NARA'S NOTEPAD
VOLUME 16
DECEMBER 2020
NUMBER 12
Monday, November 30, 2020
SPONSOR
Prof.
S. Thamburaj Ph.D
Former Dean, Faculty
of Horticulture, TNAU, Coimbatore
11, Vaiyapuri Illam,
Sabapathy Road, Saibaba Colony
Coimbatore 641 038,
ph. 96007 39443
ONLINE CLASSES
Every year we used to see the students going to schools and colleges during the month of June. They all wear new uniforms with new back-packs filled with new textbooks and notebooks. At every house, moms will be busy preparing their children (bathing, dressing up, and feeding breakfast) for school. The students go to school or colleges either by the school or college buses, or privately run vans or auto rikshaws or parents drive them in their own vehicles like scooters or motorbikes or by four-wheelers. All these pleasant sights every morning in every town has become a dream since 2020 June. It’s all caused by the cruel coronavirus pandemic. No normal classes, no class-room teaching, no games in the play-ground, no mixing with old and new friends and above all no enjoyment in spending time in school or college campuses!
Educationists and Education Ministers, even the Prime
Minister and Chief Ministers met many times to tackle the pandemic problem not
affecting the academic year. They could successfully conduct the NEET
examination at the all-India level. They introduced online teaching and the
teachers were asked to conduct virtual classes every day so that students stay
at home and learn their lessons without exposing to the coronavirus. Even
examinations (tests) are conducted periodically on-line.
It’s a wonder for old age people like me to see such a
change and the role played by laptops or smartphones. One of the major
limitations is the availability of these devices to all the students who
are economically weak. For the middle and upper-class people of the urban
society, on-line classes work successfully. Many teachers and students felt
this change as a burden and uncomfortable for them because they have to come
out of their comfort zone.
There are advantages and disadvantages to online teaching. Some of the advantages are: there is no need for school or college uniforms; there is no need for traveling to school or colleges which are either located near or far away.
The schools and colleges need not spend on maintaining
the classrooms and huge buildings with hundreds of rooms. Some of the
disadvantages felt by certain parents and the students are not being with
friends for the whole day, eating and sharing lunch with close friends,
spending time in the cafeteria, no school/college day functions and no sports
meet for the annual days. Practical classes may not be possible to conduct
on-line. Probably someone may come forward with a solution soon! Availability
of uninterrupted internet facilities all over the country is another major
limitation. There will be loss of jobs for many who worked in hostels and
messes (cooks and mess boys)
How in future our students are going to cope up with
all these restrictions. But still, the attempt to continue the academic year is
taking place with an expectation that the pandemic will come to an end by 2021.
So the on-line classes are being conducted by some schools and colleges. The
web portals and mobile apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Skype,
Diksha, e-Patshala, and many others are used for online classes. In fact, the
academic seminars and comprehensive examinations, and thesis viva-voce
examinations are being conducted online by webinar. It is very simple to do
without so many festival-like activities. Technology has given us the devices
for everyone to participate and carry out all these academic activities cheaply
sitting at their own place.
So I think if the on-line teaching is successful,
liked by students and teachers it may continue and change the future of
education. Such changes may totally modify the education system and students
will be adapted to the
change. When everything is going online, why not schools and colleges? - NARA
TRAITS NEEDED FOR ALL
1. Make ‘Let Go’ a happening phenomenon
2. Don’t judge people
3. Don’t compare with others
4. Accept people as they are
5. Love without expectations
6. Be empathetic
7. Learn to be tolerant
8. Kindness and compassion as an integral
part.
9. Celebrate joy in ‘Giving’
10. Enjoy spontaneously love and laughter
11. Understand you just can’t change
others
12. Focus on changing yourself for better
13. Realize happiness is within you
14. Differentiate the need & greed
15. Make relationships live
16. Be a contributing personality
17. Inbuilt integrity in you
18. Make prayers integral part of you
19. Enjoy essence of yogic living
20. Be meditative and mindful
PHYSIOLOGY
Your body reflects your emotional state.
When you are positive and confident, you stand erect with your chest out and a
smile on your face. If you just won $10,000,000 in the lottery, imagine how you
would feel and how your physiology would respond ☺. You would feel on top of the world. Everyone
watching you will see it by the way you carry yourself.
Imagine how you would feel and look if you
lost your winning lottery ticket ". If this depressed you, your eyes would
be down and your shoulders slumped. Some individuals would probably feel like
killing themselves for losing their winning ticket.
Your physiology works both
ways. Your body reflects your feelings. However, how you carry your body
affects your feelings. One of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your chemistry is to change your
physiology. By taking slow deep breaths, standing tall and sticking your chest
out, you automatically increase your
chemistry and immediately feel better. Raise your eyes to the sky and smile
right now. Do you feel a change in your energy and alertness? If you always
carry yourself like a winner, you will feel like a winner.
TIPS FOR HEALTHY AGING
1.
Exercise regularly ( check with a doctor before starting an
exercise program if you have any chronic illnesses).
2.
Get regular health check-ups.
3.
Stop smoking (it’s never too late to quit).
4.
Practice safety habits at home to prevent falls and fractures.
Always wear your seatbelt in the car.
5.
Stay in contact with family and friends. Stay active through work,
play, and community.
6.
Avoid overexposure to the sun and the cold.
7.
Use moderation if you drink alcohol. When you drink, let someone
else drive.
8. Keep personal and financial records in order to simplify budgeting and investing.
9. Plan long-term housing and money needs.
10. Keep a positive attitude toward life.
11. Do things that make you
happy.
.
TO QUOTE
If you change the way you look at things, the things
you look at change. – Wayne Dyer
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. – Leanardo
da Vinci
JUST TO LAUGH...
A civil engineer, a
chemist, and an economist are traveling in the countryside. Weary, they stop at
a small country inn. "I only have two rooms, so one of you will have to
sleep in the barn," the innkeeper says. The civil engineer volunteers to sleep
in the barn, goes outside, and the others go to bed.
In a short time
they're awakened by a knock. It's the engineer, who says, "There's a cow
in that barn. I'm a Hindu, and it would offend my beliefs to sleep next to a
sacred animal." The chemist says that, OK, he'll sleep in the barn.
The others go back to
bed, but soon are awakened by another knock. It's the chemist who says,
"There's a pig in that barn. I'm Jewish, and cannot sleep next to an
unclean animal." So the economist is sent to the barn. It's getting late,
the others are very tired and soon fall asleep.
But they're awakened
by an even louder knocking. They open the door and are surprised by what they
see: It's the cow and the pig!
LINES I LIKED...
- Ø Every problem has a
satisfactory solution.
- Ø
Every professional
must know where consensus stops and harassment begins.
- Ø
Every question has an
answer.
- Ø
Every relationship
has conflicts.
- Ø
Every relationship is
about give and take.
- Ø
Every reverse and
every setback can be turned into a building stone for a solid foundation of
success.
Every profession has its occupational hazard!
Meet you next month –2020
Professor A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO:
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com
Ph :
0422 4393017 Mobile : 75399 15614
(NARA’S
NOTEPAD)
Sunday, November 1, 2020
SPONSOR
Prof.
S. Thamburaj Ph.D
Former Dean, Faculty
of Horticulture, TNAU, Coimbatore
11, Vaiyapuri Illam,
Sabapathy Road, Saibaba Colony
Coimbatore 641 038,
ph. 96007 39443
SOCIAL DISTANCING
The year 2020 started with a bad note. The coronavirus pandemic COVID 19 took over the world suddenly. People died in millions, irrespective of nationality, gender, race, caste, and religion. Those who believed in God and those who did not were also affected by the invisible virus. There is no medicine or vaccine so far to control the disease. The governments and the Head of States advise the people to follow the precautions prescribed by the health officials who are also exposed to the pandemic day-in and day-out. One of the important suggestions given by them is ‘Social Distancing.’ It indicates that distancing oneself from others in order to avoid the contamination of the disease. Facemask is another protective measure to prevent the virus to enter our body through the nose and mouth. These measures are to discourage the spread of this deadly disease. But how far people adopt these preventive measures is often questionable. As I see in shops, and other public places people do not follow social distancing. Anyone who has COVID-19 can easily spread it to others around them. Few people do not wear face marks too.
Social distancing or physical distancing is staying a
meter or two away from the next person. Whenever we go out people who have a
cough, cold, and fever are to be suspected. Maintaining social distancing is
not easy in practice although in banks and in supermarkets a meter distance is
marked boldly on the floor. People are supposed to stand in those marked
circles and proceed when the person in front moves forward. But invariably it is not
strictly followed but ignored. To a certain extent to satisfy the government
authorities these norms are imposed at various public places.
Because of social distancing, we are not shaking
hands, touching others, hug others, or kiss each other as we used to do during
the prepandemic years. The attachment and expression of affection and
appreciation are lost due to social distancing. Already we and our relatives and friends live in distant places. Our family members are spread out in different far off places in the
world. Nowadays even those who are nearby are also distancing themselves.
Loneliness in the minds of people creates anxiety and depression. The fear of
COVID-19 is in the minds of everyone every time.
Social distancing in a sense is not a new concept. In
the olden days in the name of the caste system, the upper caste people
distanced themselves from the lower caste people. Gender-wise also a man or
woman distance himself or herself from each other. Even now it is the norm
although the norm is broken on some occasions. There are many reasons for
distancing oneself from others. Social inequality, religious disparity,
superiority, and inferiority complexes cause social distancing in a society.
Now the coronavirus pandemic!
I experienced social distancing in my life while I was
doing my post-doctoral program at Sorbonne, the University of Paris France
during 1967. My colleague, a French man once took me to his grandmother's place
in a village around Paris. She lived alone at an age of 75 or so in an old
French house. He introduced me to her. She looked at me and said nothing and
went away from me. I wondered why? My friend later explained to me the reason for her
to distance from me. So, the old-timers, who were not exposed to the modern
world has a contempt or hatred (?) towards the other people who do not belong
to their community.
Over time we are distanced from each other. We are
afraid of others. We do not have the confidence to touch others. We suspect
people. As a result, we are going to have fewer and fewer friends. Since social
distancing is practiced marriages, religious festivals, temple celebrations,
political meetings, sports meets, funeral functions are going to be a few
people affair. Once thousands and thousands of people gather during these
occasions and enjoyed meeting their friends, relatives, and strangers too. But
now that luxury of life is lost. We are controlled by the coronavirus
pandemic. Stay a meter or two away from others. Do not go close to others. Difficult, but
we have to follow. We all may get used to the new way of life and that is going
to be our future.-NARA
TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
1.
They always
start with goals. Effort without a genuine purpose is just effort. Effective people
don’t just know what to do – they know why. They have a long-term goal. They
have short-term goals that support their long-term goals. They’re not slaves to
routine, they’re simply driven to reach their goals and quick to eliminate
roadblocks and put aside distractions that stand in their way.
2. They create systems. If you’re an entrepreneur, your goal is to
build a successful business. Your system consists of your processes for sales,
marketing, fulfillment, operations, etc. a goal is great for planning and mapping
out what success looks like; a system is great for actually making progress
toward that goal.
3. They believe in themselves. Busy people quickly give up and
effective people keep going. Remarkably effective people embrace the fact the
only way to get to where they want to go to to try...and keep on trying. They
know eventually, they succeed.
4. They believe they are in control of their lives. Many people
feel luck – or outside faces – has a lot to do with success or failure. If they
succeed luck favored them if they fail, luck has against them. Luck certainly
does play a part, but effective people don’t hope for good luck or worry about
bad luck. They assure success is totally within their control. If they succeed,
they caused it, if they fail, they caused that, too. Remarkably effective
people waste zero mental energy worrying about what might happen to them –
they put all their effort into making
things happen. They know they can never control luck but they can always
control themselves.
5.
They find
happiness in the success of others. Great teams win because their
most talented members are willing to sacrifice to help others succeed. Focus
only on yourself and ultimately you’ll be by yourself. To be remarkably
effective find fulfillment in helping other people succeed. In the process, you
will succeed in more ways than one.
6. They use their goals to make decisions automatic. Remarkably
effective people are decisive. Indecision is born of a lack of purpose. When
you know what you truly want, most of your decisions can – and – should – be
almost automatic.
7. They don’t multitask. Remarkably effective people focus on one
thing at a time. They do that one thing incredibly well...and then they move on
to whatever is next. And they do that incredibly well.
8. They freely ask for help. Busy people ask for help getting
something done. Remarkably effective people ask for help not just because they
need help but also because by asking they show respect for the other person and
trust his or her experience, skill or insight. Mutual respect is the foundation
of every solid relationship and the best way to create mutual respect is to
first show respect.
9. Want to be remarkably effective? Surround yourself with people
who trust and motivate and inspire you and in turn are inspired by you.
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