Parents and Teachers: How they can have an effective partnership for the

child
Not all parents have time or ability to stay proactive with their childs daily school progress.
Many a times parents contact teachers when they face a major problem because they are
unfamiliar with the process. For childs better grades and education parents and teachers
should bridge the gap to have great communication. Everything begins at home, but should
continue through school therefore both parents and teachers should create a TEAM
(Together Everyone Achieve More) which will help them to get mutual and satisfying result.
What teachers expect from parents, as first teachers of child:
1.Establish a daily routine. Child should have a routine that involve study time, eating
meals together, going to bed on time. Encourage your child in raising questions and spend
time in discussing what they have learned.
2.Keep in touch with the school. Parents should always keep a check to what their child
doing in school by visiting at regular period of intervals. Stay aware of what assignments
they get and what they learn.
3.Use television wisely. Parents should keep on check what type of programs child is
watching on television and should limit the amount of time.
4.Offer praise and encouragement. Besides form school learning parents should always
praise and appreciate their child so that they can become a great learner from outside
world also.
What parents wants from teachers for their child:
1.Active participation of parents in classroom activities. Teachers should allow
parents to involve in school activities like helping child in preparing school material or
sharing their interest and hobbies. More the parents are involved the more they will
understand the teachers goals and practices.
2.Give parents voice in decision. Parents viewpoints should be considered in making
decisions about their childrens schooling. Families to become involved individually and
collectively in making decisions about goals and standards for their children.
3.Plan teacher/ parent meetings. Teachers should plan meeting with parents in regular
interval of time so that they are aware of what their child is learning. It can be held in the
beginning of the session, at the end of the session and sometimes in between also.
4.Encourage good communication in the meetings. To end up such meeting
successfully parents and teacher should bridge the communication gap so that they can
get a positive solution towards the child future.
The family meets the school expectations effectively, and the school educates the child
effectively without undue demands on the home which creates mutual respect and leads to
a better future of the child.
When parents and the teacher work together then they will always help the child in some
following ways:
1.Generally achieve better grades, test score and attendance.
2.Child has better self-esteem and develops more self-confidence.
3.Children tend to do better to bridge the gap between school and home.
4.Involvement of parents leads to have fewer drops out decisions taken by the child.
The most important elements to have an effective relation are trust and honesty which will
help the child. Parents are first teacher of their child who knows there personalities, they
know how the child will learn, what all interest their child have, their strength, their
weakness. This is important for a parent to express it in front of the teacher so that the
teacher can have better understanding towards the student. More the teachers and parents
interact with each other more opportunities child will get to show his/her potential.

Newspaper vendor to IIM

From delivering newspapers to being accepted at the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata
young Bangalorean Shiva Kumars story is one of determination and self-belief.
As a boy, Shiva used to deliver newspapers at the crack of dawn to help his family financially."I was
a delivery boy in 5th standard till 10th standard. I needed to increase my income and so thought of
becoming an independent vendor to make my own agency. From 10th standard till now, I am a
vendor. When I was in the final year of engineering, I chose to write CAT so that I could pursue
higher education. I didnt take it as a burden. I just enjoyed my work. More than anything else, it
gave me happiness that I could take care of my family so that they could sleep peacefully every
day, he told NDTV, Shivas mother Jayamma is justifiably proud of her son. He struggled a lot
from the time he was in 5th standard until today. I am so happy he has come this far, she said. If
you want to make a bigger life, then you have to take that extra step and push yourself. I had to
wake up at 4 am, work till 8 am, then go to college and again come back to do my part time job. It
was very difficult but I was determined, Shiva kumar said. But despite the hard work, it still was a
huge challenge for Shiva. At one stage, he even ran out of money for his school fees. He then
approached a man who he delivered newspapers to for help. He was willing to help but he could
not trust me He just came to my school the next day and spoke to my principal, teachers and
asked their opinion about me After that he paid for the entire year. He told me, Just concentrate
on studies, I will take care of your fees.
Shiva Kumar now has plans beyond just securing his future and his familys. I will go to IIM Calcutta
and come back from there. Then I will start an Educate India foundation to help poor students
pursue their education, he said.
From being a newspaper delivery boy to making news himself, 23-year-old Shiva kumar has got
through to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta. Shiva kumar, an engineering student
and the only educated member in his family, has fought hard to make his dreams come true. Stories
like Shiva Kumars are inspiring, proof of what conviction and hard work can achieve.

CHANDA ZAVERI
Calcutta girl Chanda Zaveri, who left home at the age of 17 in 1984 to escape arranged
marriage, went on to writing her own success story of becoming a millionaire
entrepreneur and innovator. Instead of compromising with the life chosen for her by her
parents, she preferred to leave home and embrace Lifes challenges head-on. She
faced them with extraordinary courage and dedication and returned home after three
decades as a millionaire entrepreneur.
She called up David Ross in Boston. She had met Ross when he had visited Kolkata as a
tourist. David agreed to send me a sponsor letter. I sold my diamond rings, purchased
a British Airways ticket and fled to US, she recalled.
Today, Chanda Zaveri (49) is one of the worlds leading molecular biologists, founderowner of companies like Actiogen and Skin Healix, which have a combined turnover of
$150 million and is a dollar multimillionaire in her own right.
Zaveri, who had graduated with biology from Calcutta University, had her own plans. I
dreamt of winning the Nobel Prize. And I knew I could never do it if I had to live a
borrowed life as a housewife. So I decided to escape at any cost, says
The early years were difficult. She worked as a maid to support herself. Then, a second
chance event completely changed her life. One employer was impressed enough to
give Zaveri a huge gift: $30,000 to go to Harvard, where she completed the two units
necessary to pursue a masters degree.
David Ross introduced me to his father-in-law, who adopted me. She went on to
complete her masters degree in molecular biology from the University of California and
began her research in bio-chemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
under Nobel laureate Linus Pauling.
She dreamed of working in his lab, but the professor didnt have much available.
I will clean the petri dishes, she told Pauling. I would just be happy to be around
you.
Right away, Pauling noted Zaveris keen sense of observation and put her to work
developing peptides. The first one she made, which improves collagen in the skin,
became an instant best-seller.
Zaveri, who likes Indian food like khichri and Bengali gur sandesh, specialises in antiageing skincare, wound-care and cancer-care treatments. In 1994, she decided to set
up her own business. B2 Actigen, the first product she developed, was a runaway
success. Many more best-sellers followed.
Today, lots of peptide-based skincare products are available in the market. But I was
the first to use peptide in skincare lotions, she said.
Despite the success of her business, she has no plans of either listing her companies
or cashing out.I do this because of the satisfaction it gives me, she added. Even
today, Zaveri focuses mainly on research & development end of the business.
Despite her busy schedule she makes it a point to make time for herself. I love
painting, which I do for self-satisfaction. My second passion is Argentinean Tango dance
and I have almost completed my course, she said.

What does the way you spend money tell about you?
A lot of people were asked to complete the sentence I use my money to__________ " and their
answers were in general, alike. People respond with words like get happiness, get things I long
for, make life comfortable, give me security and so forth. There is something very interesting
one may note. Of all the things that you do with your money, there is something it does with
you.
Psychologists believe that people use their money to speak about themselves who they are,
what they want others to see about them, what they value, and what they aspire. This article is
not to judge how you spend. It is rather to give you an insight into how you are spending, and,
how it is impacting your life.
To make introspection easier, here are some questions to answer:

Do you save up for months to buy the expensive brands, and often long for owning
them?
Do you buy a few extra things when you are out with others, as compared to what you
otherwise would?
Do you buy things to elevate your spirits, say when you feel low or depressed?
Do you buy things which you like, but have very little actual use for?
Do you buy things when there is a discount?
Do you buy things which will be used later?
Are you sometimes in awe of anothers car, and dream of acquiring it?

The purpose of the questions above is to bring out some important point to ponder. Why do we
crave for an expensive brand? Leave aside the quality and aesthetics. There is surely something
we know that possessing it will make us feel. That is not all, we also believe that we cannot feel
that goodness through any other means.
When in a group we feel hesitant at times, to show our choice to not purchase. In some manner
of interpretation, we consider ourselves inadequate as far as affording is concerned. Our
generation has somehow come to believe that being frugal is a thing to look down upon. Of
course, with the advent of luxury brands and access to a greater disposable income, life and
living has changed to spending and acquiring. We fail to take notice that it has distanced us
from being in touch with our deeply important things. We know how to be happy instantly, but
we have no clue how to remain happy for a long time. Because one may purchase, but one
cannot be happy if one does not know how to enjoy and feel satiated.
Advertising and marketing lures us to spend our hard earned money on things which are
definitely attractive, but sometimes do not fit our lifestyle. We fall prey to their campaign and
very often make a self-defeating choice we buy things which are not in line with our long term
view of life. Imagine having a long term financial commitment that makes a difference to your
entire family, and then, being hijacked by display windows which call out for spending and thus
throwing us off our plan. We dont even realize that. However, we quietly postpone the
important monetary commitment, as the money gets diverted elsewhere.
Expanding the wardrobe is enthusing but let us also consider expanding the bookshelf. Let us
instead of expanding our living alone, use part of our efforts to expanding our minds reading,
learning, and doing new things which add value.
It is a compelling thing to have plans to acquire bigger and better. It is simple wisdom and the
key to happiness to enjoy what you have. There will always be a bigger car and a better phone
than the one you can conveniently afford. But the one you have is the best one for you because
it serves your purposes. Unhappiness and dissatisfaction do not originate from big losses alone.

It is the day to day living in which we are not at peace with which creates a feeling of emptiness
in the long run. And to deal with it, we indulge further more!
It has become a common way to define urban spending habits as people buy things with the
money they do not have to impress the people they do not like!

Mary Kom
Mary Kom is the first woman boxer from India to have won Five World Titles consecutively. She
has more than three Asian titles and eleven National titles under her belt.
She is a recipient of the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri Award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Award and a special award from AIBA. A mother of twin sons, a caring wife, her achievements
are a great inspiration. A pocket size power house of energy, people call her the Magnificent
Mary.
Mary Kom was born on 1st March 1983 and was brought up in a poor family. It is impossible to
imagine that Mary Kom would one day rise and become a World Boxing Champion.
Her family background speaks a lot of how Mary overcame hardship and inconveniences and
created a name for herself in the arena of world boxing. Her parents earned their livelihood by
working and being engaged in others jhum fields. Being the eldest, Mary helped her parents
work in the fields, cutting woods, making charcoal and fishing. On the other hand, she spent a
good time looking after her two younger sisters and a brother.
Mary Kom was interested in sports since her childhood. She took a keen interest in Athletics,
Mary thought that she would become a good athlete one day and carve a name for herself in
the discipline.
But fate decided otherwise. After completing her class VIII, Mary came to Imphal and continued
her studies at Adimjati School. Being so fond of sports, she enquired around and found out
about women boxing.
It was a new idea since women boxers were relatively unknown those days. The rise of Dingko
Singh and the demonstration of women boxers at the 5th National Games (Manipur) inspired
her.
Mary Kom decided to hang up her books and enter into the ring with determination and strong
will. To pursue her dream of becoming a world class pugilist, she joined Sports Authority of
India, and underwent an intensive training from coach and mentor, Shri. Ibomcha Singh.
Seeing Marys potential and determination, Manipur State coaches Shri. Narjit Singh and Shri.
Kishan Singh decided to take her under their wings. Mary was taught finer details and absorbed
it all.
Sports are not everything for Mary. In her spare time, she takes pain to attend functions and
mingle with the people. The ever-smiling and ready-to-help Mary Kom always encourages young
people to chase their dreams and have faith in God.
Mary married K.Onler Kom of Samulamlan Block whom she met in Delhi. Onler proved to be a
guide, a friend and a philosopher for Mary.
Marys humble beginning from Kangathei and her fame through continents of the world is a
mere fairy tale. However, it was Marys grit determination and Never-Say-Die attitude with
which she was able to earn laurels far away from her village. Mary Koms belief in God and
herself was what made all the difference.

Today, the farmers daughter stands as a shining example of Mission (almost) Accomplished.
Her most awaited Gold-medal will be at the London 2012 Olympics.