When Blues Spark Red

A 17 year-old boy from Haryana committed suicide a couple of days back. What makes this terrifying is that he is the latest victim of the ‘blue whale challenge’, an online suicide game started in Russia 4 years ago. It is indeed worrying that what there have already been more than a handful cases that have emerged from India alone since it was first reported in July.

What makes it dangerous is that, it seems to have caught on to the insecurities and trappings of a young mind to send it on to a self-destructive path, worldwide. In Russia, a teenage pleaded guilty to driving at least 16 teenage girls to suicide by psychologically manipulating them. He showed no remorse whatsoever and believed that his victims were a ‘biological waste’ and he was helping in cleansing society!

The challenge seeks young and vulnerable minds through social media and targets them over a period of over 1-2 months. It demands players complete 50 tasks in 50 days. It starts with easy tasks such as waking up at odd hours, watching horror movies, drawing a whale on a paper and then carving it with a blade on the skin, cutting one’s lips. Every task is to be filmed for proof. It makes it difficult for the child to leave the game halfway by threatening to harm the relatives or using any other information obtained about the victim. The final task is to take their own lives. The term Blue whale comes from beached whales which is linked to suicide. Reportedly the game has taken over 100 lives worldwide.

Impressionable minds especially between 13-17 years are most susceptible. The game targets lonely children and children with social anxiety disorders, sociophobia or any depressive tendencies. They  often fail to see difference between reality and illusion and take these risks. While it is impossible to keep children away from internet and mobiles these days, it is very possible to know what they are up to and hence there are a number of steps that can be taken -

1.       Monitor children’s activity carefully on social media platforms. The kind of information children get online is vast. Parents should take baby steps while letting children use online media. This should be developmentally appropriate. They must keep their own devices password protected so kids don’t access any inappropriate content unknowingly. Monitor child’s social media behaviour. Is he spending more time online or on the mobile?  Is it impacting day to day functioning of the child. Internet usage of more than 4-5 hours is considered excessive.

2.       Parents should check on the children and their tendency to self harm. Depressed people might not seem depressed but may seem awkward or abnormally cheerful. The game cuts the victim further through the tasks. Is he more withdrawn or remarkably quiet? One of the tasks is to cut oneself off from everyone or Don’t talk to anyone whole day. Or wake up rather early at 4.30 am to wear them and break them. Maintaining Strong communication channels are extremely important, both at home and school.

3.       Perhaps the biggest challenge is that kids understand technology more than most adults in the country. But, even then there are couple of good softwares that help in keeping track of every activity of the child. Even at the wifi/router level, parents get an IT person to enable firewall and block certain words like ble whale, suicide, and other keywords. Here it is important to know the keywords cause there are several. It will do good for schools and parents to come together and help stay abreast of such trends as lives get more virtualised.

Each child device should be secure with comprehensive security product. One must monitor child online habits and give phased access to online media. It is impossible to ignore the pervasiveness of the technology and instead encourage them to use it to advantage. Probably, we need to fight adverse effects of technology with the benefits of technology: Fight the Evil with the Good.

The Devil is in the Details

The Devil is in the Details

The gruesome murder of the seven-year-old boy, Pradyuman in a reputed Gurgaon school has shocked the nation. My thoughts immediately went to the parents – the ones who entrusted their little one with the school. It’s their biggest loss, an unimaginable one. What words of comfort can anyone provide them? All they aspired was to send their child to a good, reputed English school. Child safety in schools, alarmingly, has turned out to be a contentious issue.

‘If our schools aren’t safe for children then where can we expect them to be safe?’, echoed thousands of citizens of the country. Rightly so. As a principal and as a parent first, I shudder to think of the plight of the parents and family members of the child. Even his friends, studying with him in school and neighbourhood. Children were traumatised and refused to go to school and parents too were too shaken. Sending children to school doesn’t just seem like another routine task. In fact, the psychological consequences were such that even in other cities parents grew anxious.

We know that misfortune, accidents can happen anytime, sometimes even when we take the best possible measures to do so. But, we need to do that. Put in best efforts and resources to ensure that the safety of children aren’t compromised.  In the particular instance, the management and school authorities blatantly overlooked several loopholes. It was a disaster waiting to happen. And yet, all of us have a lesson from this.

a.       The parents need to undertake thorough research about the school, even if it seems flashy or decorative from the outside. Small instances can convey a lot when it comes to the ethics and integrity of the management of the school. This is very important. Often, it is only after an unfortunate incident has transpired that people get together. Parents need to be actively engaged and involved in the student’s activities and understand his/her daily routine or any incident that stood out in particular. Keep the channels of communication open. Teach students to be more aware, and report the smallest instances that didn’t seem right to them. And when they do talk, LISTEN.

b.       For school and support staff, no place can be perfect but working for a management that clearly is not performing its duties thoroughly or ethically, is possibly the worst environment to work in. The devil is in the details. Often, it is an unhealthy culture that is all pervasive and it is the top – down approach. There is nothing as precious as reputation and inevitably anyone’s career could depend on it! Often, most things are dependent on the resources provided to you and this is where the credibility of the management comes into play. However, if one was doing one’s job conscientiously and properly, it would be impossible to ignore some big warning signs. In such cases one becomes equally complicit.

c.       The role of the school management is undoubtedly the most critical. For, it is here, where the control really lies. The culture, ethos, ethics everything flows from this place to across the organisation. Granted that accidents happen even after taking the best of precautions. However, one cannot discount the fact the responsibility that comes with running an institution. It is a difficult thing to come out and accept that someone screwed up but what needs to be done, needs to be done. It takes courage and grit to still follow the right path when you know that you can get away with possibly anything in this country with a few calls to a few ‘right’ people. With the use of technology now security can be beefed extraordinarily to report even a single instance of breach, so it makes sense to invest in such technologies.

d.       Lastly, the state governments and government should look at setting up stringent laws in place for setting up of institutions be it preschools, schools, colleges. A myriad of ‘international’ schools have sprouted in the country and parents often don’t know the value for what they are paying – often through their teeth. Most of the institutions are funded by politicians unfortunately and rules are flouted regularly.

In all probability such cases would keep getting reported. However, what is important is our reaction to tackle it and proactiveness to avoid it. Media can be a great amplifier to garner support of public and to make people aware. But it should sensitively portray an accurate picture without sensationalising the case – someone has lost their child! We also need to ask ourselves that apart from really watching the gory details of the murder how is it that we can help to avoid such in the future. Let us all be vigilant and be present in each moment. Be aware.

From Good to Great

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Today, we are 70 years old as a free, collective, vibrant nation. It is a wonder really that we not only survived a history of slavery that left us depleted – economically, politically, socially - but now we are finally claiming our spot under the sun and charting our future.  Alive, Throbbing, Dynamic, the world acknowledges us now not only for our history and culture but also the achievements and strides our nation continues to make. The most remarkable is of course the breed of students and youngsters that are increasingly spreading their wings globally and shining in their endeavours.

As an educationist, there couldn’t be any other fact that pleases me of course – to see our students and children achieving so much. But, it isn’t a secret that we have much more to achieve. Giant leaps that need to be taken in fields of education, healthcare, sports, sanitation, environment, socio-economic policies that prevent the majority of our children, our youth, our countrymen and women from living an empowered life. Imagine the leaps we could make if all of us could throb at the same level. If we are all to collectively grow, we all need to beat at a uniform frequency. This is where we need to brace ourselves for change, to grow as a better nation.

And how do we go about that? We need to look at three important things as a nation to be better at - health, hygiene and environment - apart from education, of course. These three aspects are something that each citizen needs to get involved with. And this should begin young since changes in these spheres requires an attitudinal shift which require to get instilled at a very young age. We have observed that right from preschool, children can be sensitised to the importance of their environment.

A few weeks back, students from Billabong High International School, Santacruz made us proud by taking our school to the first position in the West Zone in the NDTV Behtar India Campaign. The first stage of the campaign was Behtar Swasthya or health, the second stage was Behtar Swacchta and the third stage pertained to Behtar Vatavaran. Among the eighty students that participated, our students through their active participation and innovative solutions of using technology to tackle plastic waste and speaking up for the environment etc., led us up the points table. They were rewarded with a video shoot in the school organised by NDTV. While four BHIS students went to Delhi to participate in the stage 1 conclusion program, one student also shared the stage with the brand ambassador, Sushant Singh.   Incidentally in the past few weeks, we were also ranked fourth in the entire state of Maharashtra under the category of ‘Top 20 International Schools’ by the Education Today survey.

When asked what constitutes great education, I often say that it is educating not just the child’s mind but freeing up his/her spirit, building the character, developing a healthy self-esteem. No man is an island. We are interconnected to each other and the wellness of one affects the wellness of society. We need to keep improving. To grow from Good to Great.

A Tale of the Finnish Education Miracle

I came across an interesting article last week. The article mentioned how Finland, despite not following many of the globally standardised education norms, still was among the top performing countries in the PISA. PISA, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), evaluates the critical thinking of 15-year old students across the world in maths, science and reading.

This mammoth three yearly exercise’s idea originated in the 1990s acknowledging that governments across the world were being compared basis the spend on education rather than the achievements or learning outcomes.  Over time, PISA evolved as among the most important global exams. Recently, the tide has turned over to Asian, South-East Asian schools topping the charts with Europe and other developed economies including the US dropping consistently. This is where the consistent performance of Finland and its unique education system,  termed an ‘education miracle’ comes as a pleasant surprise.

The system is known to provide more emphasis on Quality and less on Competition and Control. Factor this – Finland doesn’t conduct standardised tests. It provides a comprehensive flexible education that ensures equity and inclusion in education through its publicly-funded school system.  This, without selecting, tracking or streaming students during their basic education until grade 9! Most children go to the nearby public school where kids from all walks of life learn together.  

Another key differentiator is the learning methodology. Teachers, customise their teaching approach as per each learner requirement. Teachers are also supported by other specialists like psychologists, special education teachers and management. Teaching is also considered as a highly valuable profession. Only 10 per cent of applications get through for the elementary teacher education program – a five-year master’s degree program. Remarkably, there aren’t school inspections conducted. So, while there are national quality standards, there are no evaluation tests pitting one school against the other. But, the reliance is on ‘intelligent accountability’, based on periodic self-evaluation of schools/education providers.

Though Finland is renowned for its comprehensive education system, it is even more remarkable that there are consistent efforts being put in to revisit the model and check the students’ preparedness in the future. It is proposed to introduce fresh initiatives to aid further in the globalisation of education – encouraging innovations, teacher professional development, ‘globalisation’ of education, increasing student physical activity etc.

The most remarkable take-away is the intent of the entire community to provide quality education – the school authorities, parents, students, government – all are actively engaged towards a vision which makes it so potent. This model is therefore, an important case study to the world, especially India. The keyword as mentioned is intelligent accountability.

To Spin or Not to Spin?!

There is an inherent advantage when you deal with children and young adults – you are probably among the first to know of the latest ‘trend’ doing the round and your experiences will ensure you have enough ‘am sure you haven’t heard this one’ stories at those dinner party tables! There is also an apparent disadvantage when you deal with ‘bacchas’ – you are probably the first who needs to ‘tackle’ and/or put up with these trends!

Now, add to this the fact that one is an educationist, a school principal at that and you will see why I utter a silent prayer in my head before stepping out for the day! Oh yes, then there are also the worried parents who always approach you for knowing if ‘it is okay’ for kids to indulge in whatever has seemed to caught their attention. They cite contradictory studies listing reasons for and against and then ask you to be the judge while the little one, wide eyed, stares at you, eyes almost pleading for approval.

Take the latest fad that has the world spinning in tizzy for example – the fidget spinner.  If you are a parent to a child of 6 years or above, it is highly probable you would have come across one! For the uninitiated, fidget spinner is a ‘toy’ (purportedly used as a medical aid to help relieve nervous energy or psychological stress though no scientific evidence has been found so far linking any benefits). It is usually a multi-lobed flat structure with a bearing in the centre designed to spin along its axis at high speed with hardly any effort. Many schools in the U.S. had to ban the toy since the children had grown addicted to spinning them!

Confiscated spinners at school

Although it marked a much later entry into our schools in India, nevertheless, it has been some fad and continues to be so! Only recently with recent social media updates associating the toy with treatment for stress, anxiety or neurological disorders and problems in children, have made the parents suddenly take notice since it implied that it is a medical tool and hence shouldn’t be used without discretion. While there has yet to be any substantial study done yet to establish these claims, there are also other reports of how and why the spinner may actually help in some relaxation.

Spinners are banned in our school simply because we don’t like to encourage distraction among students, considering their attention is almost always fleeting! As an educator, I feel it is a tough call when deciding to take a strong stance about any trend but, to be on the safe side, anything that can seem to interfere with a student’s commitment or disrupt in any way the smooth functioning of a class or simply be a nuisance to the immediate environment, is not acceptable in our school. Of course it isn’t to say it is the only way to go about it. A lot depends upon the temperament of the child and if the trend isn’t all-consuming my advice would be to let children be. The battle is when and how do you draw a line which can easily be breached and that too when it is not within ones’ control. As far as the spinners go, while there is no medical or scientific proof yet linking any benefit or any side effects from playing with it, it looks like it will be a while before the bacchas move on from this spinning frenzy!