DEBATE- SCHOOL UNIFORM SHOULD BE MADE COMPULSORY

School uniform brings a sense of uniformity and unity. A very good morning to one and all. Today, I, Shreya, am here to debate for the motion of today’s debate ’School uniform should be made compulsory’.

But will the children ever get bored with this fashion trend of not wearing the uniform. Nowadays children love wearing low waist pants and skirts in the school. Or they’ll have really short skirts. A school is a place where we come to study and not to flaunt our wealth. We have uniform so that everyone is equal. But what will happen if a child from a poor family will go to a school where everyone can wear casual clothes. Already his parents have a financial burden in buying all the expensive books. Then they’ll have to buy good clothes too because the child will want to wear a different dress every day. India is the country that has highest number of poor people (according to global poverty line who earn less than US$1 per day). May my opponents give an answer that how will they (poor) come up with the expenditure.

In the nutshell, I would like to conclude with that the children should certainly have a school uniform and that we should stop aping the west.

DEBATE-HOMEWORK SHOULD BE ABOLISHED

Good morning, everyone. Today, I, Shreya, am here to debate against the motion of ‘Homework should be abolished’. All of us want to score good marks. And when asked whether they would study at home a bit, then they’ll say no.

The children don’t want to do so. They would rather prefer to play or watch television rather than completing their homework and doing some self study. And most of the times this happens that instead of the children their parents compete the homework. Then what is the use of the homework. The teacher gives the homework so that in some way the child is able to revise the things taught in the class.

I don’t suggest that children get loads of homework so that it becomes a burden for them. But a little bit will help the children tremendously. A middle way of everything is best.
Thank you.

THE WEIRD PETROL PUMP

… but in his car. Many people had crowded around it. He came out and asked a man that how he got in the car. The man told him that a villager had found him under a peepal tree which was near his car. He found a key in his pocket. He tried to put it in the keyhole of the car. It worked. With the help of the other villagers he had put him inside. He enquired a person about a petrol pump but he said that there wasn’t a one in that area. Everyone had left. Karan found out some money was missing from his wallet. He was sure that someone had fooled him. He wasn’t a superstitious person like the villagers who believed that a witch had done all this. He decided to search for that woman. He started searching for a forest. At last he found one. After some time he reached a clearing. There was a small hut. He walked towards it. He entered it. There was a small boy was counting some money. The boy was surprised to see Karan observing him carefully. He quickly put the money in his pocket. The lady was coming towards them. She had not noticed him. Karan quickly entered the hut. As soon as the woman entered he closed the door. He said” So you were the person who robbed the villagers of their money. You had told them that if they did not perform rituals then the witch who lived on the peepal tree would kill everybody. The villagers being superstitious believed you and also spent a lot of money. But you had stopped earning enough money so you started stealing money by making people unconscious. But you went too far with your greed for money. I came to know about this. Soon you’ll be behind the bars.” After some time police officials came and took the duo away.

the weird petrol pump

TH WEIRD PETROL PUMP
It was a cloudy night. Nothing could be seen. At the dead of the night a man named Karan was passing by a village. He stopped his car. He got out of it and went to check the tyres of the car. There was a puncture. So he went to the boot of the car. He checked for a tyre. But then he remembered that the other day he had a puncture. At that time he had used that extra tyre and now he hadn’t one to replace. He looked around. He saw a patch of light at some distance. But otherwise it was pitching dark. Karan put hand in his pocket and produced a cigarette. He again put his hand in his pocket. He realized that he didn’t have a lighter. So he started walking towards the light. In a minute or two he had reached that patch of light. It turned out to be a petrol pump. There was a plump woman sitting there who was knitting very fast. Karan realized that he had seen only a patch of light as it was in a forest area. But he was surprised to know this. He saw that the woman had not seen him. When Karan touched her on her shoulder she jumped as if she had got an electric shock. She asked him the reason for being there. He told her everything and asked if he could stay there for the night. She smiled crookedly which Karan was at a loss to understand and she agreed. Then she took her work basket inside. She entered a small hut. She came back within a steaming cup of coffee. He thought it was a little different but would surely refresh. As soon as he drank it he fell asleep. The next morning when he got up he found himself not at the petrol pump but…
{TO BE CONTINUED}

GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

We have often read and heard this line. It is the name of a story. But it would be injustice to the writer and the story so I would say a moral story. I’ll narrate a bit of it for those haven’t read it. There was a merchant and it was probably the monsoon season when this happened. He was carrying sacks of wheat in his cart. It got stuck in quicksand. He asked people to help him but none of them stopped. At last he decided to do it himself and then only people also started helping him.

So we leave it, I mean the story even without bothering about it a little. But have we ever tried to understand its deeper meaning. The answer is no. I am, of course not preaching but what I’m trying to tell is that every story has a hidden moral behind it {though nowadays it is written in the end}. Even I didn’t think of its meaning. But now I know it because of an incident. It went like this.

We had a PTM on Saturday and so it was kind of half holiday. I thought about what had happened the previous day in all the subjects. This is my way to decide if there is any homework. From this I came to the conclusion that there was no home work. So I spent Saturday and Saturday enjoying, wandering like a spirit and hovering around my grand-mother like a fly. On Sunday evening when I was packing my bag I saw in the TIME-TABLE to my horror there were two periods of Science and then only I remembered that we had to take material to school to make a firki [pinwheel]. I told my mother who was ironing the clothes. Maybe father also got a hint that something was wrong because I was whispering to my mother and whenever I haven’t done my homework I do like this. Whatever, so she assured me that I should go to play without any worry. When I came back she was talking to my aunt on phone and she talked for 46 minutes and 6 seconds! I decided to try myself and searched on Internet but couldn’t find. And the thing that annoyed me the most at that time was that when I saw in the result of my search that it was given about a non-vegetarian dish’s recipe [which I detest though I like omelet] and about a song as though at that moment I would sing a song or cook a dish rather than finding a way to get out of this problem. At that moment I felt so helpless and didn’t want to go to school. But later when my mother told me a way I again returned to be my cheerful self. Actually mom had mistaken it for a top. In this way I learnt that God has made a way to get out of every single problem and that we should never feel that anything is impossible because impossible also says that I’m possible. But of course sometime I will forget this again because when we are frustrated we forget everything. I’m sure that you must have understood a little bit, at least, because you never know when you’ll need it.

DIWALI CELEBRATION
Its Diwali time. I mean at this time of the night, there is a lot of noise around me. I’ve just come inside because I had inhaled the poisonous gases of the sparklers.

And I saw a lot of smoke and dust around me and then I felt that how wrong we were doing to our mother earth. We have been disrespectful towards her and here we are with the result-Global Warming.

If we make a pledge on this auspicious day of Diwali that we would celebrate this festival of lights with lights only, spreading light in our lives and others’ lives. If we all join hands to prevent pollution and go green, we can make Earth a better place to live in.
I want to tell every
one who is reading this article now, that we have to give a good example to our future generations. Wouldn’t it be a selfish thing to do if we would leave Earth as a dirty place for our future generations so stop this pollution, be a better human being and don’t burst crackers. I am sure , then, Goddess Lakshmi will come to your house without calling!!!
HAVE A POLLUTION FREE DIWALI!!!

ANURAG'S FAULT

Anurag was a very good runner. Wherever he went for a race there he would win. Everyday after coming from school he would go for practice. His coach Mr. Kashyap and was wise and stern. He too was a good runner. Because of his nature Anurag was at this position. But gradually he became proud. He stopped going for practice. Kashyap got worried. There was a competition next month and children from all-over India were coming. He asked Anurag to practice but he refused. He would just sit in front of the television and eat potato chips. Anurag didn't even listen t his parents. Now he ran slowly. The great day came. Everyone was aware that Anurag would only win. During the race he ran slowly because of his obesity. When the race ended everyone was surprised to find Vaibhav win. Now he realised his mistake. He asked his coach and parents to forgive him and after that he started working hard. From this incident he got a lesson which would help him to prosper in life.

Are men better than women?

Are men better than women are? Today I have taken this topic to tell you about the previous centuries. Earlier people preferred to spend more money on their boys’ education rather than spending equally on both sons and daughters. Men are to do all the work outside the house whereas women have to do work inside the house. Nowadays in urban area women go to offices but still, in rural areas where women go to fetch water, collect fuel and work in the fields but do not get recognition for their work. Earlier only men were allowed to vote. But then women from different parts of the world fought for equal rights. This resulted in improving career and educational opportunities. In our country, 54 per cent women are literate whereas 76 per cent men are literate. Women members in Lok Sabha have never reached 10 per cent. Their share is less than 5 per cent in state assemblies. To solve this problem woman should legally have fair proportion in elected bodies. Nowadays one third of seats are reserved for women in elected bodies like panchayats and municipalities.

First Day Experience

The sunlight streamed through the open window. Kanushka woke up and dressed quickly. Her father had been transferred to Delhi. Earlier she lived in Guhawati. When she was in Guhawati her friends would often tell that Delhi was a nice place and advised her to go in her summer vacations. At that time she wanted to go but now after coming here forever she did not like it. There was no greenery here and no one who could be called a friend. Her mother and father were interested in Delhi. They had bought a camera recently and wanted to take photographs and courier them to other relatives in Guhawati. "Kanushka, come fast" said her mother from the kitchen who was busy packing sandwiches for the way. "Coming, mama" said Kanushka. After an hour or two they reached the India Gate. They took many photographs of it from different angles. After eating the sandwiches they went to Qutub Minar, Red Fort and even zoo. Kanushka liked all the places and she regretted for saying that Delhi was an awful place. That day she enjoyed a lot. But she did not want to go to the school. The next morning turned out to be a rainy one. But somehow Kanushka managed to reach the school. When the teacher came everyone greeted. She told them that they would be doing gardening, painting and count from 1 to10. She enjoyed a lot. Later as a treat everyone was given three biscuits. They also played hide and seek. Now she just wanted to live in Delhi and go to school always. And thereafter no one heard her saying that Delhi was bad.

Alone in the house

This is about my first experience when I was alone at my home without anyone else. I had to stay alone in my house because my grandparents were out of station, my mother was in her clinic and didi [sister] had board exams and so papa [father] had to go to fetch her. Now you must be thinking that why I didn’t go with my father? The reason was that whenever I sit in a car I feel like vomiting. As I was frightened I kept sitting on a chair in my room. Suddenly I saw two honeybees in my room. I was frightened and so didn’t go to another room. For some time I just kept praying that the bees should not come near me. But suddenly a bee started hovering over me. I was so frightened that I started crying. Just then someone knocked the door and do you know who it was, my parents. I hurriedly opened the door. At that time no other sound would be more welcoming. The most interesting thing is that I am alone in my house. But I am not frightened. You know while writing I feel the fear draining out. I want to write more but cannot, as there is nothing else to write. But I will soon tell more about my other experiences.
[SELF COMPOSED]

The Trophy (Short Story)

Once upon a time there were two girls named Rita and Renu. They both were best friends. One day it was announced that there was going to be an inter- school debate. Rita and Renu prepared for it. Just on the day when there was going to be the selection Renu fell ill. Rita was very sad. Suddenly Renu thought "I will try to win and then if I win I will surely give the trophy to Renu as she is the real owner" Now she became very happy. She practiced day and night for the debate and then she won. Without talking to anybody else she rushed to Renu. She tried to give the trophy to her but could not as Renu was not ready to take it. She said ", Rita, you worked hard for the competition and then you did my and your own homework. At that time, I would just keep lying in the bed. And then now also if you give me the trophy, I will be ashamed of myself." But slowly they started arguing. But do you know that the principal had already seen them. He came and said that he was impressed by their friendship. Their happiness knew no bounds when they came to know that Renu was also getting a trophy.
[Self composed]

FOOD

Food is the most important thing in the whole world. The word ‘food’ means ‘the thing which is eaten or taken into the body, for nourishment. It gives us energy. We should never waste our food. Because when we have something we do not know its importance but when we lose something we come to know its importance. You must have seen poor children in a party or marriage. Did you ever think what did they do there? It is for sure that they are not the host’s guests. And if they were, they would not have come in tattered clothes. Well, if you do not know I will tell you. When we leave our food without finishing it, the children eat it. We even do not touch the food which is eaten by someone and if it is not of our choice we get angry. But poor children do not see that the food is leftover or not they just gobble it up. You are very lucky that you have got a home to live in and have food to eat. There are many people who do not have these things, they even do not get square of meal a day. Whereas they are better to the environment than we are. So if you waste your food then stop it save the food and try to lead a better life.

As you sow, so shall you reap {Part-2}

He came to know that Rohit was maintaining a diary. One day he got the chance to read his diary. He jumped in Rohit’s room by jumping through the window. He searched for the diary and found it lying under his [Rohit’s] books. He pulled it and took out the page where Rohit had written about the five’s friendship. It read:

5 May 2008,
Dear Diary,

Today I am very happy. Kajal and Rajiv have become my friends. They are not selling vegetables and fruits now. People do not praise them and are thinking why the five have stopped selling groceries. No one knows that I am the culprit. Kajal and Rajiv are really big fools. Nothing else.
BYE!
YOURS ROHIT,

Anil saw that Rohit was coming, he quickly jumped out of the window. Then he went to Kajal and Rajiv. When they read it they felt angry and sorry for trusting Rohit. And as for Rohit everyone has hated him after listening about the incident. But after this incident the five’s friendship has become strong and no one can harm it.

As you sow, so shall you reap {Part-1}

There were five best friends named Anil, Riya, Kajal, Rajiv and Neetu. They always walked together. One day they were sitting in the society’s park. When Neetu said that she was bored. Anil said I have an excellent idea. Why shouldn’t we start our own market? We will buy fruits and vegetables at lesser rates and sell at higher rates. We will benefit from it a lot" Everybody agreed. They asked for permission of their parents. They also agreed. All the people were happy. I should not have said everyone because Rohit, their classmate felt jealous. His parents always said "Such nice children they are…. At this line Rohit felt very angry and his sister kept taunting him by repeating this line. He thought that he could easily break their friendship by telling something bad to any two of them about others. He could think about this plan, as he knew that their biggest weakness was that their friendship wasn’t a strong one and could be harmed at any time, by any person. So he went to Kajal and Rajiv and told bad things about the others. Anil had also come to the park but he had stopped there and had hid behind the bushes and was listening to the conversation. And saying this Rohit headed towards his home. He knew that now if he would go to both of them they would not listen to him. He didn’t tell anything about this to Riya and Neetu. Then he started spying around Rohit’s house. After some days his patience was rewarded. He came to…
[To be continued]

Quotations on Punctuality

1. Punctuality is the path to success.
2. Punctuality is an activity, which cannot be missed.
3. A minute late makes an hour late.

The Unlucky Lady

It was a chilly morning. The food was over. Jane removed the snow and started cutting some steps. Himalayas were still miles away. But Jane did not lose courage and hope. She started again without food as it was over. After hard day’s work she was just near the Himalayas. But till now she had climbed the easy path. The dangerous path lay ahead stretched wide. She changed the oxygen cylinder. Then she lied in the sleeping bag. The chirping of birds marked the dawn. Jane woke up and started again. The little rocks were loose and she feared that she would also fall with the rocks. After two hours and twenty minutes she reached the snow-covered peak. At last, she had reached her destination. She was very happy and she stood gazing at other peaks. Then she dug a hole and put a gold locket in it, then taking some snow she put it on the locket. She had made an offering to the Almighty. But there is no one who can live without food. So she is weak and after some days she will die. And then the great lady is dead who could not go back to her countrymen to tell each and every person that women are not weak. The sun goes, the sun comes but she lies there immobile. That time no lady could do such great thing. I have the greatest respect for her.

Encouraging Hands

People often get angry when their children do not win a competition. They also think that their children are not old enough to participate. This should not happen; instead they should encourage their children to take part in competitions. Otherwise the children will think that they cannot win and so they should not participate. Parents should encourage by saying that they will certainly win. And the most important thing is that you should not think that winning is the biggest thing. The biggest thing is participating. If you will not follow this line you will never be able to change your self. So from today onwards encourage your little ones to participate and see them prosper.

grading system a magical, potion to de-stress the GenNext?

Is grading system a magical, potion to de-stress the GenNext?

Before we dwell on the subject, let me give a brief history of grading system, which was originally the brainchild of a lazy English tutor William Farish. William Farish was a tutor at Cambridge University in England in 1792 who came up with this method of teaching to allow him to process students—mind you I use the word process—in a shorter period of time. He invented grades. This was because getting to know his students was too much trouble for him. It meant work, interacting and participating with each child. It meant paying attention to their needs, to their style of learning. It meant there was a limit on the number of students he could thus get to know and therefore a limit on how much money he could earn.
So he came up with this grading system. As though students were products of a factory or fruits which could be segregated and graded.
Based on well-established time-tested facts and vast storehouse of information on this 200-year-old system of evaluating a student’s performance I can just make the following observations. The grading system is neither a potion nor a lotion, but a concoction of all sorts of confusions to be implemented by a few educationists in our country in the name of an evaluating procedure of the education system.
Against this backdrop, I firmly believe that there can be no magical potion in this extremely competitive world to de-stress the GenNext except sheer hardwork. I repeat sheer hardwork is the only magical potion to de-stress the GenNext and as for the grading system, it is just a method to hide the flaws in the present education system.
Grading system doesn’t recognize the merit of a hardworking, sincere, devoted , study-conscious, diligent student and equates him with a student who is much below his caliber. Due to inherent lacunae in the education system, this unwise system of awarding grades on the performance of a student is only objective and doesn’t recognize the subjective performance in the examination.
In fact this highly confused system has done tremendous harm to the core of competition and achieving excellence. My worthy opponents would blame the marks based evaluating system for the increasing number of suicides among students. But, this is not true. If the NCRB figures on teenage suicides are to be believed less than half the suicide cases are due to exam. Related stress-43% to be precise. Rest 57% is due to other reasons like warring parents, sibling rivalry, death of a loved one, distressed parents. The answer to the problem of suicides lies not in the changeover to grade system but in proper psychological treatment so that doesn’t have difficulty in coping with life’s disappointments. Grading system is nothing but a sugarcoated pill, which is killing the excellence in performance and spirit of competition. If grading system is the magic wand of educational ills then why don’t we implement it in various entrance examinations?
Here, I wish to point out the salient inherent defects of grading system, which have been noticed in a very recent survey. Firstly, the grading system does not make students smarter in fact it has the opposite effect. Secondly, grades do not give students deeper insight into topic of study, instead it forces students to memorize by rote only those details that are required to pass the test. Thirdly, grading system does not encourage critical analytical thinking. Lastly, it dos not stimulate the students to discuss the detailed contents of the subject with fellow students.
And my dear opponents for your kind information I would like to tell you that in a huge country like India grading system will not work. We have so many boards in various states and also at the central level. So friends how do you plan to normalize the scoring? The competition level in our country is so high that even 0.1 marks make a huge difference. If for an entrance exam there are only 50 seats but 100 students with a grade, who all are you gong to select? Do you have any option but to resort to marking system?
I would like to emphasize that grading system will kill the competitiveness among the students instead of de -stressing them. Competition should be taken in a positive way and for survival one has to be ever competitive as it is said ‘survival of the fittest.’
In the end I would like to pose a question to our honorable judges. Sir and madam I would like to ask you that in today’s debate are you going to rank the participants on the basis of marks or grades ?

THE TERROR STRIKES

26 November 2008, a day which should be remembered by all the Indians. On this day there was firing at several busy places. Terrorists attacked CST, [Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus] Nariman House, Colaba, Santa Cruz Airport, 3 hospitals, Oberoi Trident and the heritage building of Taj Hotel. Terrorists used heavy-duty guns, AK-47’S and grenades. It was reported that 75 people had died and 250 injured. In the next two days more had died. Chairman of Yes Bank and ATS chief Hemant Karkare died in the operation. NSG commandos were called from Delhi. Terrorists had come through the sea. A terrorist called Ajmal Amir Kasab was caught alive. They had killed the pilot of the trawler with his neck slit. Four fishermen were also killed. Only Kasab was caught alive but others had been killed. Kasab says he wants to write a letter to his mother and wants to go to his home in Pakistan. He would tell his mother that LEt had convinced him to cause terror in Bombay. Rakesh Maria is investigating whether the weapons from Pakistan. So let’s join hands to fight against terrorism.

DIWALI

Diwali is a festival of joy. Children enjoy bursting crackers. People exchange gifts and sweets and worship Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi on this occasion. It is celebrated on Amavasya of Kartik month according to the Hindu calendar. It is a festival celebrating victory of good over evil. On this day Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after spending 14 years in the forest and defeating Ravana. To celebrate his return, the people of Ayodhya lit diyas in their homes that brightened the city. Even today we celebrate this festival in the same spirit. The word ‘Diwali’s full form is ‘Deepawali’. ‘Deep’ means diya and ‘awali’ means row. And the whole word joins to make ‘Festival of diyas’. Some people do gambling and take liquor. Diwali is a pious festival and these things should be avoided. We should celebrate the festival in a good spirit.