Heebie (Jee)bies

Competitive Exam 101 Straight From The Aspirant’s Mouth

Dhairya Chaudhary, AIS PV, XII

I decided to take up Science after grade X since I had no career plans. It seemed like the most natural thing to do. Besides, it was what all my friends were doing. Of course, I also took Science because my parents told me that’s the only stream with a future for a bright child like me. And then just like all my friends, I decided to give JEE, going through the routine ordeals of preparing for engineering entrance. Here’s how it pans out.

STEP 1: Find your mecca
This is the very first step of your journey of a million miles, the most important: joining a centre that will leech money, eat away time and give you a million complexes. You may not really understand what is going on all the time, but that is typical! Trust me, just sitting there for half your day will benefit you more than a full week of self-study.

STEP 2: Find your soulmates
Form your studious clique. If you don’t already have one, that is. With these people you can have ‘healthy competition’. You can lie to them about preparation within a month of studying together. Unlike normal friend circles, these people aren’t there to help you or love you (haha, so impractical). You will ask them for notes and they will ask you back; you will ask them about marks and they will ask you back.

STEP 3: Find your ego & boost it
Developing a superiority complex is a must. This came naturally to me, but you may have sense and consider all streams and exam aspirants as equals. Just go and knock that sense out of your brain. You must root out or ruthlessly tease all non PCM kids around you. You are their boss, their God.

STEP 4: Find your saviour
The stress caused by above mentioned points can skyrocket and cause you to have random bouts of shouting and crying. Don’t you worry; I have with me-your savior! Anime: Japanese cartoon to soothe the mature brain of the IIT aspirant. My friends and I swear by it as the ultimate stress buster. You can find alternatives like rolling on the floor, crying.

STEP 5: Find your failure (Optional)
Now, you can consider failing some CBSE level tests. This I suggest you to do just for fun. I did not really know about this till Grade XI began but then I saw many of my fellow smart friends doing it so I joined in. CBSE Exams are actually low for us few, so if you want to fail CBSE, nobody will judge you.

It is with these amazing guidelines that I will be giving my third and final JEE attempt this year, but it’s okay if I was a bit slow. Late bloomers are also beautiful. And I do have a backup plan of starting a tuition centre for the new unsuspecting batch of students who apply for JEE this year. Or you could perhaps use some common sense, and consider this as another just-for-laughs article, written solely with the intention of giving relief to the JEE aspirants amidst rigourous study schedule.

 

Yoga for wellness

  AUUP 

To familiarise the students about the benefits of Yoga, Dr Ishwar Basavaraddi, Director, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India delivered a lecture on the topic ‘Yoga For Wellness’ at Amity University, Noida. On the occasion, Dr W Selvamurthy, President, Amity Science Technology and Innovation Foundation conferred Honorary Professorship upon Dr Ishwar Basavaraddi.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Ishwar mentioned that yoga is a holistic integrated science of life where regular practice of yoga acts as a preventive medicine as it is spiritual, philosophical, science, mind centric and is an art of healthy living which brings harmony in life.
Dr W Selvamurthy highlighted various benefits of integrating yoga as a daily activity and announced that Amity Centre of Yoga will soon be launched to propagate the therapeutic integration of yoga.
Courtesy: Amity Media Cell

A la carte education

What if the best educational systems across the globe were served on a la carte menu? An educational system that imbibes the best of east, west, north, south would be on offer 

Medha Mathur & Vara Raturi, X C, AIS PV

Pick the best. Leave the rest. If only our educationists would abide by this simple mantra; the result would be a well concocted education system that has the best of all worlds. Let’s take the first step in that direction by looking at some countries that lead the way in best educational practices.

FINLAND
Why we need to learn from Finland?
•The education system of the country is ranked 4 in the world.
•In the 2009 PISA scores, the nation came in second in science, third in reading and sixth in math among nearly half a million students worldwide.
What we need to learn from Finland?
•Teachers are given genuine freedom in curriculum planning; they do not need to focus on annual tests or exams.
• All students receive free health care, transportation, learning materials and counselling in their own schools. This ensures a lower drop-out rate and in turn a higher literacy rate.
•Most schools in Finland are small and hence the teacher tends to know the students better.
•Nearly 30 percent of children receive some kind of special help during their first nine years of school.

SINGAPORE
Why we need to learn from Singapore?
•The education system of Singapore has found place in the top ten education systems across the world for over a decade.
•Students show great results in the final examinations.
What we need to learn from Singapore?
•The teaching methodology in the country is very practical and fit-for-purpose.
•It uses a mix of teaching pedagogies of East & West.
•The government allocates a major part of the budget to educational research. The figures stood at £109m between 2003-2017.

JAPAN
Why we need to learn from Japan?
•Japan currently enjoys rank 2.
•The country has one of the world's best-educated population, with zero illiteracy and 100% enrollment in compulsory grades.
What we need to learn from Japan?
•Strong emphasis is laid on math which promotes problem solving ability and mathematical aptitude. Formal and intense training in the subject begins at the age of six.
•Regular reviewing and testing is an integral part of the education system.
•The system gives equal weightage to science, music and art through nine years of compulsory schooling.

DENMARK
Why we need to learn from Denmark?
•Denmark stands at number 11 in the world for its educational practices
•Denmark is listed as 0.993 in the Education Index, which is amongst the highest in the world.
What we need to learn from Denmark?
•High academic standards are coupled with innovative learning approaches.
•Vocational training is an essential part of the educational curriculum.
•Project based activities ensure active and motivating learning environments. 
Ranking source:www.edudemic.com

This article was published in GT edition dated Nov 24, 2014.
The writers of this article Medha Mathur is pursuing BA(H) Eco from Aryabhatta College, DU & Vara Raturi is pursuing BA(H) English Lit, Psychology and Philosophy from Sophia College for Women, Mumbai.