Tag: Articles

The Digital Well Being

We the people of new, technologically developed world have a way around the advance, next-gen, electronic in such a fashion that it has started affecting our health to the extent of the worst.  The toll that excessive screen-time can have on being’s health is of major concern in today’s highly advanced times. Be it a small town or a big city, be it a young kid or an old man, be it the middle-class or the rich, be it a third-world citizen or a first world citizen, everyone has an excessively disturbing effect on health. With the rays that are responsible of the operation of these electronics are said to be harmful as that causing a heart-attack. Along with many other health- problems the cutting- off from the real world around has to be one of the most unwanted affect. As the world moves forward in the digital world, it moves backward in the health status in the real world.

Ramifications

There are numerous effects in a variety of ways on the human being because of the too much interaction with the virtual world. These effects are not only too harmful but sometimes even life-threatening.

 Repercussions on Physical health=

The prolonged hours in front of the screen can lead to a number of physical health problems. These can cause health issues like obesity, weak eyesight, neck and back problems.

With people sitting in front of the screens for hours in the same place can lead them to eat unhealthily and excessively. They become more prone to junk food as an instant food is better than the one taking time to cook. The unhealthy food habits that develop because of the increased hours of sitting, makes the person obese sometimes to the extent of no return to a healthy body.

Weakening of the eyesight is one of the most disturbing affect when more than enough hours are spent in front of the screen. The blue light from the screen can cause problems like eye fatigue and blurry vision. Fatigue can cause inability to look clearly at night.

People usually sit in one place for hours while using screen and those positions can cause neck and back problems as sitting in not so comfortable positions can lead to neck, shoulder and back pains, these pains can be higher than we think. Too much screen time snatches away the person of the sleep that comes to them naturally. As studies have found that people generally tend to stretch their screen time by spending time late at nights, causing sleep related problems, generally loss of sleep.

Mental health =

Depression has been indicated as one of the worst effects of increased screen time along with anxiety. The use of too much of phones, laptops, etc can lead to drop in mental health as they tend to damage the brain cells and thereby making the case of one’s mental health further worse.

Students have generally experienced lack of concentration while studying as the excess of screen time robs them off their focus while learning something new and for the first time. The attention span reduces and the sitting hour for actually learning or studying suffers.

With sleep deprivation and lack of focus as is the effect of some drug addiction, screen time leads to irritable behaviour along with person becoming an emotional wreck. People usually involved in screen time addiction end up staying alone for hours and there by affecting their mental stability and health.

Detoxification

The screen time usage can be restrained by detoxification. There are a number of ways of detoxifying, which is the act of staying away from the screen for a specific period of time so as to reduce the effects that it might have on physical and or mental health.

Switching off the applications is proved to be one of the best ways of staying away from the screen when not so required. Turning them off gives people to more time to spend on other things than just the screen.

Resorting to other activities whenever the person finds some free time instead of gadgets can help them restore their concentration and focus. With recreational activities such as reading, writing, painting, playing any instrument etc can be beneficial for the recharging of the brains.

Making a proper routine to follow including the correction of sleep cycle has to be one of the best ways to regain the lost mental and physical health. With a good night sleep, the less strain on the eyes could bring down the eyes fatigue and irritability levels.

Physically being active is very important if you spend hours in front of the screen. Exercising has been a proven treatment to a lot of health problems and here too definitely is going to be beneficial. With the hours of sitting at least one hour of exercise makes the person gain the lost stamina and physical abilities.

Yoga and meditation have had been famous in India now for quite a long time. These two have proved to be the best cure for most the mental health related problems. Thus even only fifteen to twenty minutes of meditation shows tremendous positive effect on mental health of a being.

The Transit

Moving out, has to be a difficult choice especially if you live in a small town, moving to a big, metropolitan city could be one hell of ride. These metropolises can have a toll on the new, moved in person’s mind as they entail the feeling of racing through the life for a goal so far away to reach. The kid of 16-17 that moves out having a different perspective for everything that came across them changes as soon as that teenager finds himself/herself walking on the streets of a totally unknown place all alone. The innocence and purity that small town had taught to a person is soon discovered to be a fragile characteristic for a person who needs to compete in the rat race with other strong headed people. This rat race robs the person’s inner capability that was enlightening enough to him/her but not for others. The difference in lifestyle varies on whole new level and adjusting to that can be a sport in itself.

The Problems

Whenever a person from a small town moves into a different city there are a number of problems that they have to face and difficulties that they have to go through. These problems as some might feel hinder the development as compared to the natives. For a person moving into a new city, leaving behind the comfort home, living away from their beloved has to be a different sport altogether. They are on their own for at least three years, adjusting to the situations and circumstances all alone. The fear of uncertainty and aloofness stares right into the eyes of the migrated. The difference in culture, lifestyle, sometimes language and ethnicity is something that may further make the migrated anxious the fear of unknown. Further, for someone coming from a middle class of a small town shifting to a big city might become a financial constraint, a thing that definitely affects their overall development and growth for what they actually shift or migrate. The most important issue that the migrated ones face is discrimination. They are treated with the stereotypes that have existed for forever now. The immigrants aren’t treated with equal respect and dignity sometimes because of the small town origin. Immigrants are offered low-paying jobs because of the thinking that the standard of education is not so up to the mark that they might fit in the top positions.

The Bright Side

Though all these problems might be prevalent in the big cities even today but there have been a change in attitude in past few years. Today, globalization has reduced all sorts of gaps and hence, the standard of living in small towns has come near close to that of big cities. The settlers in new cities are judged for their capabilities and talents rather than their original cities. Although financial constrain still poses a big problem for the immigrants but the promise of a better and bright future makes them take the risk and mostly succeed in it. The peace that they find at home and among the people they love still might be missing in the new city but they do get the peace that they always aspire for. The rat race they become part of unknowingly might not be as beneficial as they believe it to be but it could still open the door to the illuminated path which turns out to be their real passion and the better career.

OBSESSION

The people of India have a special love for the language of English. With it being one of the official languages of India, people have obsessed over it now for years. It is considered supreme to any other local or regional language, the language of the elites, the language of the educated, the language of the rich, the language of the better, the language of the greater. Why the knowledge of an alien language has been recognised as the mark of standard or class? Why do Indians take pride in celebrating the English language more than any other? Why do the older generations boast about their children being able to speak English so much? Why do Indians being proud about their culture, traditions, ethnicity, customs and festivals are not as proud of their mother tongues as they are of English? These questions pop up every time a non- English speaking person is humiliated or belittled for their poor English speaking skills. But the real question is do we really need this toxicity of humiliating someone just for the sake of a mere language? No, absolutely we do not.

The answers to all these questions go back to the pre independent era. Ever since the British ruled over India they started with the policy of rejecting non-English, non-white, natives so as to establish strong foot of their supremacy. They dented the minds of naive Indians with the theory that only English speaking, white, educated (the western way) people were supreme and had the capability of ruling over others. With decades of humiliation and degradation, the people in pre independent India accepted the superiority of the English language and this made them bound to have inferiority complex about their very own language and mother tongue. The effect was so profound that even after independence, the people educated in English were considered better than those who were equally skilled but not in this supreme language. The Indian population were now interested in educating their children in an English medium school. The liking for the society with English read people enlarged to a level that it lead to the decay and ultimately the end of traditional schools with Indian native languages.

As India’s economy started to grow and new industries and establishments were born, the culture of hiring mostly and after some time only English speaking people grew to an unexpected level. The new businesses wanted English conversing people as they were now associated with better intelligence and know how. When we look back into the history of the relation between English language and the skills or expertise or wisdom we do not find any strong logical evidence to support that. It was merely the supremacy of the language created by the British that Indians starting judging themselves on the basis of the English speaking skills. The interviews were taken only in English language so as to ensure their hold of the language. Students with better grip of this foreign speech were preferred over others. Even this lingo came to be recognised as the symbol of intelligent, sincere and best for any job students.

Society made it very clear with their over likeness towards English that only the privileged, classy, affluent and powerful individuals could afford and were entitled to this learning. This obsession with a foreign tongue was so unhealthy and unwanted that till this day citizens of India have not been able to accept the fact that it is just a language and that the understanding of this speech has nothing to do with intelligence or wisdom. The folks with lesser experience or practice in English are judged too quickly as being the lesser ones. There is a swift shift in people’s attitude after they realize they are conversing with someone with no skills for English language than with the one who is an expert in it. Though with developing nature of the society today, the respect and glory of the local, regional or native language that was lost decades ago is returning back but nevertheless the tilt towards the English language continues, bent enough to stay an obsession.  

SELF DEFENSE : TYPES AND BENEFITS

The use of an appropriate counter-measure or protection technique to physically confront an attacker is known as Self- Defense. It can be applied to protect your interests or against people who try to invade your personal space and to halt the attack. There are diverse Self Defense techniques around the world, depending upon the culture, availability of weapons, costumes, purpose, etc. A few of them have been mentioned below.

KARATE

Karate was originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom under the Chinese and Japanese influence. This self defense form gained fame during WW II, when the Japanese military men stationed at sites used this martial art to defend themselves against enemies. This combat sport involves, kicks, elbow strikes, knee strikes, punches, vital point strikes, etc. The popularity gained by this form was so tremendous that the English men started naming any Martial Art technique as Karate. There are six belt colours which can be achieved by a student, starting from White and ending with Black.

JUJUTSU

Jujutsu is a Japanese origin martial art that can be learnt for close combat with minor or no weapons to attack or subdue people that are unarmed. It was primarily developed to distract or get rid of the attacker by trying to shake his balance through strangulation or locking of joints. In the earlier times, trained Samurai’s used to find it difficult to use long swords during wars or attacks. Hence, they used to make use of short daggers, small swords or would fight unarmed. There are eight belts in totality for adults trained in Brazilian Jujutsu.

KRAV MAGA

This martial art is practiced by the Israeli Defence Operations. It is a mixture of several other fighting forms such as boxing, karate, wrestling and judo. Training is rendered in such a form that, one might end up severely injuring or even killing the opponent. It avoids long close combat fights and rather focuses on quick and aggressive blows on weaker sections of the opponent’s body. Mental toughness, agility and development of muscle memory are a part of the training. Worldwide, there is a six belt system used in Krav Maga.

KALARIPAYATTU

With a history of over 3000 years, this Indian self defence technique has two stages – Use of Weapons (taught first) and Barehanded Combat (taught later). It originated in Kerala, located in Southern tip of India. Training encompasses yogasanas, dance moves, kicks, strikes, ayurveda and healing techniques. Bodhi Dharma, a Buddhist monk who was trained in this self defense technique, travelled to China and spread this martial artform there, which evolved as Kung Fu. A greater focus is laid on mobility and flexibility. The Indian Kalaripayattu Federation is the body that governs this combat sport.

BENEFITS OF LEARNING SELF DEFENSE

  • Inculcates discipline within oneself. Attending coaching regularly and practicing to get better each day helps in maintaining self discipline.
  • It accelerates reflexes. The ones who are trained in self defense techniques respond to a situation in a different manner than normal people. Those who have learnt self defense tend to take decisions quicker and act faster than others.
  • It certainly helps boost confidence. In case if a person is caught up in a dangerous scenario, he/she will be self reliant enough to protect oneself. With all the upcoming news and stories, women in society have turned fearful of venturing out of their homes, during wee hours. Learning self defense will help to discard their fear by boosting self confidence.
  • Training in self defense techniques also helps to improve overall fitness. One can take it as a hobby or for recreational purpose. Since, it is a well defined form of exercise, it will help release endorphins in the body, leading to happiness. Along with agility, mobility, it will also help to eliminate extra calories from the body.

Self- Defense does not promote violence. It is only a method to protect oneself efficiently in case of an attack. With the rising concerns of abductions, murders and other heinous crimes, learning self defense has become the need of the hour. Hence, self defense can be explained as a justified defensive response to a threatening situation.

HOPE

Every time we look in the mirror we hope to find the person we have always wanted to become and not our actual self. But the fun about this whole hoping and wishing is that we never accept and move on, we continue to hope. People say hoping is what makes our life beautiful and worth living but in reality it is the fact that we try and work hard towards getting what we hope for, that makes our life adventurous and value hyping.  Hope isn’t something that lead us dream unattainable but rather it is something that compel us to work hard enough to attain the unattainable. We decide to put our best foot forward in the battle field, we aim on reaching the top end of the ladder, we become courageous enough to climb that mountain peak and all that because of one not so little thing- HOPE. How amazingly pure this emotion of hope is that we surrender ourselves with all our might to it regardless of the moment, time, person or our own actions. Hope takes us to another beautiful emotion called- FAITH. Faith isn’t something that will take us places but it is definitely something that describes the world in much more innocent sense and leads us to the path of prospect. Hope is something that can make us optimistic about future, something that can make us fight the toughest battles of our life and eventually win them with zero loss. Hope brings out the best in life it describes each of our act with certainty of killing it and accomplishing the unimaginable.

Hope knock together the possibility of a future so different from present and yet so close to our past. Hope turns us into the being so true to our own selves that we dream big and pull of something even bigger. Hope sticks us to the ground reality but at the same time motivates us to alter that reality into our biggest ambition. Our fantasies start growing into reality and making more sense to us as we hope of realizing it. With each step closer to the goal, we take a jump upwards the clouds of hope. As soon as we start accepting the fact that with each of our day of hoping more we accomplish more we begin to hope more and in the constant act of hoping and genuinely conquering we end up hoping what we did not even suppose of wishing of and ultimately getting it. Hope regenerates the self- confidence which life’s unpredictability robbed us off. Hope gives rise to general feeling of completeness even when events around us seem a little unfair. Hope does not cause us doubt our self worth instead it furthers our treasure of self believing powers. We gain and loose in life simultaneously but hope ameliorate the realization of loosing and celebrate the actions of gaining. Hope optimizes everything around us, it looks straight into the black sky and wonder in the stars assisting us to trust the process and pray to hope forever.

Photo by Rodolfo Clix on Pexels.com

The Social Media

Social networking sites- these three words bring a very large world together on a single platform and in a simple and easy way. If we see the positive side, there are a number of benefits of social networking. How can we forget that how social media helped Malala Yusufzai become the youngest nominee for the noble peace prize. It were these sites only which made it possible not only for her but for 1000s of girls like her to have higher education. The social media has been playing a crucial role in making today’s teens aware about the events around globe by just one click. Social media has proven to be the fastest medium to update ourselves with daily world events. Social media updates every single second bringing the entire world together every second. Although globalisation has to be given its due credit for bringing the world closer economically and further culturally but it is social media platforms that have made it possible for a person in India to watch a French show at the comfort of their home and without any extra cost. With these social networking sites not only now people could talk, interact, respond to someone in the opposite corner of the world but can also be there without actually being there.

Social networking sites have provided a platform for protesting in some rather unusual but effective ways, from BLACKLIVESMATTER to METOO to BRINGBACKOURGIRLS and many more social media have been proved to be the best way of protesting for the right and just cause. As social media does not connect people from just one city or country but all over the world the movements on social media have a greater impact and helps in bringing greater good in the society. Back in 2013 people from different parts of India were able to raise funds from different campaigns on Facebook, Twitter for Uttrakhand flood victims. In 2014 John Bunnel, a US based sheriff was able to mobilize 5000 youngster for a basic life support training campaign only through Facebook campaign. Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has been able to reach to a million people of our country on a personal level through his social media and special programme MANN KI BAAT. These sites made a 14 year old boy Ahammad Mohammed in America fight against the injustice he felt in his school for wearing a handmade watch. It was twitter and facebook only that brought on him the focus of the then President of USA Barack Obama and then later earned him a scholarship too.

There is no doubt that in today’s modern era whether it is a motion of physics or politics of civics we can get all the useful links by just a single click. In no means we can deny that internet has changed everything for good and it is social media that has made it so flexible. It only depends on us, how we take it, as a head or as a tail. Social networking is an ever changing fad which in every field from communication to examination has become our supporting tool. Today no one can even imagine a life without these social networking sites. From dusk to dawn, from entertainment to welfare, our lives now run on these media platform platforms. And as harmful as it’s over usage is as beneficial is its appropriate use.

The Refugees

“Taking Mum’s hand, I whispered ‘Are we really safe, here?’ ”

Alwyn Evans (Walk in my Shoes)

Everyone has a right to make his/ her life happy and fruitful but the refugees have to pay a high price for this quality life. The refugees are the most affected people, in today’s globalised world. Refugees are people who are outside their home country because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Displacement is a long, lasting reality for most refugees. We need to bring them out of the situation which they face at borders of different countries. We all know that refugees deserve much better treatment on the borders of the countries than they are able to get. Migration has long been part of our human history, but the current Afghan crisis has shown that countries must accept refugees into their sovereign states. Although we all know the countries with refugees have special security but still we are not ready to take responsibility of human. All the countries know the process to bring refugees or displaced people to a stable life in their country. But still one fact is that we are not ready for this responsibility. Why? No one knows, but what all we should know is the way to make refugees’ life stable as readily as possible. Countries have potential to make life better and even best for refugees but the problem is that we are not taking refugees a collective responsibility. But still there are some super ways to help refugees collectively (by different countries).

All the countries should investigate trafficking gangs who exploit refuges and migrants, and put people’s safety above all. Governments also need to stop blaming refugees and migrants for economic and social problems. Even if governments allow refugees to enter their country, they should not treat them as worthless creatures as they are intruders. Opening up safe routes for refugees is one important solution to the problem. When people are assured about their security, they too start feeling safe though they have a lot of crisis in their country related to their country related to their health and housing, yet they have faith in those country members who by giving equal rights and opportunities assure them that they will definitely be able to live comfortable and happy life. Resettlement is vital solution for the most refugees. And whether they travel by land, or by sea, they should be allowed to cross borders, with or without travel documents. Though countries are not forced to make refugees a part of them, still if they allow some of them to enter, they would definitely be one of the countries who appreciate their courage to come out of drastic situations just to ensure good future on their own basis but what all they want is some support of the country and its permission to enter that particular country.

As we all know women are essential part of a family and a nation. The condition of migrant and displayed women has become the worst. Refugee women, who lose their homes, families, husbands, have to face some very devastating situations during migration. They have to go through different critical situations of rape, sexual and physical harassment and violence. Even the girls of five to twelve years of age have to face such unfortunate incidents which haunt them throughout their lives. Women are more required to migrate than men as they have to face more violence than men. Single parent with her children needs to be concerned more. When females try to cross the borders of the other countries, they are locked with men who are unknown to them, which make the situation worse than ever.

All these incidents of misfortune, violence and harassment can be stopped if we all take a collective step against them countries should accept women as their part of the nation. They should make efforts to make women safe, and secure from these kinds of situations. All the countries should make more migration policies for women and children. For women and children, different routes for migration should be made. If their cases are pending, they should be allowed to live in quarters but not with men of other families. If women refugees are being oppressed, their cases should be recognized and they should be given justice. For children, policies like keeping them away from gang exploiters should be formed. Children who get separated from their parents should be kept in safe places. Special security forces should be there to safeguard children and women. So it is not important that whatever we do alone could gain better results, things done collectively are more beneficial for people who are real heroes, who leave their home and nation for betterment, who we call victims of misfortune, “THE REFUGEES”.

Child Marriage

The Beginning

God resides in the heart of a child. Child is as pure as water. When dirt enters in water it becomes impure. When a child is married the child loses the inner purity. To fulfill some “so called” rituals and respect their tradition people get ready to tie their children’s knot with someone even before the appropriate age. To prove our traditions, to respect them do we really need sin like child marriage? On one hand we talk about children and on the other hand we talk about marriage, how come we are living with this contradiction? We are living in a society where a separate section of society feels marrying their children after 18 is as dangerous as nuclear bomb. The actual nuclear bomb is child marriage. Because of this many children have died or let me say they have martyred. And here we are crying over GST; high price of tomatoes. This is the culture we are living with, this is the nation we are residing in.

The Middle

What actually child marriage is? Child marriage is a human rights violation. Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread, in part because of persistent poverty and gender inequality. In developing countries, one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. Child marriage is related to child espousal and court approved early marriages after teenage pregnancy. In many cases, only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female. Child marriages were common throughout history for a variety of reasons, including poverty, insecurity, as well as for political and financial reasons. Today, child marriage is still fairly widespread in developing countries, such as parts of Africa, South Asia and Latin America. The incidence of child marriage has been falling in most parts of the world. Somewhere child marriage has given rise to teenage pregnancy. In poor countries, early pregnancy limits or can even eliminate their education options. This affects their economic independence. This makes girls more vulnerable to persistent poverty if their spouses die, abandon, or divorce them. Girls in child marriages are more likely to suffer from domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and marital rape.

Picture Credit: http://shorturl.at/afpCZ


The United Nations, through a series of conventions has declared child marriage a violation of human rights. Child marriages violates a range of women’s interconnected rights such as equality on grounds of sex and age, to receive the highest attainable standard of health, access to education and freedom from violence. The society is interlinked with each other. If one factor gets effected the whole system is disturbed. Then in which world we thought that child marriage would not create any change in our surroundings? Or the objects encircling us wouldn’t have any effect on child marriage? Factors that impact child marriage include poverty, gender inequality, protecting family honor; tradition and culture; and insecurity, particularly during war, famine or epidemics. Other factors include family ties in which marriage is a means of consolidating powerful relations between families. Why have we made marriage a form of business? Why always dowry has to be included in marriage? Why bride’s price is to be paid? Providing a girl with a dowry at her marriage is an ancient practice which continues in some parts of the world. These difficulties pressed families to betroth their girl, irrespective of her age, as soon as they had the resources to pay the dowry. A bride price is the amount paid by the groom to the parents of a bride for them to consent to him marrying their daughter. In some countries, the younger the bride, the higher the price she may fetch. Hence, the rise of the menace like child has become so popular all around the globe.

The End

Some of these marriages could have been stopped, in fact they should have been prevented only if people were well aware? No, only if we were all aware. We as a society need to come together to stop this gruesome crime. We need to stand against such traditional practices that endanger the lives of young kids, which lead to the creation of a dark cloud over these kids’ future. We just don’t need an end to this practice but we need an end to the thought process that lead people to think crimes like this to be okay in the name of traditions, we need an end to this totally aggravated legacy of ruining children’s life.

Beloved School

I was too young to understand how and why you were so important to the people who already had passed out from you. But the day I got my farewell and had tears in my eyes, I guess I knew then why you were so important to me, to them, to all of us. My education, my confidence, my surviving power, my friends and life long memories, I owe them all to you. I joined your forces as a three year old kid and left you as an adult. All those years I lived, learned, fell, rose, in your lap of wisdom and you let me. You taught me to be me. You made me, me. You have been the destination of my firsts, and you are just as special as those firsts. I wore your name on my badge for years and no day even after all those years did I feel any less of you as a family. You became my religion for the only praise I know was for you, to you, about you. I didn’t give fourteen precious years of my life to you instead you gave fourteen life changing years of yours to me. I stumbled and you held my hand and walked me to the ladder of success, you became my rainbow after days of rain, I prayed and will continue to pray for you are the divine power to me, my beloved school you gave me everything.

Though I cannot thank you enough for what you have done to me and what you are doing and will continue to do, to many more like me, but here is a thank you note as I try to be a little less emotional and a lot more of your student by reliving my days within you.  I thank you for making me believe that teachers are really next to god, that they are the candles that lighten up your way and that you can reach places with their support. I thank you for giving the stupid, idiotic, smart, beautiful friends whom I now bank upon for any and every life problem. I thank you for introducing me to the world of books, debates, speeches, writing, and many more. I thank you for bringing the PICASSO inside me out to the world for now I rock at creativity. I thank you for teaching me perseverance, courage, honor, respect, harmony, dignity, bravery, discipline, consistency, commitment, ambition, care, kindness, loyalty, service, forgiveness, integrity, hard work, gratitude, humility, trust, self respect and most important of them all LOVE. I thank you for not only building my character but also securing my future. I thank you for preparing for the cruel world with your soft feather like deeds. I thank you for crowning me with your presence. I thank you for residing within me. I thank you for building me, for encouraging me, for guiding me, for loving me. I THANK YOU for everything as I bow to you and will continue to do so till I breathe my last.

Signing off,                                                                                                                    Yours Truly….

Don’t misspend your teenage time

We are very well know how important teenage life is important and the most crucial part of life. It is the time you make the most important decisions in life and realize your goals and dreams. It is really a small age wherein, we are asked to make decisions on how our next 10yrs of life should be or wish to be. It is not acceptable and stressful to take such huge decisions in a confused state of mind. Do we never know what we really want to ask ourselves what do you really want? most of us don’t get the answers. We all are streamlined to travel in certain paths in life as others did or elders did and that is what we should be doing irrespective of interests, likes, or talents. It is ruthless to have pressure on teenagers to decide on their life. But, we definitely know that we have enough time to build a proper career and assemble the stones properly to see the view behind those huge rocks. This time you will never ever get it back never set back to relax keep running with mild breaks but do not lose the consistency and zeal to run to succeed in the race. We have enough time to gain experience in our interests, skills, and talents.

Most of us really don’t know what to do with so much idle time and misspend it on other unwanted things. But using it in the right way will lead to the best life. Use this time to hustle, learn, grow, ask, think, restructure, reframe, understand and be honest to your work. It is okay to make mistakes that’s when you learn how to face the next and prevent making another one. Mistakes teach you so much than one could ever. They shouldn’t be intentional but if it is accidental it should help you open your eyes and grow from the mistakes. Learn new skills, and improve on your interests they help a lot for your future.

These may sound boring and exhausting now but few years down the line you will be thankful to your past self for not misspending time and using it for career building. Even such small things help a lot in resume building. The users look for other qualities in your resume alongside your degree. They improve your chances of getting jobs and may experience an increase in stipend for the qualities you possess. This may sound so much now but taking slow-steady steps will add so much. Develop these qualities in this time and your experience has a lot of value in the future. You never know what really happens and people your age may waste their time partying and hang out with friends limitlessly. But, it is your option to choose whether to misspend or use it wisely. Because it is not their future or career, they are there today and not tomorrow but, your time never comes back to you. Your future your time is completely in your hands. Know what you need to spend time on at the end of the day it is you who is hustling hard and strongly wanting to have the best life. Find your stones and build them wisely.

Casteist Of Them All

Growing up in India, belonging to a caste which is not deemed as “prestigious” or “glorified” as some others, because certain classiest men believe it to be the best way of managing a society, cannot be and does not have to be easy. The fact that these casteist men are able to pull the scam of calling names to people of a caste different to them and blaming it to be their fault requires guts to another level. Caste system has been around for so long that now when someone prefers to not to state their surname so as to avoid any sort of casteist slurs or just to promote the feeling of unity or equality they are forced to introduce themselves with their full name. The feeling that one caste is superior to another leading to subjugation of the so called inferior caste to the degree that it becomes everyday business for some and normal for others is problematic and definitely needs urgent attention. With years of development and advancement there has to be some difference in the way “dominant” look at the “survivors”, but with lack of access to education and technology the gap has only grown further, making things worse for the “non-dominants”.

Entrenched In Past

History of caste system dates back to the “SATYUG”. At the time of RAMAYANA and MAHABHARTA, the caste system started taking shape although it was not as watertight as it appears to be today but still existed. A lot of scholars argue that it was VARNA system that existed then and that CASTE system is its corrupted and un-required form. It has long been believed that there are/were four strata of society each originating from different body parts of GOD BRAHMA. With Brahamanas taking birth from the head, Kshatriyas from arms, Vaishyas from thighs and finally Shudras from feet. They were assigned tasks on the basis of this division as their capabilities matched. Although there was this division of duties and responsibilities but people could change or shift from Varna to another if they had the capability for the same. And those who did not want to change remained in the same, but were never subjected to disrespect or violence for belonging to a particular Varna.

As the society shifted its YUGA, the system of Varna also started to change. It went through a dramatic change to become present day caste system- a system way worse than Varna system. With the involvement of traditions and customs and rules that were not to be broken the Varna system soon started becoming more rigid and difficult to cut through. People were now assigned the Varna on the basis of their birth and they were to follow their parents’ leads and indulge in the same occupation as them with no adherence to their own capabilities. As society progressed towards the present times, Varna system achieved its highest level of rigidity and was now termed as caste system. The caste system did not allow anything outside the caste and was seen as an assault on the whole system. Anyone who tried to break through this system was termed anti-traditions and given capital punishment. And thus, these roots became so deep that it is difficult to cut them off even in the present day.

Data on Vulnerability

Today, we witness a number of cases of violence, brutality, discrimination and barbarity against the India’s “UNTOUCHABLES”. The graph of these cases has only been rising ever since. Sexual and physical and even mental torture continues in the name of protecting the society from the ills of SCs and STs causing a substantial number of deaths every year. The members of other caste take the responsibility onto themselves of ensuring that the audacity of these marginalized sects or caste remains in check through use of economic, political and violent power and resources, making it difficult for SCs and STs to live equally in this country as everyone. The women belonging to the discriminated castes face violence and sexual harassment more than those not belonging to these castes. According to National Crime Records Bureau of India as much as ten SC women are raped everyday and there has been a rise in their proneness to cruelty for about 44% in past ten years.

Picture Credit: https://bit.ly/39RBZpr
Picture Credit: https://bit.ly/39RBZpr

Present Times

In present times there have been a change in attitude of a lot of people with movies like, ARTICLE 15, MASAAN, THE WHITE TIGER and many more, the harsh reality has come in limelight and tried to change the perspective of the society towards the weaker sections. The big cities have never cared about the caste of a certain person, it is mostly the smaller towns and villages where the caste is so deeply engraved in the mindset of people that it will take time for the better and equal future. Though it will take time till this menace is shot dead in our Indian society and we could seize being Casteist of them All but still got to work for it together.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists published in 2001 a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. This title draws attention away from the somewhat static notion of “educational objectives” (in Bloom’s original title) and points to a more dynamic conception of classification.

The authors of the revised taxonomy underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their categories and subcategories (rather than the nouns of the original taxonomy). These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.

A statement of a learning objective contains a verb (an action) and an object (usually a noun).

Using Bloom's taxonomy to help write lesson plans is the best way to start to differentiate your lessons. It can be tricky for new teachers and trainee teachers to plan lessons and differentiate effectively but I found using Bloom's taxonomy is a great help. This infographic shows exactly the differentiation possible. #teacherofsci #adviceforteachers #teacheradvice #teachertips #teachingtips #teacher #teachers #teaching #education #writinglessonplans #lessonplan #bloomstaxonomy #blooms
  • The verb generally refers to [actions associated with] the intended cognitive process.
  • The object generally describes the knowledge students are expected to acquire or construct. (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001, pp. 4–5)

The cognitive process dimension represents a continuum of increasing cognitive complexity—from remember to create. Anderson and Krathwohl identify 19 specific cognitive processes that further clarify the bounds of the six categories. 

The Cognitive Process Dimension – categories, cognitive processes (and alternative names)

..

Remember

recognizing(identifying)

recalling (retrieving)

Understand

interpreting(clarifying, paraphrasing, representing, translating)

exemplifying(illustrating, instantiating)

classifying(categorizing, subsuming)

summarizing(abstracting, generalizing)

inferring (concluding, extrapolating, interpolating, predicting)

comparing(contrasting, mapping, matching)

explaining(constructing models)

Apply

executing (carrying out)

implementing (using)

Analyze

differentiating(discriminating, distinguishing, focusing, selecting)

organizing (finding, coherence, integrating, outlining, parsing, structuring)

attributing(deconstructing)

Evaluate

checking (coordinating, detecting, monitoring, testing)

critiquing (judging)

Create

generating(hypothesizing)

planning (designing)

producing (construct)

The knowledge dimension represents a range from concrete (factual) to abstract (metacognitive) (Table 2). Representation of the knowledge dimension as a number of discrete steps can be a bit misleading. For example, all procedural knowledge may not be more abstract than all conceptual knowledge. And metacognitive knowledge is a special case. In this model, “metacognitive knowledge is knowledge of [one’s own] cognition and about oneself in relation to various subject matters . . . ” (Anderson and Krathwohl)

 The Knowledge Dimension

Factual

  • knowledge of terminology
  • knowledge of specific details and elements

Conceptual

  • knowledge of classifications and categories
  • knowledge of principles and generalizations
  • knowledge of theories, models, and structures

Procedural

  • knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
  • knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
  • knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures

Metacognitive

  • strategic knowledge
  • knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge
  • self-knowledge

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Model

Note: These are learning objectives – not learning activities. It may be useful to think of preceding each objective with something like, “students will be able to…:

The Knowledge Dimension

Factual

The basic elements a student must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems in it.

The Knowledge Dimension

Conceptual

The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together.

The Knowledge Dimension

Procedural

How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods.

The Knowledge Dimension

Metacognitive

Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition

The Cognitive Process Dimension

Remember

Retrieve relevant knowledge from long-term memory.

Remember + Factual

List primary and secondary colors.

Remember + Conceptual

Recognize symptoms of exhaustion.

Remember + Procedural

Recall how to perform CPR.

Remember + Metacognitive

Identify strategies for retaining information.

The Cognitive Process Dimension

Understand

Construct meaning from instructional messages, including oral, written and graphic communication.

Understand + Factual

Summarize features of a new product.

Understand + Conceptual

Classify adhesives by toxicity.

Understand + Procedural

Clarify assembly instructions.

Understand + Metacognitive

Predict one’s response to culture shock.

The Cognitive Process Dimension

Apply

Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation.

Apply + Factual

Respond to frequently asked questions.

Apply + Conceptual

Provide advice to novices.

Apply + Procedural

Carry out pH tests of water samples.

Apply + Metacognitive

Use techniques that match one’s strengths.

The Cognitive Process Dimension

Analyze

Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation.

Analyze + Factual

Select the most complete list of activities.

Analyze + Conceptual

Differentiate high and low culture.

Analyze + Procedural

Integrate compliance with regulations.

Analyze + Metacognitive

Deconstruct one’s biases.

The Cognitive Process Dimension

Evaluate

Make judgments based on criteria and standards.

Evaluate + Factual

Select the most complete list of activities.

Evaluate + Conceptual

Determine relevance of results.

Evaluate + Procedural

Judge efficiency of sampling techniques.

Evaluate + Metacognitive

Reflect on one’s progress.

The Cognitive Process Dimension

Create

Put elements together to form a coherent whole; reorganize into a new pattern or structure.

Create + Factual

Generate a log of daily activities.

Create + Conceptual

Assemble a team of experts.

Create + Procedural

Design efficient project workflow.

Create + Metacognitive

Create a learning portfolio.

He said, she said- Psychology of manipulation.

“Fake it until you make it” has been a life mantra for many. It’s a scenario where you create a lie for yourself and keep believing that lie until it becomes your reality. But what if we are not the ones creating the lies? What if someone else lied to us and we made it our reality?

Hello readers, I welcome you to a new age of MANIPULATION. *cue evil laughter*

The lies we believe-

The term for this is Self fulfilling prophecy given by Robert Merton. The name itself is self explanatory but still I want to give some insight on it. This psychological term in short can be named as misconception that later becomes true cause at first we believed it to be true. So essentially a lie we believed in and subconsciously we commenced our work towards that lie and made it our reality.

Now what if somebody lies to us like “I know what you did last summer.”  Pretty vague.  No one’s a psychic here. But subconsciously we already start reminiscing what haphazard thing we did last summer hence giving into the manipulation and believing a lie.

Classic manipulation, isn’t it?

The lies made me do it-

Security dilemma is caused by Self fulfilling prophecies. It can lead to people not being able to distinguish between the actual truth and the prophecy discussed above. In general it is a political term which happens only 40% of times in a case of self fulfilling prophecy.

Take it like this, there’s a person, 2 parties A and B and an old age rivalry. So this person who favors none of these parties and wants to stir up some trouble. He goes to party A and says “Hey there, I found these filled water balloons near B. Weird right?” Now that A has evidence that B might be preparing for a water balloon fight they start packing their own balloons and Nerf guns. B part sees the ammunition. And voila blow the toot for a full fledged WATER FIGHT!!!

Now imagine this scenario going on a bigger level and let the realization dawn upon you that how everything is just psychology.

The lies I am-

Talking about Behavioral confirmation, it is a very special kind of self fulfilling prophecy where we change our personality according to someone’s initial belief about us.

Let’s make it clear with an example. Some random person comes up to you and says “When I first saw you I thought you to be a little aggressive.” Now remember this is a person whom you have met only 2-3 times and you are anything but aggressive. Now whenever this person come around you’ll start acting a little aggressive and sometimes even when the person is removed from the equation.

Leading a belief/expectation to turn into reality just like in the 2 cases mentioned above.

All these scenarios are derived from self fulfilling prophecy. A very basic way of controlling human brain according to our wishes. These psychological ways can be used positively too but if you decide to go for manipulation then I didn’t tell you this. Jokes apart, it’s still quite wondrous how a little he said she said shenanigan can be used in our favor.  

Big Fat Indian Weddings

The groom riding on the back of a horse, just being the prince charming, this beautiful bride had been waiting for, since she was nine, hundreds of people dancing, singing, celebrating, some other busy hosting more than a thousand people and the guests just rejecting every good thing. Rings a bell? Yes! That is what a Big Fat Indian Wedding Is! Will this showing off business take us anywhere? Why can’t we just have a wedding to satisfy ourselves rather than some strangers? The tradition of BIG FAT WEDDING has been in India for as long as humans have existed on earth and even a slightest change is considered crime in the eyes of the envoys of these traditions. With fair variety of food amounts taking space in the rented marriage halls as deemed necessary and appropriate measure of the respect they give to their guest has to be toxic at another level.

Hidden Ills

These high budgeted, well planned, stretching for over a week weddings could be fun for people who can afford it but for those who are to take loans just to satisfy the people (of half of whom doesn’t even matter to them), is something that definitely catches the eye. The issue with these weddings is that their sole purpose is not the happiness and contentedness of the bride and the groom but of the people who does not even knew the couple existed until before their wedding day. The show business is something that is worrisome to people who intend on getting married with lesser crowds and obviously lesser money. Because when these people do not follow the lead of burning millions in food, drinks, lodging, entertainment, for the people they hardly know, they are termed as misers, or even sometimes questioned if they are happy for their own wedding. The glorification of picture perfect wedding, the one where bride has at least one Sabyasachi or Manish Malhotra, groom gets a diamond ring for the engagement, there are as many as thousand shaguns given to all the guests, the hotels are no less than five stars, magnificent wedding sets inspired from dharma movies and only some 10-15 years worth savings going away with each step, is doing the harms it can in all the directions.

Picture Credits: WeddingWire.in
http://shorturl.at/noLQW

The amount to be spent on the wedding which was once one’s own choice today has become not only the status symbol but also a way of getting much craved respect from far away relatives. The amount that is spent has gone so high that people are compelled to give up all their savings along with loans burden on their heads. Everything becoming expensive day-by-day, the total cost can range anything from 20 lakhs to 5 crores, which also happens to be some family’s total savings or at least half of it. From decor to events to catering to photography with list adding on, the wealth drains with every event until it’s over. 80% people take loans for the wedding expenses. Reliance Money has stated that “An Indian wedding is generally a three-day affair with different ceremonies and rituals lined up. Each ceremony requires its own set of apparel, set-up, and materials. The average cost of a single ceremony may range between 6 to 10 lakhs.” Could we even think that these weddings are nothing more than wastage of money in its most prime way?

Refined Way

as the younger generation is getting married with their own money and not with their families taking loans, there has been a change in the way the weddings are being planned out. They marry on their own terms and more specifically in their own budgets. These new couples of 21st century aren’t the ones who spend money to impress some strangers but the ones who plan and spend as their own needs. The court marriages have emerged as a new trend with only the couple and parents saving the money and mostly donating it. With covid hitting the world and restricting the number of people in weddings in India, people have been inviting guests that are close to them. Now weddings are turning into more of a private affair than a public one, with only limited guests and less spending, there by moving forward in the right direction of curbing the ills of BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING.

Reference: https://www.reliancemoney.co.in/getting-married-in-india-what-does-an-average-wedding-cost

Test your ‘MYTHS VS FACTS’ knowledge

Isn’t it amazing when your friends are talking about something that is a myth but you know the real fact about it and you can actually brag about it. Everyone thinks you are a genius but you know that it is something you read somewhere. It’s hard sometimes to think about thousands of myth and facts which we just don’t know and continue to believe what we know about it. When I was small my mother once told me that if you see your face in the mirror at night your face will get wrinkles. Yeah… like that doesn’t even make sense but she told me anyway because she was getting ready and I was In the way. And I know you too have come across some bizarre myths that I believe are made up. But there are myths that people actually believe and are common to everyone like black cats are unlucky. They are not!! I have a black cat and I love her the most.

Photo by Helena Lopes on Pexels.com

It’s modern time and people want facts if you want them to believe something. Science has progressed and has answer to almost everything but there are things which even science is unable to answer for e.g., why are women always right? And how moms are able to find anything when we ask them and we can’t. How?? Okay, I will pull my hair out and still won’t get any answer so let’s move on to our myths vs facts quiz. I will give you some common beliefs and you will have to identify it as a myth or a fact and at the end I will answer them.

READY, SET, GO…

  1. You have to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
  2. Bulls get angry when they see red color
  3. Only animals that blush are humans
  4. Dogs only see black and white. Poor doggos. (Simple huh?? Real questions start now.)
  5. If you swallow gum it will sit for 7 years in your stomach.
  6. Pineapple is a natural meat tenderizer.
  7. To boil water faster add salt to it.

Answers

(Myth) No you don’t have to. There are many factors involved as of how much water you should consume. Drink when you feel like drinking. Not too less not too much. 3 to 4 litres work perfectly fine. According to The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the adequate intake of fluids for men is 3.7 L and for women it is 2.7L. about 50 to 70 % of our body is made up of water and it is important for:

  • Keeping temperature normal.
  • Getting rid of body waste

(Myth) I’ve spent my life getting scared and hiding my red clothes whenever I saw bulls. Whoever made this myth hated red color. Everyone believed this because of that red cloth used by matadors in bull fights but American science guide says that bulls are red green colorblind. The actual reason for bulls’ anger was the movement of the cape. Feeling stupid? Yeah me too. We are in this together.

(Fact) Isn’t it amazing how our cheeks turn red when someone compliments us or when we are embarrassed of saying something stupid. humans are the only animals who are capable of blushing, and as Darwin states “the most peculiar and the most human of all expressions.” It’s still unknown how it happens voluntarily but in terms of science it is caused by the dilation of blood vessels in the facial skin.

(Myth) Here is a good fact dogs don’t see in black and white. Our friend is actually capable of seeing colors not many but can distinguish between them. The can see blue, yellow and some shades of grey. They may not see the true color of an object but they definitely see the color of love. Dogs are pure souls.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

(Myth) “Oh my god! I just swallowed a gum, it will get stuck to my intestines now. (screaming in fear).” You can understand this, right? From fruit seeds to chewing gums we have avoided gulping them. But you will laugh after knowing that neither plants were going to grow from your stomach nor the gum will hijack your guts because your gut can’t digest it. If you anyhow swallow it, it will pass through you in a couple of days. Although a large amount of gum can result in intestinal blockage.

(Fact) Bromelain enzyme in pineapple is digests protein and softens the tissues in meat, hence, goes well with beef, pork and some types of fish. This is the reason why it stings our tongue, it breaks down the surface tissues thankfully our body regenerates cells and repairs the tongue. If you want to soften it you can bake it or soak it in salty water.

(Myth) Adding salt to water will increase the temperature of water fast but it’s boiling point will remain same. Even if you add a spoonful of salt the boiling point will change from 100° to hardly 100.4°.

I hope you enjoyed the quiz, if you know some more myths and facts do tell in the comments below also tell me how much you scored today.