How to Make the Most of School Resources: Libraries, Labs, and Teaching Services

Classrooms, libraries, and labs are the three main pillars of school, and taking advantage of each helps students make the best of their school life

Develop a special bond with teachers, this will help you go a long way in your learning journey

Schools are designed to facilitate learning for students, but the intended learning can only happen when the students participate in the process willingly and wholeheartedly.

Schooling is not just about classroom learning or academic excellence. Depending upon the standard of the school, a range of facilities is available in schools for the benefit of the pupils.

Apart from theoretical learning, students can benefit from sports facilities and creative engagement opportunities as well as the window to the world that the libraries offer. A well equipped laboratory can also provide insightful learning experiences to learners with a keen interest.

In a traditional school set up, classroom is where most of the learning happens. However, in our modern tech-driven atmosphere, classroom education is no more about poring over textbooks, listening to the lectures or staring at the blackboard.

Smart boards and the connected classrooms offer a world of possibilities to both teachers and the learners to take the learning beyond the confines of the four walls and make it really dynamic and memorable.

Classrooms, libraries and laboratories are the three main pillars on which the edifice of a school stands. Taking advantage of the facilities offered by each could help students make the best of their school year.

Teachers

Classroom is a nursery for students where the seeds of learning are sown and where all the bonds, relationships and educational collaborations blossom. The biggest and the most foundational of the relationships is the bond between the teacher and the student.

Teachers are the hearts and souls of a school, they are the lifeblood that runs through the schooling system, keeping the system alive. They are the one who mould and shape the characters and personalities in the classrooms.

A student who wants to make the best of his/her learning opportunities should first and foremost learn to respect and appreciate the position and the role of the teacher.

Our leaning journey begins with the bond we establish with our teachers. And this bond is not just about listening to their lectures or lessons intently, it goes far beyond that.

Though, the onus of developing this bond in the early years is primarily on teachers, the interest of the students and the thirst for knowledge they demonstrate also goes a long way in strengthening this bond.

The interests and the enthusiasm of the teachers fizzle out over a period of time, if they don’t get the same level of response from the students.

Learners who are willing to go the extra mile and take their relationship with the teachers beyond classroom go long way in their learning journey.

Throughout history, we can have several examples of this special teacher-student relationship that has created great personalities and leaders across the world.

So, make the best of the learning opportunities that you have through your teachers. These learnings will hold you in good stead not just through the academic year, but throughout your life.

Library

Libraries have been such a fundamental part of education throughout history, but it is a great concern to see the popularity of libraries declining so rapidly, especially in schools.

But this decline is not restricted to libraries alone. With the advances in technology and the internet impacting our learning behaviour now, many traditional learning tools and resources have started to decrease in popularity.

This is where the challenge lies. Though, technology has eased our quest for knowledge and increased accessibility, and is seemingly more appealing, it is essential to maintain the right balance between the use of modern and traditional tools.

There is no alternative to books and the ambiance of the library plays a key role in nurturing the thirst for knowledge among learners. It opens up a window to the world that even the tech-driven tools cannot match.

Though, a google search will throw up thousands of results on a subject, a library will give you the right direction, the right choices and offer the best options.

The library is also bereft of all the distractions and negative impacts that come with technology.

Hence, a trip to the library should be a regular routine for students looking to find classic literature, journals and other educational resources that help them deep dive into a subject.

Schools and teachers need to play an active role in encouraging students to use the library and make it part of their daily and weekly timetable.

The following strategies might help in this endeavor:

Challenges

Children love a bit of challenge and putting them in a reading competition will motivate them to visit the library. These challenges could take the shape of periodic competitions or monthly reading goals.

Activities

Organise small fun events in the library for younger children, involving books. This will develop affection among them for books as well as the library, helping them give importance to both.

Assignments

For the older children, organise projects that will make visiting the library and using library resources inevitable. The same could also be done for homework, setting homework assignments that must involve using the library.

Quiz

Organise quiz competitions based on answers that will only be found by visiting the library. This will expose students to various resources and make them understand the benefits of regular library visits.

Laboratory

Laboratories are among the most important centres of empirical learning. A well equipped laboratory aided by a passionate teacher can develop scientific temper and instil the passion for experimentation among students.

If you see yourself prospering in the field of science, then laboratory is the nursery where the seeds for observation, research and experimentation will germinate.

For this to happen, students must take the regular visits to the laboratory seriously. Because, ultimately it is the interest of the students that matters in taking advantage of the facilities and instruction available to them.

Laboratory experiences will help you develop scientific reasoning abilities, gaining insights into the complexity of empirical work, developing practical skills, understanding the nature of science, cultivating interest in nature and improving the ability to work in a team.

Laboratory experiences will also help students clearly understand the complexities and mysteries of the natural phenomena.

If taken seriously, laboratory experiences will introduce students to a world of natural wonders and miracles. It will also give the students a deeper lens to look at the world around us and within us and appreciate the beauty and gift of life.

They will learn to take into account every small element that come together to make life possible. They will not only learn to observe, but will also learn to work the material world around them to make life better.

Laboratories help students feel, test and measure the natural phenomena they learn in theory. This helps them internalise the knowledge they acquire and put it to practical use.

Laboratory experiences will also help students understand the fluidity of the scientific knowledge, which is primarily based on interpretations and assumptions.

Through experiments they will understand that science is a human endeavour and that scientific theories, models and explanations change over time on the basis of new evidence.

Laboratories make science come alive and make it interesting for the children who love to be in action. Laboratories make science relevant to our lives and help us see that everything that we do everyday involves science