My 'ME TIME'

It is a beautiful evening with the sky darkened with the incessant rains. Sitting in my balcony with a hot steaming cup of tea I cherish these few moments spent only with nature observing the glorious sights. The sights of trees swaying with the wind, raindrops splattering on the window, people walking hurriedly carrying an umbrella, children playing without inhibitions in the rain calm my overzealous mind and guide me on introspecting the day patiently. I feel the world has ceased to exist for that time and my conversations are with myself.

I love and treasure that 'ME TIME' so much that every opportunity to experience it is cherished  and rejuvenates me for the future. 

Few minutes spent for yourself accurately gives you a different perspective of yourself. You learn to know your true self without any adornments and come to terms with the genuine picture. This daily process gives you strength to accept yourself and love yourself deeply.

Nature truly has the power of healing and my time spent with it is joyous. Wish it has the similar magic on all my friends and colleagues. 

Why should we travel?

Every year we look forward to a vacation with friends and family. Come March and we start planning. We first begin with the thought of where to go. We become amateur researchers and peruse the net, travel books, call people to share their travel experiences, visit travel agencies. In that short span we have studied so many places. We have noted down the historical places and natural beauty of the place, the climate, the political scenario, the economy and the hospitality to be expected. Already so much knowledge has been garnered. 

Based on the budget, time schedules and climate desired we fix our destination. If it is an international trip we even study the visa process and prepare our documents in order. We also rehearse our answers during interview thereby gaining communication skills and confidence. 

As the travel date approaches we start focusing on our shopping. Everything that is vital for the trip has to be purchased. When I visited New York in January, I ensured I had carried sufficient woolens and snow shoes. My bag also carried medicines, thick socks and travel cards. 

Once you are on the flight or train you will realize a mind shift has taken place. Your workplace, home chores have taken a backseat and focus is on the present. You start viewing your fellow passengers and the process of making new friends commences. 

During your travel you suddenly feel lighter, you are smiling more, you are more approachable, your senses have heightened and you appreciate natural beauty even more. You become experimentive, stunts like paragliding, bungee jumping, underwater diving and so much more which you would have never thought of doing, you attempt with enthusiasm. You’re bonding with friends and family become stronger, you have time for listening to them. Years have vanished from your face and you look younger. At the end of the trip you are busy thinking of everyone and shopping for all. Your focus has changes once again. You are preparing yourself to return home and embrace your routine once again with vigour.

After you have returned, you replay those memories with fondness and eagerly share your joyous experiences with your loved ones. 

The whole trip from the planning to the settling back has enriched you with so much knowledge, both world wise and personal. So gear up and start planning your next VACATION .  

We do it all !!!!

Sometimes I wonder what women were honestly sent down to be. Juggling the roles of a mother, a wife, a daughter,a  daughter- in- law, a professional and god knows what more !  Women sometimes forget their true identity. Always under pressure of keeping everyone happy, compromising against our will , whether at work or at play they truly wonder ,'Who are they meant to be'?

Why is it that  they feel guilty if they refuse to slog in the kitchen or they feel like contradicting opinions of their family? Why do they feel guilty if they wish to visit a parlour and pamper ourselves instead of  helping their child to do homework just once?. Why do they feel guilty if they wish to be alone at times ? Why do they feel guilty if they are ambitious and want to climb the ladder? Why do they feel guilty if they are not home the whole day  taking care of home and children? Why do they feel guilty of being with friends and forgetting to complete daily chores? Why do they feel guilty of not wanting to do anything at times? Why do they feel guilty if they are not  a nice person at all times?

Do they deserve to to be made to feel guilty each time and  continue the  life's  journey only accommodating for other's comfort at the cost of personal choice ?

I am sure they wish to know the answers to my questions and begin the process of discovering the answers.  

Let's make Physics fun

My journey of teaching Physics began 15 years ago and the passion has grown overtime. If I look back today, I feel a lot has changed both intrinsically and extrinsically with respect to the teaching pattern.

 Extrinsically, content modification, teaching strategies, methodologies and technology have been revamped. To accept this huge change, one's intrinsic nature had to change, i.e.  MINDSET. Teachers who approached the profession with a positive attitude, desire to learn and 'no ego' hangups up scaled their teaching -learning graph very smoothly. Teachers who still stuck to the past were redundant. Students had overshadowed them and they were no more needed.

Today I wish I could go back to my earlier classes and redo the whole content with my students. Earlier I used more of lecture demonstration but with time I started exploring and researching and today I teach Physics only through experiential learning. Students explore, they question,they discuss,  they answer their doubts and I only facilitate and create learning environments. I find the students  at present, more confident and innovative.

I wish every Physics teacher leans more towards experiential based learning as they will help to create thinking, analyzing and critical students.

I teach Physics at IGCSE level and have based my lessons on experiential learning. Interested teachers who wish to make a difference could have access to my worksheets and lesson plans.