ALWAYS BE YOUR BEST

A person once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making on idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, “Do you need two statutes of the same idol ?”

“No” said the sculptor without looking up. “We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage”. The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. “Where is the damage ?”, he asked. “There is a scratch on the nose of the idol”, said the sculptor, still busy with his work. “Where are you going to install the idol ?”

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. “If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose ?” the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, “ I will know it”

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. “Excellence” is a drive from inside and not outside. Excellence is not for some one else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.

Your main competitor is yourself. Always be your best

How far pests are harmful to the family and home ?

Sometimes we are put into a lot of inconvenience on account of pests in our homes, shops and offices.  Pests apart from damaging the food are responsible for various diseases. In majority of the cases, children are affected to a great extent by virtue of pests at our homes.

The following are some kinds of pests which occupy more space in our homes and workplaces :

COCKROACHES:

Cockroaches can be found anywhere and they can live under all situations including an airtight compartment. They adopt to a variety of environments but prefer normally warm conditions found within the buildings like residential complexes, offices, hotels, hospitals, schools, shops and in short any human dwelling. Cockroaches leave dark stains and foul odor leading to a very unpleasant and unhygienic conditions some times. They passively cause diseases like dysentery, diarrhea, food poisoning, asthma and allergic reactions in humans.

For the management of cockroaches, effective pest control management system has to be provided by using the services available through a reputed agency.

The cockroach management service will also be effective in providing total control over other pests like red and black ants, silverfish, spiders etc. A  highly potent active ingredient is applied at all cockroach hideouts resulting in control of cockroaches and other pests giving sustained relief

The treatment should be in such a way that the following benefits should be made available:

·         A completely odourless, hassle free and safe solution for the occupant

·         It should  not necessary to empty out the kitchens, hence convenient

·         Long-lasting and highly efficient treatment which can be carried out at anytime of the day

The pest control treat towards eradicating the cockroaches should be done at least once in four months for total control.

TERMITES:

Termites or white ants are in the habit of remaining concealed which often results in their presence being undetected until the wood exhibit surface damages. They apart from wood damage paper, cloth, carpets, leather, electrical wire coatings, cellulosic materials, plaster, rubber, nylon, neoprene, thermocol and sealants such as silicone rubber and acrylics which are often employed in construction

The termite treatment comprises drilling holes at the junction of floor and wall, soaking them with termiticide and sealing them.

By termite treatment, the termites are completely killed unlike regular pest control that just repels them

Nowadays, in the case of new buildings, the treatment is done at the time of construction of the buildings. The right time for application of the treatment is at the time of completion of basement flooring. The termite solution is mixed with the required quantity of water and sprayed through pipes over the flooring immediately at the time of applying concrete mixture during  basement flooring. This prevents termites emanating from the earth into the building walls in future . It is proved that this treatment is highly effective and economical.

RODENTS:

The term rodent implies rats, mice and bandicoots and are one of the most disastrous urban pests. They invade our homes, eat and contaminate food with their faeces, urine and hair, damage commodities and are also responsible for various diseases. Their gnawing ability is responsible for structural and property damage, short circuits, fires, entire communication or computer network collapse. They normally come in the dark and give everybody a sleepless night.

A rodent management service has to be done to provide total and effective control of rats and mice. The new age treatment for rodents is based on type of rodent species, extent of infestation and its spread. It is  a scientific combination of baiting, trapping and proofing methods.

WOOD BORERS:

They are tiny beetles whose larvae feed extensively on wood and destroy it. The treatment is carried out by injecting oil based chemicals into the tiny short holes created by the wood borers killing the larva deep inside the wood.

BED BUGS:

They are called cosmopolitan pests mostly found in beds and therefore they have been named as “bed bugs”. During the treatment for bed bug, a thorough insecticide spray is given to all cracks and crevices in furniture, bed joints and other fixtures, giving special attention to mattress beading and folds. A second  bed beg management service has to be done within a fortnight to control new hatchlings.

Unless effective pest control management services are done, damage to the properties and  human beings cannot be avoided.  It should be given topmost priority and should be done without any delay 

How to read the lessons well ?

Students are always in a confused stage as to which part of the day is most suitable for them to read their lessons. When they pose the questions to their elders, many people will give them a lot of answers.   Sometimes the elders can mislead the children also. The recent study has revealed the following answers to this question:

Early morning study:

The time between 04.00 to 06.00 in the early morning has been considered to be the most apt time for reading. This is on account of the facts that there will not much noises either at home or outside. Moreover, the temperature will be mild and conducive for learning. Apart from the above, the student will be afresh early in the morning because it is the first activity he has been doing for the  day.

Late night study:

Many students believe, that late night study will be more useful. This is not correct. Once the day’s activities are over, it is quite normal for any person to believe that he is peaceful and is not facing any urgent commitments for the day. This sense of feeling makes him believe  that he is very much comfortable for reading his lessons. In fact, after the day’s work, he is tired both mentally and physically and the normal tendency of any person  will be to go to bed and lay down.

Under such situations, the student cannot exercise much  concentration over the subjects on hand and once he loses concentration on account of tiredness and mental fatigue, despite the facts that he is spending two to three hours for his study the absorption level will be very low.

As such the researchers normally suggest the early morning as the best part of the day for the purpose of study

Planning:

Each student has to maintain a small note book or diary. He has to note down the topics to be covered each day . The following planned activities can be more useful:

1.    How much time he can allocate for reading his lessons during early morning, at school during leisure hours, evening hours and late night after dinner, however, before sleep

2.    The topics to be covered during early morning, at school, evening hours and at late night

3.    He can have a check list of the items to be covered by incorporating the details in a tabular form

4.    Once he completes one topic, he can round off the item from the check list. This will enable him to achieve a sense of accomplishment

5.    Continuous study for more than one hour will make the student more tired. Normally the human mind and body requires rest at least for a couple of minutes at periodical intervals.

6.    As such once in 20 to 30 minutes, the student should  keep his books aside and can have a small walk or strolling for five minutes and again he can continue his studies

7.    During the course of study, the student should sit in a more comfortable chair and read the lessons

Systematic planning will surely go a long way in memorizing the lessons effectively  enabling each student gain good grades during each examination.

USING OF CORRECT PROPOSITIONS

Using of correct proposition while writing a letter or story in English is much inevitable. Unless and otherwise the right propositions are chosen the sentence will result in with a grammatical error. Following are some samples as to how the sentences can be formed:

The proposition “of” is one of the most frequently words used in English language and we have to be careful while using “of” between two words. Let us have a look over the following sentences

What is wrong with the following sentences ?

·         Over a hundred of people have come to the hospital

·         We studied in one of the most wonderful colleges of Chennai

·         We celebrate our daughter’s birthday on 20^th of December

·         The tourist did not give him a minute of peace

·         This book is not mine. It is of my sister

·         The brother of you phoned today morning and requires you to call him

·         The book reminded me of the good work of Helen

Let us read the first sentence once again:

1.       Over a hundred of people have come to the hospital

The correct formation of the sentence should be as follows:

Over a hundred people have come to the hospital

(After a/one/five/sixteen etc the words hundred/thousand etc are always singular and should not be followed by of)

2.       We studied in one of the most wonderful colleges of Chennai

The correct formation of the sentence should be as follows:

We studied in one of the most wonderful colleges in Chennai (or)

We studied in one of the most wonderful colleges at Chennai

In the above sentence where we refer a country, place, region etc, the usage of “of” should be avoided and instead we should use “in” “at” etc

3.       We celebrate our daughter’s birthday on 20^th of December

The correct formation of the sentence should be as follows:

We celebrate our daughter’s birthday on 20^th December

4.       The tourist did not give him a minute of peace

The correct formation of the sentence should be as follows:

The tourist did not give him a moment’s peace

5.       This book is not mine. It is of my sister

The correct formation of the sentence should be as follows:

The book is not mine. It is my sister’s

6.       The brother of you phoned today morning and wants you to call him

The correct formation of the sentence should be as follows:

The brother of you phoned today morning and wants you to call back

7.       The book reminded me of the good work of Helen

The correct formation of the sentence should be as follows:

The book reminded me of the good work by Helen

HOW TO DEVELOP THE MENTAL CAPABILITIES OF CHILDREN ?

There are different ways by which the mental capabilities of children can be developed. This exercise depends upon the inquisitiveness of both the parents and teachers. Normally children learn things very fast. It has been estimated that children learn ten times faster than adults. However, it is the responsibility of the parents to oversee their children. Till the children attains the age of five years, much care and attention is required.

The following are some of the activities by which children can improve their mental capabilities.

POWER OF OBSERVATION:

Among the five senses viz., eyes, ears, nose, skin and mouth, eyes and ears play greater role in developing the power of observation. Through ears they listen and through eyes they observe things.

The following exercise will improve the observation power to a great extent:

·         FINDING THE DIFFERENCES:

Two identical pictures(drawings) are given. Whereas the two pictures seem to be identical, in fact, they have at least six differences (for example). The children should be asked to find out the six differences by verifying the two pictures.

Reactions:

1.       In order to find out the differences, the children pay much attention to each item available in both the pictures keenly. This exercise improves their  power of concentration

2.       Again to locate the differences, they start comparing the items available in picture No: 1 with items available in picture No:2. This improves their  logical aptitude

3.       They use their questioning ability during the course of comparing the pictures. This improves their analytical aptitude

·         COLOURING THE PICTURES:

Give your child a drawing (preferably hand drawn). Tell her to colour the pictures. The drawing may contain animals, birds, plants, hills, lakes, boats, cars, trees, clouds etc etc.

Reactions:

1.       Once they start colouring instead of applying the colour of their choice, the child starts thinking the suitable colour for each item. Since the child had already learnt information about the natural colours of animals, birds, lakes, sky, clouds, ground etc, she does not find any difficulty in applying the colours to the items. Rarely they fail to apply the right colours to the objects. This exercise improves their analytical ability and again the power of concentration

2.       Once they finish application of colours to the picture allotted to them, the child feels a sense of achievement. She feels that she can do things still better in future. This shows the strength of her self confidence.

3.       When the child goes on learning using different methods and exercises, her self esteem moves upwards and she realizes that she is important to the family and to the society. She wants to do better for the society

CONCLUSION:

Children can be taught to improve their different mental capabilities, through various games and exercises. Teachers should evince interest in finding out novel ways of educating their students.