TRC News

The period between July and September 2017 was a productive one for TRC. We were actively involved in training sessions for the Badal Do! Project, which engaged schools and teachers, equipping them with tools of inclusive learning. These were large scale trainings and our core team of trainers took on the challenge with great success. Our Early Childhood Education and Development Programme (ECED) is currently being revamped and the content is being updated to keep it abreast of global changes in ECED. The updated programme will be launched in January 2018. Meanwhile, TRC’s workshop programme continued to offer a wide range of sessions on topics as diverse as school management and improving reading skills in the primary classroom to teachers.

Throughout the reporting period, TRC’s team continued to work hard, reaching out to teachers and educators in the public and private sector and working towards our goal of enhancing the quality of education through teachers’ professional development.

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TRC is on Facebook! This is where we share ideas, tips and news with our online teaching community. It is a space to learn new ideas, share experiences and stay informed about all the latest happenings at TRC.

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether timed testing useful, and cast your vote by the end of December 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our November 2017 poll was about whether young children should be taught in their mother tongue:

Should young children be taught in their mother tongue?

Yes. This can help preserve local languages and enables children to easily grasp concepts in the vocabulary they are used to. (86%, 37 Votes)

No. A student taught in the mother tongue will probably have a difficult time in high school or college when required to learn engineering or medical concepts in English. (14%, 6 Votes)

Result:
The majority (86%) of the respondents feel that young children should be taught in their mother tongue. They feel that when the mother tongue is the main teaching medium, young children are better able to understand the concepts that they are being taught. The respondents also felt that teaching in the mother tongue was important to preserve local languages. Only 14% of the respondents felt that students should not be taught in their mother tongue, because it will affect their ability to learn concepts (which are usually taught in English) at the higher education level.

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether young children should be taught in their mother tongue, and cast your vote by the end of November 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our October 2017 poll was about whether students should be punished or not:

Should students be punished?

Yes. When you don’t punish students you erode discipline and encourage unruly behavior. With certain disciplinary issues, punishment is the only thing that works. (12%, 5 Votes)

No. Positive guidance works better than punishment when it comes to teaching students right from wrong. (88%, 36 Votes)

Result:
The result of this opinion poll was in favour of not punishing students. The overwhelming majority (88%) of respondents believe that students should not be punished because guiding them positively is a better option for disciplinary purposes. On the other hand a small minority (5%) felt that punishment was necessary because if teachers don’t punish children it erodes discipline and encourages them to misbehave. 

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether students should be punished or not, and cast your vote by the end of October 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our September 2017 poll was about whether students should get homework during the holidays:

Should schools give homework during vacations?

Yes. To be promoted to the next grade students need to recall what they have been taught the previous year. Vacation homework is a refresher which prevents teachers from re-teaching basic skills. (26% 11 Votes)

No. The whole point of vacation is to relax and de-stress. Also, if students are going away for vacation, expecting them to carry their books with them is unreasonable. (74% 32 Votes)

Result:
The majority (74%) of respondents of this Opinion Poll believe that schools should not give homework during vacations. This is because they believe vacation is a time to relax and take a break from academics. A little over a quarter (26%) of the respondents believe that children should be given homework during vacations because it acts as a refresher and teachers don’t have to re-teach content in the new academic year.

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether students should get homework during the holidays, and cast your vote by the end of September 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our August 2017 poll was about politics and current events should be a part of a school’s curriculum:

Politics and current events should be a part of a school’s curriculum, because students should be aware of important political issues that shape society and impact their lives.

• I agree. Teaching children about political systems and current affairs is necessary for a strong democracy, which requires that people are interested and engaged in politics. (80%, 36 Votes)

• I disagree. Discussing politics can cause arguments and fighting between students. Also, schools should keep a neutral stance and that is difficult when politics is being discussed. (20%, 9 Votes)

Result:
A large majority of the respondents (80%) feel that teaching children about politics is necessary because it keeps people engaged in politics. They also feel that students should be aware of the political issues that impact their lives. Twenty-percent (20%) of the respondents feel that politics should be kept out of the classroom because it can cause disagreements between student. These respondents also feel that schools should adopt a neutral stance when it comes to politics.

This was a busy and productive period for TRC. During this period TRC conducted 18 workshops and also successfully hosted a one-day ‘Thinking Classroom and Critical Thinking: Reshaping Educational Prospects’ academic conference for both public and private school teachers. Participants at the conference were able to attend 8 highly informative and interactive sessions and the event created a buzz about TRC. A critical thinking activity book and training video, which were created as part of TRC’s “Thinking Classroom” project, were launched at the conference.

Finally, TRC continued its usual support activities for teachers and schools through its workshop programme and by chairing school events.

TRC Trending…

TRC is on Facebook! This is where we share ideas, tips and news with our online teaching community. It is a space to learn new ideas, share experiences and stay informed about all the latest happenings at TRC.

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on politics and current events should be a part of a school’s curriculum, and cast your vote by the end of August 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our July 2017 poll was about posting students’ grades in public:

Students’ grades should not be posted publicly because it leads to situations which could be humiliating and awkward for those who haven’t done well.

• I agree. Grades do not reflect students’ capabilities. Public announcements of grades demoralise a child who is already feeling bad about not doing well and can lead to teasing and bullying. (88%, 43 Votes)

• I disagree. Public announcements of grades help students know where they stand in relation to others. Students will work harder to improve their grades if they know that results will be announced. (12%, 6 Votes)

Result:
A large majority of the respondents i.e. 88% feel that grades should not be displayed or announced in public because they can cause students who have failed or not done too well, to feel demoralised. Twelve percent (12%) of the respondents however, feel that displaying grades publicly can affect students differently and once they know where they stand in a group, it can compel those who did not do well to work harder to improve their grades.

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on posting students’ grades in public, and cast your vote by the end of July 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our June 2017 poll was about increasing teachers’ salaries:

Increasing salaries is the best way to attract and retain good teachers, and eventually to raise the quality of education being imparted.

• I agree. A good salary will attract better-trained graduates to the profession, because the reality is that financial motivation is the strongest factor in adopting and staying in a career. (67%, 37 Votes)

• I disagree. Attracting and retaining teachers requires a wider approach that ensures career progress, their status in society and increases their professional responsibility along with salaries. (33%, 18 Votes)

Result:
A sizeable majority (67%) of those who responded to this poll felt that financial motivation was the most important factor for people who opted and stayed in any career. Therefore these respondents felt that high salaries were key to attracting better trained personnel to teaching. On the other hand, a significant minority (33%) of the respondents feel that attracting good teachers is not simply a matter of offering them high salaries and that it was also important to increase the status of teachers in society and to ensure career progress.

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on increasing teachers’ salaries, and cast your vote by the end of June 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our April 2017 poll was about whether tests and exams should be open-book:

Tests and exams should be open-book, because they focus on understanding the material at a higher level, rather than testing a student’s memory and recall.

• I agree. Open book tests teach you how to find information when you need it. The questions are designed to teach students how to think; they have to prepare differently for these tests. (90%, 71 Votes)

• I disagree. Open-book tests take the rigour out of test preparation and let students off the hook. Students put more effort into studying for a traditional test and so learn the material better.  (10%, 8 Votes)

Result:
Those who think that tests and exams should be open-book won this poll by a big margin. A whopping ninety percent (90%) of the respondents feel that open book tests and exams are a more effective means of assessing students’ understanding and learning, rather than traditional closed-book tests that stress on memory and recall.  The remaining 1o% of the voters believe that the rigour that is part of traditional testing, is essential for learning.

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether schools should make community service mandatory, and cast your vote by the end of March 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our February 2017 poll was about whether schools should punish students:

Schools should not punish students in order to maintain discipline. Punishment simply perpetuates abuse and little is achieved in terms of discipline.

• I agree. Positive guidance works better to teach students right from wrong. (87%, 41 Votes)

• I disagree. When you don’t punish students you encourage unruly behavior. With certain disciplinary issues, punishment is the only thing that works. (13%, 6 Votes)

Result:
An overwhelming majority of respondents (87%) believe that positive guidance is a better way to teach students right and wrong. They believe that punishment perpetuates abuse and that in the end penalizing children doesn’t achieve anything. A small minority of respondents (13%) believe that not using punishment encourages children to misbehave and sometimes reprimanding and penalising them is the only thing that seems to work.