Good Schools of India
Joy of Learning Weekly #47
My Good School is open to all
Sunday School from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Zoom only. Subscription: Rs 2500 per year. Promoting reading nurtures a world that pauses before judging, listens before reacting, and seeks to understand first. Let's ignite a love for stories and build empathy in every individual!
Observation and classrooms - Neelashi Mangal
As a teacher, I find this a powerful message that I'd like to bring to my classrooms and teacher training. In the chaos of learning the alphabet and numbers, we forget the gifts we have received from nature. Can we bring this back to our classroom? It is also a reflection of how little we care or bother to do. As a result, we can destroy it because there is less connection and affection for it.
Neelashi Mangal
The Problem: Unhappiness & The Pursuit of Being “Special”
Sandeep Dutt’s Masterclass
Discuss happiness, contribution, and the pursuit of being “special.”
Key Takeaways
Happiness is the feeling of contribution. This subjective sense of being useful is the antidote to the most significant unhappiness: not liking oneself.
The desire for recognition is a trap. It creates dependence on others’ approval, sacrificing freedom for a fleeting, external validation of worth.
Problem behaviour is a “pursuit of easy superiority.” Children seek attention (good or bad) to feel special, often because they feel unheard or can’t meet parental expectations.
The “courage to be normal” is the solution. Accepting one’s ordinary self is the first step to self-acceptance, freeing one from the need for external validation.
Educational Activities and Learning Experiences
Learning Forward Saturday
Reviewing educational findings and planning new teaching strategies.
Key Takeaways
Shift from feedback to “feedforward” to guide students on how to improve their work, not just mark it wrong.
Systematically teach reading using two methods: phonics (sound-symbol association) and sight reading (recognising whole words like “the”).
Move beyond copying to foster creativity by having students compose original stories, even from pictures, to demonstrate proper application of learning.
Launch “Wisdom Mandali” next year, a teacher-led initiative to share stories and lead sessions, with Neelashi M in a supporting role.
BrewingKnowledge.com
In the new edition of this highly acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Robert Cialdini, a seminal expert in influence and persuasion, explains the psychology behind why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically in business and everyday settings. Using memorable stories and relatable examples, Robert Cialdini makes this crucially important subject surprisingly easy.
Meet Neha Negi, author of When Birds Talked: Folklore of the Hills
Brewing Knowledge Friday
To explore the power of observation and storytelling with author Neha Negi.
Key Takeaways
Observation is the gateway to care. Slowing down to observe our immediate surroundings—a skill often lost in adulthood—builds attention, which fosters care and ultimately leads to protection.
Folklore transmits reverence, not just information. Neha Negi's book uses imagined folklore to communicate a feeling of shraddha (reverence) for nature, a feeling she learned from her grandfathers.
The session’s goal is to rekindle this wonder. Participants want to relearn the art of observation for themselves and to teach it to children, viewing it as the foundation for experiential learning and critical thinking.
A writing challenge was set. Participants will write a 10–15-line story based on an object from the initial observation exercise, with no pressure to include a plot or to be perfect.
My Good School
My Good School began with Gerald Durrell's 'The Strawberry Pink Villa' from My Family and Other Animals, emphasising visual imagery and the Durrell family's experiences in Greece. The class then explored insect observation, migration, descriptive writing, and the comparison of traditional and digital letter writing. It concluded with practice in writing and reading book reviews to improve English skills, during which students shared their reading experiences and highlighted the value of personal reflection through literature.