Parents of shy and introvert children are often worried about sending their children to ‘big schools’ thinking that they may be intimidated by the sheer size of the classroom, wouldn’t get ‘individual attention’ of the educators, wouldn’t be comfortable to participate in class activities or would find it difficult to communicate with the teacher. This concern is very natural and is a perpetual cause of worry to a lot of parents.

So how does PICT make sure to address these concerns?

We at PICT endeavour to establish a positive student-teacher relationship by accepting and respecting the individual qualities of each learner. A positive student-teacher relationship is probably one of the greatest weapons in education. It fosters a favourable learning atmosphere in the classroom. Everyone wants to feel valued by significant people in their lives and learners are no exception. So in such instances, a positive student-teacher relationship really helps the learners to open up during classes which boosts their self-confidence.

Through our meaningful student-teacher relationship we ensure a constructive impact on the learners. Right from the admission phase, the educators study the information about the learners as furnished by the parents and log their individual interactions with the learners to chalk out ‘individual learning plans’. Throughout the academic year, the educators monitor the interactions of every learner with their peers and with other educators to gain an understanding of the learner’s strengths, problems, fears or apprehensions and develop interventions. Learning through pair and group activities make the learners more comfortable in the classrooms. Educators form these learning groups where all the members are allotted specific responsibilities depending on their abilities and interests. Constructive feedback is shared individually, with all the learners, at regular intervals. This way, the educators demonstrate respect towards the learners thus winning their respect in return. In such a stimulating atmosphere, the learning process becomes joyful and to which all the learners keep looking forward to.

The benefits of establishing a positive student-teacher relationship at PICT have been many. Some of them are:
- Uplifts the self-esteem of learners.
- Fosters good behaviour among learners.
- Encourages learners to attend school regularly.
- Motivates learners to do well and perform better academically.
- Improves learners’ socio-emotional skills.

Parent-Teacher Meeting, every month at PICT, helps bringing the parents on board. Individual meetings facilitates sharing of specific feedback. The feedback is given in four parts – the current status of the learner in comparison with the expected standards, the role of the educator, the support expected from the parents and the road map for the learner.

The first educational experience that comes about in the primary years of the learner’s life is extremely important to lay the foundation of a meaningful academic life and the development as a person. At PICT, educators endeavour to establish a positive relationship with their learners by communicating truthfully with them and providing exclusive feedback for the holistic development of our future citizens.

I like aeronautics and space science. I like space science because it has part of aeronautics - sending rockets into space. Also I am curious about space. I want to find out about all the mysteries of Space Science. I wish to make a rocket to reach the stars. I am curious what happened after the universe began? Or does it have beginning or end?

In this vast universe with so many galaxies having millions of stars and millions of planets, can’t there be a planet with life? Can it have life /organisms like there are on earth? Can we develop science in such a way that we can explore this?

How did single cellular life evolve from simple molecules? Why can’t we explore more about this fascinating subject? Can there be a planet where Mesozoic era is going on when we have Cenozoic era here on earth now? Will life follow same kind of evolution on other planets as it followed on earth? Will life always be oxygen based?

Why are we searching for only oxygen based life on other planets? Can there be a planet on which there is life based on different elements which are not found on earth? Can we develop the science to explore this on other planets?

I am very interested about the subject of colonizing mars. My parents encourage my interest in space science and take me to various science exhibitions, lectures, and education tours. They took me to the National Space and Science Fest in January 2017. When I saw the student volunteers there explaining the charts, and satellite, and space craft models, I wanted to be a volunteer too. For that, my mom told me, “You will have to study hard to know more about space science”. I have tried to do that since then.

I went to IUCAA on open science day in Feb 2017. There I saw the Muon detector. I heard about muon for the first time. From the explanation I came to know that when cosmic rays hit the earths’ atmosphere, the particles in the rays’ breakdown into smaller particles. One of them is muon. These muons are then detected by muon detector. I also saw a small model of LIGO which is used to detect gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are produced when two black holes or neutron stars merge together. As this event is rare, it is very difficult to detect gravitational waves. I was excited to know that India is going to build this LIGO facility for detection of gravitational waves. Few months back, I came to know that 2017 Nobel Prize in physic was given to scientist for gravitational wave detection. My excitement grew when I came to know that gravitational waves created by rare merger of two neutron stars was detected by LIGO in Aug this year. This event was observed by LIGO and other optical telescopes across the world. I am told that the data collected will tell us a lot more about our universe as we now have data of this event across range of optical telescopes and LIGO and comparison will bring out new information about our universe.

At IUCAA I came to know about Aditya L1, which India is going to launch to study the sun and about our participation in 30 meter telescope in Hawaii. I also learnt more about ASTROSAT- that it is the first satellite sent by ISRO to study distant objects in space. I saw the live tracking of ASTROSAT on computer screen as it went around the earth once every 90 minutes.

When I went to ISRO Ahmedabad with IndoScience Education Trust in April 2017, I eagerly searched for ASTROSAT model, but I did not find it there. But there were many scaled models of various satellites such as Chandrayan, Mangalyan, communication satellites, PSLV, etc. And we had discussions with scientists who spend their important time to encourage us and to answer our curious questions. During ISRO, Ahmedabad trip we were encouraged to think deeply about different topics related to space and to ask questions. We discussed about various satellites GSLV mark III, Mark II, Vikas Engine, Cryogenic Engine, fuels used in Rockets, Reusable Vehicles, International space station, and many more. I had many questions to ask which were all answered. In this trip we also went to Science Center in Ahmedabad where we did activities based on various scientific principles making it easy for us to understand these principles. We also saw real dinosaur fossils which was very exciting!

I have to understand more about what I have learned till now and I have to learn many new things. My discussions with my parents, school teachers, and space science classes at Indo Science Education Trust have increased my curiosity to study more about space sciences.

I wish to be a volunteer for 2018 National Space and Science Fest. It would give me chance to learn more about space science and to share it with others.