Panacea Not Punishment

Panacea Not Punishment

My friends, I am here again to share with you what amazed me today. Like my every single day I am done with all my home chores and now relaxing on my couch going through all my messages. These days’ social media is like the doors open to curiosity. And I can never hold myself opening the door and enjoying the honeydew.

You might be wondering how the picture I posted on my blog can be anyways related to the honeydew. But my friends… really it is. I was going through one of my cousin’s messages on WhatsApp, where he posted a video of brain games. And that opened for me my door of curiosity. I found out that people are engaging in brain games and brain yoga to overcome the stress they are dealing with in their daily life. What I found was the age old pose which we called as punishment given by teachers was one of the major brain yoga that enhances the brain power.

Holding left ear with the right hand and the right ear by the left hand. The yoga called as Thoppukaranam which is applying pressure by the thumb on the earlobes while doing knee bends and taking breaths. Doing this yoga has shown to decrease anxiety, depression, increases concentration, helps with memory and improved class performance in kids and people of any age can do this and anywhere. There has been research done to prove that it increases the cognitive abilities in a healthy individual.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4097921/

Effect of repetitive yogic squats with specific hand position (Thoppukaranam) on selective attention and psychological states

Original Article International Journal of Science and Consciousness Access online at: 

www.ijsc.net December 2016, 2(4), 40-46

http://ijsc.net/docs/issue6/evidence_based_study_on_super_brain_yoga_and_its_application_on_alpha_e.e.g._level_in_adolescence.pdf

There are a number of resources available on google, google scholar, you tube and everywhere your curiosity can take you, you will see its arms spreading in all directions to show that sometimes what is called physical abuse can turn out empowering the individual rather empowering the brain of the individual. So, is the topic for today…

PANACEA OR PUNISHMENT..

I am a teacher by profession and by my interest in learning. I have seen how the educational system has made people change their perception of the word strict and discipline. When I did my Bachelors in Education we studied about the psychology of a child and how it should be taken care of while teaching in a school.  Through my experience, I found out that, sometimes students need to be disciplined and steps have to be taken strictly to enforce the discipline. I am not neglecting the importance of the psychological needs of the child. But, it is also necessary for us as teachers to understand if it is really the psychological need or just a rescue from the assigned responsibility. I think it is a high time for every parent and every system person to understand the difference between the punishment and panacea!!!

The teachers I remember, when I was a small kid and was in school, teachers were not afraid (fear of laws that secure children’s rights) to punish the students. Now, teachers before they enter the class are told how to behave with students. And after taking care of so many theories and data, we are not able to control the stress and anxiety level in kids which is a big IRONY. The percentage of children, teens and adults who are now suffering from mental disorders or stress is far more than it was before in times. This is a kind of emergency situation because 99% of the illness are due to stress of some kind. It affects almost the entire human life.

So, Are the teachers who asked the students to hold their ears and do sit ups, are right? (Which made the students understand their mistakes) or Are those system people right who call it a punishment and prevents students from getting corrected?

The so called punishment given years ago… Now, we are proving it as a Brain Yoga!!!

It is the time for PANACEA NOT PUNISHMENT!!

Migration and V-formation Inquiry

                                                   

Inquiry Journal

Migration and Aerodynamics behind the V-formation.

We are soon heading towards the winter time and the birds have already started their journey to the warmer places. It’s been almost ten years for me watching birds migrating in and out of the states. As the falls rolls the geese small flocks joins the larger flocks and the migration starts. Morning congregation noise ensues, there is a take-off, and a near constant honking as they begin their journey southward. (Janowiak Kirk, 2014 Quora). I always wonder about how these birds can fly long distances during their migration. Whenever I see a flock of geese honking in the morning or evening, I cannot stop myself looking at them. I observed that geese always worked in team, no goose fly alone, they are always migrating in a group. This made me ask myself a question, and made me put this inquiry in my inquiry journal for the week.

“Where are the geese flying to or migrating to? What makes it easy for them to fly long distances? What is so special about the V-Formation in the sky during their flight?”

When I decided to think on my inquiry question, I started looking for the information about the geese migration in Ohio. I found out that there are different types of geese. The geese that migrate includes the snow geese and the Canadian geese.

Canada Geese are known for their seasonal migrations. Each fall hundreds of thousands of Canada geese pass through Ohio in their famous v-formations, honking up a storm. Peak migrations happen in Ohio between October and November. Flocks of geese fly in a v-shaped group and some will travel non-stop for up to 16 hours to cover over 800 miles. Flocks will also make shorter flights depending on wind patterns and where food is available. During migration, geese can travel as fast as 70 miles per hour with a good tail wind at an altitude of up to 9,000 feet. Geese, like most of our migratory birds, will also migrate during the night.

(http://www.ohiogeesecontrol.com/canada-geese-fall-migration-in-ohio/)

Canada Geese have incredibly long migration routes. In the winter, they take up residence throughout all lower US states, from California completely across to Georgia. Many even hang out in regions of Mexico." http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1... The geese usually head towards the south for the warmer temperatures.

I was getting curious during my inquiry to find out what is so special about the v-formations for flying. I predicted, may be the shape is helping to fly them fast. I researched and found out the following explanation on one of the science websites.

“Scientists have determined that the V-shaped formation that geese use when migrating serves two important purposes:

First, it conserves their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, the geese can fly for a long time before they must stop for rest. Nature article stated that pelicans that fly alone beat their wings more frequently and have higher heart rates than those that fly in formation. It follows that birds that fly in formation glide more often and reduce energy expenditure (Weimerskirch, 2001).

The second benefit to the V formation is that it is easy to keep track of every bird in the group. Flying in formation may assist with the communication and coordination within the group. Fighter pilots often use this formation for the same reason.”

(http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/geese. html)

So, this kind of v- formation help them to fly farther and reach their destination with less energy expended. They also frequently make loud honking sounds when they fly so that they communicate effectively with each other during their long journey. 

Reflection:

Watching the geese honking and flying in v-formation in the sky made me curious to know about their flight patterns and their destination. My inquiry helped me to learn how the geese migrated to the south where the temperatures are warmer. I also found that most of the interbred Canadian giant geese do not migrate and they are quite capable to tolerate the winter temperatures and can be seen throughout the year in Ohio.

 

 

What I predicted for the v-formation and the details I researched helped me to understand and appreciate how these birds can effectively work in teams to get over the difficulty of flying the long distances. I was inspired by the team work they showed in this kind of formation which helped them not only to reach to their destination with less energy, but also the honking way of communication helped them to keep a track of their family and friends together during migration. Thus, this inquiry helped me to learn a very important aspect of team work that, it is easier to reach the destination and achieve the target if the team leader and the team, work in harmony and have a good communication between each other.

 

Picture source: http://www.carmensanmartin.com/a-lesson-from-geese-team-work/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colors of the Smokies

Inquiry Journal    
Week 2

Photo taken by me on October 11, 2015.
Last week we planned a weekend vacation to Smoky Mountains. Me and my family started from Ohio to head to the Smoky Mountains . It took 6 hours for us to reach there. It was a very beautiful long drive as we got to see beautiful nature colors on our way to the Smokies. We reached there Saturday evening and decided to start early morning next day for our scenic view. The lady of the Hotel  helped us to understand the best places to watch for the colors , we came to know that the colors are bright and brilliant at higher elevations as compared to the lower elevations.
I was very curious to find why the colors at high altitudes are bright than the lower altitudes and decided to enter in my journal this inquiry.
“ Why the leaves change color during the Fall season and Why the colors are bright at high elevations as compared to the lower elevations?”
We took the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is one of the scenic places to watch the magnificient fall colors. We saw different colors,red, orange, yellow , and brown. These colors were looking like a beautiful mural to me. The colors are a delight to the optic nerve. I researched about the cause and the different factors affecting the color change. I already knew that the leaves contain chlorophyll a green pigment, which plays a very important part in the photosynthesis.Also , I knew that there are colored pigments in the leaf called the flavonoids. Chlorophyll normally masks the yellow pigments known as Xathophylls,and the orange pigment called the caretenoids. Red and purple pigments come from anthocyanins. In the fall anthocyanins are manufactured from the sugars that are trapped in the leaf. In most plants anthocyanins are typically not present during the growing season. Like chlorophyll, the other pigments eventually break down in light or when they are frozen. The only pigments that remain are tannins, which are brown. Temperature, sunlight, and soil moisture greatly influence the quality of the fall foliage display.
As autumn approaches and sunlight decreases, the production of chlorophyll ceases and breaks down and causes other pigments in leaves to show. The type of pigments present in a leaf determines its fall colors (this is why vine maples turn red and big leaf maples turn yellow). The time of change, the speed of change and the quality of colors are influenced by many environmental factors, including temperature and precipitation. The best color changes happen when the days are temperate and the evenings are cool, but not below freezing. If daytime temperatures are high for many days in a row, the colors may be less intense.
The color varies year to year, elevation to elevation and even by the direction the mountain side is facing. Leaves begin changing their color at higher elevations, the color change works its way down the elevation. Flavonoids in the leaf absorb ultraviolet light. It follows that at high elevation plants receive greater amount of UV radiation and have more flavonoids. This may be one of the reason that the colors are bright at high elevations.
In the southern Appalachians, the change is often gradual and the fall foliage season may last for more than a month because of the greater diversity of plant species found in the forest there. Mixed forests that have both evergreen conifers such as spruce and deciduous trees such as aspen or larch are found in the far north or at high elevations. Here, the dominant color is yellow and the change is rapid, with trees often going from green through brilliant yellow to bare over a period of two weeks.
Microclimates that vary by elevation—and vary from mountain to mountain depending on plant diversity—cause a cascade of peaking fall color that travels down the mountains from late September through early November and is easily accessible from the Asheville area. The key to the start of peak color changes is when the first frost occurs. Peak colors happened just days after the first frost in any elevation. Frost occurs in the highest elevations first and then progress down to the lower elevations as the month of October progresses. So peak color times happen in the highest elevations (over 4000ft) and work down to the lower elevations. Color changes can start in late September and continue into early November depending on the elevation and the weather. The biggest factors involved in the changing colors of the foliage are elevation and weather. The warmer the weather the slower the progression but an early frost will speed up the color change show.
“The weather in September can have a large influence on the timing and quality of fall leaf color,” reports Dr. Howard S. Neufeld, professor of biology and “fall color guy” at Appalachian State University. “If morning temperatures keep dropping through September that will be good news for fall color development.” Because the Great Smoky Mountains provide a range of elevations between 875 and 6.643 feet with differing moisture conditions and habitats and diversity trees display beautiful fall colors. (Fall Color Report. Appalachian State University)

 Reflection
The visit to the Great Smoky Mountains triggered my interest in the leaf colors. We were at an altitude of 5020 feet for an overlook, and then went down to 4000 ft. for an overlook, and it was amazing to see the difference of colors. The variation of color by elevation made me research about the factors causing the change. What I knew was a very little information about the leaf chemistry. I thought only the cool weather and the frost causes the color change. But it is only a part of the whole thing. While temperature may dictate the color and its intensity, it is only one of many environmental factors that play a part in painting deciduous woodlands in glorious fall colors. (USNA, 2015). The growth cycle of the deciduous trees and shrubs is also important in deciding the leaf chemistry.
Like most plants, deciduous trees and shrubs are rather sensitive to length of the dark period each day. When nights reach a threshold value and are long enough, the cells near the juncture of the leaf and the stem divide rapidly, but they do not expand. This abscission layer is a corky layer of cells that slowly begins to block transport of materials such as carbohydrates from the leaf to the branch. It also blocks the flow of minerals from the roots into the leaves. Because the starting time of the whole process is dependent on night length, fall colors appear at about the same time each year in a given location, whether temperatures are cooler or warmer than normal.(USNA,2015)
To conclude, I can say that my visit to the Great Smoky Mountains was a great fun and was one of my life’s beautiful experiences.

Inquiry Journal

10/06/2015   

My Inquiry Journal                                                                              

During my course of IB education, I got an opportunity to inquire into the things and write inquiry journal noting the observations and reflecting on the same. My first inquiry is on the recent Super Moon Eclipse.

Super moon Lunar Eclipse

My inquiry question about this event is:

“What is so special about the Total Lunar Eclipse of a Super moon of September 27/28, 2015? What is actually a Supermoon? Why this lunar eclipse is called as the Blood Moon?

The inquiry journal gave me an opportunity to write about my curiosity in science which always takes me to inquire about the things. Since childhood, I loved science, I am often interested in finding the reasons to the questions I had in my mind. The lunar eclipse that we all experienced on September 27, 2015 was one of a rare kind of lunar eclipse of Super moon. It was a special event for me because it was very clearly seen in some parts of US and we were fortunate to have a glimpse of it. I came out of my home in the patio to look for one of the rare event that happened in only 5 times in the 1900’s says NASA. I was curious to find out how it looks and why it is special. I was curious to know what the last time it happened was. Next lunar eclipse will not happen again for another 18 years until October 8, 2033. That’s why it is so special.    Lunar eclipses are spectacular and need no special eye wear for protection. They can be observed by naked eye unlike the solar eclipses.

There was news that this lunar eclipse is an eclipse of the Super moon. I wondered why the Super moon is so called. I found that Super moon is a full or a new Moon that occurs when the moon is at the nearest distance from the earth. Actually there is not a definite definition of a Super moon. Super moon during the winter times tend to look larger than other times in a year because of the distance of the earth and moon.  

I was then curious to inquire why it is called as the Blood moon. My curiosity led me to research about the blood moon. I came to know about different reasons why the moon was called as the “Blood Moon”. Some of the reasons I researched are:

·         In recent years, the term Blood moon has been frequently used to refer to total lunar eclipses. Some sources suggest that the term stems from the Bible. Christian pastors Mark Blitz and John Hagee claim that the eclipses of the 2014-2015 lunar tetrad fulfill a Biblical prophecy of forthcoming difficult and trying times.

·         Astronomers do not use Blood Moon as a scientific term. However, it is possible that the term came to describe total lunar eclipses because of the reddish color the eclipsed Moon takes on during totality. This happens because of Rayleigh scattering, the same mechanism that causes colorful sunrises and sunsets.(retrieved from  http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2015-september-28)

·         The full moon nearly always appears coppery red during a total lunar eclipse. That’s because the dispersed light from all the Earth’s sunrises and sunsets falls on the face of the moon at mid-eclipse. Thus the term blood moon can be and probably is applied to any and all total lunar eclipses. (information retrieved from http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015)

·         When you see the moon low in the sky, the extra air between you and the moon makes the moon look reddish. Voila. Blood Moon.( http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015)

I learnt about the Rayleigh scattering during my graduate and post-graduate science studies. That made it more interesting for me to keep researching on the kind of scattering of light moon showed during this lunar eclipse.

Reflection:

This inquiry helped me to reflect upon my own knowledge about the lunar eclipses. I was aware of all the facts that make a lunar eclipses and everything about the full moon and a new moon. But this event led me to dig into the facts about the Super moon and the Blood moon. My inquiry took me into the detail facts about the special eclipses. I could learn that the eclipses of the moon has different names: Harvest moon, the Hunter moon, the blood moon. The lunar eclipse that occurred this September was eclipse of the Harvest moon. This was the information I came across while researching about the eclipse.

The next day when I went to the school and greeted my students, one of students asked; “Did you see the blood moon?” I was so happy to share the information with my students and they were so excited to share their thoughts about what they saw and how they experienced about this rare event.

Highway Matters!

Hello , My friends!
You might be surprised to see the title of my post, but its what really matters. We all go for long drives sometimes through the country sides ,sometimes visiting the most beautiful places and sometimes driving to explore ourselves!! yes , driving to explore ourselves.

Every drive is a kind of lesson of life. I almost enjoyed all my long drives,whether its during the summer,winter or fall. The most important thing is learning. We all think of a destination, then plan for it seeing the routes and direction along with the weather conditions and then get set for it. Here we know for sure that the destination we set is confirmed to be achieved if we follow our route without fail, unknowing of the circumstances which may lead to change our direction.
Same we can think for our own destinations which we set in our life. The Highway represents our plan and the drive is our Hard work. We need to keep driving just the case we keep driving on the road ,even if it rains or snows.The turns and twists of the road are just the way we have in life.But one thing for sure is if we keep following our plan we are bound to achieve what we want.
Sometimes when we go through foggy conditions, we cannot see anything infront,when we go through country sides there are no street lights, but we keep up our drive within the lines with a thought in our mind that yes, eventhough we cannot see anything but this way is our way and we are bound to reach the place we decided.Then why not the same we can think of our own life. When the road is all snowy and icy, the tires may skid , we may loose control but even then we keep on going, with the same repeated thought that no matter what it is , atlast it won't be same and conditions will change.

At the same time the drive during the Spring and the Fall which are the most beautiful seasons of the year fills our heart with thrill and excitement .Both these seasons are having a unique pecularity, Spring is after the horrible winter time and Fall is after the hot summer time.  This makes us understand that nothing is stationary." Life is all about Moving on"
So , My dear children always think. Whenever you go for a drive look at the highway through a different angle.Its the inspiration for all of us ,which says "Keep Going". "Me and Life are twins" ,
 I can have twists ,I can have turns, But I may turn beautiful ,
I can be high or I can be low:
I can be at times difficult , but stay steady and I shall turn wonderful.
You may skid ,you may loose control;
But ,hold on tight this is not all.
Stick to your way,stick to your plan;
I promise , Nothing will stop you;
If  YOU MOVE ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anjali.

Story of a shirt

Hello kids,
You are my inspiration ,you are the one who are the symbol of innocence and make us understand howto be happy in any case. One day I was just taking a walk and thought of you as i always do and all of a sudden this story came to my mind which I would like to tell you.
So sit back and read .
Once upon a time there was a shirt named Gyana ,he was just new and got fresh from the store .He was very proud of his shine and color and style. He represented the latest fashion of the season. He was so delighted when his master wore him. With all his might and power he use to say "I am the best of all". Because of his fame and style,his friends use to jealous of him and always thought of some or the other way to go at par with him,but they could never do so.
Like this days went by,but suddenly what happened! Another person named Plona took the charge of the Gyana and took him away to a different country. Gyana ,as he was very proud of his style and power started enjoying with his master in the country,but this master was not that kind of sincere in taking care of him,he just used him and used him and used him.
At last the masters attitude towards him changed as Gyana started loosing his style, power, his shine and then got disheartened ,he started loosing confidence .whenever he got out ,his only thought was avoid others.He was not even worth seeing. One day he got so disheartened that he started thinking of     Never getting back his own signature shine .
He cried and remembered his old master,and then magically a person came and asked Plona, " should I clean this shirt, it seems it's not been washed and ironed since many days.Let me make it look like brand new. Plona agreed ,as he was a lazy guy and wanted help anytime if offered. Gyana was a little scared and said to the person ," I am afraid of going into the washer and then the dryer". It's going to hurt me,twist me,heat me like anything,I don't want to go ....". " I don't think nothing is going to change me,I have lost hope in myself"
The magical person made him understand that life is like a washing machine where you hopeless mind need twist and turns and a great wash and heat to charge you up back to fight for life . He said "Don't loose hope , I am here to change you and shall give you your old shine." .Gyana agreed.
Soon ,Gyana turned into original Gyana with all confidence and shine and vigor he stepped out and understood the little fact.....
Hard twists and turns can only give us the power to fight for our self esteem!

Anjali Kulkarni.