My article published in HT Next is on page 2

1. THURSDAY
11.06.2020
MUMBAI
MUMBAI n Vol. XVI No. 138 n Price ₹2.50 n 2 Pages. www.hindustantimes.com/ht-school n htpacemumbai@hindustantimes.com
llF I G H T I N G B I A S l
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY (MISSOURI): Merriam-
Webster is revising its definition
of racism after a Missouri
woman’s emails claimed it fell
short of including the systemic
oppression of certain groups of
people.
KennedyMitchum,wholivesin
the St. Louis suburb Florissant,
said people would argue with her
aboutthedefinitionofracismand
she realised the problem was in
the Merriam-Webster’s diction-
ary, KMOV-TV reported.
“It’snotjustdislikingsomeone
because of their race,” Mitchum
wrote in a Facebook post.
“This current fight we are in is
evidenceofthat,livesareatstake
because of the systems of oppres-
sion that go hand-in-hand with
racism.”
The revision comesagainst the
backdrop of protests around the
country against police brutality
afterthedeathofGeorgeFloyd,an
African-Americanwhodiedafter
a Minneapolis police officer
pinned his neck to the ground.
The Merriam-Webster online
dictionary first defines racism as
“a belief that race is the primary
determinant of human traits and
capacitiesandthatracialdifferen-
cesproduceaninherentsuperior-
ity of a particular race.”
Mitchum, who recently gradu-
ated with a degree in law, politics
and society, said that definition
was too simple.
“So, a couple weeks ago, I said
thisisthelastargumentI’mgoing
to have about this. I know what
racismis,I’veexperiencedittime
andtimeandtimeagaininalotof
different ways, so enough is
enough.So,Iemailedthemabout
how I felt about it. Saying this
needs to change,” she said.
Peter Sokolowski, editor at
largeatMerriam-Webster,saidin
anemailedstatementtoTheAsso-
ciated Press that the dictionary’s
second definition is “divided to
express, first, explicit institu-
tionalbiasagainstpeoplebecause
of their race, and, second, a
broaderimplicitbiasthatcanalso
result in an asymmetrical power
structure.”
“This second definition covers
thesensethat Mitchumwasseek-
ing,andwewillmakeitswording
even more clear in our next
release,” he said.
“This is the kind of continuous
revisionthatispartoftheworkof
keepingthedictionaryuptodate,
based on rigorous criteria and
research we employ in order to
describethelanguageasitisactu-
ally used.”
US woman prompts
Merriam-Webster
to redefine racism
n Pall-bearers leave the Fountain of Praise Church holding the casket after George
Floyd’s funeral in Houston, US, on Tuesday AP
IN THE NEWS
LONDON: Population-wide face mask use
couldpushCovid-19transmissiondown
tocontrollablelevelsfornationalepidem-
icsandcouldpreventfurtherwavesofthe
pandemic disease when combined with
lockdowns,accordingtoaUKstudypub-
lished on Wednesday.The research, led
by scientists at the Britain’s Cambridge
and Greenwich Universities, suggests
lockdownsalonewillnotstoptheresur-
gence of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavi-
rus,butthatevenhome-mademaskscan
dramaticallyreducetransmissionrates
if enoughpeople wearthem inpublic.
“Ouranalysessupporttheimmediate
anduniversaladoptionoffacemasksby
the public,” said Richard Stutt, who
co-led the study at Cambridge.
The World Health Organization
updateditsguidanceonFridaytorecom-
mend that governments ask everyone to
wear fabric face masks in public areas
wherethereisarisktoreducethespread
ofthe disease. REUTERS
Widespread mask-wearing could prevent
pandemic second waves, claims a study
DEAR READER,
Hindustan Times is coming to you in this new avatar at
a time when our normal lives and activities have been
disrupted by the challenge posed by the Coronavirus disease
(Covid-19).
You have been reading the HT School Edition in your
classrooms.Now, with schools closed and a lockdown in place,
we have created this specially curated e-paper to cater to
your varied interests and your appetite for knowledge.
A special feature of this new e-paper will be the ’You’ section,
dedicated to your experiences during the lockdown, and how
you’re spending these unusual days. Apart from the contribu-
tions from students, insights from teachers and principals
will also be featured in these columns.
As you engage with this special edition, we request you to
keep sharing your views on it. Let us know what you like and
what you don’t, and what else you would like to read. Your
feedback will help us fine-tune this offering so that it better
reflects exactly what you want.
We at HT believe that the readers of today are the leaders
of tomorrow. So let us begin this journey together.
NEWYORK:UsingdatafromNasa’sCassini
spacecraft, scientists have discovered
that Saturn’s moon Titan is drifting a
hundred times faster than previously
understood — about 11 centimetres per
year.Thefindings,publishedinthejour-
nalNatureAstronomy,mayhelpaddress
an age-old question.
While scientists know that Saturn
formed 4.6 billion years ago in the early
days of the solar system, there’s more
uncertainty about when the planet’s
rings and its system of more than 80
moonsformed.Titaniscurrently1.2mil-
lionkms from Saturn.
“This result brings an important new
pieceofthepuzzleforthehighlydebated
question of the age of the Saturn system
and how its moons formed,” said lead
author of the work Valery Lainey who
conducted the research as a scientist at
Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
SouthernCalifornia.Asthemoonorbits,
its gravity pulls on the planet, causing a
temporarybulgeintheplanetasitpasses.
Our own Moon drifts 3.8 centimeters
from Earth eachyear. IANS
Saturn’s moon Titan drifting away 100
times faster than previously thought
LONDON:Beijingdismissedas“ridiculous”
aHarvardMedicalSchoolstudyofhospi-
tal traffic and search engine data that
suggested the new coronavirus may
already have been spreading in China
lastAugustandscientistssaiditoffered
noconvincingevidenceofwhentheout-
breakbegan.Theresearch,whichhasnot
been peer-reviewed by other scientists,
usedsatelliteimageryofhospitalparking
lots in Wuhan — where the disease was
firstidentifiedinlate2019 — anddatafor
symptom-related queries on search
China dismisses Harvard study suggesting
Covid-19 had spread in Wuhan in August
engines for things such as “cough” and
“diarrhoea”.
Thestudy’sauthorssaidincreasedhos-
pital traffic and symptom search data in
Wuhanprecededthedocumentedstartof
the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in December
2019. “While we cannot confirm if the
increasedvolumewasdirectlyrelatedto
the new virus, our evidence supports
other recent work showing that emer-
gence happened before identification at
theHuananSeafoodmarket(inWuhan),”
theysaid. REUTERS
MOSCOW:Anoilspillthatsparkedastateof
emergencyhascontaminatedafreshwa-
terlakeintheRussianArctic,anofficial
saidTuesday,afterauthoritiesclaimedto
havecontained thepollution.
The announcement came after a
spokeswomanforthetaskforceincharge
of the accident clean-up said last week
that the spill hadbeencontained.
“The fuel has got into Pyasino as well.
Thisisabeautifullakeabout70kmlong.
Naturally,ithasbothfishandagoodbio-
sphere,”saidKrasnoyarskregiongover-
norAlexanderUss,accordingtoInterfax
newsagency.
He added that it was important to pre-
vent spilled fuel from reaching the Pya-
sinaRiver,whichflowsintotheKaraSea.
Russia President Vladimir Putin
declared a state of emergency last week
after21,000tonnesofdieselleakedfroma
fuel reservoir that collapsed on May 29
outsideNorilsk. AFP
Siberian oil spill
contaminates Arctic
lake, says official
n Titan is 1.2 mn kms from Saturn ISTOCK
n A view of the Lake Pyasino in the Russian
Arctic contaminated by an oil spill AFP
n Even home-made masks can help reduce
transmission dramatically REUTERS
WISEWORDS »
Satisfactionliesintheeffort,notintheattainment,
fulleffortisfullvictory.
MAHATMAGANDHI
SAYING HATS OFF
TO DISTANCINGWhenagalleryinParis,France,prepared
toreopenlastweekinthewakeofthe
lockdown,ithituponacreativewaytoenforce
socialdistancing—giantpapermachehats
inspiredbytheheadgearoftheSong
dynasty(960-1279AD)ofChina. REUTERS

2. 02 HINDUSTAN TIMES, MUMBAI
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020
BEYONDBOOKS
MUMBAI:Advocate Rubina Akhtar
HasanRizvi,directorofRizviEdu-
cation Society, is performing her
socialdutiesasthefounderofHelp
YourselfFoundation. Sheformed
ahelpchainwithteachersandstu-
dents. She started relief work for
thoseaffectedwithCovid-19.Many
fromdifferentwardsacrossMum-
bai are receiving cooked meals,
ration, face masks and sanitisers
through her foundation. She has
provided ration kits to a labour
campinVersovaandtakencareof
sanitisation of hutments, chawls
and police stations. Maharashtra
School director provides
food, ration to needy
n Rubina Akhtar Hasan Rizvi,
director, Rizvi Education Society.
extent. The selection of human
resources will be purely on the
application of skills and compe-
tenciesratherthanmereperform-
anceinacademicandprofessional
qualification.
The changing situation will
make educational institutions
adoptnewinterface.Thecurrent
curriculum—theteaching,learn-
ing and assessment methodolo-
gieswillbeoverhauled.Thetradi-
tional methodologies, whether
goodorbadwilldisappearsoon.If
they don’t change or change at
snails speed the curriculum will
leadto irrelevance.
On one side, the gap between
digital literacy and digital effi-
ciency will grow further in our
country.Manyeducationalinsti-
tutions are not equipped for the
newnormal.Manyparentsdon’t
have the appropriate devices.
Whetheritisgoodorbad,thereis
nopossibilityoflookingback,one
must beprepared for change.
Ontheotherside,therewillbea
ratraceinadoptingnewwaysand
installingnewapplications.Edu-
cationalconsultants,onlinesup-
port,smarttechnologies,etc.will
mushroominthemarket.School
receptions will be flooded with
salesmen and marketing execu-
tives instead of parents seeking
admissions.
Educational institutions can
fallpreytothefloodingofoffersif
notguided.Therewillbedifficul-
tiesinselectingwhatisright,and
what is appropriate and afforda-
ble.Hencetheleadershipmustbe
SANGITABAGADE,
teacher, DJDoshiGurukul English Medium
HighSchool,Ghatkopar
Everyschoolhasadaptedtoonline
learning. All the teachers are
asked to conduct online classes.
But,areourstudentsandteachers
ready for this? Are they equipped
enoughtoconducttheclasses?Do
they have enough online resour-
ces?Areourstudentsreadyforthis
change? Answers to these ques-
tionsaremostlynegative.Change
hastobealwayswelcomed,butthis
suddenchangecanhithardonour
ideasandmethodsoflearning.Nei-
ther students nor teachers were
preparedforthis.Manyofthestu-
dents use phones for playing
games, and they are not used to
accessing study material on
phones.
Weneedtoadapttothesituation
andtakeitasachallenge,andthis
willchangethecourseofactionof
learning.Thetechnologyhaswid-
enedthehorizons.Therearemany
ways to teach and learn with or
without a teacher. Nature being
ourbiggestteacher,hastaughtus
patience,loveandcare.
We are all waiting for the situa-
tiontobeundercontrolandevery-
thinggoingbacktonormal.Many
studentshaveaskedifthesyllabus
taughtnowwillberepeatedagain
in the classroom when things go
back to normal. I just smile as I
don’thaveananswer.Ifithastobe
repeated, then shouldn’t we start
now, or let’s take it to the level
where students will not ask such
questions.Thestudentswillgrasp
morewhenwewillteachinaregu-
lar manner. There are so many
webinars enriching us in ways to
conduct online classes. Be crea-
tive,prepareyourownmaterialfor
classes,podcasts,power-pointpre-
sentationsandmanyotherthings.
Will these things help my stu-
dents?Sure,itwill,butwhatabout
the teacher-student
bond of caring
l o v e a n d
understand-
ing.Somany
studentsare
motivated
to study
because of
their teach-
ers. The bond
shared between
students and teach-
ers will be missed totally. The
teachingismechanicalandrobot-
like.Thestudentsmaygetsharper
and knowledgeable, but they are
starvedofsocialbonding.Theywill
missoutonthediversityandclass-
roominteraction.
‘We need to adapt to the situation’
DRNICHOLASCORREA,
principal &executive director,
NewHorizon Public School,Airoli
Working from home, online
teaching,virtualclasses,E-learn-
ing, webinars, etc. have become
newmediumsoflearningduring
thelockdown.Thesenewchanges
were not easy for educators, as
manyhadtheirdisinclinationand
inhibition.
Untilrecentlyvirtualteaching
was generally used by academic
instituteswhichprovidedonline
courses and a few private tutori-
als. However, in the last few
months, it is being used enor-
mously by regular schools and
collegesacross the globe.
Initially,theeducatorswerenot
preparedforthechangedreality.
However,thesituationcompelled
themtocopeupwiththenewnor-
mal.Itissaidthatnecessityisthe
mother of all inventions. Educa-
tional institutions felt the imme-
diate need for keeping the stu-
dents engaged during the lock-
down. The leadership kept the
institutionsactiveschoolingfrom
home.Henceeducatorswillingly
orunwillinglywereintroducedto
online teaching.
The up-gradation in applica-
tionsandthefrequentchangesin
theirfeatureskeeptheeducators
on the tenterhooks. Other chal-
lenges faced by the schools are
cyberindiscipline,beingwatched
livebyparents,theapprehension
of committing mistakes, poor
internetconnectionandunavaila-
bilityofappropriate devices etc.
Therewillbeadramaticchange
in schools’ post-lockdown, the
infrastructure,studentsandstaff
maynotchangemuch.However,
radical changes are expected in
the system of functioning which
willbecome the newnormal.
Schoolswillnowbetechnology-
driven and get automated. The
manpower will reduce to a great
tech-savvy,goodadministrators,
good academicians and have a
good networkinthe market.
However, those institutions
which take the risk in retaining
thepertinenttraditionalmethod-
ologies along with adapting to
new normal will reap in the long
run.Therelevanceoftheinstitu-
tionswilldependonthespeedand
manner in which they adapt to
new normal, otherwise they will
struggleto remainfit.
Theaxeofanychangeineduca-
tionalinstitutionsgenerallyfirst
fallsoneducators.Theeducators
willbeinanabsolutelynewenvi-
ronmentpostlockdown.Theywill
be forced to update and upgrade
ontechnology,curriculum,skills
and competencies. They must
keeptheirmindopentolearning,
relearningandunlearningother-
wise the sword of change will
alwayshangabove theirhead.
Educatorsmustbelearnersfor
alifetimeandreadytoadapttothe
frequent changes enforced on
thembysituationslikepandemic
or change of times. They must
recognizethefactthattheworldis
changingrapidly.Artificialintel-
ligence, robotics and the fourth
industrialrevolutionaregoingto
create unprecedented changes
and uncertainty in every field,
especially the education sector.
Today many of the educators
are digital immigrants and stu-
dentsaredigitalnatives.Theris-
ing gap will be incomparable.
Therefore, educators must con-
tinuouslykeepupdatingontheir
skills,competenciesandworkon
theirpersonalitydevelopment.
One must accept the fact that
adapting to changes whether
technological,socialoracademic
isasgoodasopeninganumbrella
whenitrains.Theonlythingone
mustcarryanumbrella.Adapting
to change is not a difficult task.
What is difficult is making the
decisionto change the mindset.
‘Schools will now be technology-driven’
Solutions
-
CNSEI
MRUST
CHHRCU
CEKOYJ
Place numbers into
the puzzle cells so
that each row and
column contains each
of the digits from 1 to
5. No number is to be
repeated in any row or
column. Each bold-out
lined cells contain a hint
of a number and one of
the mathematical sym-
bols + x - /. The number
is the result of the
operation represent-
ed by the symbol to the
digits contained.
SUDOKU
SCRAMBLE
MATHDOKU
SUDOKUSOLUTIONS
MATHDOKUSOLUTION
SCRAMBLESolutionWords:Since,
strum,church,jockey
Answer:Justicedoesnotcome
fromtheoutside.Itcomesfrom
innerpeace.--BarbaraHall
* *
*
* *
* *
Amrita Bharati Features
Solve the four
anagrams and
move one
letter to each
square to form
four ordinary
words
Now arrange the letters marked with an asterisk (*) to form the answer to the
riddle or to fill in the missing words as indicated.
MEMORY BOOSTER
____ does not come from the outside.
It comes from inner peace. - Barbara
Hall (7)
Observe the picture carefully for a minute. Then cover it and answer the questions given below.
Answer:1.Two2.Two3.Red4.Ruler5.Teddybearandgift
1.How many books
are there in the
school bag?
2. How many faces
are there in the
photograph?
3. What is the
colour of the
mother’s sari?
4. What type of
measuring
instrument is lying
on the floor?
5. Which objects
have bows on
them?
MIND GAMES
ONE FOR THE ALBUM
n Visitors pose for a photo with cutouts of animals at the National Zoo
which reopened after the lockdown on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia REUTERS
chiefministerUddhavThackeray
hasalsopraisedherwork.Shehas
encouragedonlinewebinars,talk
shows, presentations, research
anddevelopmentwork.
It’s a gripping
story of two
friends trying to
make it to the
Indian cricket
team. Jibon and
Ananto are best
friends and
promising
cricketers —
Jibon a stylish
batsman and Ananto a gifted fast
bowler. But one day they have an
accident and Jibon loses half his right
arm. Considered the more talented of
the two, his cricket career is over. Not
one to give up, he makes it his mission
to see that his friend plays for India.
Moti Nandy is a bestselling sports
writer in Bengali with many film
adaptations of his books and a few
English translations out in the market.
RIGHT ARM OVER
Author: Moti Nandy
llR E A D I N G C O R N E R l
When exams drive
you crazy and
books and studies
are all everyone
seems to talk
about, it is time
to pick up this
book. What
happens when a
gorilla gate-
crashes the examination hall and asks
difficult Gorilla Pythagoras ques-
tions? Who is a zgnogir and did he
pass the most difficult test ever when
he was sent to Mumbai? Did Lakshmi
Perumal really make the philosopher’s
stone while doing Chemistry practi-
cals? Exams have never seemed as
full of mischief, fun and fantasy as in
these stories by India’s best writers of
fiction for children.
ON YOUR MARKS: The
BookofCrazyExamStories
Author: Various
It is a collection of stories containing unusual magical
stories by the best-known names in world literature.
A shop that appears as if by magic, filled with strange
and delectable toys and tricks; a princess who is
whisked away by a fairy; a girl who falls down a
rabbit hole and into an amazing wonderland… read these fantastic
and wildly entertaining stories and more in this enchanting collection. Find
all manner of absurd adventures in Edward Lear’s story where four friends
go sailing in a tea-pot with a cat to row it. Or follow Alice as she meets the
vanishing Cheshire cat, the bad-tempered queen of hearts.
Listing compiled by Talking Cub, the children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger
FUN READING TO INSPIRE
THE MAGIC SHOP: Classic Stories of
Magicians, Wizards and Spellmakers
Edited by May Fowler Mistry
The books mentioned in this section deal with diverse themes such as
friendship, cricket, magicians, wizards and hilarious examinations stories.
STAYINGPOSITIVEAMIDTHECRISIS
Amid the pandemic, school heads, teachers get used to the new normal of online classes and encourage students to do so too
CAROLINEVAZ,
principal,GreenlawnsHighSchool,Worli
The students have been suddenly
been exposed to online teaching
andlearningduetothepandemic.
Eachchildisuniqueandtheylearn
differentlyattheirownpace;some
are visual learners, some learn
effectively through listening and
following, some through experi-
ments andso on.
It is said that ‘Every dark cloud
has a silver lining’, which in this
scenario can be attributed to the
online teaching platforms which
havecometoourrescue.Thereare
various mediums of instructions
availableontheseplatformswhich
allowteachersandpupilstoshare
notes and play instructional vid-
eos.Thesealsoallowtheteacherto
testthepupilseffectively.Thesuc-
cessoftheseteachingplatformsis
beyond praise as one may never
havegaugedtheextenttowhichit
can be used in a very systematic,
streamlined manner which eases
the process of learning for every
child in the comfort of their
homes.
The various applica-
tions and their efficient
usage, for today’s genera-
tion of pupils, is a child’s
play, as they are very well
versed with technol-
ogy. Our forte is
teachingandthese
platforms have
averted a major
setback for the
pupils through their role in the
teaching-learningprocess.Every
morningthereisexcitementinthe
airandtheatmosphereischarged.
Thestudentslookforwardtolearn-
ing something new, and the
teacherfeelsequallyempoweredto
make adifference.
Teachers are learning the
ropes of technology and the
ways to effectively impart
their module. They are
attendingwebinarstocrease
out their apprehensions and
inhibitions about using
these mediums. I
feel that online
teaching has
proven to be a
blessinginthese
tryingtimes.
‘Online teaching has proven to be
a blessing in these trying times’