Latest CBSE decisions amid Covid-19: Direct promotions to selective board exams

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) took the step of postponing all examinations from classes 1 to 8 as soon as the virus reached the country. In mid-March, the Board took the decision of postponing all the papers that were left in the Board Exam until further notice.

Below mentioned are some of the potential decisions taken by CBSE regarding the academic developments of school students amid the coronavirus outbreak:

One-time measures proposed by CBSE:

• ·        Students of classes 1 to 8 may be promoted to the higher grade without conducting exams. This decision will be taken after adequate consultation with NCERT.
• ·        Many schools have not yet conducted the annual examination for classes 9 and 11. These schools include all the Kendriya Vidyalayas, Naodaya Vidyalayas and some other government and provate schools. These schools are advised to promote the students of class 9 and 11 to the higher grade based on their performance in project work, periodic tests, term exams, etc. conducted so far.
• ·        When it comes to rescheduling the board examinations for classes 10 and 12, CBSE has not yet made the final decision of if and when the examinations will be conducted. The Board will be giving a minimum 10 day notice to all stakeholders before scheduling the examinations again.
• ·        As the Board was not able to conduct several board examinations for classes 10 and 12, they have decided to only conduct board examinations for main subjects that are required for promotion and admission into higher educational institutes.
• ·        For CBSE schools located outside India, it will be difficult to bring the answer booklets for class 10 and 12 students back to India for checking due to the current situation. So, the Board has decided not to hold any examinations for class 10 and 12 students studying in CBSE schools outside India.
• ·        Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the board has not been able to continue with the evaluation process of answer sheets as per schedule. Though the board has not reached a decision yet regarding the issue, they will notify all concerned parties 3 to 4 days before the evaluation process will be set to commence again.
• ·        To avoid being misled by rumours, all stakeholders are hereby informed to only trust the official announcements by the Board that are made on the Board’s website.
• ·        All schools are requested to ensure that this information is disseminated to all concerned students by their respective schools.

Amid the covid-19 pandemic, the Board has also requested all their stakeholders and concerned parties to be patient for further instructions. Though the situation might not seem in the favour of students currently studying in CBSE schools, the Board is trying to ensure that their academic future is secure.

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Odisha Govt Initiates Online Competition For Children Amid Lockdown - Mo Pratibha

UNICEF, Odisha government launch online competition to keep home-confined students busy.

In a novel initiative to keep young minds fresh and engage kids staying at home during the 21-day lockdown, the State government in collaboration with UNICEF has come up with an online competition.

Titled ‘Mo Pratibha’ or My Talent, children from ages 5 till 18 can take part in this competition in categories of painting, drawing, poster, slogan, short story and poetry. The entries should be on following two themes-

• Being at home during the lockdown
• My responsibility as a young citizen during COVID-19

The original entries will be judged accordingly in three age groups of (5-10, 11-15 and 16-18). The winners will be announced every Thursday and will get a certificate from Government of Odisha-UNICEF.

The entries with details, such as name, age, school and complete postal address, of the kid can be sent by WhatsApp to 7657039891 or by email to info@sportsodisha.gov.in

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The winners of the competition will be announced every Thursday and they will be presented with a certificate by the government of Odisha and UNICEF.

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Stuttering Problem and Emotional Intelligence

The ancient split between emotion and intelligence is over. "They are together again, this time under the rubric of emotional intelligence (EI)". The work of many outstanding neural scientists has shown that the mind consists of both thoughts and emotions. Both work together in concert, influencing reasoning and decision making. In order to succeed in stuttering intervention, an understanding of the critical link between thinking and feeling is necessary. Self-defeating and self-handicapping thoughts, abnormal physiological reactions, fear and anxiety, and low self-esteem may often negatively affect decision making and life choices in people who stutter (PWS). Therefore, it is only through addressing the power of the mind and feelings that lasting change in general well-being, including successful communication, can be achieved.

Although many leading authorities in the field of stuttering intervention have long presented their philosophy on psychotherapy and counseling approaches with clients who stutter, and have proposed desirable attributes for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working with PWS, many clinicians do not address the emotional aspects of stuttering, and lack the emotional competencies necessary to effectively treat PWS.

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In order to further address the affective and cognitive aspects of clients who stutter, this writer modified Bar-On's (2000) model with ten EI abilities, which was designed to help people to deal effectively with pressures and demands of everyday life.

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Overcoming Fear and Tension in Stuttering - For School Children

Most children talk without much difficulty most of the time. It’s true that children hesitate and stumble over words at times, especially when under stress or fatigue, but they show little concern over such mistakes. What, then, makes your speech different and what can you do to help yourself? Invariably, the child who stutters overreacts to his mistakes. He fears they will occur, becomes tense and feels helpless. During the time that tension is so high, the flow of speech stops or will not start. As you continue to have these tense moments that become different from what normal speakers experience, fear increases to higher and higher levels. You come to dread and perhaps avoid speaking. Many stutterers learn that their greatest enemies are fear and tension. If the battle with stuttering is to be won, fear and tension must be gradually eliminated. Let’s look at some battle plans that have helped quite a few stutterers conquer the majority of their fears, eliminate excessive tensions, and find that speech in most situations can once again come easily.

Conquering Tension. You must learn to substitute easy, slower, more relaxed movements for rushed, tight, forced movements. Typical tension sites are your chest and breath, your throat and vocal cords, jaw, lips and tongue. The practice suggested here can make for success in reducing the fear that follows from blocked movements, so think of these as stages of therapy that you can “put together” for greater effect.

Choose some words that begin with sounds that you think of as being hard—those on which you often stutter. Speech normally begins with a relaxed, unconscious flow of breath. Practice sighing and letting voice come easily. You don’t make voice, it just happens if you will let it. The same is true of sounds you make with tongue and lips. Feel yourself gently close the lips for the “P” or move the tongue to form such sounds as “T” and “K,” then go ahead and say the rest of the word. Notice how little effort speaking takes. Fear has resulted in too much forcing to get words out. You must learn what ‘not forcing’ is, and practice until easy movements become habitual. First, practice at a very soft, almost silent level, then gradually at a normal voice level. Practice the movement gently to make the difficult word begin easier, then work on other words that begin with that same movement.

Assuming that you engage faithfully in daily practice, try a different sound each week. Fear of words lessens as you repeatedly prove to yourself you have a new, easy way of producing them that is becoming automatic. As you practice, be sure not to let the tongue, lips, vocal cords, or breath become tight or touch too hard. No word or speech movement requires conscious effort. Feel the relaxed easy movements into and out of words. Stop and begin the easy movements again for the next word series. Now, you are talking in phrases that are short and that you have confidence you can initiate, if you remember to use the easy beginning you have practiced. Remember, speech sounds better in short phrases with frequent pauses.

By conquering fear-arousal through learning to plan your approach, and then using the easy movements which keep tension from making you feel helpless, you are beginning to control stuttering rather than letting it rule you. Certain speaking situations become easier. At this point you must begin to integrate your success. That is, you are not just having good and bad days, you are creating some successes out of potential failure. That’s what building confidence is all about—and stutterers say time after time, “I talk better when I’m more confident.” When you have created a better performance, you can realistically feel more confidence. The model is then begun for turning ‘bad cycles’ into good ones. You are then able to turn your attention to fluency rather than frequent expectation of stuttering. One of our adult stutterers who successfully went through the above said, “Now I think more about my fluent successes, and does that ever help!”

You appreciate most in life those things you do for yourself. Getting over stuttering takes tremendous self-discipline and desire. We have found that just practicing easy movements without trying to reduce fear is not too successful, since high fear keeps you from remembering the new easier speech movements at the time when you most need to use them. Also, just trying to reduce fear without giving you something to do that is new — and that works — may simply allow fear to creep back into the situation very quickly. 

School Children who stutter should be encouraged to lead positive lives without fear and anxiety. They need psychological care and moral support.

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Children and coronavirus: what we know and don't know

As the number of Covid-19 cases rises worldwide, parents trying to protect their children from the disease can take solace in one thing: the disease has generally been milder in children.

“Its pretty clear from all of the data who is ending up in hospital and who is dying. Severe disease is very rare in children, Its not yet completely clear whether this is because children are not being infected as regularly or do they just not get sick. Some of these children have a large amount of virus but they weren’t very sick,” said Williams.

Last week, there was a paper released from the Chinese Centers of Disease Control looking at people getting sick and who they had come into contact with, which suggested the rates of infection in children are just as common as in adults. The new research also suggested that perhaps the virus could be shed in fecal matter from children.

“People have looked at this a lot for SARS-CoV2 in adults and children and have found viral RNA in the stool, its not currently clear what this means – the secretions from our nose, respiratory viruses go into our esophagus to be swallowed, happens constantly with respiratory viruses,” said Williams, noting that there is evidence of other respiratory viruses in the stools of infected individuals.

“The question is, can it be transmitted to others via fecal material? This is likely most relevant with kids with diapers. All of us can have low level experience exposure of fecal material by poor hand washing but the only time you’re really exposed to a lot of fecal material is when we are changing kids diapers,” said Williams

However just because genetic traces from viruses are found in fecal matter does not mean that contact with fecal matter can make people sick. The viruses could be dead meaning that they can no longer infect people, but can still be picked up.

“This is really in contrast to a virus like norovirus (cruise ship virus) where people shed billions of virus particles in their fecal material and its easily transmitted person to person,” said Williams.

To prove that virus from fecal material could actually infect others, scientists would need to culture it from fecal samples in a special biosafety containment area, but these experiments have not yet been done. So overall, should parents be reassured by this study?

“Yes, I think so. It’s a small study, but every large or small piece of data we are getting suggests kids don’t get severe disease from this virus, although they get infected at similar rates and they might be spreaders of the virus,” said Williams.

However, there are many unknowns about coronavirus, and research is ongoing. Here is what we know now.

Can children catch coronavirus?

Yes. They can be infected with and appear to be able to transmit coronavirus, even if they do not have symptoms. That is why it is important for children to practice social distancing and hand-washing, even if they do not appear ill.

How does coronavirus affect children?

It is generally believed to cause milder symptoms in children, but the specific impacts by age are becoming clearer as the outbreak goes on.

Much of what we know today is based on reports out of China, where the outbreak began. There 2.4% of all identified cases were in children under 19 years old. An even smaller number within this group of children had severe symptoms, 2.5%, or what the World Health Organization (WHO) described as “a very small proportion”. But more research is being done and a clearer picture is still emerging.

Why does coronavirus affect children differently?

That remains unknown. Dr Jay C Butler, deputy director of infectious disease at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “The phenomenon is very significant,” on a live-streamed show hosted by the Journal of the American Medical Association, but that the mechanisms are “really unknown”.

People aged 60 and older or with existing health conditions remain the most vulnerable to the coronavirus. That includes people with conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory conditions, according to the WHO.


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Essential Oils For Stress and Memory in Students

So much of our health relies on the acuity of our mental faculties. This is especially so for students who are trying to memorise and re-call information in exams, essays and in the classroom. With all this pressure to perform it can leave a student stressed with poor memory and fatigue. Implementing essential oils can be a safe and effective way to help improve cognitive abilities and reduce stress levels.

How does aromatherapy work?

Researchers aren’t entirely sure how aromatherapy works but experts believe that the smell receptors in your nose communicate with parts of your brain such as the amygdala and hippocampus that store our memories and emotions. These areas of the brain become stimulated and influence our mental and physical wellbeing. It is also believed that molecules from essential oils may interact with hormones or enzymes in our blood. An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds that have been extracted from the roots, seeds, leaves and blossoms of plants.

What oils are effective?

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) has been shown to reduce pre-exam stress. A study found that a group of nursing students who used rosemary and lavender essential oils before a test reported lower levels of anxiety and pulse rates. Another study conducted at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University found that participants felt active and “fresher” after inhaling rosemary essential oil. It has been found that it works by increasing autonomic nervous system activity, reducing alpha 1 and 2 brainwaves while raising beta brainwaves.

Cineol (a component that makes up 45% of rosemary essential oil) was also found to improve memory recall of future events and tasks and mental arithmetic after inhalation. Other essential oils that contain cineol include eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and sage (Salvia officinalis).

Lavender
Numerous studies have noted the relaxing effects of lavender
(Lavendula angustifolia) essential oil. One such study showed that inhalation of the oil decreased blood pressure, heart rate and skin temperature in the participants. This indicated a decrease in autonomic arousal and they categorized themselves as being more active, fresher and relaxed than the subjects who inhaled a base oil. Lavender has also shown to increase our cognitive abilities. A study conducted by the University of Miami found that 3 minutes of inhalation of lavender oil made the subjects feel less stressed but they also scored higher on mathematical tests, performing faster with more accuracy.

Vetiver (vetiveria zizanioides) a perennial grass, has been shown to maintain performance in visual discrimination tasks by showing faster reaction times. The participants breathed in low doses of the volatile compounds and found that they increased their performance while maintaining high sympathetic nerve system activity as measured by electrocardiography.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita), basil (Ocimum basilicum) and helichrysum(Helichrysum italicum) were combined in a blend and studied over a three week period in a randomised, controlled double-blind study.  It was found that those who inhaled the blend experienced reduced mental exhaustion and stress.

Other oil blends found to  support include;

Rosemary, peppermint, eucalyptus and sage – improve memory and concentration
Ylang-ylang, lavender, citrus, sandalwood and roman chamomile – stress less and sleep more blend
Peppermint, holy basil, helichrysum, rosemary, vetiver and frankincense – decrease burnout and mental fatigue

How do you use them?

Essential oils can be used in a multitude of different ways. The easiest and quickest method to use, especially just before an exam is to sniff the oils. This can be done by putting a few drops on a handkerchief or tissue and inhaling or by sniffing from a small bottle. Alternatively they can be placed directly on the temples or under the nose. You can also rub a few drops of the essential oil on your hands and cup over your nose to inhale the vapours.

When studying or before bed add the oils to a diffuser. Ultrasonic diffusers are becoming a popular choice as they don’t apply heat or use water so as to retain the therapeutic properties of the oils. Other methods involve putting a few drops with water in the dish of an oil burner and using a heat source underneath to vaporize the oil. For people who don’t own a diffuser or oil burner try 8 drops on a tissue or cotton ball and place in the air vent in the house or car.

A wonderful way to relax the body at night to promote a good night’s sleep is to add essential oils to a warm bath. Mix together ½ cup of epsom salts, ¼ cup of sea salts, ¼ cup of baking soda with 10-15 drops of any of the essential oils mentioned above. Alternatively a few drops can also be placed on the pillowslip before bed.

When using the oils topically, dilute the oils by half in a carrier oil such as sweet almond oil. This can be applied on the temples, forehead, back of the neck and ears. Apply between 3 to 6 times a day.

For the truly indulgent, try an aromatherapy massage. The oils can be applied all over the body to relax the mind and muscles. The massage component will increase the effectiveness of the essential oils.
Some essential oils can be used internally. It is recommended to only use those that are part of a formula approved for internal use. Lavender oil can be found in tablet form in formulas used for stress, anxiety and insomnia.

When selecting essential oils it is important to use pure, un-adulterated therapeutic grade oils. It is advised that pregnant women, people with a history of allergies and asthma should only use oils under the guidance of a trained health professional.

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Download CBSE Class 10 Admit Card 2020

The Board will release the CBSE admit card 2020 for class 10th in the first week of February. It will be released online for private students, while the regular students will have to collect them from their respective schools. It is important to carry the CBSE 10th admit card 2020 on the days of the exam as no student will be allowed to write the exam without it. The admit card contains the exam time table, exam centre, student name, date of birth, CBSE roll number and exam day instructions. Students must keep the admit card carefully till the announcement of the results.

Admit Card CBSE 2020 Exam Download Procedure :

• Visit the official website of CBSE, i.e., cbse.nic.in
• Click on the link “Admit Card for Private Candidates – Examinations 2020” or you can directly visit the page by clicking here “Admit Card For Private Candidates“
• There you will find three options, click on any of the given options from Application No. or Previous Roll No. and Year or Candidate’s Name.
• Then fill the details that are asked and click on proceed.
• You will get your e-admit card.
• Check whether all the details in the admit card are mentioned correctly.
• After checking all the details, take the print out of the admit card and keep it safe with you for future use.

All the candidates are notified that they have to carry their CBSE Class 10th Admit Cards with them, without these Admit cards they will not be allowed to enter the examination premises. Along with the admit cards, candidates need to bring a valid photo identity proof with them.

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