skills: Writing comes with reading really. It is a basic skill that every preschool curriculum should focus upon. By writing what is meant is just elementary writing skills where the children learn to simply write letters, without worrying about other elements of writing such as grammar etc., which is focused on at a later stage.

Social skills: This is one important skill set, apart from the basics that any curriculum should focus on. Play schools are a lot about enabling kids to mingle with other kids & making friends. So, the activities revolve around doing things in a group etc.

Developing hobbies: A lot of play school activities are also about enabling children to develop hobbies like dancing, singing, drawing etc. A child picks up from these various activities & develops interests according to her own likings.

Any standard curriculum will definitely have all of the above things covered and a lot more. Although, it cannot be said that a standard curriculum consisting of only these skill sets is enough. The vast differences in backgrounds, cultures, etc. require that special curriculums are designed to deal with special cases of children coming from different backgrounds. To think of an example in case of India, a child coming from a rural background, or a certain social group might feel more lost in an environment that is radically different for them than an urban toddler coming from a privileged social group. A need then arises for the curriculum creators to try and fill those gaps that might lead to bigger problems later on. Therefore, the diversity of backgrounds becomes a real challenge for any curriculum maker.

The Diversity Challenge in India

The diversity of backgrounds among students in a classroom is a much bigger challenge in our country than anywhere else. As a result of this, designing a curriculum becomes a bigger challenge. The regional, caste, class background of a course has an impact on how the early years of a child pan out. When that child comes to a school, the aim to achieve such a balance in a classroom that the child can rise above those inequalities. In doing so, what is required is a very personalized curriculum that focuses on the special needs of the child; the teachers are also required to establish a personal touch with every child in the classroom.

Over and above this, the curriculum planners must also be sensitive towards such social issues. An educator that can understand how the social equations work in a society can help design a curriculum that helps overcome the different experiences of children & help achieve the required balance.

Adopting Liberal Techniques

The task of early childhood education is to enable children to learn the basics of life, and not to burden children with any unnecessary workload. To be able to do so, reliance has to be placed on children friendly, creative methods in the classroom to send across the message to children. Thus, it also becomes important for educators to use the available technology while designing programs for small children.

There are certain social science theories that look at educational institutes in a negative sense as places that condition & enslave children to defined ways of living lives. In order to be able to challenge such theories, there is a need to transform schools into places that promote free thinking & freedom of action. Liberal curriculums that allow for such spaces to evolve will go a long way in doing so.

The article only tries to highlight a few points that must be kept in mind while designing any curriculum for small children. The list can never be an exhaustive one; it focuses on some common skills that are always taken into consideration while designing a curriculum & mentions certain challenges that an educator must be aware of. A curriculum is a living document that must change at all times according to the requirements & challenges that develop at different times. Lastly, It should also be a document that is accessible to everyone at all times, and provides room for incorporating ideas arriving from diverse corners; the task of designing a preschool curriculum requires that educators be connected with various social players that can have crucial things to add to it.

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If anything, compassion, kindness, empathy, selflessness, are values that humanity needs today. Are these really not the emotions that make us human in the first place? In today’s world, newspapers are daily full of reports of hatred & violence, and there is a general remorse in society for the golden values of the previous era. The present society is always looked upon with sadness and longing to go back to times when people were kind to each other. So how do we go back to those golden values? To fulfill any larger aim, we must focus on the smaller steps. What are these smaller steps then?

It is truly said that children are the flagbearers of the society. What they learn in their childhood is what they are going to live with. The values they learn will define their whole generation. So, to ensure a caring, kind, loving society, it is our own children that we need to begin with. And more than that it our own selves. There is no rocket science behind saying that our children learn from us; our daily actions, our behavior towards others, our beliefs, it all gets passed on. So, how do we ensure that are children become loving and compassionate? The answer is simple- we ourselves imbibe those values.

The article tries to cover some ways or provide some tips that can help in raising a compassionate child, above anything else.

Showing empathy towards other people

One of the ways in which children can be taught to be compassionate is to lead by example. In our daily lives, we ourselves must empathize with other people’s problems. We should always take keen interest in the lives of people around us and think of their problems as our own. So, when Kriti next door is sad and has not eaten anything for the whole day because someone in her family is ill, we must make it a point to sit with her and console her. We must also talk to our children about how she might be feeling or how would they feel in the same situation. Such acts cultivate the feelings of compassion in the children.

Writing notes

Another way could be to encourage children to write thank you notes. Every time someone in the family or outside goes out of the way to do something for them, we must ensure that we make them write thank you notes sharing their genuine gratitude towards that person. The notes should be personal and not written because it has to be written. The children must themselves feel that they need to write a thank you note because someone did something special for them.

Setting certain standards of behavior

A lot of things that our children will learn will be from the daily routine and behavior being followed in the home. So, even in our everyday lives, there should be certain standards that we must carefully observe. For example, the domestic help in the family should always be treated with respect; children must be taught to help & care for them. Another example could be to teach our children to always listen to other people’s problems rather than enforcing their own wishes upon them.

Encourage polite and just behavior

One of the things that really need to be kept in check is the competitive attitude of the children. While there is nothing wrong in being competitive, children can be swayed away by the desire to win or excel at all times. With constant competition, everywhere and the premium that is put on winning, children can be driven by the desire of doing well. In doing so, they might end up taking actions that are bitter in taste. This is where we need to draw a line. We need to tell them that even though doing well is important, it is equally important to be fair and just to others. We need to encourage values of fair play, honesty, respect, friendliness, etc. at all times. In evaluating their performances, these values should be equally placed among others. Even if the child loses out on something, we need to tell them that they were fair and honest to their opponents, and that is a great achievement.

Promote certain activities

Within the house, there should be certain activities/behavior followed consciously to inculcate values of kindness. However, they need to look seamless and not staged. It could be expecting them to help you in keeping utensils in kitchen after a meal, or talking to them about how the security guard at the society gate works so hard all day and yet never complains when someone wakes him up from sleep at night. Some other activities that promote kindness could include telling them to clean their rooms, volunteering for social causes etc.

There could be no way one could highlight all that is required of us to ensure that children become kind, compassionate and loving. It is not a task that requires a time frame & steps to follow; rather it is about genuinely wanting your children to become better human being. In doing so, we need to be mindful of our own behavior. We cannot expect from them something that we ourselves do not observe. It is as much about us being kind & compassionate as it is about them.

The above point also leads to taking a keen interest in the lives of our children. To ensure that they become kind in their behavior cannot be just about mechanically following a certain regime. It requires a lot of talking and developing a bond of trust with them, to the point where there is no difference of opinion in certain matters. The child needs to know that in helping her mother, she is doing it because it is the right thing to do, not because she is being forced to do it. As long as it is thought of as a command, the task will fail to achieve its desired result.

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India is still a relatively young place in terms of its play schools. The concept of play schools as an institute run by professionals is not very old. By “institute run by professionals”, we mean that play schools have mostly been thought of as neighborhood schools run by mostly housewives, in a casual manner. Since, no legal requirements are to be fulfilled in order to open a play school in India, such neighborhood schools become an easy option to make money. However, there are obvious limitations that these schools suffer from. As a result, parents have realized to move away from these schools to the more professional institutes that provide meaningful early education.

Running these schools is no easy task. The reason for the shift to these schools is there quality of education and the professionals that are employed as teachers. So, it becomes crucial to maintain these standards in running these schools. This article focuses on highlighting these and many other challenges that are faced in running a play school. It becomes extremely important to overcome these challenges in order to continue running these schools.

Legal challenges

Legal challenges in India are the biggest if one wants to run anything. Fortunately, this is not the case with running a play school. For whatever reasons, the law does not require obtaining any licenses to run a play school in India. However, that does not mean there are absolutely no legal challenges at all. Depending on the state in which the play school in being run or set up, there might be laws that are required to be complied with. Obtaining licenses & permits thus becomes compulsory for running play schools in these states. Also, the law requires that the labor law rules be followed. If the school employs more than 40 (according to the revised labor laws) employees, it is required to comply with various labor laws. These include following the minimum wage rule, providing for provident fund payments, etc. It is also compulsory to pay bonusses during festival times, and one-month bonus salaries etc. Thus, one needs to keep all this in mind.

Professional Employees

As mentioned in the beginning itself, having professional employees in every department becomes very crucial, especially professional teachers. It is listed as one of the challenges because the number of truly professional teachers available in India for toddlers is very limited. It is a field that has not been taken that seriously. Often it is the housewives, or mothers that end up performing these tasks. Even though they are careful & patient with the kids, it is not always the case that they know how to deal with the kids. Play schools have an agenda of nurturing young minds; this is not always necessarily achieved by non-professionals. Hence, having a professional employee base is a challenge that all play schools must overcome.

Curriculum and Teaching Pedagogy

Curriculum and teaching pedagogy is a crucial element in running a play school. The question that is frequently asked is what to teach to such small kids. Although, the govt. provides some basic requirements that need to be incorporated in the curriculum, the schools can also include elements on their own. Thus, to include things that make for a quality education becomes imperative for a good school. There is a lack of good curriculum being designed in India. This needs to be changed.

What also forms part of a good curriculum is an advanced style of teaching. Teaching pedagogy being followed in India is still old & outdated. Teachers mechanically teaching a bunch of students in a classroom. This needs to be modified to attract a young toddler’s mind. What is required is more & better use of technology, forming personal bonds with students, healthy student-teacher ratio, and a lot more. This needs to come from the private sector employing professional & trained minds.

Overcoming Geographical challenges

As it turns out, in India geography also poses a major challenge in operation of play schools. Some of the most remote areas of the country are where a very substantial portion of kids live. To be able to reach out to these kids in these remote areas is a task that play schools must overcome. The main aim of play schools or schools in general is to enable children to lead a good life. If we leave out a major chunk of children from this exercise, then we can never claim to have achieved our goal.

Geography also becomes a challenge in ensuring minimum infrastructure. There is still no electricity is most of these regions. Thus, it becomes difficult to provide basic infrastructure to kids in schools.

Forming a trust bond

Probably the biggest challenge for any play school is to form a trust bond. This is a task that requires years of hard work and reaching out. Whether a play school manages to survive or not solely dependent upon the trust it manages to gain from the parents. If parents do not trust the brand name of the school enough to send their children to the school, then such a school has no value to it. Working towards ensuring this trust & maintaining it with the community is a never-ending process. Good teachers, efficient and kind administration goes a long way in building this trust.

There are many more challenges that are faced in running a play school. The above list or any other such list cannot be exhaustive. It gives us a basic idea of the broad challenges that are faced- technical & social- but it does not reflect the sundry challenges that are faced in day to day running a play school. Above all of this, the biggest challenge is the challenge of responsibility. Play school is more than just a business; it a serious commitment made to the society. These young children go on to define an entire generation, and every society is deeply invested in ensuring their well-being. Play schools need to reflect this commitment even more seriously.

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Parenting can be a tough task. As a lot of parents find out, no amount of advice & care can really prepare you for what is to come. Children can be erratic in their behavior, they can be extremely stubborn and demanding. And such situations are not at all easy to deal with. Emotions can get better of us at most of these occasions. However, being a parent is a responsibility that demands us to gain control on ourselves even in the most difficult of times.

So what do we do when children just won’t listen to anything or anyone? Do we begin to & continue yelling at them, while knowing in our heart that it is not the right thing to do? We all realize somewhere that yelling is not correct, that it can have undesirable consequences. But, how damaging these consequences can be is something not all of us realize. Everyone from psychologists to social activists working in this field would tell us that it can be crucial to the way the child develops.

Take a look at this data.

To say that yelling can have long term consequences on the growth of the child is not something which is common knowledge, but one that needs to be communicated. And such an understanding, of the impact, if communicated properly & adequately, can really motivate all parents from rising above the natural impulse of yelling at children in difficult times. Let us consider some of the widely accepted consequences that can result from yelling at children.

Low self-confidence

Self-confidence has a lot to do with how the child is brought up. It relates to the feeling of self-dependency, belief in our own abilities, knowing our own worth, respect & more. In other words, a self-confident child is capable of creating a very rich world around themselves. However, a persisting experience of yelling & being shouted at can dent this self-confidence immensely. It makes the child question their choices, their actions & makes them unsure in their actions. It can also lead to anxiety, constant need for approval & pressure of being right at all times. Every negative experience further makes it more difficult.

Aggressive Behavior

Yelling can have wide ranging & sundry impacts on different children. It also depends a lot on where you are placed in society. Aggressive behavior is one such fallout. Children can become short-tempered, fidgety, & impulsive. This has a huge impact on their relations with their peers. Any small incident can lead to outbursts that are difficult to control.

Fear

Fear, or constant fear of parents is another common effect that emerges in children as a result of yelling & scolding. Such fear can make a child very quiet, and s/he is not able to express themselves openly. The friendly relation that a child must have with their parent also gets effected. Children feel they constantly being judged & tend to hide their true emotions out of fear of being scolded.

Medical conditions

Although, it seems a little far-fetched at first instance, but medical conditions such as physical incapabilities that can be directly related to the stress faced by a child. It can also lead to conditions of depression, wherein, the child can go into a really dark space, and also impact the growth of the child. A lot of the habits of the children are formulated as a direct result of their immediate environment & a repressive environment can lead serious limitations.

Shouting: An emotional abuse?

All these above effects put up a very grave picture of impacts that yelling can have on children. Can we then term yelling as a form a of emotional abuse? An act that is done with the mindset of inculcating in children, good values, and to tell them the difference between good & bad, can have a completely opposite impact on children. Experts equate yelling with physical abuse, or in some cases, even worse than physical abuse. They claim that the act of yelling is not just about raising the pitch of your voice, but also the impact of the words spoken & the body language. Combined together, this sight can be daunting from a children’s perspective.

Look at this picture to understand how emotional abuse affects children.

Proposed alternatives

It will obviously wrong to presume that parents think bad for their own children. Thus, the act of yelling can be traced to lack of any other alternative behavior in the same situation. But, if we think hard enough, there are alternative behaviors that can be practiced by parents.

• Difficult situations can lead to outburst of emotions in an undesirable manner. Thus, parents facing this situation can opt to walk away from it consciously & take a breather. Taking a break can help regain patience.
• Instead of yelling or shouting, parents can give out warning with carefully constructed words. This too requires patience in difficult situations.
• It is also important to let children be children. Sometimes, it is ok to act leniently with children even while they behave stubbornly. After all, we do not want our children to become adults so soon, do we? In other words, our expectations from children should be realistic.
• Parents can also explain their emotions to children, instead of yelling at them. To tell children that you do not like a particular thing, or behavior through a conversation is way better than yelling. Also, telling children about bad consequences that might follow their actions is better than giving out threats.

Thus, all sorts of options are available, if thought about properly with an open mind.

Final word

One of the most famous names in the field of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, talks about how a child develops the notion of self & others. At a small age, the child does not have any capability to make that distinction, but with time it is developed because of the child’s ability to trace violence in the other, being differentiated from herself. Slightly, different in context, but yelling forms the part of that violence too. It is important for a child to be as close to the parents as possible for their growth, and yelling makes that difficult. Thus, it needs to be refrained from.

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The historical background of the teacher’s day tells us a lot about the importance of the occasion. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a great scholar, upon being approached by his friends for his birthday celebrations, requested that the day be used instead for celebrating the teachers around the country. Thus, his birthday i.e. 5^th September, came to be marked as teacher’s day, since 1962.

The story behind the celebration is illuminating because of the importance it places on the profession of teaching. Even though teaching is considered a noble profession, it is losing it’s value in the society today. Hence, the occasion provides us with a perfect excuse to reflect on the problems of the teaching community.

Historical significance of Teachers in Indian Tradition

In relation to India, teachers have had a crucial role to play through different times in history. Indian tradition has always valued the role of teachers as crucial to formation of a wise community. We all remember the tales of how Chandragupta Maurya, the great king, was guided in his life & actions by his teacher Chanakya. Also, we have tales from Mahabharata, where Krishna plays a teacher & guide to Arjuna, and helps him through the war. Or the tales of Guru Dronacharya and his beloved disciple Arjuna.

The tales of Ramayana also delves on the relationship of teacher & disciple. The great king Rama learns the lessons of life, kingship, art of war, etc. through Guru Vishwamitra & Guru Vasishta. There is also undertones of how Rama plays, being the big brother, also plays the role of a teacher to Lakshmana, especially during the time of their exile.

The Hindu mythology is thus full of texts that reflect on the roles of teachers as being central to the lives of all great kings. The teachers, or Gurus were revered in the society for their sacrifice in pursuit of knowledge. They carried the conscience of the society and guided kings in their actions.

The conscience keeper of society

The role of teachers has not changed a bit from ancient times to the modern time. Teachers are still the conscience keeper of the society. At all times, society goes through a lot of events that need to be preserved for better understanding of the world. It is the teachers who perform this task of keeping events alive. They play the role of change makers in society that guide the growing minds on a definite path. It is an act crucial to the existence of society. However, with modern times certain problems have cropped up that need to be resolved.

Discussing the problems of the teaching community

Considering the historical importance of teachers in our culture, and the philosophical origins of teacher’s day as an occasion of celebration, it seems rather odd to say that we need to focus on the problems being faced by the teaching community. A society that has historically cherished the central importance of teachers should ideally continue the same. However, modernity has brought with it its own set of challenges.

Today there are acute problems of shortage in number of teaching faculties, especially in remote areas, problems of adequate salaries, problems of being given enough representation in preparing curriculums, and a lot more. There is a diminishing interest among the student community in general to take up teaching as a profession. The highly lucrative jobs in other sectors of employment attract more interest that teaching jobs that cannot compared in terms of salary packages. Also, it has a lot to do with the value placed by the society on learning & teaching. The ancient stories tell us that pursuit of knowledge was a passion that knew no bounds. However, in the present structure, a comfortable material life is more desirable than certain other things. Teaching as a result, then suffers.

Conclusion

It is not to say then, that the teaching profession as a whole has become irrelevant in the society today. Every year we see certain teachers being awarded by the state for their invaluable & unique contributions to the society that inspire others. Also, as our personal experiences tell us, there are teachers out there still inspiring students to take up the field of academia. The private sector is also silently making great contributions by ensuring that teachers get good salaries & have access to a large audience. The lure of a wide pool of audience is the most difficult to resist for a teacher.

However, the occasion becomes important to discuss the pitfalls that are proving to be extremely difficult. India is lacking far behind today, in terms of the standards of education being offered. This occasion then also becomes crucial to recognize that the voices of the teachers are most crucial in solving the problems also. Reforming the whole education system is not some bureaucratic act. It has to be done by teachers & academics themselves. Other than being respected for their contributions, they should also be given the liberty to make changes in the way the education system works. To give them that freedom is the best form of respect that can be given to them.

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The franchise model today has become one of the most viable option today in the field of education. It comes with the obvious advantages of not having the burden to begin everything with scratch, and ensures a certain surety to the investments made. The franchise knows they will have the backing of an established brand, who will also act as a helping hand in almost every aspect of setting up a franchise. Thus, looking at from a vantage point, it is not hard to believe why the franchise model has become so popular with the growth in the private sector of education. Let us then, through the article, look in detail into the factors that contribute to the growing popularity of franchising.

The Legal Factor

Probably one of the biggest factor, the law and the legal aspect of starting any business in India is one of the biggest hindrances that anyone will face. It is, after all, for a certain reason that India is ranked so low in the ease of doing business index. To navigate through various legal and administrative channels is a task not easy to accomplish. The costs are high, and it takes a really experience team to figure out the multiple legislations and ways in which they have to be complied with.

In such a scenario, taking up a franchise seems to have a natural advantage to it. The franchisor comes in with a vast experience of having dealt with all the legal problems in the past, and the importance of such an experience can never be emphasized enough. From applying for registrations to finalizing land and figuring out all other legalities is a process that requires a lot of handholding.

Profiting from the brand name

Although, there is no doubt about the primacy of legal challenges as being the toughest anyone can face while setting up a new business, there are certain other fundamental challenges too that cannot be ignored in a market economy. One such challenge is the challenge of survival itself. With the increasing amount of contribution that private sector is making in the field of education today, it has invited a lot of public spirited corporate giants to invest in the field of education. While the benefits that society accrues from such investments, it is also not easy for any new player to make a mark in the field, for the chances are that they will be consumed easily. Free markets operate are competitive and nobody wants to lose out.

In such a scenario, it only seems wise become a franchise than start up a whole new operation with a lot of uncertainty of survival. The education sector demands stability as schools cannot afford to operate according to their own whims & fancies.

Getting access to resources

Another aspect of cutthroat competition is the difficulty of accessing quality resources. In relation to education, it amounts to hiring professionals who are good in their respective fields and have a lot to offer to the institutions they are associated with. A franchise associated with a brand name definitely has an advantage when it comes to hiring from the pool of talent, as compared to someone who is starting out on its own. There is a reason why some of the best institutes in the country today are engaging with teachers & professionals who are the best in their respective field. The cushion of working with an institute that they know has a wide outreach & can have a huge positive impact on the society ensures the faculty of the importance to associate with such institutes.

Also in terms of exposure & support that a franchisee gets at the start of the business itself is unmatched. Any established brand has a neatly organized structure that the franchisee can fall into. There are no requirements of voluntarily setting out to establish chains of doing business. The peculiarities of education field make such benefits all the more important. An educational institute cannot afford to learn by trial and error as it carries responsibilities that cannot be compromised with. An established business model with certainties in the ways of operation & who to work with, is certainly a very crucial factor.

Overcoming Geographical Challenges

Probably one of the biggest advantages of the franchise model has been its ability to expand itself to the most remote areas of the country. Access to education is such areas is still a problem that the government is grappling with. Any such effort requires great amounts of resources and various other challenges in terms of quality of education. However, the franchise model has helped to overcome these problems to a certain extend. With its ways of functioning, whereby a franchisor ensures all sorts of organizational help, while requiring investment by local players, some of franchisors have managed to reach out to the farthest locations of the country that were hitherto devoid of educational institutions.

This vast outreach has not come at the cost of quality at all. The institutes present in these remote areas follow the same standards & educational techniques that other well-established institutions follow. The franchisors ensure that the standards of education are maintained that go with their reputation. Also, this model ensures that capable tutors travel to these remote areas without any worries of security & stability.

This image tells the advantages of owning franchise in education.

Conclusion

There is a clear indication that going forward franchise is a crucial and most important way of getting into the education sector. The numbers tell the story that no one can deny. In the past decade or so, there has been a constant growth in the field of education & most of it has been through franchise acquisition. More & more franchise are being acquired and that seems to be the preferred option for some obvious reasons. The stability that some of the best-known names offer is unmatched & unparalleled. One only needs to look around themselves to discover the positive impact & the huge role franchises have come to play in the today’s world.

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