Fullest Scientific Life

I  was a science teacher in a Government school. I observed that some of my students have a naturally happy nature. They were cheerful most of the time. Their pleasant personalities made it easier for them to be happy and enjoy life. I also noticed there were students in my class with a personality that's on the grumpy side. They would see faults in people like friends or teachers and situations instead of the good. Their mood is grumpy more often than it's cheerful. They had difficult emotions. As a teacher I always tried to carry out some activity in my classroom teaching to give my students (cheerful, grumpy) a happy learning experience. We know that our body and our emotions can work in tandem; therefore, while doing classroom teaching, I will always try to encourage my students to make a collage of all the diagrams that I taught in the last lecture. I named this activity making educational collages. 

Many students liked this activity and always used to bring those collages to school. As and when time permits, I will paste those collages outside my lab. This activity of making educational collage made my work a little simpler and easier to “hack” my students' mood, who were grumpy, to a joyful mood. I was so happy that all my students started feeling more joyful daily

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To make my lesson more effective, I often do science arts writing to train young minds. In my co-curricular activity time, the topic for debate was how to lead the best possible scientific life. Students wrote very interesting answers. Some students were confused if they could have better materialistic things available to them, they would have led a better full life. 

I tried my best to make my students understand that all #materialistic things which we possess cannot be equated to a good life. They are means to lead life. It all depends on whatever resources one is provided with, how one uses them in the best possible way to lead a full, happy, scientific life.

MORAL OF THE STORY- Happiest, fullest scientific life is the feeling of truly enjoying one's life while doing a science experiment, #interpreting results and reporting them in the best possible way.

To make my students understand what  full life is, and how to lead the fullest scientific life, I wrote a poem” Fullest Scientific Life” and pasted it on the notice board of the school. The same poem I am listing below same for my esteemed readers

Fullest Scientific  Life

Scientific Life is such a wide umbrella,

How to get my fullest scientific life,

 I ask this question many times,

To my beloved  soul. 

With a test tube in my hand,

I was in my lab chemistry,

 I realized, to lead the fullest scientific life,

I must concentrate on carrying out,

 My experiment systematically with aptitude scientific,

Not on an experimental quality apparatus,

As Lab ia not just a room ,

It is for mind scientific ,

 Why so asked my soul.

Carrying out a science experiment 

sincerely in a lab,

 Highly equipped lab is like a job, 

Money, position in life, but not life.

 They are means to lead a scientific life.

Most affluent, knowledgeable scientist are not people,

 Who have every experimental equipment in their lab?

Most affluent knowledgeable are scientists and researchers,

 Those who utilize their lab and country resources,

In the best possible way to carry out science,

 experiment in the lab, and remain happy.

This understanding #spontaneous,

 Made crystal clear all my doubts,

We lost all our false fears of scientific life, 

My soul stopped asking

And started doing work scientific 

And gained new directions on how to,

Lead my happiest fullest scientific life.

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Sukarma Thareja

 https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home 

 Please do read my book listed below for STEM Poems and Life stories

Science of Life and Nature: A Photo Poetry Collection: Sukarma Thareja: 9781521260067: Amazon.com:

  Amazon US link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521260060 

Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1521260060 https://droplink.co/9XRmTZ

Positive effects of Smile

 I was teaching in school. My student Gunjan was preparing for the JEE-Professional course entrance examination. But due to financial constraints, she was hard-pressed. While many students from school were going by private vehicle to get consultation in subjects chemistry, physics and mathematics in the city. But Gunjan had to take public transport, which made her very tired by the time she got back home.

I noticed that Gunjan looked very tired. I called Gunjan to inquire about the situation. Gunjan said, "Madam, I am not able to do well in the weekly examination at my coaching center. I am worried, Madam. I am wondering if I am doing the right things or unnecessarily wasting my time, money and energy". I said, Dear Gunjan, please do not get disheartened, slowly things will improve. Initially, many times things take time to come at par with expectations of oneself."

After a month, I found that Gunjan looked much better than before. I called Gunjan, she said," Madam, I have  got some improvement in physics, chemistry scores, but in the subject mathematics, I still have to do much work in it."

I said, "I am happy, Gunjan, you are improving in your grades in physics, chemistry. Please keep working, my child. Soon you will get good results in all three subjects."

After one month, I noticed a little smile on Gunjan's face. I was so happy for her. She said, "Madam, I am happy, I am improving in my mathematics examination marks at my coaching center." I advised her to always keep a smile on her face. Gunjan promised me that she will act on my advice and always keep a smile on her face. Gunjan promised me that she will act on my advice.

I found Gunjan was improving in physics, chemistry and mathematics in school examinations also. The best part was that she had a very cute smile on her face. I was very happy with her improvement in her personality. I prayed for her every day.

I noticed Gunjan's smile was creating a chain reaction in class. Whenever she passes a smile to her friends in class, all the class students will pass a smile to each other. It seemed to me a chain reaction of smiles. This cordial atmosphere of class was full of positive energy. It was fun for me to teach chemistry to this motivated class. In my heart, I thanked dear Gunjan for following my request to smile."

The moral of the story is not always a reason to smile. But your(Gunjan) smile is a reason for others to smile too.

Sukarma Thareja

https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home

For STEM Poems and Life stories please read

Science of Life and Nature: A Phot o Poetry Collection: Sukarma Thareja: 9781521260067: Amazon.com: Books

Younghood

 My friend Gita was teaching in #private school. Gita got married and went to the US with her husband. In the US, Gita joined a Ph.D #program in #Biotechnology department of the university. Initially, she used to send regular #emails to me describing her university and the quality of #teaching. I was very happy for her. But after one year or so, I suppose she got so busy with her #research assignment that she will hardly get any time to answer my emails.

Suddenly, after a long gap of two #decades, one day I got an email from Gita. She informed me that she is #blessed with a son. I was very happy to hear the good news that she became a mother at the age of 45.

Gita came to India. My family and I were very happy to see Gita, her husband, and her son. Gita looked very graceful and “A Mature” mom.  We had great fun together, and we loved going #swimming. One day, as we were putting on our shoes at the #entrance to the family change room at our local pool, a curious boy of about 5 years asked Gita: “Are you his grandma?” “No,” she explained, “I’m his mom.” The little boy looked confused, and #continued staring. A few minutes later he couldn’t control himself. “Are you sure you are not his grandma?” the boy insisted. “Yes…I’m pretty sure! “said Gita.

 8 8-year-old boy’s face lit up. He thought this was #Hilarious!.  My self Gita, and I came back home. Gita’s son continued to call his mother #grandma for the rest of the day, laughing every time he said it.

I found Gita was very cool and a good mother to her kid. I was so happy to find out that Gita’s #husband also had a young spirit. He would play all sorts of games with his kid. Gita and her husband were #wonderful parents and took care of each and every need of their child. They were good at #micro management and were loved by their kid. Even my children were very friendly with Aunt Gita and her husband.

Moral of the Story-. Some young parents don’t make #great parents. Some #old parents make wonderful parents. So it is not age that matters, but the quality of #parenting that is very important 

Sukarma Thareja

https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home

Teaching vs Freelance

 Myself and my friend Radha were teaching in a private school.  School was paying us a good salary, but of course not at to level of Govt. school teacher's grade. Radha was very much upset with this issue. I used to tell “dear Radha, just forget it, dear. Time is not with us, so we should forget this issue for the time being”.

As luck would have it, pandemic 2020 started. School started online classes for students; consequently, school diminished teachers’ pay packets by a significant amount. And Radha, I missed out on teaching our dear student # face-to-face, talking to our other respected teachers in person. Our senior teachers were our # backbone. They gave us such good # advice, which I and dear Radha cherish till today. We were not happy. We were missing out on meeting students, their parents, making friends, and attending educational conferences.

We decided to put our hands on as # freelancers, and it was initially very difficult work for us. We had to   create our own opportunities to socialize, regardless of whether we work at a co-working place or talk to random strangers on the street (which is quite difficult in quite a few pockets of our town).

Some may say, since we were an #introvert & didn’t care about socializing, that’s why we found it difficult. But involving ourselves in freelancing, we realized we still need to interact with people to remain sane. We also understood that one big requirement of freelancing is that one absolutely must have a monetizable skill; unless one can solve someone else’s woes, nobody is going to pay one.

 We were offered multiple job opportunities, but we were hesitant to take them on as the pay packet offered did not make sense to us from a financial perspective.

We were in a fix. We decided to take up private school teaching, and at the same time, as and when we get time, we must learn tricks of #freelancing. With that determination, my dear Radha and I sought blessings of God for unique freelancing!!!

Now COVID is over. My dear Radha, we are down to the big question: should we freelance, or keep teaching in a private school and enjoy the same?

Moral of the Story-Well, even though our experience with freelancing was mostly positive, we would encourage everyone to weigh the pros & cons and test out the freelancing waters.

Sukarma Thareja

https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home

For STEM POEMS and Life stories please do read

Science of Life and Nature: A Photo Poetry Collection: Sukarma Thareja: 9781521260067: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon US link :

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521260060

https://droplink.co/yOkb

Amazon UK link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1521260060

https://droplink.co/9XRmTZ

 

Stop complaining

I had a very good student, Yamini, in school. She did a B.Sc. from a good college in Delhi.

Whenever she comes to visit me, she will #complain about the fast life of Delhi. She did not like the public transport in Delhi.I will always tell Yamini, see my dear student, because of Delhi, you got a chance to study in one of the top colleges in Delhi. Immediately after doing B.Sc, you got a chance to teach in a government school where the pay packet is so good. A government job , means - secure job, and there is an increment in the pay packet every year

I told Yamni “complaining” habit will make you weak, dear student. Nobody watches your habit more than two or three times. People around you wonder why Yamini is complaining all day long about what’s happening in the world, the government, your boss, etc. 

Yamin, words have a huge impact on how we act and make choices.  Your negative visualization of your thoughts and beliefs achieves nothing. Your feelings are irrelevant. Nobody cares. People naturally spread their own states of mind to others. These people will try to infect you with their mindset, leading to frequent interpersonal conflicts. You lose people with your complaining habits, and they’re not motivated to connect with you. It affects all areas of your life, your career, your health, your family, and your finances. When you complain, you’re spending all your energy and attention focusing on other things at the expense of what you need to do. The cost of living like this is chaos, stress and fatigue. Therefore, Yamini, I request you to leave this bad habit of complaining. Concentrate on positive things that you are blessed with and enjoy your life.

Moral of the Story- Habit of Complaining is a weakness of one's personality. One should overcome this weakness by always believing in positive thinking or karma. One should be happy with what one is blessed with.

Sukarma Thareja

https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home

For STEM POEMS and Life stories please do read

Science of Life and Nature: A Photo Poetry Collection: Sukarma Thareja: 9781521260067: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon US link :

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521260060

https://droplink.co/yOkb

Amazon UK link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1521260060

https://droplink.co/9XRmTZ

 

Teachers Summer Vacation

I was attending my friend's daughter's wedding. People at that wedding party were of the popular belief that teachers spend their summers on tropical beaches, eating special ice creams.

I happened to talk with guests at a party function and said, "We teachers actually spend summer vacation time catching up on all the work we couldn't get to during the school year."

We attend professional development workshops, plan #curriculum for the upcoming year, and grade an endless pile of papers.

 The length of summer vacation varies from district to district. It also depends on whether the school is public or private.

Some districts might have slightly shorter summers, while others may extend them.

During our casual conversation, I told a guest at the party," Trust me, sir, even a few #weeks won't make this vacation as glamorous as you seem to think."

So, friends, please, before one thinks of dismissing a teacher's summer vacation as a luxury, please take a moment to appreciate the hard work and #dedication that goes into being an educator. Teachers may get a break, but our minds and hearts are constantly invested in the betterment of our students. They make projects as teaching aids to teach difficult concepts like quadratic equations in the subject #mathematics. They sometimes work on a #research paper to be presented at an educational conference. Sometimes these research papers require a lot of data to be collected. To collect data and convert the same into #analytical equation requires programming knowledge and so on. Learning new educational tools(computer software) to teach students takes time. Teachers use #summer vacation to learn educational tools.

Moral of the Story: Good teachers' minds and hearts are constantly invested in the betterment of their students. Summer vacation is the best time for a good teacher to go for professional development.

Sukarma Thareja

https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home

For STEM POEMS and Life stories please do read

Science of Life and Nature: A Photo Poetry Collection: Sukarma Thareja: 9781521260067: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon US link :

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521260060

https://droplink.co/yOkb

Amazon UK link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1521260060

https://droplink.co/9XRmTZ

Tranquility

 I was teaching science in school. In co curricular activity class, our guest speaker Mr Nandi talked to students about concept of body -soul-  peace. He also talked to students about the #karma theory described in the Hindu epic #Shrimad Bhagavat Gita. All teachers were very happy as students asked so many questions about good- bad karma. We thanked our guest speaker for the excellent spiritual talk, which enlightened students as well as teachers.

Mr Nandi made me think hard about the karma theory of the Hindu epic Gita. I came back from school, and before sleeping, I wrote a small poem remembering my mother. Poem "Family-Body-Soul-Peace" I pasted the same on the notice board of the school for students to read.The same I am listing below for my esteemed readers

Family-Body-Soul

For my mother, her family is her soul.

The whole day she works without stopping,

For family for extended kin,

 Her noble deeds keeps peace within, 

 In equilibrium with her physical body,

 Her actions propagate peace,

 In each family member's soul,

She seeks blessings from God,

  Which acts as positive catalyst,

Turns around prosperity,

 In the life of each member of a joint family,

Gives  peace of mind, integrity,

and the purpose of living for the entire family.

Similarly, May God initiate world peace and tranquillity,

In the world family , where all live,

 Harmoniously with   neighbors,

Respecting all sentiments around them .

Friends let my Karma Start the light,

From my home to world's height.

Sukarma Thareja

https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home

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e Mail-sukarma@iitk.ac.in

Science of Life and Nature: A Photo Poetry Collection: Sukarma Thareja: 9781521260067: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon US link :

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521260060