Good Schools of India
Joy of Learning Weekly #50
Celebrating the 50th edition of our weekly #joyoflearning. In the Bible, 50 symbolises liberation, restoration, and the Holy Spirit, representing a “divine reset” or cycle completion. It is linked to the Year of Jubilee (every 50th year) and Pentecost (50 days after Passover), symbolising freedom from debt and God’s Spirit outpouring.
The Good Schools Alliance advocates for the freedom and joy of learning. The 50th edition is a significant milestone in our journey towards a stronger association with Joy of Giving. To commemorate this occasion, we have established the Hall of Fame to recognise our long-standing friends and supporters of the Learning Forward India Foundation.
Friends of the Foundation
The Friends of the Foundation, esteemed role models and conscience-keepers, serve as members emeritus of the Governing Council of the Good Schools Alliance and contribute to strengthening the Foundation’s mission.
Prof. Peter Church OAM
Heather Lageman
Peter George Kaye AM ESM
Prof. Anupam Sibal
Dr Charu Mathur
Rajinder Pal Devgan
Sanjay Jain
Our School Culture Transformation journey began from The Fabindia School
Paper over Pixels
Ebooks are convenient.
They’re cheaper, lighter, and available in seconds.
Still… they’re just not for me.
I don’t want to read a story on the same device where I check messages, scroll, and get distracted every five minutes. My brain already associates screens with noise and hurry. Reading, for me, is supposed to feel slower than the rest of life. I don’t want to tap or swipe to move through a story. I want to turn a page. There’s something about holding a physical book that makes the experience feel real. The weight of it is in my bag. The quiet sound of pages shifting. The way it doesn’t glow or buzz, it waits for me to open it. And nothing, nothing, beats the smell of a new book.
That soft, inky, papery smell when you open it for the first time. It’s the smell of a story that hasn’t been touched yet. An ebook can give me the words, but it can’t give me that feeling. I also love seeing how far I’ve come just by looking at the pages. The stack of read pages growing thicker on the left, the unread ones getting thinner on the right — it’s such a small thing, but it feels so satisfying. I can see my progress. I can feel the journey in my hands. A percentage bar on a screen just doesn’t hit the same way.
Ebooks store stories, but physical books store memories.
I remember where I was when I read certain books because I can see the exact copy sitting on my shelf. Some have folded corners. Some have lines I underlined when a sentence meant too much. Some still have random receipts or bits of paper tucked inside like little time capsules.
A physical book doesn’t run out of battery. It doesn’t pull me away from the moment. It lets me disconnect from everything else and be fully inside one world at a time.
Reading, to me, isn’t just about finishing a story. It’s about slowing down, being present, and letting a story stay with me even after I close it. Paper makes that possible in a way screens never have.
So no, I don’t do ebooks.
I do smell the new pages.
I do the growing stack of pages on the left.
I do bookmarks, dog-eared corners, and stories I can hold in my hands.
I think you can tell by now…if there are sticky notes and tabs, it means the book understood you — and parts of life you could never quite put into words.
Sneha, at The English Book Depot
Reading from the book What Did You Ask At School Today? by Kamala Mukunda
Fridays @ EBD focused on discussing assessment methods in education, particularly exploring alternative approaches to traditional testing. The participants, including teachers and students, shared experiences and perspectives on collaborative testing, portfolio assessments, and rubrics. They discussed the challenges and benefits of these methods, including their potential to reduce test anxiety and promote deeper learning. The conversation also touched on emotional health in schools, with participants sharing examples of how their institutions support students’ mental well-being. The conversation ended with a discussion on academic emotions and their impact on learning, emphasising the importance of recognising and addressing students’ emotional states in the educational context.
BOOKS OF THE WEEK
The Bench - Neelashi Mangal
Ms Kavita writes- “I sincerely hope this book will bring learners, caregivers, and educators together and create better understanding, congenial relations and warmer interpersonal relations, helping to nurture teenagers better and make school a happy place, resounding with laughter at the joy of learning.” Her words need to be practised in our schools amongst parents, management and teachers. A dream would be: this book being read by these three groups, and they each understanding one another to bring more joy into the child’s life, who sometimes seems absent from the picture.
My Good School
In Sunday School, students and teachers explored themes of value, happiness, and growth via a story about a 1-rupee coin. The session started with students reading blog posts and sharing thoughts, followed by a detailed story about a journey and her transformation through small changes. A quiz examined the value of money and its significance, prompting discussion on tangible and emotional worth. The session ended with reflections on how happiness and success require effort and vulnerability, emphasising that meaningful progress comes from small, consistent steps rather than perfect conditions.
Rediscovering the Magic of Reading - Garima, PYDS
Today also helped me rediscover the magic of reading. I finally understood why books matter so much to me—because they inspire me to imagine the future, reshape stories, and create new ones by drawing on the ideas I gather from everything I read.
Garima
PYDS Learning Academy
Joy of Learning
Imagine children missing out on the joy of reading! It’s not just about less reading; they lose a vital tool for empathy. Books boost imagination, exposing readers to others’ lives, feelings, and challenges. They foster connection and understanding by helping us accept emotions not our own. Without this, caring for those different from us is harder.
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!
Masterclass Book 1 Concluded
The Courage to be Disliked and introduce the sequel The Courage to Be Happy by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi
Fumitake Koga is an award-winning professional writer and author. He has released numerous bestselling works of business-related and general non-fiction. He encountered Adlerian psychology in his late twenties and was deeply affected by its conventional wisdom–defying ideas. Thereafter, Koga made numerous visits to Ichiro Kishimi in Kyoto, gleaned the essence of Adlerian psychology from him, and took notes on the classical “dialogue format” method of Greek philosophy used in this book.
Key Takeaways
Book 1 Concluded: The group finished Courage to be Disliked, clarifying that Adlerian psychology is a philosophy, not a falsifiable science, and that happiness requires continuous action.
Book 2 Announced: The sequel, The Courage to be Happy, will be the next book, with a one-week break for participants to acquire copies.
GSA’s Mission: The Good Schools Alliance (GSA) was introduced, focusing on its “3 Rs” (Reading, Reflection, Relationships) and “6 Cs” (Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Character, Citizenship).
Scholarship Initiative: A new scholarship program was launched to bring more Youth into the masterclass, with the first 3,000 INR donation funding a student from PYDS Learning Academy.