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  • SchoolSearch Team 12:41 pm on February 2, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Inspiration, Schools, Schools in Ahmedabad, TED   

    How Contagious is the word “I Can” from TED.com 

    Kiran Bir Sethi founded the Riverside School in Ahmedabad, designing the primary school’s curriculum (and its building) from the ground up. Based around six “Beacons of Learning,” the school’s lesson plan focuses on creating curious, competent future citizens. The school now enrolls almost 300 children and has franchised its curriculum widely.

    Sethi’s latest project, inspired by dialogue with the children of Riverside, is called AProCh — which stands for “A Protagonist in every Child.” Fighting the stereotype of modern kids as rude and delinquent, AProCh looks for ways to engage Ahmedabad’s children in modern city life, and to revamp our cities to make room for kids to learn, both actively and by example.
    Here is a refreshing and inspirational presentation by her at TED Mysore India meet last Nov’09

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  • SchoolSearch Team 3:10 am on February 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Cambridge, CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE,   

    School Board Thesis- PART1 (IGCSE) 

    What is IGCSE?

    As per IGCSE website

    IGCSE School Curriculum logo

    IGCSE School Curriculum

    The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is the world’s most popular international qualification for 14–16 year olds. It develops successful students, giving them excellent preparation for their next steps in education, including progression to A and AS Level study, and equips them with skills for immediate employment. Cambridge IGCSE is recognised by universities and employers worldwide.

    IGCSE, formed in 1988, is a comprehensive two-year programme, spread over Class 9 and 10, and leads to the final examinations offered every year in May and November.  This board in India is recognized by all the the government education bodies and is considered at par with CBSE/ICSE. The entrance to schools affiliated to it is Open and any student from any board can shift to IGCSE in Class 9 and is considered for admission to any board after Class 10.

    What are IGCSE curriculum motives?

    IGCSE is a bit more balanced curriculum in terms of knowledge enhancement because it capitalize itself on equal emphasis on course and extra curriculum structure. In frank terms it is a little more challenging than existing CBSE/ICSE. But it challenges does not comes with more burden on bags or more course coverage than other. It gives importance to “how to learn” than “what to learn”. Maybe this is the reason why the certificate offered after this course mentions grades and not Pass/Fail!

    What is IGCSE grading structure?

    Like other modern programmes, IGCSE offers a wider range of subjects and encourages high academic standards through a practical approach to teaching and learning. Assessment is not limited to conventional written papers and they consist of a variety of tests e.g. oral and listening tests. The assessment is aimed at a wide ability range of students, with an eight-point grading scale, from A+ to G, with A+ being the highest.

    Most subjects offer a choice between core curriculum and extended curriculum. This gives students of all ability levels the freedom to choose subjects that are right for them and, thereby, the opportunity to score good grades.The core curriculum is an overview of the subject and is suitable for students who are expected to achieve grades C to G.The extended curriculum is, sort of, a specialization in that subject. It is more challenging and designed for students who are expected to achieve grades A+ to C.

    What are the Subjects Offered?

    There are five Subject Groups in IGCSE with several subjects to choose from, in each group:

    • Group 1:  Languages (First Language, Second Language, Foreign Language, etc)
    • Group 2:  Humanities and Social Sciences (Geography, English Literature, History, etc)
    • Group 3:  Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, etc)
    • Group 4:  Mathematics (Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, etc)
    • Group 5:  Creative, Technical & Vocational (Accounting, Business Studies, Computer Studies, Music, etc)

    Five scores of ‘C’ or higher indicates a students readiness to pursue +2 level qualifications, like the Class 12 CBSE, IB Diploma, Advanced Placement Diploma (US), etc.

    What is the basic Fees in schools with IGCSE Curriculum?

    Well, to be clear, fees in the schools offering IGCSE curriculum is a little more than that for CBSE/ICSE. There are other factors to this higher fees and can be compromised on reasonable arguments

    1. This course curriculum as a lot more to offer in personality development than other traditional Indian curriculum.
    2. Teachers in these schools are selected under a standard recruitment process and undergo special training sessions accepted worldwide, thereby increasing chance of quality pedagogy.
    3. Internationally acclaimed course structure.
    4. Schools are provided license and affiliations to this course only after a rigorous  check of Infrastructure and facilities by International Auditing committee namely CIE/Edexcel.

    Why should You go for IGCSE curriculum?

    International schools for your kids

    International Schools for your kids

    1. IGCSE is one of the most sought-after and recognised qualifications in the world. It develops and encourages vital educational skills, including oral skills, investigative skills, problem solving, team work, recall of knowledge, and initiative.

    2.  The IGCSE programme has worldwide status and credibility. It is recognized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) as being at par with CBSE, ICSE, etc.

    3.  Worldwide, it is delivered in schools in over 140 countries and is recognised by colleges and universities everywhere, more so in the UK and other Commonwealth countries.

    4.  The IGCSE curriculum is balanced and lends an international perspective to studies. It also takes account of differing abilities of students.

    5.  IGCSE students can take advantage of the Cambridge Checkpoint, a diagnostic service comprising of standardised tests, that pin-points a student’s strengths and weaknesses in key curriculum areas.

    What are the Cons of IGCSE curriculum?

    To list few:

    1. Scarce penetration in Indian cities. Presently mostly available in bigger cities only.
    2. A little higher fees
    3. Slightly higher academic standards may be a point of concern for students from state boards.

    For further details of subjects offered and prospects of IGCSE curriculum click here

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  • SchoolSearch Team 2:08 am on February 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    learning disabilities 

    neha  was 10 year girl. perfectly normal, but she was not able to learn properly in school. while seeing you cant say that she might be suffering from some learning disability. but Why neha..

    What is learning diability

    schoolsearch learning disability image

    Our brain is very powerful. It can do lot of multitasking. reading magazines, reading while listening music, recognizing some one after seeing him,  writing after memorizing things, imagineing while thinking. for me , for you it is quite easy, we dont even think about these activities as these are pretty normal but each one of them require a hell lot of processing in our brain. and if some one’s brain is little less functional he might have difficulties in reaidng or in writing.

    it’s no wonder things can get messed up sometimes. Take the simple act of looking at a picture, for example: Our brains not only have to form the lines into an image, they also have to recognize what the image stands for, relate that image to other facts stored in our memories, and then store this new information. It’s the same thing with speech – we have to recognize the words, interpret the meaning, and figure out the significance of the statement to us. Many of these activities take place in separate parts of the brain, and it’s up to our minds to link them all together.

    but still why neha..?she is not alone. Nearly four million school-age children and teens have learning disabilities, and at least 20% of them have a type of disorder that makes it difficult to focus. but still why..?

    An analogy to better understand learning diability-

    faulty wiring in the brain disrupts normal lines of communication and makes it difficult to process information easily. If service was down in a certain area of the city the phone company might fix the problem by re–wiring the connections. Similarly, under the right learning conditions, the brain has the ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. Those new connections facilitate skills like reading and writing that had been difficult using the old connections

    - brain development-

    as I said brain plays an important role. problems such as low birth weight, lack of oxygen, premature birth may cause brain to remain less developed.  head injuries might also cause disabilities.

    - Genetic reasons-

    Researchers are debating that hereditary plays a role in disabilities or not but still they have figured out cases where kids with disabled parents were also suffering from those disabilities.

    Environmental factors

    poor nutritions, environmental toxins may also be responsibe.

    It is a hurdle definitely but not a full stop. learning disabilities can be coped with. Walt Disney, Alexander Graham Bell, and Winston Churchill all had learning disabilities.

    Signs of learning disability-

    schoolsearch learning disability image

    You can’t tell by looking that a person has a learning disability, which can make it hard to diagnose. Learning disabilities typically first show up when a person has difficulty speaking, reading, writing, figuring out a math problem, communicating with a parent, or paying attention in class. Some kids’ learning disabilities are diagnosed in grade school when a parent or a teacher notices a kid can’t follow directions for a game or is struggling to do work he or she should be able to do easily. some times  kids develop sophisticated ways of covering up their learning issues like they write in such way which is hard to read for others. they try to hide the fact that they cant recognize what is written on black board. so learning disabilities don’t show up until the teen years when schoolwork – and life – gets more complicated.

    the most common symtomp may be the difference in the efforts put by kids and their performance in school. if they are trying hard still  not able to make it, they might  be suffering from learning disablity.

    What to do ?

    What to do once you know your kid is having the problem.?? go to school, talk to his teachers, his friends , meet doctor and be sure about the problem.  remember it is ultimately the brain who has got some wiring problems which could be repaired. You definitely need to put more efforts but you can get success. the way you behave and what you do has the most impact on your child’s chances of success. Everyone faces obstacles and the most important thing you can show your child, apart from your consistent love and support, is how to deal with obstacles. A good attitude won’t solve the problem, but it can give your child hope and confidence that things can improve.

    keep a tract of new learning techniques, different educational programs. try consulting teachers , doctors and therapists to geta better inside of problem. You may have to speak up time and time again to get special help for your child. Embrace your role as a proactive parent and work on your communication skills. It may be frustrating at times, but your calm, reasonable and firm voice may make the difference in achieving what you want for your child.

    Will try to cover up types of learning disabilities in my next post..

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  • SchoolSearch Team 2:47 am on January 16, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    How Grading System Works 

    Now in India schools are gradually going for grading system leaving old  marks and percentage system. It is definitely better. I am not saying the best as I am against this division system. Grades,  marks create divide among students. why grades are better only because there are few grade points to divide but in marks system we have full range to divide students. :)

    so it is important to understand how this grading system works? this is a complex question and there are lot of theories behind it. different schools, colleges follow different ways. Mathematically this whole process can be classified as a statistic topic related to variance , mean and all.

    few days back I came across an interesting article by Daniel Solove.  He sees the grading system with a different perception.

    The key to this method is a good toss. Without a good toss, it is difficult to get a good spread for the grading curve.

    how grading system works 1

    All exam papers are tossed over stairs to get a good toss. Note in Figure above that the exams are evenly spread out, enabling application of the curve. Here, however, is where the experts diverge. Some contend that the curve ought to be applied as in Figure  below, with the exams at the bottom of the staircase to receive a lower grade than the ones higher up on the staircase.
    how grading system works 2
    According to this theory, quality is understood as a function of being toward the top, and thus the best exams clearly are to be found in this position. Others, however, propose an alternative theory(see below)
    how grading system works 1

    They contend that that the exams at the bottom deserve higher grades than the ones at the top. While many professors still practice the top-higher-grade approach, the leading authorities subscribe to the bottom-higher-grade theory, despite its counter intuitive appearance. The rationale for this view is that the exams that fall lower on the staircase have more heft and have traveled farther. The greater distance traveled indicates greater knowledge of the subject matter. The bottom higher-grade approach is clearly the most logical and best-justified approach. Even with the grade curve lines established, grading is far from completed. Several exams teeter between levels. The key is to measure the extent of what is referred to as “exam protrusion.” Exams that have small portions extending below the grade line should receive a minus; exams with protrusions above the grade lines receive a plus. But what about exams that are right in the middle of a line. In Figure 6 below, this exam teeters between the A and B line. Should it receive and A- or a B+?
    how grading system works 1
    This is a difficult question, but I believe it is clearly an A-. The exam is already bending toward the next stair, and in the bottom-higher-grade approach, it is leaning toward the A-. Therefore, this student deserves the A- since momentum is clearly in that direction. Finally, there are some finer points about grading that only true masters have understood. Consider the exam in Figure 7 below. Although it appears on the C stair and seems to be protruding onto the B stair, at first glance, one would think it should receive a grade of C+. But not so. A careful examination reveals that the exam is crumpled. Clearly this is an indication of a sloppy exam performance, and the grade must reflect this fact. The appropriate grade is C-
    how grading system works 1
    One final example, consider in Figure 8 below the circled exam that is is very far away from the others at the bottom of the staircase. Is this an A+?
    how grading system works 1

    Novices would think so, as the exam has separated itself a considerable distance from the rest of the pack. However, the correct grade for this exam is a B. The exam has traveled too far away from the pack, and will lead to extra effort on the part of the grader to retrieve the exam. Therefore, the exam must be penalized for this obvious flaw. As you can see, grading takes considerable time and effort. But students can be assured that modern grading techniques will produce the most precise and accurate grading possible, assuming professors have achieved mastery of the necessary grading skills.

    disclaimer :Above post is not the actual way the grading system works

    (reference -http://www.concurringopinions.com)

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    • Helen29pa 4:26 pm on January 21, 2010 Permalink

      That theme about this post seems to be superb! Thence scholars not have to create the thesis or just thesis examples by their efforts, they could get your help.

  • SchoolSearch Team 1:15 am on January 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: earthquake, haiti   

    help HAITI 

    statement by WYCLEF JEAN on HAITI EARTHQUAKE

    Haiti today faced a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced.

    The magnitude 7.0 earthquake – and several very strong aftershocks – struck only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince.

    I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.

    President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands ‘ready to assist’ the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible.”

    Many people have already reached out to see what they can do right now. We are asking those interested to please do one of two things: Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can click here to DONATE.


    donations by text messages

    click here for real time information on HAITI QUAKE


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  • SchoolSearch Team 11:22 pm on January 9, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: coaching, coaching syndrome, education system, , teacher   

    coaching-parallel schooling 

    Mr Skand Shukla has written a nice article about coaching syndrome. Coaching has eaten up our education system. It is a stain which need to be wiped off.

    coaching syndrome is widespread. There was a time I remember when student had a normal routine going to schools, enjoying the education, come back from schools, watching favorite TV show while having  lunch, play sports and study too of course.

    where all this has gone, I am not talking about few private tuition classes . Coaching for Medical and Engineering entrance exams have stolen the fun out of education. The coaching system is defeating the whole purpose of education. Getting marks and clearing some entrance exam is the only important thing now. learning and teaching has been replaced by a spoon feeding activity where students get everything in hard paper , sitting in a closed room and  they just need to memorize it.

    This coaching system stole 2 important years of my school life, when I did nothing except studying. how could I do..? There was so much untold pressure. The middle class status thing, competition among unknown faces in class, substantial amount of money spent on a kid puts enormous pressure on little brain. No one even thinks that he will be able to survive or not. few survive and the few who don’t ,screw their lives forever.

    the coaching centers and their teachers , who don’t know about the child psychology, how to teach, what they know is to just keep doing their jobs as  they make good bucks from it,  both are jeapordising student future.

    Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have put in place regulations for the coaching business, yet they need to be strengthened and complemented with pedagogic and examination reforms. Of these reforms, the foremost should be the one prescribed in the National Policy of Education 1986: “The first task is to make it [educational system] work. All teachers should teach and all students study.”

    Nishant

    SchoolSearch Team

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  • SchoolSearch Team 9:50 am on January 9, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Admission Alerts for Delhi Schools 

    admissionHere are the admission status of the schools in Delhi as of  Today. We are continuously trying to build up better communication bridge with the schools to help you provide accurate schools admission information over here. Though we have taken every possible steps to get correct dates, there may still be scope of errors.

    Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai:  Admission for all class going on.

    Birla Vidya Niketan School: Admission for Nursery Going on, Admission for other classes will start from 1st week of Feb’10

    Sachdeva Public School: Admission for Nursery Going on, Admission for other classes will start from 1st week of Feb’10

    Bharat National Public School: Admission for Nursery and KG going on, Admission for Class I to Class VIII starts from 13th Jan.

    Blue Bell Public Senior Sec. School: Admission currently going on till 9th January’10

    Panchsheel Public School: Admission starts 31st July’10 for next years session

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  • SchoolSearch Team 1:58 am on January 3, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Power of Ten 

    And yes some content for Our School Students!! Ever wondered how big this small Universe is??

    Have a look into this amazing video and discover how things could measured by just a Zero next to Ten

    The  Power of Ten

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  • SchoolSearch Team 6:57 am on December 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    PREFECT SCREENING- 3 IDIOTS 

    My colleagues here at schoolsearch and me, being big time movie buffs, had no chance of missing first day, first show of the latest Amir Khan release, 3 Idiots. The movie definitely reminded us of the good and the most happening times of our lives, the 4 years that we spent together in college. The glimpses of hostel life, the ragging, the not so fun filled yet funny practical labs and many more similar scenes made us nostalgic and wanting for the same life once again. We just got even more lucky and watching the movie was even more fun since we were together.

    Yes, my colleagues at schoolsearch are as well my partners in crime in college, my best friends, my batch mates from the class of 2007.

    The movie is a perfect depiction of the friendship and connections we happen to make in college & hostel life. More so, there was another reason for this movie to be a must watch. This movie clearly point out the issues prevailing in the education system in India today. The movie directly attacks the system which creates robots, and ambitious parents who insist their child do something they do not want to, even if it means losing the child to despair and death. It definitely does make a very strong point.

    Not just this, the movie as well points at the prevailing race and meaningless competition to score some mere numbers, just being the main objective for a student. Semester after semester, a student keeps fighting and struggling in this race until he gives up. The grade system has engulfed so bad in our system that we have lost the idea of learning and success. Right now, all success means to us is scoring numbers in exams and thats about it. I believe there is much more in life and in the process of learning than just this very thing. One should be aiming at being excellent and passionate about whatever he or she does. Passion & excellence is what we must strive for, and this is what will define the meaning of success for us. Similar idea is as well derived from the punch line of the movie, ”chase excellence – success will follow”.
    Ayush
    SchoolSearch Team

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  • SchoolSearch Team 4:54 am on September 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Those nostalgic moments! 

    Startup in any domain gives  an unparalleled learning experience and space that you end up being a complete new personality with new principles and develop a new outlook towards what life has to offer. It is the same way how we  are feeling at SchoolSearch nowadays.

    With aggressive sales and marketing operations taking toll on us, going to schools, giving Demos, attending conferences, meeting Elite Educationists, interacting with Parents is a totally different experience that any startup has to offer. And mind you, when these experiences comes with  a sweet memories of the best days of your life, yeah I mean your school days…I bet all movers and shakers are worth taking :)

    blogimage2

    It often comes to us while we are, with school administration, in a brief talk about our product and then few kids in their 2nd-3rd standard enter to either complain about X who got his tiffin eaten, about Y who tore off her mathematics notebook, about  Z who keeps on drinking water from his bottle. The nostalgic smell of the schools’ environment reminds me of those days when I use to have a micro vision of my own world that majorly revolved around Home-School-Playground!

    Whatever goes on around in schools, be overloaded assignments, mandatory vague disciplinary rules, assorted year long calendar with mundane events, punishments (my recent visits to schools did reminded me of few mine :) ) but there is an auro of complete new knowledge world where learning are  imposed not only through books but through interactions and collaboration.

    What I could figure out of this is education does make man kind to understand how the world is too intertwined. It is worth noticing how You, I and other changed gradually through this education. Building blocks by blocks, linking chain to chains it enables us draw out the reasoning and explanations and most importantly execution.

    Searching for best schools for kids among parents has thus become so important in the present scenario that parents are considering looking for a location shift or even career shift for their children education. But So are WE to help them out!! :)

    SchoolSearch Team

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