My Expressions

Ed Leader – Joble Bijoy, Vidya Vikas Academy, Goa.

Education is an integral part of a child’s upbringing. We, at Curious Times, have made it our aim to ensure that we also play an active role in imparting the right knowledge to all the Curious children. As such, we also try to ensure that we are always in touch with the leaders in education today and learning from them. After all, it is important to learn from the best.

So, today, we present to you a one-on-one conversation with Joble Bijoy. She is the Principal of Vidya Vikas Academy, Goa. The school aims to impart high-quality education to students to empower them to face challenges in the future.

When did you decide to step into the world of education? What motivated you to become an Educator? I had always wanted to be in this field, inspired by my mother. Role play as a Teacher was one of my favourite past times since I was young. So, on completion of my masters, I felt that I need to plough back into society all that I had gained in my learning process. Education is the most powerful weapon which one can use to bring about positive changes in the world.

Share some of the challenges you have faced in your career journey. How did you convert those challenges into the pillars of success? Teaching during the pandemic was a challenge as we had to keep the learning going on and continue unimpeded. Reaching out to the students even in the remote areas to ensure that learning is not impacted, is a challenge. Understanding the changing trends in education and resorting to a well executed asynchronous blended learning strategy was the need of the hour. This is the ideal solution when classroom attendance is limited or not available. This style of learning has bought it own challenges.1) It imposes new burdens on educators – As instructors must interact with both in person and remote students. Educators find their attention divided more than they would with in person instruction alone. 2) It requires greater comfort with technology – Teachers would need training and ongoing support.

What are the changes have you observed over the years in the field of education? Are you happy with these changes? From depending exclusively on books for information and knowledge, education as well as availability of knowledge and information has undergone a huge leap. This is due to the availability of enormous amount of information and knowledge through the internet today. Multimedia tools and social media has revolutionised the way children are taught and educated. A shift from rote learning and lecture method of teaching to a more active Competency-based Education system has shifted the role of teachers. Now, the role of a teacher is that of a facilitator making education more child-centric than teacher-centric. I am happy and confident with these changes.

What changes would you like to see in the field of Education? What role can the various stakeholders like the government, teachers, students and parents play in this? While we all understand how crucial education is to shape our lives, it has also been a major problem in our country. There are several issues that the Indian education system is grappling with. We cannot deny the fact that the Indian Govt. and other institutions have been working to reform the existing education model. However there are still several issues which require to be taken care of.1) Rote learning needs to be eradicated from schools at all levels. Schools must be encouraged to introduce conceptual learning so that students don’t mug up and instead understands concept better so that they are able to retain and apply them better. 2) Education should move from being exam-oriented or marks-based to a more practical, skill and interest based approach. 3) Indian schools should embrace technology and education and propagate the same to the students as it is there where their future lies. 4) Need to personalise education as all students don’t learn at the same pace. The grasping power of every student is not the same. Schools need to look at Artificial Intelligence as a helping hand of the teachers and students as it is not possible for a single teacher to pay attention to every student. 5) Education needs to be value based. Students need to be taught that life is much beyond money and success is not measured in money. Teachers and parents need to infuse this into the minds of students and play their role in imparting values and providing guidance to their children.

Share your message with the aspiring teachers and leaders of tomorrow. Work with passion and dedication and be committed to your profession. Only the teachers who are truly passionate about teaching can make students truly passionate about learning. Have the willingness to accept and adapt to change and being ready to unlearn and relearn is the need of an hour.

Share your message for your and Curious Times students. Believe that you are the person who can change the world. You have a big responsibility to make the world better. Always be determined about what you want and work thoroughly to reach your goal. Be a good human, a good friend, a good soul who is honest, trustworthy and responsible and happiness will find you.

Joble Bijoy, Principal

Vikas Vidya Academy, Goa

Curious Times is committed to providing the best experience and news to children. We bring to you the Curious Times Weekly with the top news of the week. You can also check out The Curious Magazine, the first children’s magazine with all the great content by the children, for the children. We would love for you, dear children, to write and get your stories, art, thoughts and more published at My Expressions. Write to us at hello@curioustimes.in.You can also follow us on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Youtube, Twitter, LinkedIn.

  0  (Please login to give a Curious Clap to your friend.)