Thursday, October 18, 2007

संगणक आणि मराठी माध्यम

मराठी माध्यमातील शिक्षकांमध्ये संगणक वापरण्याची, ई-मेल खाते तयार करण्याविषयी किंवा संपर्कासाठी अथवा ज्ञानसाधनासाठी इंटरनेट वापरण्याविषयी अनास्था दिसून येते. त्याची अनेक कारणे आहेत; पण त्याविषयी नंतर कधीतरी. जे लोक सध्या इंटरनेट वापरत आहेत, माहिती तंत्रज्ञानाचा परिणामकारक वापर करीत आहेत तेही कसे अज्ञानात चाचपडत आहेत ह्याविषयीचे एक लहानसे स्फुट येथे वाचनात आले.

अर्थात मराठी शिक्षकांच्या आणि मराठी माणसांच्या ह्या अनास्थेमुळे मराठी शास्त्रज्ञ निराश झाले आहेत असे मात्र दिसत नाही. मराठी विज्ञान परिषद पत्रिका आजही ते नेटाने चालवीत आहेत. विज्ञान विषयाची आकर्षक मांडणी मराठीतूनही करता येते ह्यावर आज विश्वास ठेवायला जे मराठी भाषक तयार नाहीत त्यांनी ही पत्रिका अवश्य नजरेखालून घालावी. वर्षाला रु.130/- इतक्या अत्यल्प वर्गणीमध्ये ही पत्रिका उपलब्ध आहे. (पण वर्गणी भरण्याचे कष्ट घ्यावे लागतात). परिषदेचा पत्ता आणि विज्ञान लोकप्रिय करण्याबद्दल परिषदेला मिळालेल्या राष्ट्रीय पुरस्काराच्या अनुषंगाने माहिती येथे उपलब्ध आहे.

(Font problem? Download 'Mangal' here or here and find installing instructions below:)

Installing Fonts:

Windows 2000/XP:
1. Download font (or .zip file containing font) to a temporary location (e.g., the desktop).
2. Open the 'Fonts' folder (Windows 2000: Start > Control Panel > Fonts; Windows XP: Start > Control Panel > Appearances and Themes > Fonts).
3. Drag font file (not the .zip file) into Fonts folder. Applications need to be restarted in order to recognize the font.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Balance Sheet Of Life

BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE
Our Birth is our Opening Balance !
Our Death is our Closing Balance!

Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities
Our Creative Ideas are our Assets
Heart is our Current Asset
Soul is our Fixed Asset
Brain is our Fixed Deposit
Thinking is our Current Account
Achievements are our Capital
Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade
Friends are our General Reserves
Values & Behaviour are our Goodwill
Patience is our Interest Earned
Love is our Dividend
Children are our Bonus Issues
Education is Brands / Patents
Knowledge is our Investment
Experience is our Premium Account
The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.
The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

Some very Good and Very bad things:-
The most destructive habit....... ......... .......Worry
The greatest Joy......... ......... ......... .....Giving
The greatest loss........ ........Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work........ .......Helping others
The ugliest personality trait....... .......Selfishness
The most endangered species..... ....Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource.... ......... ...Our youth
The greatest "shot in the arm"........ ..Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome.... ......... .....Fear
The most effective sleeping pill........ Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease..... ........Excuses
The most powerful force in life........ .......... Love
The most dangerous person...... ......... ....A gossiper
The world's most incredible computer.... .....The brain
The worst thing to be without..... ......... ...... Hope
The deadliest weapon...... ......... .........The tongue
The two most power-filled words....... ........." I Can"
The greatest asset....... ......... ......... .....Faith
The most worthless emotion..... ......... .....Self- pity
The most beautiful attire...... ......... ........SMILE!
The most prized possession.. ......... ......Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication. .....Prayer
The most contagious spirit...... ......... ...Enthusiasm
The most important thing in life is........ .......... ..GOD.
Am I aware of it....if not is high time for us to "BEcome" aware of it

Monday, October 15, 2007

How to Cut an Onion Without Crying

How to Cut an Onion Without Crying

Step One
Pick out the onion(s) you want to cut.

Step Two
Put those onion(s) in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, unchopped.

Step Three
Take the onion(s) out and cut away! The onion juice will be slightly frozen, so none of it will get anywhere near your eyes.

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What causes us to cry when cutting onions?

We all know that onions can cause us to tear up when we cut them. But why does this happen?
As always, we turn to our best friend when we need a logical explanation - Science!

Within each variety of vegetables belonging to the Allium family resides a class of organic molecules called amino acid sulfoxides. These molecules help give the onions their specific bitter flavors.

Within the tissues of these same onions are enzymes called allinases. When these enzymes are released, be it through slicing, crushing, piercing, whatever, they react with the amino acid sulfoxides, converting them to sulfenic acids (RSOH). The sulfenic acids are very unstable, and often will often re-arrange their molecular structure to form syn-propanethial-S-oxide(H7O3S2). It is this chemical that causes tearing.

Its effects on the eye are all too familiar. The front surface of the eye--the cornea--serves several purposes, among them protection against physical and chemical irritants. The cornea is densely populated with sensory fibers of the ciliary nerve, a branch of the massive trigeminal nerve that brings touch, temperature and pain sensations from the face and front of the head. The cornea also receives a smaller number of autonomic motor fibers that activate the lachrymal (tear) glands. Free nerve endings detect syn-propanethial-S-oxide on the cornea and drive activity in the ciliary nerve--which the central nervous system interprets as a burning sensation--in proportion to the compound's concentration. This nerve activity reflexively activates the autonomic fibers, which then carry a signal back to the eye ordering the lachrymal glands to wash the irritant away.

There are several ways to prevent or mitigate the causes of tearing. One, you could have brain surgery that would block any sensory information sent from the ciliary nerve. However, that may be a tad impractical.

Water is the best route. Cutting onions under water, or soaking the onions prior to slicing will work. Choosing onions with higher water content can also lessen the tearing. This means purchasing onions that haven't been dry cured. Dry cured onions inlcude the generic white, yellow, and red onions.

If the only options available to you are the generic whites, yellows, and reds, it would be the white onions which should have higher water content, and red onions having the least amount.
Another way to prevent or lessen tearing is to preventing an excessive amount of allinases from being released. The best way to do that is to cut the onion in such a way that minimally damages the tissue. In other words - the sharper the knife the better.

Finally, cut the onions in a well ventilated area. The vapors released from the onion can be dispersed quickly with a fan in the area.

So all of you out there cutting red onions with a butter knife in a windowless room, cut it out. You're only asking for trouble.

Changes in Student Teacher Relations

Student Teacher Relationship ZEN

There's no formula for the student teacher relationship. Each teacher is unique-in temperament, style, and also in interests. Some are strict and formal; some casual and relaxed. Also each student is unique. So there's no one way the relationship should be.

Even within Buddhism there are three traditional models of the relationship, each quite different from the others. In the Tibetan model the teacher is seen more as a guru; and there is often a strong devotional aspect on the part of the student. In the Vipassana tradition the teacher is seen as a guide or a spiritual friend, quite different from an elevated guru. In Zen the teacher is often seen as the living transmitter of the teaching; including all the romanticized stories of the master who bashes the student into enlightenment with the whack of a stick. Even though the romantic images may be gone, the Zen teacher may still be seen as the enigmatic agent of transformation. Each of these three models has its own limitations, but the point is there is no one way the relationship has to be.

Regardless of the differences in style, the real function of a teacher remains the same. The job of the teacher is to clarify what practice is. This is done on a general basis, by clarifying the nature of the self-centered dream and how to awaken from it. It is also done by helping the student clarify their own particular difficulties, and how to practice with them. Along with this, the teacher will encourage the student, both directly with words, and indirectly, by example.
The function of the teacher is certainly not to be the student's mommy or daddy. Nor to be the student's therapist, even though the practice will often include working on the psychological level.

There are three basic stages of the student teacher relationship. The first is to realize the need for a teacher. Some practitioners never get beyond this barrier. Once we accept that we need a teacher, the next stage is to find a teacher that we feel compatible with. This may take a period of trial and error, since not every teacher is suitable for every student. The third stage is to learn how to work with the inevitable difficulties that will arise in the relationship.

Many of the difficulties that arise in the student teacher relationship are the result of the filters that the student brings, including all of the expectations and assumptions about what the relationship is supposed to be like. For example, do you have the expectation that the relationship is supposed to be pleasant, or at least not difficult? You may think that you don't have this assumption, but notice your reaction when the teacher points to something in yourself that you don't want to see. Or when you're asked to do something as a practice approach that you don't want to do. This is a very interesting point to consider: how do you react when it's suggested that you practice with something in a way that doesn't suit you?

Another assumption we may have is that the teacher should be perfect, or at least not have certain flaws. Again, you may think you don't have this obviously unrealistic expectation, but what is your reaction when the teacher does something you judge as off? If you have a strong reaction, it means that you do, in fact, have the belief that the teacher should be and behave in a particular way. You need to ask yourself, what "flaws" aren't okay with you? And what do you do when this situation arises? Do you get righteously angry and speak your mind? Do you withdraw or feel like giving up? Do you go numb? It's good to know your own patterns.

We have so many uninspected beliefs in this area that they are bound to cause us difficulties at some point. Why? Because teachers aren't perfect; they're an ongoing process. In fact, unless teachers continue to work with their own edge, their own fears, they are no longer effective teachers, because they will be disconnected from others.

Of course, there are certain situations when the teacher may, in fact, be off. And these situations may need to be eventually addressed. But the point is it's best to work with and see through our own emotional reactions first, which are mostly based on our conditioned views and judgments.
There is another, more subtle, assumption that many students have: that the student and teacher are the same. This is a tricky topic. I'm not saying that the teacher should be seen as better, or above—just different. If the student has the frontiersman mentality, seeing himself as independent, doing his own thing, the delusion is that he sees himself as already free. If the student's cup is already full, he will only do what he wants, and thus not be truly open to learning. This is unfortunate, because no matter how skillful the teacher, they can relate to students, or "teach", only in proportion to the student's willingness to learn.
One other important factor that every student, no matter how advanced, will bring to the relationship, is their own ego-strategy. If you have trust issues, they will no doubt eventually arise in relation to the teacher. If you need to submit to an authority, you will no doubt set up the teacher as the authority. You may also find yourself having to rebel against that same authority. Or perhaps you need to be liked, to please, or to be understood. Whatever our ego-strategy is, it will play itself out in the relationship with the teacher just like it plays out in every other relationship. The only difference is that hopefully the teacher will help you see what you're doing.

This doesn't mean you have to then beat yourself up for your "faults," or struggle to be a better student. What it does mean is that you can become increasingly aware of your own beliefs and actions. The point of being a student is to learn. The more we see through our own conditioned beliefs and behaviors, the more free we become of them. This is the wish of every teacher: to see the student learn to stand on their own two feet.

Ezra Bayda

Three Elements of Student Teacher Relations

Three Elements of the
Student Teacher Relationship

The relationship between student and teacher, if it is to be maximally productive, must reflect certain attitudes and commitments of each to the other. Specifically, three elements must exist in a student's relationship to a teacher:
First, the student must respect his or her teacher and hold him in the highest esteem, for this is a necessary prerequisite to accepting his advice. Regarding someone who is only giving factual information, and not assuming the role of mentor, this condition becomes less critical. In relation to a spiritual advisor, however, the student needs to feel deference and admiration, for this creates a willingness and desire to receive the teacher's instruction, even though this instruction may be uncomfortable and disconcerting at times.
Secondly, the student must trust the teacher's concern. The student must believe that the teacher always has his or her best interests in mind. If the student would sense some ulterior motive, some self interest, or even carelessness in the teacher’s instruction, he or she would not be able to surrender whole heartedly to the teacher's advice, and this would make the entire exchange meaningless.
Finally, the student must commit himself or herself to following the instruction with utmost discipline, for only then can the intended effect be realized. Just as a doctor's orders must be followed precisely, since failure to do so could cause more harm than good, so a teacher's "prescription" must be obeyed with equal conscientiousness and deference to his superior knowledge and authority.
The teacher also has three levels of responsibility to his students in relation to giving advice:
The first is fulfillment of the prerequisite of getting to know his students individually, to probe the innermost depths of their hearts as well as examining the outer details of their lives. As the teacher's familiarity grows, so the potency of his advice deepens proportionately.
Secondly, the teacher must express love and affection toward his students. It is this affection that dissolves the students' natural tendency to resist being told what to do. Thus, the advice can penetrate more deeply and effectively.
Finally, the teacher must take time to reflect upon his students' progress, refining and adjusting his vision of how best to influence them toward positive change. This is an ongoing requirement because students quickly "outgrow" old advice, and the categories of what is beautiful and what is ugly change with each new stage of growth.
More than any of the other seven skills, this fourth skill of customizing advice is a direct function of the teacher's love for his students. The care with which he sifts through various options, seeking that which will satisfy and beautify, is truly an act of love. The measure of a teacher's affection is reflected in his concern for his students' "appearance"--that their personalities be balanced and well proportioned, that they feel at peace with themselves and their environment, that they utilize their talents and fulfill their potential. If the teacher's instructions come from such a place of loving endearment, then he will save his students much wasted effort in their journey toward self fulfillment and service of God. In contrast, the advice of a teacher who lacks such particularized concern will be less potent. His cliches and generalizations evidence his own immaturity and narrow mindedness, factors which make his instruction more arbitrary and, necessarily, less penetrating.

Difference in SSC / CBSE

What is the difference in CBSE and SSC?
NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) has drafted a syllabus for all boards in India. The CBSE (Central Board for Secondary Education) follows a two-language pattern and the SSC (State Board – Secondary School Certificate) a three-language pattern. The only language up to class 4 is English and the other two languages – Hindi and Marathi – start only in class 5. However, in our school we start teaching them the script in class 3 and simple words in class 4, so in class 5 the child is able to read the text book and write simple words. Both the languages follow the same script, so they have that as one extra subject in the 3rd and 4th grades.Now, about the syllabus as such, there is no significant difference in the two boards. You may remember that when you went to school, or before that, the CBSE kids would get an extra 5% added to their marks for admission to college. But since NCERT made a uniform syllabus, you don’t see that happening. That is because there is really no difference in the syllabus. The order of chapters changes a little but that is about it. The significant difference is only in the 3rd and 4th geography and 4th history syllabus. The 3rd and 4th Geography textbooks are divided into two parts. The first part of the 3rd geography textbook talks about ‘Our District’, so that is different in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur etc. obviously as that content would change. The second part is physical geography and that is identical nationwide, only the examples given change as children relate to local rivers, plateaus, plains etc. better. In 4th geography again, the first part is ‘Our State’ so that changes from state to state and the second part again is physical geography with examples given from the state. As for 4th history, Maharashtra boasts of an impressive history of the great Marathas. So that is what the history textbook deals with. It is the history of Shivaji and the Marathas. Other than that – there is no significant difference in the boards.
If the syllabus for the SSC and CBSE does not have much difference, why do the textbooks look so different?
Various reasons for that. The SSC textbooks are printed in two colours and cost between 10 and 15 rupees each. The CBSE have four colour printing and cost between 30 and 50 rupees each. So the CBSE textbook has more pages. It explains each concept in three or four different ways and so the content of the textbook increases. The SSC textbook does not do that. But if you sit down and go through the table of content and the level of detail in both the books, you will find that it is the same.
Will the child be missing out on anything by going to a SSC school instead of a CBSE school?
The answer to that question is – in this school – NO! Our planners sit down well before the academic year starts and do their R & D to find out those extra things in the CBSE textbooks and we add that into the material we give our children. In fact, the planners even find out what the CBSE textbooks have missed and add that too. In addition to that, our children even get tested on each topic to find out what they have not understood and that is again reinforced. In this way, we try to make sure that each child knows everything. So in this school, your child will not be missing out on anything at all – not academically and even not in the extra curricular activities. Its quite the opposite, actually.