Experiencing Visual Arts with the students
Every child is born with artistic sensibilities. Very often it is said that an artist is born and not made. I do not endorse this totally. While I believe that some children are born with talent, a true artist emerges when the right amount of support and motivation is given at school and at home to pursue their creativity.
At Ekya, we push our students to expand and widen their imagination. The activities planned for each unit brings out their creativity in the best way possible. Learning about famous artists and studying their paintings to break them down and recreate it their own way gives the students a peek into an artist’s mind. It teaches them how to tell a story with no words.
Ekya has created an environment where creativity is generated. We ignite the passion to pursue Visual arts and Performing arts through sustained motivation and regular encouragement where every child is assessed individually. Each student is given feedback on their work. This is very important because each student has a different creative approach.
Teaching at Ekya has always been an enriching experience. All the unique and creative ideas that our students come up with each time, amazes me. Seeing students learn and grow artistically is a very fulfilling experience. Of course, it comes with its own challenges like teaching young children stitching and getting them to not poke the needle in their eyes or anyone else’s. Although in offline school this isn’t much of a challenge, online school is a different scenario. It took some time, patience, and a lot of safety measures to conduct activities like these but it was also fun how students later implemented these skills in real life and came back to me saying how helpful it was to learn them.
As we have moved on to offline school recently, students have been excited to return to school. Collaborative activities are back and students are looking forward to working with their friends and sharing ideas. These activities help them in learning the importance of teamwork. Our vibrant Visual arts studio invites students to come along and work together. All the students’ artworks displayed ignited creativity and motivation in everyone who enters the room.
Teachers at Ekya use 21st-century skills in imparting education in visual and performing arts to make the classes more lively and dynamic. We are looking forward to an amazing year ahead with many more adventures and great learning experiences.
A cell in our body is very similar to a house we live in, they have walls, space in them, a person who tells everybody what to do, furniture, and everything else I missed. But the walls of the cells are not exactly like the walls of our house, in fact, they are very fascinating.These walls or plasma membranes to be fancy have the discrete power in choosing their guests. To get a little nerdier this property of the cell membrane is called semi-permeability, and so the cell wall can also be called the semi-permeable membrane. Taking a deeper look into this intriguing cell membrane it is found that it is made of a phospholipid bilayer, i.e a two-layered arrangement of phosphate and lipid molecules that form a cell membrane, this happens as the hydrophobic lipid ends face the inward and the hydrophilic phosphate ends face the outward forming two layers.
Initially, this cell membrane was considered static and immobile like the walls of our house, and just because they could, a group of scientists proved it wrong and established that the phospholipid bilayer is actually fluid and dynamic in nature. The experiment conducted to prove this is very interesting it is called FRAP or Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching.
In this experiment, the scientists tagged each phospholipid individually with a fluorescent marker so that when looked under a microscope one could see the fluorescent glowing. Then in a process called photobleaching, they shined a really intense laser on one particular part of the fluorescent membrane which causes the fluorescent tags to wear off the phospholipids. So now there was this dark spot in the membrane where there was no fluorescence. After a while the scientists found this dark spot that had been created went away or Recovered, which meant that the tagged phospholipid or the phospholipids that were still fluorescent (not photobleached) moved around, filling the dark spot.
The FRAP experiment led to the conclusion that the cellular membrane that consists of a phospholipid bilayer is fluid in nature i.e.the phospholipids in one leaflet of the bilayer could move around in the same layer.
Just the way we let in people we like into our home, the cell membrane to lets in molecules of its choice! Isn't that astounding.
‘Be Negative and Stay Positive’ is the best mantra we can use during this pandemic.
Taking best care in protecting oneself from the attack of the coronavirus and maintaining Covid test results negative should be the top priority during these tough times. However, In spite of the best efforts put in, one may succumb to the virus even with a strict following of the safety protocols. In relation to the topic, keeping your mind positive should be paramount in taking good care of oneself.
Amid the covid outbreak, feeding your mind with information from the media on the unforeseen events leads you to fear, anxiety and depression. On the other hand, news of lakhs of people around the world successfully walking back to normal life after being infected with the virus hardly catches your attention. In fact, you spend much of your time focusing your thoughts on recollecting the faces of people who have had a lot to suffer. This fear built up in your mind is more critical than the virus. In reality, you need to be picky about the input going into your mind from the outside world. Because it affects your thinking, your mood, and your ability to be positive. You need to shift your mind from ‘I can’t because....’ to 'How can I ....’ Be informed. Knowing what’s going on is important. Knowing what’s going on 24 hours a day from multiple sources will only serve to wear you down.
During this period of anxiety and fear, you need to engage in activities that make you feel good, pleasant, and fulfilling. Select a few activities that promote your physical and mental health as well. It is very important to maintain a daily routine. This will help your mind be focused and sharp. It also helps us to ‘normalize our day’. Keep in touch with your contacts. Social distancing should never lead to distancing ourselves from friends and families. Read a book, and engage in a craft. Listening to music, doing some online courses, etc improve your mental health. Going out for a while, enjoying nature, looking up at the trees, and stars, breathing some fresh air, and enjoying the beauty of the world we live in will certainly boost our outlook. This is 2022 and we have all the tools at our fingertips to keep in touch with our loved ones. Regular communication with our dear ones and sharing experiences is very important during these times.
We need to manage our expectations. Go easy on yourself. As you settle into this new rhythm of online studies and isolation, you need to be realistic about the goals you are setting. Focus on what we can influence, what we can change, and perhaps most importantly, what we can learn.
The human mind has a weakness- it attaches itself to sadness. ‘How can you always stay happy ?’ asked a student to his Guru. The Guru answered, “There is no secret behind it. The decision of whether I should be happy or sad is mine only. I always choose happiness as my option. In the midst of sorrows, somewhere I find a door of hope open to me. I get out of the door and start thinking carefully. Can I solve the problems and challenges facing me or not? If my mind says “Yes”, I will manage my happiness and solve the problems. If the answer is “NO”, I stop thinking about them and leave them. Then again, I will keep my mind happy”
As regards this pandemic too, let us not trouble ourselves thinking about what will happen to the world tomorrow.
Remember, this too shall pass and become history.
Keep believing in Staying Positive & Testing Negative.
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