Royal Global School has taken the initiative to organize a series of webinars during the current lockdown period to help educate and inform the interested audience.
These webinars are being conducted with specialists and experts from around the nation, conversing on various topics that are currently relevant, as well as being important for the growth of the children. These sessions are informative and detailed; the conversations are about how one can cope with all that is going on. They also shed light on the common misconceptions and myths about the different issues being dealt with. These webinars are open to all audiences and are being screened live on the school’s Facebook page.
The first webinar was with Shreedhar Maheshwari, a counselling psychologist who spoke on the challenges of parenting during and post lockdown.
Maheshwari pointed out the challenges being faced by parents and students around the world. He has observed that the change in normalcy has affected everyone’s routine. He added that if children are getting antsy at this time, parents need to be empathetic towards them and help them adjust to this new normal.
Another session was with Roopa Pai, one of India’s most prolific authors, who addressed the students, parents and educators on the importance of reading.
Pai spoke on the importance of reading books at tender age as it leads to mental stimulation and reduction of stress. She pointed out that reading increases knowledge, improves vocabulary, enhances critical thinking, improves memory, etc to name a few.
Quoting a Doha from the renowned poet Kabir, she focused on the fact that reading alone does not make one a ‘Pandit’ or does not make one knowledgeable, but it is the presence of human values which makes one a worthy person. She stated the three buzzing words which are the need of the hour for every young mind are Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. The session was interesting and captured the attention of all the viewers.
The third session was with Dr. Naresh Trehan, Chairman and Managing Director of Medanta - The Medicity, Gurugram who had an interactive session with the students, faculty and parents. Dr Trehan is an Indian cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeon.
The topic of the session was “Live and learn with COVID (Parents-children-Educator’s perspective).” It was attended by around 850 participants.
He started off the webinar by explaining what the Novel Corona virus is and the different coronavirus epidemics we have had in the past years. He brought out the differences between the SARS, H1N1 and COVID-19 viruses. He explained how the Novel Corona virus is a variation of the SARS virus. He brought into light how the virus mutates over time, changing the composition of its protein cells.
He also spoke about the timely actions taken for the previous epidemic outbreaks of Ebola and the SARS. He pointed out that China did a major disservice to the world by not giving timely information which could have curbed the spread of the virus. “They should have taken stringent steps when the outbreak occurred, knowing the severity of the effects of the virus in Wuhan. It is a possibility that the virus could have been contained in the 4 weeks that it was allowed to fester and spread because of the travelers,” he said.
He applauded the well-timed actions of the Indian government with regard to the lockdown stating that it was an essential and the most important step to control the spread of the virus in a country like India. India, simply put, does not have the resources to handle an outbreak like it happened in Europe. The lockdown helped in minimizing the spread and gave the government enough time to rally its resources for the coming weeks.
He mentioned that the Indian industry has revamped itself during these lockdown periods to produce complex materials like ventilators, PPE suits etc which were not available before the lockdown started. It has given India a great opportunity to create more and come out of this as a leader.
When asked what could be done to boost our immune system, Dr. Trehan responded with the following.
He encouraged increasing indoor exercises like Yoga and static cycling to at least 40 mins to boost immunity. He mentioned the importance of consuming proper nutrients like protein and to avoid carbohydrates in excess. A balanced mix of exercise and a healthy diet is crucial for everyone today. He also pointed how effective Yoga is for mental health and encouraged everyone to indulge in the activity.
He suggested that there are three important factors. First being the public, how it behaves and with what responsibility. Secondly, how the government and its wisdom handles lives v/s livelihood. Thirdly, the medical profession in its entirety. All these three need to work in tandem to fight COVID-19.
Every person should understand that it’s their responsibility to protect themselves and to protect one’s own family and society by strengthening and maintaining self-hygiene. He laid down the three dharmas of hand sanitizing, social distancing and masking for tackling COVID-19. He also emphasized on physical activities like Yoga and Ayurveda.
Dr. Trehan addressed the issues with specific inputs which would be truly beneficial for all. The overall session was an eye opener for the viewers and many questions were answered considering how detailed he was about his subject. He reassured his audience by asking them not be fearful, but to be careful.
The upcoming seminar will feature Rujuta Diwekar, India's leading nutrition and exercise science expert. Winner of the 'Nutrition Award' from Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Rujuta is India's leading sports science and nutrition expert and amongst the world's most followed Nutritionists. She is also a best-selling author and the country's foremost speaker on health and wellness.