Sandeep Dutt: Taking Learning Forward

Sandeep Dutt as Chairman of Learning Forward is leading the organisation to help build learning communities all over the country. With over 30 years of hands-on experience as a social entrepreneur, a trainer and mentor for thousands of young people, Sandeep has been involved with schools across the country and worked with students in all kinds of socioeconomic environments. As the National Director of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award, he worked for building a curriculum for enabling young people to equip for life and set in place a sustainable model for youth empowerment. As CEO designate for the Indian Plumbing Skills Council, Sandeep worked closely with the National Skills Development Council (NSDC) to set up and frame policy guidelines for the plumbing industry.

Sandeep's work for The Fabindia Schools Programme to demonstrate excellence in school operations, involving the community and establishing a sustainable model for delivering good quality education in India, is now being replicated on a larger scale. His belief is that the happiness of young people is in our hands, and we must do all to help them live their dreams by providing them with the best possible education. Taking ahead his vision and mission, he is working to provide quality education in schools across India. 

Sohan Anand: Where Are The Teachers!

How many of us are willing to commit our children to the teaching profession? I am afraid not many hands will go up. Next five years are going to see a huge deficit of quality teachers, a drought, if I may say so. If no serious and immediate steps are taken to address the situation, there is a grave danger of the system collapsing.

Actually, schools in India have become big business. Private Schools, by and large are in the  hands of moneyed individuals, most of whom may not have been to school, leave aside having any experience. The sole purpose is to make money by twisting and manipulating the system in connivance with govt officials who are more than ever keen to extend a helping hand.

About Govt Schools, the less said the better. Corruption is rampant and schools bereft of bare minimum facilities. What little is giving in form of aid and grants is siphoned off by unscrupulous officials. More often than not Principals and teachers are active partners in such murky dealings.

Children are subjected to brutal beatings on schools, rapes and sexual harassment by members of teaching faculty, poor quality teaching, using schools to promote tuition culture are all symptomatic of the fact that the rot is deep and irreversible.

Little wonder, no quality person wants to commit itself to teaching profession. Where will the teachers come from?

Yet  lndia needs quality teachers more than ever before. I am not for a moment suggesting that the schools will go without teachers, but certainly without quality teachers. The  profession will be picked up by those who have failed to make it else where. Coming with such a frustrated mindset, such frustrated people are bound to spread more frustration and dissatisfaction. The signs of such a scenario are clearly visible. Conduct an impartial survey across the schools and see how many qualifies the test of time. So insensitive and callous have been our Universities, and so indiscriminately degrees distributed, that every second person holds a Masters or a Bed degree. A huge bulk of our teachers can't communicate, cannot write, cannot plan, cannot prioritize cannot delegate. Conceptualizing, analyzing rationalizing is simply beyond their thinking. They have simple never been taught.The future of the children passing through such hands can well be imagined. "He who can, does,he who cannot teaches", said Bernard  Shaw.It appears so true today.

Politicians and our leaders have neither the time nor the imagination to give a serious thought to education and the role that it plays in nation building. They can only politicise education to suit there interest.

Govt must come up with a blueprint to reform the system. It is necessary to restore the credibility and dignity of the teaching profession so that quality people get attracted to the profession. We must genuinely recognize that the teachers are the creators of the character,of knowledge, of wealth, of health. The worth of the teacher must not be compared to any other profession.The uniqueness of the profession must be acknowledged and maintained. Only then we shall be able to attract quality people.

The government will do well to create a n all India teachers service on the lines of UPSC to choose the best talent and trained by top faculty of IIM's, IIT's and Corporate Managers. They should not only be trained in the art of teaching, but also in the art of man-management, social and child psychology, art of communication and so on. Bed should be done away with. It serves no useful purpose. It only adds to our ignorance. Teaching is an art, if you have it you'll  teach or else not.

India today stands on the threshold of either becoming a super power or sink into such abysmal depths from which it may never recover. If India desires a place under the sun then teachers certainty have a huge role to play.

Will we get them???

Hema Surapaneni: Sculpting Happy Minds

As a child, I had always been intrigued by the world around me and changes, great and small alike, always made me wonder. I wondered at the way the ants lined up and worked hard to carry bits of sugar. I wondered at the way the little sparrows chirped all day to collect food to feed their young ones. I wondered at the beauty of the night sky and spent hours gazing and identifying constellations and fantasizing stories of these sparkling diamonds. I wondered hearing the tunes of the buzzing bees. I wondered at the crystal dew drops on soft green grass. I wondered watching the concentric patterns of ripples in a disturbed lake. I wondered as to how my mom knew which ingredients would go with the other to make the dish tasty and healthy. I wondered at the beauty of the blooming lotus and didn’t want to go to bed as it would wilt by morning. As a child I was in awe of life and wanted to know what will happen, how it will happen and when it will happen. As I grew, I learnt a lot, got qualified, and achieved what I wanted but realised that the most precious thing I lost was my sense of wonder. I had seen the same world as a child with much wonder and amazement and now as an adult, I want certainty of how things work with regard to my profession, relationships, finances and my future security that I have missed out the magic of life. I am not comfortable with surprises that are in store for me as the fear has dominated my trust in the world and killed the open ness to wonder. I have reflected over the importance of wonder in a person and that comes only when we believe in being “childlike” as they are born with this innate quality.  

In the current generation, the sense of wonder has been replaced with certainty. The children we are working with belong to “i” generation – iphone, ipad, ipod, etc and they want answers more than imaginative ideas. They are glued to their personal gadgets for long duration and it has become a challenge for the parents and teachers to reach out to them. They are aimless and dis-interested and have dull expressions with lethargic body language. They do not show alertness and get bored in no time as they have less attention span. Their creativity is hampered as they are oblivious to their surroundings and are disconnected to the events or people in and around them. They are losing the sense of observation which in turn affects their ability to wonder. They have become willing victims of the passive learning system.

As Daston and Park say, “Wonder was the reward rather than the bait for curiosity, the fruit rather than the seed”, let’s be “childlike” and take up the moral responsibility as teachers to get our pupils back to wonder and make their learning journey more joyous.

As educators, we should work on enhancing this feature to the next level as it is the foundation to inquiry. The facilitators have to open doors to the curious world and allow the children to explore and wonder. We have to view the world through the eyes of the children and fill their learning with excitement. We have to create that happy learning environment that is stimulus to their imagination which activates wonder.  Wonder is the beginning of wisdom said Socrates. It impacts the knowledge of the child to the higher level beyond the physical mind. Children learn to appreciate and stand in gratitude when teachers fuel their amazement and the potential to learn extends laterally. The learning engagements are more meaningful and the teachers can promote experiential learning through investigations and personal inquiry. It is absolutely fine if they get messy or dirty as we have to provide various avenues for them to touch and feel so they retain the information for longer durations when they explore with multiple senses. We should pave way for more exploration through hands on discussions, healthy opinionated conversations, and collaboration so that they make connections to real life situations. We don’t have to lose our adult sense to be more childlike. We need to be both so that the maturity of being an adult complements the spontaneity, awe and wonder of the child in us to bring out the best in us and in our children.

Hema Surapaneni, Principal The Gaudium School

hema.surapaneni@thegaudium.com

www.thegaudium.com

Teachers are great partners for life

A teachers journey begins with the first step to the new life in transforming people into great personalities. She handles hundreds of kids, their parents, their learning and everything that affects a student's life. A teacher gets so much expertise in handling people that they turn out to be best life partners too.

Teachers' journey of learning and teaching touches every aspect of an individual's life, that can help the child to grow into a better individual. A child cries on the first day of school when the child tries to find his or her mother from the teacher. On the day, if the child is unable to find his mother in the teacher,  he cries further. After a period of time, gradually the child stops crying because the child finds his mother in the teacher, and then the child starts sharing his heart with the teacher. What colour lunch box he has brought, what did mom say to dad in the morning etc, the child starts to share his journey of life with the teacher, this makes the teacher feel successful.

A successful teacher is one with whom a child can share his heart without fear because that's where learning and transformation begin, a child starts sharing his guilt, his sorrows, his fear and his happiness without fear. A great teacher is one who can read the child's heart in his eyes and make a child believe that nothing is wrong, all is well through her love for the child.

For a teacher when she gets old the best gift for her is when after many years an old student knocks at the door and say 'Good Morning teacher'. These words make a teacher feel awesome and take her back to the journey of school time where she loved all her life.

- Dr Tazeeen Siddiqui 

Email: fortazeen@gmail.com

Humility

Before understanding more about humility, we must know its meaning. Humility is the state of being humble and respect for others. It also means the ability to give up our pride and still retain our dignity. It makes a person more civilized. Humility includes others values also like patience, kindness, fairness and tolerance. 

It is an act without reward. A person who has humility is more responsible, kind, faithful, sensible, caring and cooperative. It is the foundation of leadership. Humility helps us to understand a person and being helpful towards him. It builds trust between two persons and makes their relationship stronger. A teacher can teach his students humility by setting an example of having humility, by helping them to overcome their challenges,  by teaching them how to apologize when they are wrong etc. 

There are many people who have done something great in life like Sachin Tendulkar and Narendra Modi, but they are very humble in life. Such people when they meet ordinary people they are very respectful towards them. They never show pride in them. 

A few months ago Sachin Tendulkar was spotted playing cricket with street children. It was his motivation for the children to play cricket. He didn't think about his celebrity status, it was his love for the cricket and the children who were playing it, which brought him there. It shows his humility. A person can’t become great unless he has moral values in himself.

Educator: Monika Vaishnav

The Fabindia School

स्वतन्त्रता

स्वतन्त्रता का अर्थ आजादी होता हैं, जो भारतीय लोगों  को संविधान के तहत प्राप्त है जिसमें कोई भी कार्य करने की स्वतन्त्रता होती है। व्यवसाय  करने की स्वतन्त्रता होती है कहीं पर आ जाने की स्वतन्त्रता होती है। अपने विचारों की स्वतन्त्रता होती है बिना रोक टोक के भाषण देने की स्वतन्त्रता मिली हुई है। लोगों को अपने घर के सम्पूर्ण कार्य करने की स्वतन्त्रता प्राप्त है जिसमें लोग बिना डर के अपना कार्य पूर्ण कर सकते हैं।  रोशनी जिस तरह आँखों के लिए हैं,हवा जिस तरह फेफडों के लिए हैं और प्यार जिस तरह दिल के लिए हैं उसी तरह आजादी इंसान की आत्मा के लिए हैं प्रयेक व्यक्ति के  पास स्थायी निधियाँ होती है |
1. आत्मसजगता
2. विवेक
3. स्वतन्त्र संकल्प
4 . रचनात्मकता ।

स्वतंत्रता कल्पना प्रदान करती है चुनने जबाब देने और  बदलने की शक्ति निहित होती है और दूसरों की आजादी का सम्मान करें और उसे उन्नत करें सुख का रहस्य स्वतन्त्रता है, स्वतन्त्रता का रहस्य साहस है मनुष्य उसी क्षण स्वतन्त्र हैं जिस क्षण वह होना चाहता है स्वतन्त्रता प्रत्येक व्यक्ति के लिये आवश्यक है। बिना स्वतंत्रता के मानव कुछ भी करने में सक्षम नहीं होगा। यदि खुशहाल एवं प्रगतिशील समाज की आवश्यकता है तो मानव स्वतंत्रता भी आवश्यक है।

जफ़र खान 

The Fabindia School, Bali 

PLC at The Iconic School

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Aysha Tak: नर हो न निराश करो मन को

मनुष्य विवेकशील प्राणी होने के कारण सृष्टि के अन्य प्राणियों में सर्वश्रेष्ठ  है। केवल मनुष्य ही ऐसा प्राणी है , जिसमें चिंतनशीलता, क्षमता तथा आत्मविश्वास जैसे गुण हैं। वह अपने परिश्रम, कर्मशीलता तथा इच्छाशक्ति के बल पर असंभव को भी संभव करने की क्षमता रखता है| 

जब मनुष्य कठिन परिस्थियों में भी अपना धैर्य खोए बिना, अपनी दृढ़ता को बनाए रखता है। इसलिए बाधाएँ उसके सामने घुटने टेक देती है। क्योंकि तुम - ' नर हो न निराश करो मन को, समझो न अलभ्य किसी धन को।' जीवन में कभी - कभी असफलताएँ भी आती  है। कभी - कभी कठिनाईयाँ हमारा मार्ग रोकने का प्रयास करती हैं। ऐसी परिस्थियों में आत्मविश्वास रखना चाहिए।  यदि मनुष्य असफलताओं से घबराकर निराश होकर बैठ जाता, तो कभी भी सफल नहीं होता|

सीखने के नियमो के आधार पर व्यक्ति असफलताओं से ही सीखता है। हमें इस विषय पर विचार करना चाहिए कि असफलताएँ एक चुनौती है उसे हमें स्वीकार करना चाहिए तथा उन असफलताओं के कारण को समझ कर उनमें सुधार करना चाहिए। ऐसा करने से वह कभी निराश नहीं होगा । हमारा मार्ग असफलता से सफलता की ओर होना चाहिए न की चिंता या निराशा होना चाहिए। किसी भी प्रकार की असफलता पर चिंता नहीं बल्की चिंतन करना चाहिए । जिससे सदैव सफलता के मार्ग पर चला जा सकता है।

Educator - Aysha Tak, The Fabindia School, Bali

Sharmila Vijaywargi: The Best Gift

Once upon a time, there was a teacher in a little village school. Like all teachers, she too loved her students very much. She wanted them to become wonderful children. On the occasion of their teachers' birthday, every child planned to give her little gift.

One student gave her a handkerchief, another gave her a bag. Yet another gave her a book. Robert, the brightest child in the class who was very poor, had nothing to give to his teacher.

Image: commerce.microsoft.com

The teacher noticed the sad look on Robert's face. She told the whole class “Children thank you for all the gifts. I like each one of you. Do you know who has given me the best gift? It is Robert. All children looked at her surprisingly.

The teacher then said, "Do you know what he has given me? He always listens to everything which I say, does his work neatly and helps his friends. This is the best gift any child can give to a teacher. He is a wonderful child." Every one clapped for Robert. It made him very happy.

He always listens to everything which I say, does his work neatly and helps his friends. This is the best gift any child can give to a teacher.

- Sharmila Vijaywargi
The Fabindia School, Bali, Rajasthan   Email:  svi4fab@gmail.com

Thank you, for all the endorsements

As a social entrepreneur, Sandeep has worked to empower young people all over the world. He has addressed students and young people in many schools and colleges, attended workshops, conventions and policy groups. Sandeep has been a leader for school-going youth, on adventurous journeys and expeditions. He conducts The YES Workshops and has trained thousands as volunteers, retail staff, teachers and youth workers. For the last few years, his focus has been on taking ahead Learning Forward, the professional learning association.

Endorsement:

There is one person whose contribution I would particularly like to highlight -  Sandeep Dutt who joined us as Chairman and Executive Director of the Bhadrajun Artisans Trust in 2012. He has been responsible for facilitating many of the landmark achievements we celebrate today. - William N Bissell, Founder The Fabindia School & MD Fabindia

Good work, Sandeep Dutt!  - Hari Dang, Padma Shri

It is not often that you come across a stand-out talent like Sandeep. He never fails to make a dramatic difference to any role he occupies. He has an ability to juggle multiple projects without compromise to the end results. Through a strategic and inclusive leadership approach, he is able to get teams to work to the highest standards. A committed humanitarian and educationalist, Sandeep has influenced change in both the development and the corporate sector. He is highly recommended as a leader and as a team member. - Cristal de Saldanha,  Leading Commonwealth Youth Adviser 

Sandeep and I met each other when he was driving the Book Cafe business and I was heading Marketing; Consumer Products at Cafe Coffee Day. It has been a sincere pleasure doing business with him. He is innovative in his approach and has great clarity of vision. Sandeep is the kind of person who inspires trust, both professionally and personally. As a person, he is a thorough gentleman and has been a friend and mentor to many many people, including me. - Sudipta Sen Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer at Inox FMCG (An Inox Group Co.) & former Senior General Manager, Cafe Coffee Day

Greetings from Kenya. This is excellent work for the good of the young people and society. I am deeply impressed with the creativity and productivity under your leadership. Thanks for sharing with us and wish you well in the undertakings. - Joram Otieno, External Relations & Resource Mobilisation, The President's Award-Kenya

Good show Sir. - Sunil Kant Munjal, Jt. MD Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

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Teacher - Student Relationship

Facebook photo

Even after being in the  teaching profession for close to thirty seven years, I find it difficult to define teacher - student relationship, though I understand it well enough, I do not and cannot give a name. Even kids, I wonder would find it hard enough to fathom the depth of such a nameless relationship.

Lets for a while do away with words like love, affection, caring, beautiful, for these are mere adjectives and do not serve much purpose in the context of this relationship. These are words losely used, most of the time, without any credibility, both to the user and for the used. It is much deeper and goes much beyond these words. It isn't even friendship, but much more than that.

It is a bonding and a connect, unique in itself, uncomparable to all other relationships, outliving  and outsurviving ever other relationship.It is nameless and its namelessness is its  beauty. It is like a due drop, a feeling (ashyas) which can only be felt but not possessed.

It is beyond time. Time doesn't affect or dilute its emotional and rational content. In a way it is even beyond emotions, since it is emotionally non demonstrative, unlike other relationships.

It's a unique relationship affecting both the teacher and the student in its journey of combined discovery, exploration and learning. One cannot exist without other.

Intense engagements, debates and discussions, collective thinking and concentration, perseverance and persistence go on to add grace to this relationship. The punishments, reprimands, rebukes add to the strengtening of the bond, rather than weakening it. Animosities are instantly forgotten without any  brooding, ill feelings or malice. There is no give and take, it is all receiving,both are winners. It is at once a relationship of heart and soul.

In residential schools this relationship gets placed at a higher pedestals, because of the close emotional, physical and intellectual proximity.

What ever it may be, it is sublime and crystal like the flowing water of a mountain stream.

(I would appreciate if students and teachers give their views to this nameless relationship) Of course others too.

- Soham Anand

Shireen Ahmed: It was like questioning myself whether I am going in the right direction?

I have gone through the book "Is Your Child Ready To Face The World? It was like questioning myself whether I am going in the right direction?

The early elementary years are exciting and industrious to instil the values in our children. They are observing and picking up values, skills, and knowledge and learning lessons in sportsmanship, teamwork, creativity, practice and commitment. Here the parents continue to be the major influence in their child's' life, and your involvement with them is essential during these years. Your challenge is to keep being a positive role model, setting a limit, discussing your expectations, and listening to them.

The best part of the book is Prof. Anupam Sibal has guided us that how we can instil humility, compassion, determination, gratitude... through the stories of the legends in a very interesting way. I agree with the fact, it really doesn't matter whether you are the CEO or prime minister, for your child you are his or her world. They look at you, they need all love, praise and attention from you.

Shireen Ahmed
Caring Icons
The Iconic School, Bhopal

Dr Gargi Singh: Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

My thoughts on reading the book by Dr Anupam Sibal.

Child...Ready...and world...these three words connected extremely well throughout the book. The connection with children in a childlike manner and not following the same theory always to connect is something very interesting. Dr Sibal has been able to listen to the voices of the children and talk on their  behalf to the community of adults who are around the child with a tag of a relationship.

I connected the most with Reassurance, Confidence in their abilities, compassionate in  circumstances... as in the rat race of achievements we are taking our children away from these key values and virtues. The importance of instilling these virtues has been simply woven through discussions and taking every single moment as an opportunity to discuss and discover these virtues.

Throughout the book the respect given to every individual whether he or she is a renowned personality or a child who visited the clinic is remarkable. We all keep on talking about children in some or the other context, but this book challenges me for many of my thought processes and at the same time as every chapter proceeded I was more thoughtful as a parent at home and in school.

My biggest experience after reading the book is the happiness and confidence gained on things can be changed and excuses are the last option that parents can opt for. So advance with your kids and walk with them through the technology world and take every experience to connect the most beautiful virtues that makes one a good human being.

Dr Gargi  Singh
Honest Icons
Dr Gargi is the Vice Principal at The Iconic School in Bhopal, she has been a part of the founding team.

Usha Panwar: कला ही जीवन है

कला  जिसे आंग्ल भाषा  में ''आर्ट '' के नाम से जाना जाता है। कला का अर्थ अभी तक निश्चित नहीं हो पाया है.साधारण शब्दों  में हम कहें कि हमारे या अन्य के द्वारा मस्तिष्क में चल रही कल्पनाओं  को चित्र व हाव-भाव के द्वारा प्रदर्शित करना यही आर्ट (कला) हैं.A  प्रत्येक मनुष्य अपनी बुद्धि का सही उपयोग लेते हैं सब अपनी कला को अलग-अलग रूपोंमें सामने लाते हैं जैसे कुछ संगीत के रूप में ,कुछ नृत्य के रूप में ,कुछ वाद्य यंत्र बजाने के रूप में ,कुछ मूर्ति एवं शिल्पकला के रूप में, कुछ चित्रकला के रूप में।  कला जीवन को सत्यम शिवम् सुंदरम से समन्वित करती है कला का कोई छोर  (अंत) नहीं होता है।

रवीन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर ने कहा है कि 'कला से मनुष्य अपने भावों  की अभिव्यक्ति करता  है।' 
टालस्टाय के शब्दों में, 'अपने भावों की क्रिया, रंग, ध्वनि या शब्द द्वारा इस प्रकार प्रदर्शित करना कि उसे देखने या सुनने में भी वही भाव दिखे यही कला है |'

कलाओं में श्रेष्ठ चित्रकला है मनुष्य जैसा देखता है उसी प्रकार अपने को ढालने का प्रयत्न करता है अपनी रंगों से भरी  तुलिका से चित्रकार उन भावनाओं को अभिव्यक्त करता है तो देखने वाले हैरान रह जाते हैं,  चित्रों के माध्यम से  पाषाण युग के चित्र, आखेट करने वाले आदिमानव के चित्र, सिंधुघाटी के चित्रों में पशु-पक्षियों मानव आकृति की सुन्दर प्रतिमा ये सब कला प्रियता का द्योतक है मधुबनी शैली, पहाड़ी शैली, तंजोर शैली, मुगल शैली अपनी-अपनी विशेषताओं के कारण आज भी प्रसिद्ध  है।  कला से ही मनुष्य की बुद्धि का विकास होता है। कला के संपर्क और परिचय में आने से  मस्तिष्क की गतिविधि को बढ़ावा  मिलता है, मनुष्य समस्याओ का हल निकालना सीखता है। चित्रों के माध्यम से  दूसरों तक अपने विचार पहुँचाता है।  कला मनुष्य के व्यक्तित्व का समग्र विकास करती है। उसमें आत्मसम्मान का निर्माण होता है।  कला के माध्यम से व्यक्ति  अपना पारिवारिक व्यवसाय भी कर सकता है जिससे वह छोटा-बड़ा उद्योग करके कला को अपनी जिंदगी में महत्व दे सकता है और रोजगार पा सकता है और समाज में भी अपनी महत्ता बना सकता है।

कई शिक्षाविद नवीन शिक्षा-प्रणाली का पक्ष लेते हैं।  इस नवीन शिक्षा-प्रणाली के अनुसार बालक को हर कौशल की शिक्षा देना। यह कतई आवश्यक नहीं कि उसे हर बार केवल बुद्धि-परिक्षण ही देना पड़े।  पुस्तकें उसे रोचक नहीं लगती तो नहीं लगती।  यदि पुस्तकों से बालक को मोह नहीं तो उसे निकम्मा, नाकारा आदि शब्दों से विभूषित नहीं कर सकते।  ईश्वर ने उसे कोई अन्य गुण दिया होगा।  शायद वह बालक एक अच्छा गायक हो, एक अच्छा नर्तक हो, अच्छा चित्रकार हो अथवा अन्य कुछ हो।  बालक के इस गुण को पहचानना और उसके अनुरूप शिक्षा की व्यवस्था करना।  इस प्रकार कला को जीवन भर साथ रख सकते है, उसमें नवीन प्रयोग भी कर सकते है तथा आजीविका का साधन भी बना सकते है। कला के कई रूप है कौन किसमें निपुण है यही पहचान आवश्यक है।

 ऊषा पंवार 

The Fabindia School, Bali

Kusum Sharma: How to get rid of negative thoughts?

It is very normal to experience negative thoughts in our life. In fact, they are part of our daily life. These negative thoughts are becoming a big problem of our life, bad thoughts can hurt us for days if we do not deal with them. They often come to our mind and we over analyze the situation, gradually one can get deep in depression.

The situation causes huge loses to our life. So when we have a lot of such kind of thoughts in our mind we should immediately understand the situation and try to start thinking in some positive way and should take help from a person whom you trust the most or one can write the thoughts in any diary and analyze the facts behind it.

Often bad thoughts persist when we feel guilty and nervous. We may feel angry when a bad thought suddenly comes to our mind. At that point in time, give a moment to address the thoughts and after that listen to your favourite music or take a short walk to clear your head.

When we get free time, we start questioning ourselves. Why do I always think about negative thoughts? If the situation still arises we should think that we cannot control the future. Past too cannot deal with the present, any problem is not ultimately much to spoil our happiness.

Sometimes we can read our favourite book, bake a favorite recipe, put on an album we enjoy from our youth. Few more experiments can be done like writing bad thoughts on a paper and then throw them away. Writing is a way of expressing our problems and physically getting rid of them. Think, it’s time to move on. Then gradually we will realize that the things are not as serious as we think.

• KUSUM SHARMA
• THE FABINDIA SCHOOL, BALI. EMAIL ksa4fab@gmail.com

Nikita Galphate: Is your child ready to face the world?

Although not an avid reader the title of the book was enough to motivate me to read it through. We all want to be the best parents we can be for our children, but there is often conflicting advice on how to raise a kid who is confident, kind and ready to face the world.

Being a parent to two wonderful kids I found this book ‘Is your child ready to face the World’ an enriching read and a good source of providing an insight on preparing our children to face the world. Dr. Anupam Sibal very subtly takes us through his parenting experiences leading towards developing effective communication skills and inculcating various life values in our children. In this fast paced world the challenges of communicating with our children is also beautifully dealt in the book.

I am happy that as parents, me and my husband are already practicing the given communication strategy with our kids. Being democratic parents it many a times gives me a thought that, are we following the right parenting  practice? but after reading the book I reassured myself that  there couldn’t be a better way. Giving your child the freedom they want with an invisible cross line always gets in your favour. I relate a lot with the value imbibing ways mentioned in the books as kids won’t really take it unless they see you practicing it.

Ultimately no one other than parents can be the best role models for their kids. The book is a must read for parents, educators and facilitators working with children as the experiences shared in the book can be of a great help in dealing with various situations with the children. his book has indeed provided me with an enriching experience and an insight on the importance of building values in my children.

Nikita Galphate
The Honest Icon
The Iconic School

Poornima Bansal: Is your child ready to face the world?

Children are  like  wax, the way you  mould  them they  become  that way. It is very. Important to  support your child and show  him the right  direction where he can easily adjust in this world. I read this book  and it has  totally changed my thought process. It has taught me the way to prepare your  child  to face the difficult challenges of the world. Dr. Sibal has beautifully explained the way to convert a situation  into an opportunity.

Each behavioral problem is nicely explained in different  chapters.he has quoted examples. Of mother Teresa and Diana Spencer to discuss  compassion. These inspiring icons personal success stories can be used to  communicate with the  child. This  book has totally changed my views and has enriched me by the great  ideas of good  parenting.

Poornima Bansal
The Iconic School

Shrishti Nayak: Is your child ready to face the world?

"Good parenting is a skill that is acquired over a period of time”, this line has been very well incorporated in this book by Dr. Sibal.

The art of how to communicate with your child is something which is very challenging and this book has stood out against all the odds in explaining the effective communication. This world is ever changing and with this ever changing world, parenting also require some creativity and innovation.

The traditional and the modern way if jelled up together can bring out some great wonders in your child.

Children are considered as the purest soul in the universe who are free from any kind of biases . Children make us learn some new perspectives about life. A parent should act as a learner who is ready to act as a versatile personality who is able to handle a child on all platforms. One should never loose hope and always feel enthusiastic about trying new strategies.

“Complaining” should just get ruled out from our dictionary.

Be with your child in every stage and enjoy each and every moment. Never miss a chance of bestowing your love and care upon your children because when medicines fail, love conquers.

Shristi Nayak
Understanding icons
The Iconic School, Bhopal

Hamani Singh: Is your child ready to face the world?

I have gone through the book " Is your child ready to face the world?" Written by Dr Anupam Sibal and the main theme that runs through the book is "how does one prepares his child to face various challenges of this crucial world". Talking about good and bad and giving him freedom to take the decision is one of the best way I feel. In today's time it's very difficult to communicate with a generation that does not have time to hear anyone.

Every chapter is explained with examples from the lives of people who started like small and went on to become great men and women.
As a mother i daily face challenges while dealing with my child. Through this book i got to learn that parenting essentially  needs upbringing your child from infancy to adulthood in such a way that their  emotional and intellectual development go hand in hand in a proper and balanced way.  However, it is easier said than done. 

The book is characterised by a smooth flow of thoughts, simple language with interesting  examples and inspirational thoughts. I feel this book is not only for parents but also for would be parents and non parents.

Himani Singh
Caring Icons
The Iconic School, Bhopal

Kedar Dharkar: Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

Good parenting is a difficult and challenging task. It takes time and patience to learn it.

Parenting is just like Pottery. Of course, the final shape, strength, shining may depend on the quality of the soil. But good pottery or parenting may give best shape and purpose to life.

If you want your child should enjoy the life, then start enjoying your life the way you want."

Kedar Dharkar The Iconic School

Ritika Anand: Is your child ready to face the world?

Dr Anupam Sibal has beautifully crafted this book that is going to help parents in the long run.

I personally enjoyed reading it because of the wonderful examples that blow your mind away. In this fast-moving world, it becomes quite difficult to keep up with the needs of your child. The responsibility of parenting is challenging but if done with grace it can be beautifully carried out.

Several questions arise in the minds of parents and this book has an answer for everything single question.

Since I am a visual arts teacher and a Ceramist a child is exactly like a pot, in whatever way we will shape him or her, it will take its shape. It's all a game of patience. Even if you are a president you should always give an ample amount of time to your child and talk things out.

The future belongs to third who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Let them dream as much as they can and even if they fall be there to motivate them and help them to stand up.

Childhood is most graceful part do not disturb you child innocence and grace by your judgments and busy schedule.

If our children see us forgiving who have wrong us, so will they... children are very pure never let that purity fade away because of our misconceptions. Always be a learner

Ritika Anand
Caring Icons
The Iconic School
Bhopal, India

Isha Tiwari: Is your child ready to face the world?

“Helping your child grow up into a good human being must count among the greatest joys in this world”, yes its utter true and this book, ‘Is your child ready to face the world by Dr Anupam Sibal stands out to be one of the greatest books.

In the introduction of this book it’s written that when it comes to being a parent, it really doesn’t matter whether you are the CEO or an IAS, for your child you are just a parent. I personally love the example of Barack Obama quoted in this book.

Being a parent, several questions haunt my head and in this evolutionary world, it’s very challenging to cope up with the needs of everyone. Today, it has become quite difficult to communicate with your child and we must practice the skills ourselves first what we wish to see in our children. We ourselves should nurture our minds first in order to bring about a change in our child. Let your kids fly high and in that flight of your children, you be their ultimate mentor. Let them dream, and be their anchor in turning those dreams into reality.

Your child should not feel targeted at any point and even if he/she feels so, parents comfort and positive role should help him/her cross oceans.

Dr Sibal with his insight and vision is surely helping everyone who faces issues in parenting and giving them a new look.

Isha Tiwari
Understanding Icons
The Iconic School
Bhopal, India

Swastika Ghosh: Is your child ready to face the world?

The main theme that runs through the book is “ how does one prepare his/her child to face the world?” Talking to one’s child about good and the bad is one way. However, most conversations end up being perceived as sermons. How does then one communicate with a generation that just does not have the time to hear anyone, leave alone listen to them? Why children, especially teenagers, just don’t want to talk to their parents,” wonders Dr Anupam Sibal. The book's USP is that it does not sermonize or lecture. Dubla tellingly cites instances from the lives of extraordinary and even ordinary men in order to underscore the importance of being a father or underscore a particular virtue or highlight a point.

An unusual feature of the book is that Dr Sibal uses his young son Devaang as a springboard to elucidate his ideas and philosophy about the diverse dimension of the art of parenting.

Without becoming a parent as well.  As an educator, I can feel this as:
Today we as a parent facing different challenges for grooming and nurturing our child. To inculcate good values and for helping our own kids we today are searching for a helping hand. And here we fail as a parent. Directly or indirectly we are we are creating distance in between the child and us.

We started repeating the same facts which we hate in our childhood. As in the childhood, we all definitely have at least one incidence where we must have said or felt that no one understands us. When we entered in our parenthood we actually started thinking with an angle of parents and hides or forget the child inside us. To understand our children and becoming a good parent first we need to start looking towards today’s world with our children eyes and vision. Then only we can realize the basic loopholes and area of work. And will be able to create a good bonding with our kids. But that doesn’t mean that we should lose our individuality but actually by understanding them to wisely apply and portray our individual thoughts smartly for nurturing our kids in the correct direction with a good impact on them. For an example “ when an actor acts a particular role/character or singer sings a particular song they first need to feel the same by involving themselves with the feel of an act or a song”. Then only the output will be the perfect one. But they do not lose their individuality at all.

Exploring the crux of parenting, this book asks and answers whether your child is ready to face the world. Being a good parent is a skill that is acquired over time, one that requires constantly adapting to the rapidly changing times.

The book deal with human qualities or virtues and a number of do's and don’ts, which should be inculcated or acquired during childhood to enable them to face the world with confidence and equanimity. The book has an attractive jacket, which entices the reader to pick it and browse through. The initial pages are devoted to a large number of “ prepublication praises” by eminent cricket and journalists including a forward by cine megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Interesting personal vignettes, historical motivational stories and quotes by eminent thinkers and leaders spice the publication. It is not a conventional parenting book but a book to promote human well being and happiness by ensuring that children acquire the qualities of head and heart by effective child-parent communication and by emulating the personal examples of their parents and teachers. Most of the desirable human attributes have been covered by the author but there are other celestial principles such as acceptance, dignity or self-esteem, power of prayer, enthusiasm, leadership qualities, silence and solitude with a focus on the “ present moment” and virtues of moderation or “ middle path” in life also need to be groomed and harnessed to achieve happiness and mental peace.


The book is characterized by a smooth flow of thoughts, lucidity of language with a horde of inspirational messages, and for would-be parents and non-parents.

“ Doctors first find the symptoms, then disease and then treat the patient”.
So for doing something good for our child, to nurture our child, we need to understand them. As expected our child to be trustworthy first we need to be trustworthy with them, to make our child efficient and ready to face the challenges of the world every moment.

“ Before expecting something from our child- first we need to become as per their expectations.”

Swastika Ghosh, Honest Icons @ The Iconic School, Bhopal

Shivani Kanoongo: Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

This inspiring book by Dr Anupam Sibal should be every parent's go-to in this world of advancement and technology. The children these days have become so sensitive that it has become a difficult task for people to be good parents. They hide behind the latest technology which makes conversing with them very difficult. A regular conversation between any two people is very important for a healthy relationship and a relationship as sensitive as that of a parent and his/her child is the most important one.

Dr Anupam Sibal with his hard work and with his great parent instinct has tried helping other parents who face issues with their children to see a new outlook to pursue them.

Being a mother myself I understand how important it is for your child to learn good values which is beautifully portrayed in this book and for this you have to become your child's friend. Your children should not feel targeted at any point in their life when you help them in growing. Dr Anupam Sibal has taken his own son to provide all of us with an example of his ideas, where he also became a part of his son Devaang's world of technology, which helped them to connect better.

It's always a two-way effort. In a relationship, people have to meet midway and the same has to be done with your children. Help your children to achieve their goals in their way while guiding them in choosing the correct path and following it with ease.

In the end, I would like to say that this book should be read by every parent and even young adults to become a part of their children's lives and understanding them better and building a very healthy relationship with them.

Shivani Kanoongo
Responsible Icons
The Iconic School, Bhopal

Amazing, Enriching And Inspiring Experience

It's an amazing, enriching and inspiring experience, reading the book, ' Is your child ready to face the world' by Prof Anupam Sibal. The book explains, in very clear and easy way, the art of parenting through fascinating stories of the fantastic people. Most of the time when we want to teach or instil a value or quality in our children, we use the teaching method of lecturing or showing examples from our surroundings or comparing them with others. But the book gives us an insight of teaching values by the inspiring stories of the people who lived these values as well as by practising and demonstrating them in our own lives.

Jim Hasen truly said " Our children don't remember what we try to teach them. They remember what we are." So whenever we want to inculcate humility, honesty, forgiveness, courage, determination and gratitude in our children, we must first practice them in our lives. Children are the best observer and the main source of their learning is their observation at home and of their surroundings. Unknowingly, with our behaviour with others, our attitude and approach towards life and with our way of living, we are actually programming the brains of our children and accumulating the raw data, from where his / her thought process will function for his whole life.

The book provides ways of nurturing mind with the values and virtues of a successful and happy life.

Manish Rajpal

Responsible Icons

The Iconic School

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

"Children reinvent your world for you. They can see magic because they look for it."

Is your child ready to face the world by Dr Anupam Sibal is a very inspiring writing that has given me a new perspective on parenting.

I am not a parent but the amount of insight that is book has given me is commendable. The world in which we are living is a virtual web and managing children is becoming a task but if this task can be done with a great sense of acceptance, there will surely be happiness all around. I firmly believe on the saying,"Be the change you wish to see in the world", so one should actually bring about a change in themselves first which they wish to see in their child.

A child is an avid dreamer. A child's heart is pure and free from contamination. Never ever think of judging your child, that is the greatest mistake that we grownups do. One should rather see the world through the eyes of a child. The anticipation, the excitement they carry is something beyond words. They carry no preconceived notions. Parent's should try and become spontaneous and perceptive just like their children.

The examples that this book carries are full of inspiration. All of them listened to their heart and stood up against all the odds. All the parents should assist their child in their thick and thins and be their best friend and let the compassion flow through.

Thanks
Mradula Lokre
Curious Icons
The Iconic School, Bhopal

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

The book tells us the importance of how one could effectively communicate with their young ones and why it is so important to COMMUNICATE.

Each and every parent want their child to be on the top with good behaviour and habits. This book actually drive you through all the traits one should have and how can a parent innovatively and creatively teach their child all the good traits by giving and showing them a live example.

For a child, parent plays a vital role. The way a mother or father talks, sits, behave, handle pressures etc every little thing they grasp and even try to follow in their own life. So the parent should check themselves before they instil particular values to their child.

The best quote I found is "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending" by Maria Robinson. Because it tells us to never lose hope and move ahead every time with the same enthusiasm and one day you will get through.

The present is the time we should work on instead of complaining about past and worrying about future. And at the end be ready to question yourself "IS YOUR CHILD READY TO FACE THE WORLD?"

Roselien Daffader
Curious Icons
The Iconic School, Bhopal

Kya apka baccha duniya Ka samna krne ko tyyar hai?

Please note the post is in Hinglish, a blend of Hindi and English, in particular, a variety of English used by speakers of Hindi, characterized by frequent use of Hindi vocabulary or constructions.

Dr. Sibal ki es kitab ko pad kr mai ne ye mahsus kiya ki ache mata pita banna ek kaushal hai, jo samay ke saath viksit hota hai. Aaj ki duniya mai bahutere electronic upkrno ke prbhaw ki wajh se bacchon pr dawab bahut bad jata hai esliye unke saath samwad krna aur taalmel bithalna behad mushkil ho jata hai. Aaj kl mata pita me liye ak hi waqt pr teen teen jimedariyan sambhalna mushkil ho gaya hai - roji roti kamana, pariwar ki dekhbhaal krna aur mandali se jude kaam krna. Eske bawzud maa pita waqt nikal kr apne bacchon ki madad kre. Jisse humare bacche apne sathiyon ka dawab, parikshaon aur pareshaniyo ka datkr mukabla kr sake.

Ek mata pita hone ke naate mai ye manti hu ki mitti ka dher dhikne mai kisi kaam ka nahi lagta, magar wahi mitti agar kisi hunarmand kumhar ke haath aa jae, to wah use dhal kr ak khubsurt bartan tyyar kr sakta hai, mata pita bhi bhi jub apne bacchon ke charitr ko dhal kr unhe Acha ensan banne mai madad dety hai, to samaj ko bahut fayda hota hai.

Jaese mitti ka bartan tyyar krna koi asan kaam nahi wese hi all bacche ki parwarish krke use ak bharosemand aur samjhdaar ensan banana bhi asan kaam nahi.

Aur ant mai yahi kahna chahungi ki aesa badlaw ettfak se nahi balki prayas se ata hai.

Thank you, 

Bhawna Sharma, Helpful Icon

The Iconic School, Bhopal

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

I have gone through the book "IS YOUR CHILD READY TO FACE THE WORLD?." It's a good book and every parent should read it so that they know how they can handle their children.

As a bachelor, I got to know what challenges parents face during the upbringing of their children and at the same time I myself have experienced that in difficult situations what a child goes through, and how parents support, help, love and care make the child understand the world and understand the various aspects of life.

Every parent should make their child a dreamer so that they can dream and then work hard to achieve their dreams. As it gives happiness and satisfaction for the lifetime.

As most of the dos and don'ts are summed up in the conclusion. This is a must-read book for every parent.

Heena Saini

Curious Icons

The Iconic School, Bhopal

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

The very first thought which strikes in my mind, how does one prepare his child to face the world? "Why we are always behind our child and forcing them to focus on a goal. Being parent sometimes it becomes difficult when our conversation ends up without any result, Dr Sibal handles it with the nice examples in each chapter from the lives of people who started life small and went on to become great afterwards. There is an example of Dr Christian Bernard who performed the first human to the human heart transplant, it shows infinite courage because this was the first transplant of its kind. It shows how one handles pressure, make others happy, determined and never give up.

Many more examples are there of honesty, that how we are honest in professional relations and with our colleagues. As Dr Sibal was the only child to his parents and his parents bestowed upon much care and love whole bringing him up and it was similar in his case too as Devang was the only son to him, to provide him same atmosphere Dr Sibal and his wife treated their child in the same way. It shows parenting should not be forced on the child because it is to bring a child from early age to adulthood. Though Dr Sibal was paediatrician he has had the rare opportunity to interact with teenagers and children every day, he carefully observed their behaviour with others and with their parents and develop effective methods to communicate with his own son.

The same happens with The Iconic School educators, as we are not doctors but every day we also interact with every Icon as we are teachers and this is an opportunity for us to develop our own method of communication with our child. Parenting is not easy and it's not climbing the mountain but it's a bonding between us and our child many deeply rooted concerns are there beyond parenting about child's health, nutrition and education. It's one's experience which is shared with us that how to be a good and positive parent before we take any decision let's be our child's friend first and then we proceed. It needs our own effort and time and certainly, we will see the same as we have thought off.

Many celebrities are quoted in this book and it’s a long list like of cricketers, martyrs and of course famous icons and personalities like Ratan Tata, Sachin Tendulkar, Barak Obama... it doesn't matter who you are it matters what we want to do because parents are always parents, I have seen Shahrukh Khan with his kids and the bonding between them. M.S Dhoni who was plying and sipping the soft drink along with her daughter when his teammates were celebrating after a big win. Book suggests we reduce the generation gap and to introduce communication and lead our child to become a good human being and of course a role model to someone.

I feel Mr Amitabh Bachhan's foreword is a good deed to every parent that " ...whole family grows up together through the ages".
           

Kaushal Singh

WSFG Coordinator

Caring Icons,  The Iconic School, Bhopal(M.P)

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?

"Is your Child Ready to Face the World" by Dr Anupam Sibal. It's a wonderful book, I must say. These days managing children is becoming more onerous. I think the main reason behind this is parents and children they don't 'try' to understand each other's point of view.

As my children are grown up now, they are no more a teenager, they are old enough to face the world on their own. Therefore, I can completely co-relate this book with me. I have managed my children in their toddler stage, in their teenager state and still managing in their young-enough-to-face-the-world state. Parenting continuously requires a tremendous amount of effort.

Someone seriously said it right that "If you want to change the world, start with yourself first". So as I am a parent, I should first look at what I can do to make my parenting skills more effective rather than forcing my children to obey me.

Generally, we parents tend to drive our hopes and wishes on our children. We force our children to take certain streams which according to us are right, we generally don't give much importance to our children's dreams because we think they are not old enough to make right decisions about their future at such a young age. Which when I went through the book, I found it completely wrong. Children have full right to dream. Because dream does certainly come true with an adequate amount of persistence and hard work. So make your child a dreamer!

Also, help your children to 'find their calling'. Assist them in very thin and thick. Be their friend first. If your child wants to be a footballer rather than an engineer or a doctor than it is completely ok! After all, in the end, we want our children to be happy. Who knows your child became one of the great footballers of the world one day. But certainly, make sure that your children are compassionate enough to follow their heart.

This book stated the examples of many great legends like Mahatma Gandhi Ji, Martin Luther King Jr, Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Sachin Tendulkar and many more. They have their different stories to get inspired. But few things I found common in their stories, they all were dreamers, they followed their heart, they were strong enough to stand against the odds and they were compassionate enough. So, we as parents must help our children to acquire these qualities. So that he/she can become a role model to someone else.

- Kalpana Jain

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The Iconic School, Bhopal