The Book Loot At Book Cafe!

The English Book Depot has been India's premier bookstore since 1923, stands tall now as Book Cafe, in association with Barista Coffee. Celebrating six years association with Booknerds.

The Bookshop offers an outstanding shopping experience and hosts a Barista Coffee Shop on Rajpur Road, opposite Gandhi Park in Dehradun. In 2010, EBD acquired the brand BookCafe. For news about books and new arrivals, follow the bookstore's blog.

https://www.bookspro.com/

The Booknerds is a book club based in Dehradun, India. Established by husband and wife team Rohan and Neha Raj, the Booknerds is dedicated to "quenching the thirst for literature".

https://www.bookbrowse.com/

Find out more about the iconic bookstore:

https://englishbookdepot.com/

#BrewingKnowledge #BookCafe

John Martyn - An Incredible Journey

I am passionate about Education... Episode #100
Learning Forward Podcast By Sandeep Dutt

Learning Forward Podcast
You will love the stories shared by our happy teachers and passionate educators. We grow your people's capacity to improve student achievement and transform your school into a culture of trust and collaboration in less time with fewer resources. Each person in your school contributes to the culture of your school. School culture is built on the actions and interactions of the people. You make your school stronger by adding value to others and making others feel valued.

Releasing on Saturday the 23rd of October 2021
Episode #100: Sandeep Dutt pays tribute to John Martyn, who inspired and enriched the lives of the children from the rural areas near Dehradun. Martyn was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958, and 1983 Padma Shri, from the Government of India for his notable contributions to the establishment of The Doon School. 

At the John Martyn Memorial Trust, we strive to inspire, invigorate educate and delight our children and prepare them for the future

In 1935, John Martyn accompanied Arthur Foot to India to establish the teaching staff of The Doon School, a newly opened boarding school for Indian boys. Martyn was at Doon for 31 years, thus becoming one of the longest-serving schoolmasters in the school's history. After he died in 1984, his wife Mady Martyn wrote a book about him entitled Martyn Sahib, the story of John Martyn of the Doon School.

In his honour, his wife and Martyn's friends set up John Martyn Memorial Trust in a village at the foothills of the Himalayas called Salagaon. The trust runs a school for underprivileged children and provides free education to over 150 children. The past 37 years have been an incredible journey as the school witnessed the lives of many disadvantaged children transforming because of quality primary education.

Since its inception, JMMS has grown from 25 students in a tent to 175 students in 7 classes from Nursery to grade 5. Most of these children are first-generation learners in their families. Apart from teaching, Martyn was very keen on mountaineering; in this podcast, Nibbrati Rathore of Learning Forward speaks with Parineeta Negi, the torchbearer of John Martyn Memorial School and is a proponent of John Martyn's vision. Parineeta Negi brings with her vast experience of teaching. She headed schools and has worked with NGOs like SIDH. Currently, she is the Principal of John Martyn Memorial School.

For more about the John Martyn Memorial School:

https://jmms.edu.in/

Celebrating 100 Episodes "I am passionate about Education...

A gift of the pandemic times, lockdown and tranquillity offered the best soundbox experience and was perhaps the ideal time to speak and listen. We were pursuing the Joy Of Learning Professional Learning Program with educators from schools across the country, and this was how I discovered the gift of audio!

This is the story of making 100 Episodes "I am passionate about Education..."

Joy Of Learning (11 Sessions) The teachers collaborate and work in groups to explore the 22 values and discover how the values help in an individual's personal and social development. The values come alive at their school and enhance learning at the classroom level. JOL is an extensive and profound learning experience that immerses members in inquiry and problem-based learning models. Staff members work collaboratively to gain knowledge to solve significant student learning problems in their schools. We seek to understand individual members' needs and then assist them in meeting objectives through a collaborative learning environment and with the support of experienced coaches. The learning program is delivered by Zoom and other eLearning methods, and the focus is on helping teachers find solutions to help the schools provide better.

As we zoomed in and listened to teachers' stories by choice and teachers by chance, I wondered why we were so mad about teaching and learning. Despite the thankless job, with little appreciation, our teachers are perhaps the real changemakers in the world. So this was the eureka moment; let us find out what makes them so mad about the profession,  the quest for meeting 100 educators began!

Does one have to be a teacher to be an educator? Hello, there is a teacher in each of us, and even beyond in the environment, nature, living and non-living. The whole world is my school, and everyone is my teacher.

On my last visit to Finland to attend the Hundred Summit in 2019, I was fortunate to meet entrepreneurs, policymakers, youth leaders, investors, school heads, students, and people from all walks of life. People head to Helsinki for the Education Week in early November every year to share ideas and innovations and how every problem has a solution, waiting to be simply showcased. This made me reflect on my life and how in near 40 years of living with altruism, I had the good fortune to travel from Sydney to Los Angeles, Nepal to Sri Lanka, East to West, and even head an international youth program. 

2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, my years of taking Learning Forward! Every winter, I travelled to the USA to attend the Learning Forward Annual Conference to meet thousands of teachers and passionate educators from across the world; this further increased with the expanse of my network.

My travels in India and the conferences attended in the past decade. Meeting school alumni, industry bodies, and the five different avatars of my life made it very difficult to make a list of 100 influencers in my life, particularly those who have made a difference to others.

My teachers, fellow travellers, friends and colleagues, my list of passionate educators started evolving. The first one was a teacher of Sex Education. She shared how she was working to sensitize communities and look at life with a gender agnostic lens. Then I met teachers who have had a phenomenal impact on my life, simple real-life people who are real influencers and role models. Yes, we lack mentors and people who practise what they preach; the next part of my agenda is to list real stories.

You will love the stories shared by our happy teachers and passionate educators. They grow the capacity of your people to improve student achievement and transform your school into a culture of trust and collaboration in less time with fewer resources. Each person in your school contributes to the culture of your school. School culture is built on the actions and interactions of the people. You make your school stronger by adding value to others and making others feel valued. Thus, the show's spirit and the live content without any format made the show even better, from the heart and soul.

My life's focus is on school transformation with an emphasis on culture as a service. Over 30 years of experience has empowered thousands of teachers and touched the lives of near a million children. The Future Of Learning  - Long-lasting success in professional learning needs a 'culture of learning .' I feel teachers need to take charge of their own learning. They can support teams to design the future of education and transform schools to deliver better learning outcomes.

As an Author, Entrepreneur, Mountaineer and above all, passionate about taking learning forward. Founder Learning Forward India, Ambassador Hundred.Org, Chairman Bhadrajun Artisans Trust, Owner of The English Book Depot and former National Director of The Duke Of Edinburgh's International Award. The episodes perhaps help me reflect and recreate my life as I reconnect with people and, after decades to learn how we could touch each other's lives. Recording the shows was a kind of surreal as unknowingly we are doing similar type of work in our unique ways. As a journalist, an industry person, a member of a Royal Family, leaders and simple folks all work to make the world a better place to live in.

In the series of 100 Episodes, I travel across the world to decode my passion for education. Meeting teachers, coaches, entrepreneurs and leaders; they share how, in their way, they go about with the singular focus to help schools deliver better, build trust and relationships to spread the joy of learning.

The 100 episodes will inspire you by listening to personal examples of teachers working to help children experience the values. This will also help people take stock of life and how they wish to lead their lives. Education without sharing values is never complete. This was another significant learning when producing the shows.

Episode #100, Releasing on Saturday the 23rd of October 2021, is a tribute to John Martyn, who inspired and enriched the lives of the children from the rural areas near Dehradun. In 1935, John Martyn accompanied Arthur Foot to India to establish the teaching staff of The Doon School, a newly opened boarding school for Indian boys. Martyn was at Doon for 31 years, thus becoming one of the longest-serving schoolmasters in the school's history. After he died in 1984, his wife Mady Martyn wrote a book about him entitled Martyn Sahib, the story of John Martyn of the Doon School.

In his honour, his wife and Martyn's friends set up John Martyn Memorial Trust in a village at the foothills of the Himalayas called Salagaon. The trust runs a school for underprivileged children and provides free education to over 150 children. The past 37 years have been an incredible journey as the school witnessed the lives of many disadvantaged children transforming because of quality primary education.

Yes, in this show, I meet the teachers of The Fabindia School, the parents, board members and students to find out how one man's passion for bringing a piece of land to life helped build the changemaker school, where I have had the good fortune to spend near a decade. I would like to conclude with the good words of my real friend for life and colleague in the mission for quality in education "Sandeep is a passionate educator. He is one of those individuals who have dedicated his life to making the greatest impact on the greatest number of people." William Nanda Bissell, Chairman of the Board, Fabindia. This is perhaps what each of the 100 passionate educators has been doing all their lives, impacting the lives of one and all on their journey, building relationships and, of course, following their hearts. 

Learning Forward Station
https://vurbl.com/station/learning-forward/

Playlist "I am passionate about education...
https://vurbl.com/playlists/I-am-passionate-about-education/

Available on Apple, Google, Spotify, Anchor, Overcast,  Radio Public, Jio Saavan and all podcasts worldwide.

- Sandeep Dutt, School Improvement Coach and a wannabe Radio Jockey! You can find about more about what he does for life on www.Sdutt.com

Brewing Knowledge Club - September Reflections

Reflections for September 2021

We are reading...My Good School Where Passion Meets Education

Price Rs 295.00 Published The English Book Depot (www.ebdbooks.com)

25th September 2021 - last Sunday of the month.

1. Choice Of Curriculum
2. Building Schools With Quality
3. Fun In Learning, Learning Is Fun
4. Life Is Parenting. 

The warm voices of Ms Brinda Ghosh, Ms Sunita Mehta, Ms Divya Agnihotri, Ms Deepti Sharma and our lovable Mr Sandeep Dutt make the reading with learning experience better. When we commenced the first chapter, 'Choice Of Curriculum', what struck us was the solutions, or we can say holistic look at which/how/when the school must be chosen for a child and how we can help parents choose a better learning experience for the child. 

Another chapter, 'Building Schools With Quality', comes up with three elements for quality delivery in a good school. First, a teacher development program because teachers must also get an update, and for healthy learning, teachers are the most critical asset. The second element is the effective use of technology; learning can be made more and with fun or more accessible and with enthusiasm. The third and the very best part that came with a pop-up during reading was The Scholarship Programme that takes out the heart with its lines that " When in uniform, all children may look the same, but a school must accept children not only on the ability to pay the fee but with a larger motive of laying the foundation of a great nation" And then We jumped into the next ' Fun in learning, Learning is Fun'  When we read this chapter we could correlate with the heading where the highlights, why fun is necessary for the excellent learning. We can pull in anyone by "fun to learn". It can work as a key to excite the mind to learn and enquire freely.

The fourth chapter- 'Life Is Parenting', shows the role of both parents and teachers and how parents also play an essential role in making better possibilities for the child's learning experience. 

Good listeners are part of our club, and they have shared their reflections: 

Ms Veena Solanki 

Fun in learning; learning is fun!!

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Learning and fun, I'm sure, have a symbiotic relationship. With fun, learning becomes effective, and since learning automatically happens with fun as the brain is less stressed, FUN perhaps shouldn't be barred from entering our classrooms. A fun-filled experience tends to stay longer and certainly keeps the learners curious and hungry for more.

Learning thus can be equated to a lasting, limpid, lucrative earning (L + earning = learning).

Fun means different things to different people. One way of having fun can be a lot of laughter. Hardwiring a deeper connection between learning and laughter has been proved beneficial many times and more so recently. A hearty chuckle, a suppressed giggle or perhaps ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing) or LOL (laughing out loud), all these definitely lessens and lowers the load of stress.

A bit of fun can make all the difference in effective learning. So teaching methodologies must give a little space to fun to foster an environment of inclusion, diversity and long-lasting learning. Without a bit of fun in class, kids become dull and are often uninspired, and teachers surely lose the connection. That's where the teacher's creativity takes a back seat, and the student's creativity eventually suffers.

The latest learning technologies come to the rescue here for teachers. Gamification of modules can undoubtedly make things exciting but engaging each child in the learning process is the only key to fun-filled long-lasting learning.

Ms Deepti Sharma

*Life is Parenting* 

Young minds are like sponges that absorb what their parents are doing.

Parenting is a lifetime project for an individual. He needs to be aware of his role and responsibilities. Teachers at school can be the catalyst in unfolding the hidden potential of a child. But the parents at home are the first teachers. The individual of this generation needs to realise it. 

Creating a nurturing environment filled with love, care, empathy, kindness, and discipline will help them build a happy individual instilled with values. 

It is rightly said by Mr Sandeep Dutt that parenting is infinite, and parents grow up with their children. It is a process of promoting and supporting a child's physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development from infancy to adulthood. It's an aspect of raising aside from a biological relationship. 

In this period when most of the parents are working, they cannot give the best gift to their little ones-"the time, i.e. their presence".They should plan a schedule and maintain consistency to help children cope with daily life challenges. 

They need to help build healthy habits to make them self reliant example - pack their bags and keep the school uniform ready before going to bed, waking up on time with the sound of the alarm, making their bed, getting dressed for school, eating their breakfast besides learning to pitch in keeping the house neat and clean. The parents can do so much for the child's confidence, like helping them know themselves through art, needlework, cooking and reading.

Besides channelling their energy and thought process, a beautiful bond will emerge, building trust and mutual respect.

The connection thus made will help them to be honest with themselves and their parents. This individual will be the best parent then.

A checklist prioritising the important ones can help to keep track of and easy transactions of plans.

Parenting is a lifetime investment that rewards with peace and a sense of accomplishment of a job done right.

Our train of the Brewing Knowledge Club stopped at the stations: Choice Of Curriculum, Building Schools With Quality, Fun In Learning Learning Is Fun, and Life is Parenting; this month and our journey is a continuous learning experience. And hang on! The train just stops for a while to fill the fuel, the trip will continue the following month with exciting stations (chapters- An Eager Child Or Enthusiastic Teacher, Why Teachers Are Averse To Change...).

- Sukhpreet Kaur Ambassador Brewing Knowledge & Kunal Student Intern The Fabindia School

Are We Inherently Musical?: the Sonority of the Soul - Saskia Rao-de Haas

I am always surprised when people think that they are not musical. Consider the following thoughts with me. Nada Brahma, sound is creation, is written in the ancient Vedas. ‘First there was the word’ is written in the Bible. In science we talk about ‘the big bang’ as the start of the universe. Everything produces sound and is born from sound. Even the universe we live in is born from sound. This being the truth, can we still say that we are not musical beings? We have to understand that every living being is indeed musical. If we didnot possess an inborn sense of rhythm, our hearts would not beat in a perfect rhythm. We literally have strings in our throat, our vocal chords that vibrate to create sound: our voice. If we would not have a sense of melody, our voices would be monotone like a robot. We all have a sense of melody and rhythm and most of us have direct access to these inborn instruments!

 

When this inborn talent is cultivated and nurtured, we can create and appreciate music. This is where music education starts; the acknowledgement that we are ALL musical beings.  There is not a single culture known in the world that does not have its own form of music. Music for prayer and mindfulness. Music for community gatherings in song and dance. Music is everywhere around us, but we often do not make full use of its  power. Music in its most restrictive way is seen only as entertainment and part of the ‘entertainment industry’. In this scenario, music is approached only as a ‘performing art’. It is this limited and limiting approach to music that has clouded the minds of politicians, educators, parents and schools on what the role of music could be in education.  It is this attitude that immediately dismisses the importance music education can play in the overall development of children. 

 

This attitude also divides children and later adults as ‘talented’ and ‘non talented’. I have met innumerable adults who think that they are ‘just not talented’ in music. Why? Because someone has told them when they were young that they ‘could not sing’, ‘had no talent in instrument playing’ or were met with indifference of teachers towards music education. Thisperceived lack in talent is seen as a good enough reason not to pursue any form of music education, which has deprived them of countless invaluable lessons that music education can teach. If we were to pursue the same argument, then other subjects like mathematics or science should be ignored by most children too! Discipline, academic skills, social skills, fine motor skills, reading skills, language skills, leadership skills--the list is endless. This is one of the reasons that we created Sangeet4All Music Education Framework. A music program that honours our inborn musicality and makes use of it in education. I will share more insights about the role music and music education can play for the entire school community in the next weeks.

- Vidushi Saskia Rao de Haas 

A world-renowned cellist, composer and music educationalist from the Netherlands. Her Guru Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia said that she has been taught by God, and everyone should listen to her music. The New York Times describes her music as ‘Movingly Meditative’. She is the creator of the Sangeet4All Music Framework, India’s own complete music program for children.

“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning” - Plato

Find out more

https://goodschools.in/music-program.