When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are.

I was going through the latest BillionBeats ePaper, the fortnightly ePaper brought out by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. I really like it for it is some positive fortnightly news that we can do with and not just that, it's also a source of several interesting quotes.
One such quote from the Dec 26, 2007 issue says 'When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come true'. While the line may not always hold good but its implication are a plenty and definitely a thought-provoking quote.
When it comes to wishing for the stars most of us are pretty good decision-makers, however though most of those decisions end up in the negative. How often do we put down innovative ideas, instead a small re-work on such thoughts could have made it a success.
It's fine to be realistic but its best to be realistically optimistic. I wouldn't like to sound preachy in this post but instead would like to cite examples to illustrate the quote in a better context.
Here, lets take the instance of the Destination NASA Challenge 2008, where 10 lucky students get to visit NASA along with a parent/guardian/sibling and a teacher.
Something special for children to look upto, enabling them to work towards their desires. Besides motivation (which the contest truly has) they also need your support and encouragement.
It might give them a competitive edge if they're brilliant in Science & Maths at school but sometimes the best minds in Science & Maths aren't always the toppers, so every child stands a good chance. This coupled with inspiration and positive thoughts can go a long way in giving the child the impetus to do well.
As a guiding force, parents & teachers can also help children in planning and organizing their lessons. But avoid forcing them into your decisions, instead you could include them in the discussions. This way children not only feel important but also responsible for the decisions taken.
Therefore, it every sense anyone of us could wish for the stars. To turn this wish into reality we need to challenge ourselves more often.

Candid thoughts from a Science teacher

I grew up from a little child being totally awed by the Television and its transmission. Little did I know in the years to come there would be an equally or even stronger media of learning via the Internet. Learning never ceased in me, even with the years of experience I have in the field of education. I had often sought inspiration in Science and keenly follow latest technological developments.

Being a teacher one has to an independent mind and bring in newer ideas that will keep students thinking. A teacher’s job (I can speak for science teachers) should be to teach students fundamentals through concept learning thereby laying a strong foundation for the student. This can be realistically done when children are able to relate to what they learn.

For example when I was teaching my students on rocket propellants I had to talk to them about the world of space voyages and NASA. Expectedly I had many enthusiastic students and it was one of my most interesting classes, with a record student participation in the discussion. However I should say we hardly covered much syllabus that day and I happened to be quizzed by our proactive Principal on the day’s lessons. He was not impressed when I told him about the long conversations we had and the student participation. Being the principal behind many successful students and national ranks, he had his own agenda for success and wasn’t in a mood to give in to newer ideas. I had also forecasted on how such discussions would inspire children and take them deeper into Science and there were several long-term benefits associated with it. Quite obviously his defense was that a huge chunk of children already loved Science, referring to the many engineering courses and colleges we had in the country.

Now I didn’t feel the need to convince him more and therefore in class keep my conversations limited to the syllabus and once in a while answer a few inquisitive non-subjective queries from students. Students do come up with topics with the potential of deviating from the syllabus but I promptly tell them to keep those discussions for the break or ones to discuss at home. I feel sad for them as now I don’t discuss but only talk to them about good Science programmes on television and other internet sites which they would find useful.

For example, the other day I came across this article from Times of India that spoke about a ‘Destination NASA Challenge 2008’. It’s conducted by an online self-assessment website called www.24x7guru.com where a series of tests are conducted across the country. The challenge is for students from classes 3 to 10 (based on their existing CBSE or ICSE boards) and 10 lucky students get to visit NASA along with a teacher and parent. This challenge has sure caught up with me and my students. There days we quietly discuss in breaks and post-classes on the preparations for the challenge.

I should say such initiatives are motivation for all - parents, teachers and students most importantly to perform. Honestly speaking nothing else will give our Principal, Management or me more joy that having our students to visit NASA.

NASA scientist Sunita Willams India visit

Talking about Indian children going to NASA, turn the tables and we are remember of NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams's recent trip to India (her ancestral home).

My friends weren't pleased with the hype and coverage being given to Ms. Williams during her India trip. It probably spurred from the fact that Ms Williams is an American citizen and a patriot.
However lets get things straight and consider the positives her influence and the media coverage has had. It has benefited so many people, those spread across regions and communities. For them her nationality and loyalty all seem so negligible considering what they can learn from her. Her visit goes beyond the interest in her recent space odyssey, it was also advice that she gave as sound bites that made news.

Every sentence uttered by her made sense, and though not all of it were rocket science, it always felt good to be hear her views.
She spoke often about how beautiful planet Earth was from space and how it was the responsibility of every individual to ensure it remained that way.

However there was one word of advice that seemed so relevant to today's aspirants. It was the one given to the Space Science PG students whom she had interacted with.
She said "One may or may not get an opportunity to become an astronaut. But the important thing is to strive and shine in one's chosen discipline of study."

Kids today don't need words as much motivation as they need inspiration, kudos to Sunita Williams for playing her part in both.