“We cannot know the consequences of suppressing a child’s spontaneity when he is just beginning to be active. We may even suffocate life itself. That humanity which is revealed in all its intellectual splendor during the sweet and tender age of childhood should be respected with a kind of religious…
View More 6 lessons to learn from children
Telling the whole story When I was a child, my dad used to often tell this joke. He tells it occasionally even today and I still laugh at it. A school boy brings a prize back home. He proudly proclaims to his parents, “I won second prize in running race…
View More Context! Context! Context!
I came across this video for the first time about two years ago. Since then, I have found it multiple times in the contexts of life lessons, children’s educational videos, leadership training and most recently on a reality show in a Marathi TV channel. The summary of the video is…
View More Life lessons from the kitchen
“What is a drop of rain, compared to the storm? What is a thought, compared to a mind? Our unity is full of wonder, which your tiny individualism… cannot even conceive.” — The Many, System Shock Have you ever wondered, why do geese fly in a V formation? As a bird flaps its…
View More Shared intelligence: Harnessing the group’s wisdom
Habit – the bit that remains As the current year approaches the end and a New Year begins with great hopes, it also brings along with it a shortened deadline (45 to 60 days) for the Final Exam. The beauty of life is in balance, on one hand we want…
View More Studying effectively for exams with the right habits
I have been teaching my student for more than a year now, I still see confusion and fear in her eyes when I ask her a question and she doesn’t know the answer. I tell her repeatedly that it is okay if her answer is wrong, she needs to speak…
View More Why do we stigmatise mistakes?
Movie buff that I am, I always look for inspirational stories that make me think about my life choices. Be it Marvel’s Avengers for technology that could change class room teaching in the near future, or great biographies that tell us how holding on to what you believe makes all…
View More Am I mad enough?
‘My son/daughter doesn’t listen to me’ I hear this complaint from parents all the time. This is irrespective of whether the son/daughter is 2 years old or 42 years old. At least in the Indian setting, ‘listening to’ and ‘obeying’ parents is seen as a virtue of the highest order.…
View More Is obedience a virtue?
In the race of being unique, the current educational bodies have failed to define a standard curriculum, while being critiqued for wiping the creativity out from the individuals during the teaching process. In the light of this argument, a standardised curriculum has different layers. On the other hand, the decision…
View More Standardisation of curriculum: The good, the bad, and the ugly
I clearly remember my maths class, as a kid. My teacher would come one fine morning and ask us- “so students, what is 5 x 2?”. After a pause of about two seconds, we all would yell in unison- “taaann (10)!” She would then say- “vaaarry goood”. Little surprise, in…
View More Are you asking the right questions?