November 2024 Issue
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Editor’s Note:
Dear Reader,
This November, we draw inspiration from the world of bees. Beekeeping—an ancient practice that fosters balance, patience, and cooperation—illustrates the powerful connection between personal growth and the community we build around us.
Through beekeeping, individuals develop in all Five Areas of Development: Cerebral, Emotional, Physical, Social, and Spiritual. Handling hives sharpens observation and fine motor skills, while the communal life of bees imparts values of teamwork, resilience, and adaptability. Working with bees also nurtures mindfulness, teaching us to be present and purposeful.
Just as bees turn nectar into honey, we too transform our experiences into wisdom. We hope this month’s insights inspire you to embrace community, learning, and growth in every part of life.
Happy reading, and may your learning be as sweet as honey!
Featured Articles
Bee Keeping and the Five Areas of Development
by Kreeti Goswami
Origin of Beekeeping
Honey can be found on dinner tables and in kitchens, often used for medicinal purposes. If bees are spotted in the garden or the small green corner of the balcony, it means the flowers are blooming. Bees are also a sign of the coming of spring.
Beekeeping is the art and skill of maintaining bee colonies to produce hive products (honey, beeswax) and pollination services. Beekeeping is also known as Apiculture, derived from the Latin word apiscultura, where Apis means bees and cultura denotes cultivation through education.
There is archaeological evidence that about 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians kept clay pots and used honey, wax, and propolis. In ancient Greece and Rome, apiculture was a common practice. The philosopher Aristotle, in his book Historia Animalum, discussed honeybees' floral fidelity, division of labour within the colony, and winter feeding. Greek athletes used honey as an energy booster. The Roman poet Virgil explained the proper way to install apiaries. Scholars suggest that commercial beekeeping started during the second half of the 19th century. In 1851, L. L. Langstroth discovered the concept of "bee space," a 3/8-inch gap that bees maintain between two adjacent combs as their passage for free movement. Based on this concept, the modern "Langstroth bee hive" with movable parallel frames/combs was developed. Langstroth is known as the Father of Modern Beekeeping.
Beekeeping as a Tool for Sustainable Rural Development
by Radivoj Prodanovic, Ivana Brkić, Dragana Ljubojević Pelić
Courtesy: ResearchGate
The symbiotic relationship between bees and the environment underscores the potential of apiculture as a sustainable practice. Bees, as pollinators, play a crucial role in ecosystem health and biodiversity conservation. Their pollination services are essential for the reproduction of numerous plant species, including many crops that constitute the backbone of agricultural economies. Beekeeping can diversify income sources, reducing dependence on single crops and enhancing household resilience to economic shocks. The aim of this paper is to explore the multifaceted role of apiculture as a tool for sustainable rural development. In conclusion, apiculture holds immense promise as a tool for sustainable rural development, offering a pathway towards economic prosperity, social inclusion, and environmental stewardship. By harnessing the synergies between bees, biodiversity, and community development, beekeeping has the potential to transform rural landscapes and livelihoods. However, realizing this potential requires concerted efforts to address the challenges and barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of beekeeping practices. Through collaborative action and integrated approaches, it can unlock the transformative power of apiculture and build resilient, vibrant, and sustainable rural communities for generations to come. Keep reading
The Role of Beekeeping in the Generation of Goods and Services: The Interrelation between Environmental, Socioeconomic, and Sociocultural Utilities
by Olatz Etxegarai-Legarreta, Olatz Etxegarai-Legarreta
Courtesy: MDPI
Honey bees and beekeeping belong to a large enterprise where the managers are the beekeepers, the workers are the bees, and the products generated are ecosystem goods and services, mostly intangible. Evidence for a reduction in the number of pollinating insects in the planet due to causes that are still being studied has put the spotlight on beekeeping activity and bees (wild and managed) due to their extraordinary capacity to contribute to pollination. The aim of the present work was to detect, identify, and analyze the set of environmental, socioeconomic, and sociocultural utilities (goods and services) generated by honey bees and beekeeping in order to identify possible interrelationships between them. The aim was to demonstrate that these utilities, far from being watertight, are interconnected, which will help to increase their value and highlight their positive externalities (genetic diversity and landscape, among others). This research begins with an overview of some seminal articles, published mainly in the last three years, which were searched following a review using keywords in major databases. After reading the seminal articles and others that were referenced, we analyzed the main utilities generated by honey bees and the possible relationships between them. The main contribution of our results is the determination that the generated utilities are interrelated, which could contribute to increasing their value. In addition, we found that, of the three interrelated dimensions, the socioeconomic dimension encompasses the environmental and sociocultural dimensions. The article ends by proposing future lines of research. Keep reading
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Past Events
Technology and AI in Education Part 2: Optimising Benefits and Addressing Challenges
This two-part webinar series was designed to provide a nuanced understanding of how students, teachers, and school leaders are using technology and AI in education, and how coders, IT specialists and policymakers are responding to refine its application in the educational field.
In the first part of the series, the panelists – consisting of a student, a teacher, and a school leader – discussed how technology and AI are transforming education. They highlighted the benefits, such as personalised learning experiences, innovative teaching-learning tools, and improved administrative efficiency. However, they also addressed the challenges that come with these advancements, including increased plagiarism, diminished social skills and mental health issues among students, a steep learning curve and potential burnout for teachers, and cybersecurity and privacy concerns for school administrators.
This second part of the series featured a diverse group of experts, including technologists, course content creators, and policymakers. This session focused on how these professionals are addressing the needs and challenges faced by those within the school ecosystem, and how they are working to optimise and actualise the use of technology and AI in education.
Click here to read the report. Watch the video, click here.
Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Education (Part 1): Exploring the Benefits and Unintended Consequences
This two-part webinar series is designed to provide a nuanced understanding of how students, teachers, and school leaders are using technology and AI in education, and how coders, IT specialists and policymakers are responding to refine its application in the educational field.
Technology and AI are revolutionizing education by providing personalized learning experiences, offering innovative teaching-learning tools, and enhancing administrative efficiency. AI-powered platforms have the ability to adapt to individual student needs with customized content and real-time feedback, allowing them to take ownership of their own learning. Through technology, Teachers can focus on personalized instruction and use AI tools for efficient and effective assessment and progress tracking. School leaders can streamline administration, improve decision-making, and enhance communication using technology.
Despite the benefits, challenges such as unequal access to technology, digital literacy issues, rise in plagiarism, and privacy concerns persist. Unforeseen consequences also include reduced social skills and mental health issues for students, job insecurity and burnout for teachers, and financial strain and cybersecurity threats for school leaders. These challenges highlight the need for a balanced and thoughtful approach to integrating technology and AI in education, ensuring effective risk management and support.
Click here to read the report. Watch the video, click here.
Calming the Mind: A Retreat with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Ritinjali and Centre for Escalation of Peace in collaboration with India International Centre, Nalanda Foundation and Pallavan Learning Systems successfully concluded its 4th annual retreat with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche on the theme ‘Calming the Mind: Joy of Living - Level One’ on 16 & 17 March 2023 with hybrid mode with in-person sessions in Delhi. Click here to read the comprehensive report on the retreat.
ASSESSMENT: Valuing what matters
The webinar was held on Thursday, 7 September 2023. Pallavan Learning Systems, in association with Ritinjali and the Centre for Escalation of Peace, conducted a webinar on the theme Assessment - Valuing What Matters. The webinar was a part of the series 'On a Quest to Learn: A series on the evolving nature of one's learning journey'. The webinar sought to look at the evolving nature of assessment and gauge its effectiveness in helping people develop into persons of substance. Read the report, watch the video.
Harmony of Head and Heart with Venerable Geshe Lhakdor
Geshe Lhakdor was in conversation with a group of eminent individuals from the education field. During this exchange, Geshe la shared insights and experiences acquired over decades in diverse roles as he deliberated on the topic, ‘Harmony of Head and Heart’. Read the report, watch the video.
Teaching Mathematics with the Help of History
The webinar was held on 23rd November 2023 Mathematics is a subject that is often seen as abstract, complex, and detached from the real world. Many students struggle to find meaning and relevance in mathematical concepts, leading to disinterest and a lack of motivation to learn. However, at Pallavan Learning Systems, we believe that Mathematics is a language – language of the universe – that helps us make sense of the physical world around us. During this webinar, Dinesh Singh strove to make Mathematics accessible, understandable and relatable with the help of History. Read the report, watch the video.
The Purpose of Life with Venerable Geshe Lhakdor
The webinar unfolded as a captivating exchange between Geshe Lhakdor and the vibrant community of students and educators from Second Chance School and Ritinjali learning centres. The event seamlessly blended physical presence at Ritinjali’s Second Chance School with a vibrant online audience, featuring Geshe Lhakdor, a renowned Buddhist philosopher, as the focal point of a spirited dialogue. Read the report, watch the video
Services
Salaam Balak Trust
PLS conducted a workshop at the Salaam Baalak Trust on the development of the Hindi, English, and Mathematics curricula. The sessions on English and Mathematics were facilitated by Dr. Saroj Thapa and Kreeti Goswami from PLS, while the session on the Hindi curriculum was led by Reena Singh from Ritinjali.
Pallavan School, Jhalawar
This year the focus of the professional development programme with the teachers of Pallavan School in Jhalawar is on Assessment. The online session on the 19th of October was on the creation and use of rubrics, which helps to ensure consistency and transparency in grading. It also helps the students to understand the expectations from the assessment, and most importantly, it provides feedback for further improvement. This session was part of an ongoing discussion.
Ritinjali
PLS conducted an in-person session with the Second Chance School boys. The focus was to make the participants understand Cerebral Development and its importance in the wholistic development of a person. To make it more meaningful for the students, practical applications of strategies for Cerebral Development were discussed through activities and scenarios.
PLS facilitated a session on the importance of Roadmaps and Backstories in human life. The session emphasised the significance of having a goal, following the right path, and maintaining perseverance without getting discouraged.
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