Recent events/workshops

• A workshop on “Understanding Adolescent Behaviour” was conducted on 13th Feb by Dr. Ali Khwaja. The program addressed about 120 teachers of about ten different schools coming under the CSI group. The workshop was interactive and focused on issues of teenagers beginning with the need to understand the development process of the teenagers, sexuality, addictions, boy-girl relationships, career choices, to enhancing learning in these youngsters.
• A workshop on cranio-sacral therapy was held at the R T Nagar centre of Banjara Academy on 15th Feb by Ms. Devika, a trained and qualified therapist in the field, who was visiting from the USA. The essence of the workshop was to understand the energy flow in the body and use the technique of massage to relieve stress and the blocks in the energy flow in the body. The workshop was well received and enjoyed by the participants.
• The free HH talk at the R T Nagar centre of Banjara Academy on 18th Feb dealt with the topic “Using memories to our advantage”. The role of memories in our life, and tips on creating happy memories, the way to use these moments to wipe out unhappy memories – were the points that were deliberated upon by Dr. Ali. The hall was full and jam packed with people of all ages and the talk appreciated..
• About 160 girls of Sophia School studying in the 10th std, were counselled on 19th Feb with regard to their career options and choices, as a follow up on the aptitude test written by them during the year. All the students of the 10 std of the school were previously administered the Aptitude test, which was then evaluated and individual reports given to the students. The one to one counselling helped clarify a lot of doubt and questions in the mind of these youngsters and their parents. On this day parallel to the counselling the children and their parents went through different presentations giving them an overview of the various options that a students has, the methodology of choosing a career and information about the various careers.
• A two-day residential camp on interpersonal relationships was held in the salubrious environs of “Manthan” a retreat of Banjara, from 19th to 21st Feb. The camp’s focus was on understanding the importance of relationships in our lives and the ways to nurture them. There were about 40 participants in all. The camp was experiential and filled with lot of activities. The participants learnt to bond with others and had fun-filled evenings with campfires, games and other activities.
• Dr. Ali Khwaja was a resource person in two National Seminars, one on Ethics in Journalism and the other on Research Practices in Education, organized by Jain University and St. Joseph’s College respectively on 23rd and 26th February. His presentations, as usual, were received with great appreciation and enlightenment.
• An two hour program on “Bringing Out the Full Potential of your Child” was held for the parents of the primary section of the Rashtrottana school on 27th Feb. About 200 parents were present. Various aspects of parenting were discussed. Questions about handling sibling rivalry, issues of single children, identification of specific learning difficulties, understanding the intelligences of children and encouraging them were a few of the topics that were discussed. The parents were very eager to understand and learn about various concepts that were discussed.

Train the Trainers at Himatsingka Linen at Hassan

Banjara Academy conducted a three day training for the trainers who are transforming the lives of over 1600 young rural girls of Hassan district, giving them opportunity to earn and learn. These girls are employed in the factory, given hostel accommodation, and enrolled for graduation in open university.

National Conference of Principals of Anglo-Indian Schools

Dr. Ali addressed the National Conference in which over 120 Principals of some of the most prestigious schools in the country participated, and took them through an experiential learning of Emotional Intelligence.

BMS Engineering College

Banjara Academy was invited to conduct a unique workshop for the senior faculty of BMS, one of the most prestigious engineering colleges in Bangalore, on the theme of “Improving student-teacher relationship with the 21st century student”. There was active participation, deep awareness, and many practical tips to adapt to the principle “if a child cannot learn the way we teach, let us teach him the way he can learn.”

Wide Variety of Training Programs

In the past two months, Banjara’s team conducted workshops and training sessions for Doctors, Teachers, Parents or Students of MSR Rahmiah Hospital, Defence Institute of Quality Assurance, Cathedral School, Don Bosco, MSR College of Hotel Management, KV Hebbal, Kidwai Hospital, VIbgyor Schools, Sophia School, IDB Scholarship students, National Entrepreneurship Network, Edu Media, etc.