Dear Readers,

I hope that you are safe and taking all precautions and measures to protect yourself, your family and your community from the Covid-19 pandemic. It is true that the Covid-19 pandemic has created quite a disruption in our lives. But it is also an opportunity for us to take this time to reflect and recharge. I hope that these trying times help us in reprioritizing what is really important to us and at the same time show us how adaptable, creative and resilient the human spirit is.

During this pandemic, all of us have a crucial role to play in spreading the right information, espousing the right practice, and advocating the right mindset. We must stand united and work even harder to ensure the safety of our loved ones and community. As the renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead notes, ‘We are at our best when we serve others’. I am sure that you are a beacon of strength and hope to your family and community and are able to exhibit compassion, wisdom and composure in these unpredictable times.

Ven. Geshe Lhakdor recently spoke to us on ‘Achieving Happiness by Applying Wisdom in Daily Life’ which is more relevant today than ever before. The ‘Ritinjali-CEP Conversations’ is a monthly series of interactions with leaders from many disciplines for an inspiring and thought-provoking exchange of ideas and experiences. This was its second programme, at The Oberoi, Gurgaon.

The newsletter also includes an article about the impact COVID-19 is going to have on education by our team member Sangeeta Doraiswami.

I wish you happy reading!

Warm Regards,

Pallavan Leearning Systems Team

A distinguished Buddhist scholar, Geshe Lhakdor was the English translator for His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, from 1989 to 2005. He has co-translated and co-produced several books by the Dalai Lama. Since 2005 he has been the director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, where he also facilitates the ‘Science for Monks’ programme and shares his own expertise on science and philosophy.

Geshe Lhakdor provided an insight on how to apply happiness in our daily lives taking relevant examples from our personal and professional lives. He emphasised that there is an inextricable link between one’s personal happiness and kindness, compassion, and caring for others. And this is a two-way street: increased happiness leads to greater compassion, and increased compassion leads to greater happiness.

March 11, 2020

The Oberoi, Gurgaon – Ritinjali – CEP Conversations – Geshe Lhakdor speaks to professionals, business people and intellectuals about ‘Achieving Happiness by Applying Wisdom in Daily Life.

To Read More Click Here

Articles,

At PLS we believe in expressing our views about the issues closest to us. The PLS team regularly writes articles of this nature.

The first global pandemic of this decade has had an unprecedented impact upon all sectors of activity, including education. Today, educators and students around the world are grappling with the extraordinary effect of the spread of an as-yet untreatable Coronavirus that has no vaccine. The disease has caused all public congregation points including Schools and Universities to be closed as part of a unique effort to minimize the spread of the disease by resorting to mass quarantines.

To Read More Click Here

Dear Readers,

I hope you are continuing to stay safe at home. While the pandemic continues to disrupt our lives it remains an opportunity for us to take this time to make the most of this situation. It is a time for us to show how adaptable, creative and resilient we really are to our children, our community and, most importantly, to ourselves.

Covid-19 has brought a lot of changes to our lives. It has greatly changed the way we now approach education. While on-demand online open courses have been around for more than a decade they have not received the desired uptake. Unfortunately, it has taken a pandemic such as this to force educators to review the possibilities for taking ownership of our learning and actualise our potential. Read more in my article recently published in Thrive Global.

We also have our team member Saroj Thapa sharing her views on how the world and education has changed since Covid-19.

Enjoy reading.

Warm Regards,

Pallavan Learning Systems Team

Taking Ownership of your Learning:
Leveraging Technology to Personalise Learning and Actualising Potential
By Arun Kapur

Over the past two decades, the rate at which new content has been emerging and knowledge changing has rapidly increased. This has meant that by the time a learner graduates from a traditional undergraduate course, the environment in which they need to apply their learning would have transformed significantly. This changing educational landscape has been further proliferated by online learning providers in the form of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) which have been around for nearly a decade now.
Services such as Coursera & EdX (and many others too) offer a diverse range of courses from some of the best institutions in the world, which allow learners to continue to upskill themselves once they have left formal educational institutes. Even with the ability to take these courses from the comforts of your home, at a time of your convenience they have not received the desired uptake. To Read More Click Here

Random Thoughts on Life in the Time of Corona Virus
By Saroj Thapa

Pandemic, lockdown, quarantine, social distancing – these have become everyday vocabulary; a global crisis of this magnitude is a first for everyone. Economic implications of all these are scary and will have far-reaching implications. The number of people infected and who have succumbed go up every day giving rise to fear and uncertainty. To Read More Click Here

Dear Readers,

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and taking care of each other and the wider community you are in.
In my previous article published by Thrive Global I discussed how Covid-19 has brought a lot of changes to our lives. It has greatly changed the way we now approach education. We are having to do away with old norms and evolve to meet today’s challenges. Going forward we are going to find ourselves in a different world. How are we to prepare children to adapt to this new normal? I discuss this in my latest article published by Thrive Global ‘Education in the ‘Post Pandemic World: It Cannot Be Business as Usual, We Must Transform our Processes to Help Learners Thrive’.

Our newsletter also includes an article by team member Portia Conrad on ‘India’s National Security in a Post-COVID World’.
I hope you enjoy reading them.
Stay safe.

Warm Regards,

Pallavan Learning Systems Team

Education in the Post Pandemic World: It cannot be business as usual, we must transform our processes to help learners thrive
By Arun Kapur

There is a pause in the normal delivery of education both in schools and at universities. This gives learners the opportunity to reflect on and consider what is being learnt and how this learning is happening. Is it really fit for the purpose of today? The students who are graduating this year will find themselves in a very different world from the one they were expecting to graduate into. Within the space of a few months the economy and the job market has changed dramatically and as of now we are unsure when and what it will look like. What will the world need when we come out on the other side of this? Who will be able to step up and take the risks of moving forward in a different world? It would be a great shame that if after the devastation the pandemic has caused globally we return to business as usual without considering how we can do things differently, how we can do things better. Change often happens slowly in large educational institutions because exam deadlines are so tight educators can’t risk trying something new. But now we have the time, and surely it’s our duty as educators to consider how we can make what we do better. To Read More Click Here

India’s National Security in a Post-COVID World
by Portia Conrad

The Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 has currently infected over 13 lakh people including taking the lives of over 1 lakh people in 180 plus countries across the world. It has forced major countries to impose either total or partial lockdowns on movement of people, goods and services while only allowing for essential services to function. The WHO has declared the virus a global epidemic. This crisis is set to usher in a paradigm shift in global policies, at least in the short term, as all-powerful actors are likely to withdraw into themselves.
To Read More Click Here

Dear Readers,

I hope you are continuing to stay in constant learning mode during this time. As I said earlier, online education has never been more important. Paradise Valley Private School, Muscat, Oman which is powered by Pallavan Learning Systems has been quick to acclimatize its students to it.

Paradise Valley Private School opened its doors as a new inclusive school from Kindergarten to Grade 3 in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman in September 2019. It sets the highest educational standards, encouraging learners to actualize their potential. It provides equal learning opportunities and support to all students in the right environment. All learn together regardless of their nationality, social, economic, religious background or levels of ability, including students with special needs, so that they can grow to be the best they can be.
The school follows the Primary Years Programme as recommended by the International Baccalaureate Organization. It also focuses on ‘w’holistic education based on Five Areas of Development – Cerebral, Emotional, Ethical, Physical and Social – the philosophy of Pallavan Learning Systems.
At the helm of the school is Ms. Denise Roache, an Australian educator as the Head of Elementary School. She does an excellent job of ensuring the smooth functioning of the school. She does an excellent job of ensuring the smooth functioning of the school. She is working tirelessly to lead her team and school community.
Her article, ‘Muscat Musings’ reflects her continued passion of more than thirty-five years working in the field of education in ensuring schools provide and empower authentic educational journeys for all students as well as staff.
We hope you enjoy reading her article.

Warm Regards,
Pallavan Learning Systems Team

Muscat Musings by Denise Roache

The enforced paralysis of our interactive lifestyle due to the stringent COVID-19 mitigation strategies has us all reflecting, redesigning, rethinking and re-evaluating our life as we have known it.
For myself, employed in a new country at a start-up school, it is perhaps the collateral gift of time that we so rarely have access to! It is an opportunity to look back at the last six months of our inaugural academic year and our endeavors to establish the unique inclusive culture that is Paradise Valley Private School in Muscat, Oman.
It is always a privilege to be entrusted to collaborate in leading any school and it is one that I do not take lightly. Having enjoyed working in schools across Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Singapore and now Oman, I find myself pausing to analyze, comprehend and appreciate what makes this current opportunity so unique. To Read More Click Here