International Ozone Day

Theme - “Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On”

Howard Gardner, the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Boston, identified eight distinct intelligences of human beings. According to Gardner (1991), "… students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways". The argument that he brought forward tells that, "we are all able to know the world through language, logical-mathematical analysis, spatial representation, musical thinking, and the use of the body to solve problems or to make things, an understanding of other individuals, and an understanding of ourselves…”. 

This idea goes on to suggest that people, including students need different conditions to learn. The idea of multiple intelligences, therefore, becomes imperative to educators as it allows them to identify differing strengths and weaknesses in students. Only after identifying the strengths and weaknesses, the educationists, school administrators and teachers will be able to design appropriate ways to make students learn. 

Being aware of it, and more so driven by the fact that it is indispensable to let students know and feel, Baylling HSS, led by Mr.Yenten Nyingtob, GNH focal person took a step forward to celebrate International Ozone Day on 16^th September 2014. It was also organized to create awareness on the importance of ozone layer for human survival, and to allow students to stretch its arms beyond classrooms teaching. It was an in-house celebration. We did it without causing any disturbance to our normal classes. Students were provided the materials in advance, to come up with the pictorial representation of their ideas of ozone layer depletion along with their messages to help replete the depletion. Students did it as their home tasks, and did it splendidly. In the morning, the academic area gained its splendour with the charisma and exquisiteness being added by the posters displayed by different classes. Sound of laughter, movement with cheery faces, students struck in dilemma not knowing which poster to tag the best - a total lovely scene were seen round the academic and administrative blocks during the recesses. Non-class teachers, with papers and marking criteria in their hands, were seen equally moving round the posters almost giving their expression to the passerby that they were undergoing hard time to judge. This is, I believe, could be truly because of competitive nature of posters and messages. I too found the posters artistic and messages meaningful this time.

In the afternoon, the culmination on importance of International Ozone Day was marked in our MPH where class XI Art students made visual presentation on ozone layer, ozone hole, causes of ozone layer depletion, process of ozone depletion, and effects of ozone layer depletion. They created a cause of big concern by pointing out that an ozone hole is detected recently around Tibetan Plateau. It is alarming for Bhutan because we are not that far away from Tibetan Plateau. So, it becomes equally important for Bhutan to fight or raise voices against the use of ozone depleting substances as much as countries like New Zealand, Australia etc. do.

 

We must avoid the use or find alternatives to the following ozone depleting substances:                  

                1. Aerosols, sterilants and carbon tetrachloride,

                2. Halons,

                3. HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons),

                4. Methyl bromide, Solvents, Coatings & Adhesives

Prizes were awarded to the deserving classes who displayed the best posters and made truly philanthropic messages. Congratulations to Classes XII Science A, XII Science B and XI Science B who made it to the position of first, second and third respectively.