Fit hai to hit hai - Strike a balance!
During this year-end, I happened to travel beyond the city hustle. Leaving the driver's seat behind, this time I got ample space to look through the window pane as we drove onto the Pune - Solapur highway! Even though we crossed different cities, some common hoardings caught my attention. Being in the education domain, I guess, I was reading them thoroughly
'School admissions for the academic year 2025-26 open', said the banners all around. Be it a new school or an old one, each one of them had its own thought, philosophy and story to share. With NEP 2020 budding and blossoming, all of them had one line in common:' We ensure holistic development in every child. This is one line that bridges schools of all boards. I happened to exchange this thought with my family on the trip.
The driver, who was busy with his hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road, all this while happened to ask,' Madam, holistic ka kya matlab hai? Hume toh kuch nahi samajta. Mere beti ke report card mein bhi yahi kuch likha hota hai '
'Well, it means physical, intellectual, social, emotional and moral growth of your child, I replied.
'This is so nice then, our children will be better humans with teachers helping them grow this way in school, came his reply with an affirmative smile on his face.
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This dialogue made me think that, as educators, indeed, each one of us is taking a conscious effort to ensure our students develop holistically. But what about educators themselves? In the rush and hush of the teaching and learning process, haven't we forgotten to cater to our own needs? Growth and development are a continual process. With every new batch of students, it is imperative to cater to our holistic well-being as educators!
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Isn't it the right time to look beyond the role of a tutor? Look beyond marks and correction work. Explore yourself beyond being PTM feedback providers. Every educator is also a human. We need to cater to our social, spiritual, emotional, intellectual and most importantly, physical well-being!
As a new year rolls out and the air is flooded with resolutions to be made, shared and followed. Let us also take a step towards being a holistic educator to strike a work- life balance.
Here are some fitness funda to be a Fit and Hit educator!
1. Intellectual well-being - Learn something new this year. So what if it's a new way of delivering a class? A new course to be undertaken or a new subject altogether to be explored!
2. Social well-being - Let us connect with educators globally to share, network and brainstorm on new ideas which can be implemented in our classrooms.
3. Spiritual well-being - Spare some time from your busy schedule to meditate and introspect over what went well and what needs to improve. Let the competition in you be replaced by surpetition. Say goodbye to stress buddies.
4. Emotional well-being - Let us harness our emotions to create a supportive and motivational learning ecosystem for our fraternity.
5. Physical and Mental Well-being - A lifestyle change is what we need. Exercise for homework, healthy food for lunch and a hobby for triggering your creative brain.
According to Greek philosopher Aristotle, 'A sound mind resides in a sound body.' And through education, we as curators ensure this is true for every student. If we really want to create holistic individuals, then we need to look for holistic, continual wellbeing in us as well!
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Kyon ki fit hai to hi teacher hit hai! Let the journey of 2025 begin on this note for each one of us.
Happy new balancing year!!!!!
Prajakta Sachin Bhide
Principal
PGKM School, Pune
Blog reposted from https://vikasitshikshak.blogspot.com/2024/12/fit-hai-to-hit-hai-strike-balance.html
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Here is a quick mind map for a summary.