MY SCHOOL - Dr .Nilesh Gopal das Joshi (warren buffett book recommendations TXT) 📗

behaviors, ratings are supported by descriptions, feedback is easy, reduces biases, chances of subordinate improvement are high.

Some Disadvantages are: Negative incidents can be prioritized, forgetting incidents, overly close supervision; feedback may be too much and may appear to be punishment.

Essay method

In this method, the rater writes down the employee description in detail within a number of broad categories like, overall impression of performance, promote ability of employee, existing capabilities and qualifications of performing jobs, strengths and weaknesses and training needs of the employee.

Advantages of this method: It is extremely useful in filing information gaps about the employees that often occur in a better structured checklist.

Disadvantages of essay method: It is highly dependent upon the writing skills of rater and most of them are not good writers.

IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

It provides a record of performance over a period of time. It can be motivational with the support of a good reward and compensation. It provides an opportunity for the head to meet and discuss performance of the staff. It provides an employee to discuss issues and clarify expectations. It provides the employee with the feedback about their performance. It establishes line of communication. It forms a basis for personnel’s salary increases, promotions, disciplinary actions, bounces etc. It validates selection techniques and human resource policies. It helps to judge the gap between actual and desired performance To reduce grievances of employees. Chapter: 8 THE SCHOOL PLANT

THE SCHOOL PLANT

The school plant is one of the major aspects of school administration. The school can be compared to a plant. It grows and develops gradually like a plant. A school building to come up requires hard labour for many many years. Good students can be products of a good school only.

Dr. Jaswant Singh says, “While it is true that a bad workman blames his tools, it is certain that the best work can only be accomplished with the best tools.”

The school campus includes the building, the lawn, the school garden, playground, the hostel, staff quarters etc. By school building we mean the whole constructed area of the school with classrooms, a big hall, open air theatre, staff room, student’s common room, library, science laboratories, drawing room, SUPW room, visitor’s room, office, guest room, canteen, cycle shed, bath rooms, lavatories etc. It refers to the material provisions of the school. The school plant is of great importance because of its impact on the educational processes and programmes.

The school plant should be ideal for the growth and development of young children. It should be situated in healthy surroundings, and its structure must be appropriate in respect of climatic conditions.It must be an attractive, neat and clean building in the area concerned.

A school cannot be set up everywhere and anywhere. The character of school building and grounds are important elements in the child’s education. Dr. K. G. Saiyidain has described the importance of school plant as: “A school or college is a vital and life-giving environment to the extent that it brings into the life of its students an abiding love and appreciation for all that is best and most significant in national and human life”.

We have now realized that all environments educate, and the character of school buildings and grounds can be important elements in the child’s education. The school buildings are instructional equipment and they must be planned to implement the educational objectives and philosophy of the community. Word pictures and even photographs are very inadequate means of conveying the real beauty, the inviting atmosphere, the spacious comfort and the functional usefulness of a school plant.

Essentials of a School Plant Site

It is not the main building alone which is important, the site itself may be regarded as of fundamental importance. The surroundings of the school should be neat, healthy and congenial and free from disturbances and noise. The site should be spacious enough to meet all the requirements of structures, playgrounds, farm, lawns, shady trees and cycle stands and there should be scope for further expansion. The situation of the site should be easily accessible.

Building

The building should have adequate accommodation for the various purposes. Its structure should be safe and stable. It should be well protected by a boundary wall or a fence. The rooms should be provided with proper ventilation and lighting arrangements.

In order to meet various requirements, there should be the provision of rooms in the school building such as:

Principal’s office School office Staff room Library and reading room Assembly hall Common room (especially for girls in a coeducational institution) Laboratories as per the number of science subjects Workshops for various vocational or semi-vocational courses Guidance room Museum and audio-visual room Stores as per requirement Dispensary Sports room C.C. Room Urinals and Lavatories Classrooms adequate in number Subject rooms for special subjects Rooms for activities etc.

Equipments

The classrooms, laboratories and subject rooms should be equipped with adequate furniture. It should be convenient for work and suitable for the correct posture of pupils. The library should be well stocked with all types of relevant books. It should be well furnished. Similarly, the reading room should be furnished in a manner which stimulates and facilitates self-study on the part of the students. The laboratories should be well-equipped with the scientific apparatus according to requirements and laid down specifications. It should have water supply arrangements. The school should be very rich in respect of audio-visual equipments. It should have a large stock of illustrative aids. The classrooms should be well provided with the black board, almirahs and teacher’s desk. The principal’s room, staff room and office should be well furnished and well-equipped. The equipment in respect of games and athletics, common room, museum and activities rooms should also be up to the mark.

Maintenance and Repairs

Regular attention should be paid to the maintenance of the campus. With the help of plots, lawns, flower beds and gardens, it should be made attractive and beautiful. It should be cleaned daily to keep it neat and tidy. The building also needs annual repairs and white washing. Replacement and repair of the broken furniture should also be a regular process. Replacement, addition and upkeep of the books in the library, apparatus in the laboratory, games material etc. should also be a continuous process. The water fittings and electric fittings should also be kept in working order through constant checkup and needed repairs and replacements.

SELECTION OF SITE

When the site is being selected for a school, it should be done with greatest care and farsightedness. An ideal site is the first prerequisite of an ideal school. It is not possible to create a beautiful and attractive school in ugly and unhygienic surroundings, because you cannot create a healthy environment in unhealthy surroundings. There are a number of considerations to be kept in mind while making this selection.

Surroundings:

The school must be located in healthy surroundings. It should be accessible by bus or other means of transport, and at the same time it should be situated a little away from the main or a busy road. Its environment should not only be neat and clean, but also quiet and pleasant. There should be enough of open space in and around.

Level:

The level of the site should be a little raised as compared to its surroundings, so that waterlogging and dampness do not occur. The level should be sloping to enable the rain water or flood water to flow and not to stagnate anywhere on the campus.

Direction:

It should be possible to construct the school building on the site in such a manner that sunlight enters all the rooms directly during winter, whereas in the summer season, the sunlight can be barred entry into the rooms. The situation of the site should be such that it allows for the front portion of the building to face the main road or the approach road.

Shape:

A rectangular shape of the site will be more suitable and useful for the lay-out of the building. Its front should be wide enough and not unduly narrow.

Service Conditions:

A site should not be so far away from the main populace so that water, electricity and drainage facilities cannot reach there immediately.

Scope for further expansion:

The site should be so located that there is possibility of further expansion according to growing needs.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SCHOOL CAMPUS

A school must look like an ideal place and structure in many ways. It should possess certain distinctive characteristics like:

Adequacy:

The school campus should be sufficient enough to satisfy the requirements of the necessary curricular and co-curricular activities.

Safety:

The campus and plant should ensure physical and hygienic safety of its population. It should be a strong and stable structure. It should be situated safe from the risks of heavy traffic. Its surroundings should be safe from the health point of view.

Coordination:

All the wings and sections of the school building and campus must be inter-connected so that it is easy to supervise and coordinate all the activities going on in it. They should be so located that they do not interfere with each other’s work, instead they promote it.

Efficiency:

The campus and structure must be planned in a manner which gives the maximum benefit to all concerned. It should be possible and convenient to put to their maximum use all the facilities available. Its arrangement should not result in the wastage of time and energy on the part of students, the staff and the Principal.

Beauty:

Neatness and cleanliness, coupled with simplicity are the signs of beauty of a school. The design should present a harmony. It should be simple but artistic.

Flexibility:

It should be possible to put the existing campus and structure to various uses according to the changing needs of the school. There should be scope for modifications and adjustments in the available design and structure under any changed circumstances.

Economy:

Each item in the campus must be constructed economically. It should also be possible to put the available facilities to multiple usage. The school plant should be economical with respect to original cost, operation and maintenance.

TYPE AND DESIGN OF SCHOOLS

There are prescribed rules and regulations for the construction of schools. The Secondary Education Commission opines:

“Provision is made in such schools to see that there is free circulation of air, proper light, shelter from monsoon and it also laid down that the rooms constructed should have a certain minimum area to accommodate a certain number of school children in a class.” The Commission again emphasizes to pay attention to the report of the School Building Committee appointed by the Central Advisory Board of Education in 1941. This is a comprehensive report with valuable suggestions regarding the school building and equipment. The Commission says, “ We believe that every classroom should provide for an area of not less than 10 sq.ft. per student.

The minimum number of students in a classroom should be 30 and the maximum number should not exceed 40. The school building must provide for:

Certain amenities for the students such as common room, sanitary conveniences. Provision for mid-day meals and refreshments to be taken and in the case of girl students retiring room with necessary conveniences separately. Accommodation for teachers with a common room available for them. Reading room and a library A visitor’s room where parents or relations who wish to see the headmaster may wait. A room for the headmaster and an office room. Laboratories and workshops where necessary.

SCHOOL CAMPUS

An ideal school campus must consist of large number of items like classrooms, office rooms, assembly hall, laboratories, library, playgrounds, gymnasium, dispensary, hostel, staff quarters etc. Some of them are being discussed here:

PLAYGROUNDS

They are a must in a school campus for the allround development