The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

‘Teachers act as friend, guide & role model’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 16 — “The students are guided by teachers who act as a friend, philosopher, guide and a role model. A teacher’s task is to inculcate effective reading, writing, communicating, listening and thinking skills in a child’s formative years and help him emerge as an individual entity.” asserts Mr DS Bedi, Principal of Shivalik Public School. “I strictly follow this mantra in my school and over the years it has worked.” says he.

The results of the school itself speak for it. As many as 382 students appeared for the matric exam and all of them passed. Nearly 54 students aggregated 80 per cent and above. And 55 students scored between 75 per cent and 80%.

“I have been drilling into the students’ mind that percentage matters the least. It is the position in merit that makes the difference. Moreover we have been providing quality education and our results speak volumes for it.” says Mr Bedi.

He started with the school way back in 1970 with five children on rolls. Now the strength of the school speaks for all that it has gone through with its performance in scholastic as well as the non-scholastic activities. “Follow up by the parents and teachers is the secret of the success. We in our school make the child to analyse and improve upon the performance.” says he.

“Usually the teachers don’t find much time to read. In order to make up for this we hold ‘in service teachers training’ for the teachers where they are having the workshops on the latest happenings and discoveries of the world. This makes them quite abreast of the current issues," says the Principal.

The institution also has a boarding school where the parents link is usually missing. “The wardens are playing the role of their parents. Moreover the children in the boarding come from different countries and states and have a different culture and speak different languages.

The chain of interaction becomes diversified and they are exposed to vast experiences.”

Rupinder Kaur, the topper of the school has aggregated 89 per cent. Her father, Amrik Singh, is an employee of the Cooperative Department and hails from Kumbhra village. He says," We are more than satisfied with the system of the school. The school had separate sections for brilliant as well as average students. The weak students are paid an individual attention and the brilliant ones are motivated constantly. This really helps as far as the academics are concerned.”

Mrs Surinder Kaur, Rupinder’s mother, is a housewife. She says," We could not help her as the curriculum is so difficult these days. She all depended on self-study. The teachers were of much help to her as they held extra classes during the vacations.”

“The school gave monthly and weekly tests to the students. This helped them in monitoring their performance. Further these tests inculcated the spirit of competition in them,” Mrs Kaur added.

COURTS

Bail granted to Ranjit in forgery case
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, June 16 — The city court today granted bail to Ranjit Bajaj in the case relating to the alleged use of a forged registration plate on a car, recovery of a pistol and having a forged sticker allowing the use of film screen and a red light on a car. Ranjit, son of a Punjab cadre IAS officer, B. R. Bajaj, surrendered before the court after the arrest of the co-accused, Gursameep, in the case on May 24.

The defence counsel argued that no deception was practised upon any person and no one was deceived by the use of the forged registration plate and the applicant was not driving the car at the time of the recovery of the previously mentioned articles. The defence counsel also argued that the weapon recovered was a dummy bought from London, not covered under the Arms Act. He further argued that the co-accused had already been granted bail in the case so the accused be released on bail.

On hearing the arguments the Judge observed that accused be released on bail after furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000 and the like amount in surety.

CULTURE

A great day to honour your father
By Gaurav Sood
Tribune News Service

The third Sunday in the month of June is celebrated as Father’s Day all over the world . The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman, Sonora Smart Dodd, thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Sonora, was raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died. Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. For her it was her father who had made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. This time the day falls on 18th June.

People all over the world celebrated the great day in number of ways. Some how the tradition of giving roses to your loveable father developed all over the world and roses became the Father’s Day flowers: similarly red to be worn for a living father and white if unfortunately your father had died.

There were various great ideas for a Great Father’s Day. Some good recommendation for reading can be All Dads on Deck by Judy Delton, Alan Tiegreen for the age group of 4-8. The story goes as, the rest of the Pee Wees are going to hook a fish as they spend Dad’s Day with their fathers on board a boat on a lake. Molly doesn’t want to hurt any fish. So she buys the only fish she can find at the store that has its head still on — a jumbo saltwater shrimp. She’s sure no one will notice. Another good book is Dad’s Dinosaur Day by Diane Dawson Hearn for the kids of age group of 4-8. The story is when Mikey’s dad has a “dinosaur day”, he doesn’t go to work, doesn’t take a bath, and doesn’t know how to read. But he does go to school with Mikey and eats pizza for dinner, and has stories read to him. By bedtime, Dad’s had a break, and they’ve both had a blast. Dinosaurs and small boys burst from the pages of this zany cheerful, full-color picture book.A Perfect Father’s Day by Eve Bunting, Susan Meadaugh and The New Father (A Dad’s Guide to the First Year) by Armin A. Brott is also good recommendation for reading on Father’s Day.

Another great idea can be of surfing the net with your cute and loveable dad. All of those who are good and innovative in the kitchen can bake a cake for your caring dad .

A good recipe for a Father’s Day cake can be Start by lining a 9-by-12-inch cardboard shirt box with tissue paper. Bake a cake in a 9-by-12-inch cake pan, remove from the pan, cool and place on waxed paper. Cover with a larger piece of waxed paper and flip the cake over and into the box (the cake bottom should face up).Frost with a pastel-colored icing. Cut a collar and two cuffs out of white paper. The collar is a strip, rolled into a ring and taped, with a small “v” cut out of the center. The cuffs are rectangles with candy cuff links. Add a colorful frosting tie below the point where the collar will be placed. Just before serving, trim away the waxed paper and add the collar and cuffs.

You could also prepare the day’s lunch or simply make him enjoy the morning tea with a bunch of red roses. Good designers can either design an innovative card or paint a T-shirt for him. You could also send your dad an e-greeting but only if he is a net user. If you were wise enough to save some from your pocket money you can also buy him a nice pair of warm socks for the cold winter ahead, or a CD of his all time favourite oldies. And if your dad loves to spend his time with his plants then you have lots of variety at the nearest plants store. A nice T-shirt would also be not a bad idea .

If you are of that kind you could spend sometime from your busy routine with those who are less fortunate and have been left by their children to spend the rest of their days in old age homes. Surely your dad would love this and of course you will make someone smile. So wish you a happy Father’s Day.