Reading about Fear and Courage

As a teacher, I am deeply reminded by the chapter that education is not merely about academic achievement but about helping students discover their potential, confidence, and purpose in life. Roma's journey shows that every child, whether a topper or a last-ranker, carries dreams and abilities that can flourish when guided with encouragement and belief. I am particularly inspired by how Roma addressed her students’ fear of public speaking by creating opportunities for participation, teamwork, and self-expression rather than simply delivering lectures. Her approach reflects the true role of a teacher as a mentor who motivates learners to overcome their fears, develop leadership qualities, and believe in themselves. 

The assembly presentation demonstrates that students learn best when they are actively involved, trusted with responsibilities, and allowed to make mistakes without fear of judgment. 

The message that “dreaming big” and striving to become good human beings matter more than examination scores resonates strongly with my own philosophy of teaching. 

This chapter on fear and courage reinforces my belief that effective teaching is rooted in empathy, encouragement, and the ability to recognise hidden potential in every learner. As a teacher, I feel responsible not only for imparting knowledge but also for nurturing confidence, resilience, and aspirations so that students can transform their dreams into reality and contribute positively to society.

Rekha Sharma, Sunbeam School Mau

Today’s lesson gave me a very important message that every child must succeed. Every student is different and has their own strengths. Some students learn quickly, while others need a little more time and support. As teachers, we should encourage all children and help them move forward with confidence. Success is not only about earning good marks; it is also about becoming a good, confident person. When we trust our students and motivate them, they begin to believe in themselves. This reflection reminded me that no child should be left behind, and every child deserves a chance to succeed.

Pooja Chauhan, Sunbeam School Ballia

Overcoming Fear & Stage Fright and discovering Leadership

 

Learning Forward Saturday

To discuss overcoming fear and leadership using the book Wanted Back-bencher & Last-ranker Teacher.

Key Takeaways

• Overcoming Fear: Roma’s “So what?” mantra and sharing her own GD (Ground Discussion) experience helped students overcome stage fright, proving that vulnerability and practical strategies are effective teaching tools.

• Leadership Defined: Brainstorming defined leadership as vision, determination, and the ability to turn adversity into opportunity. Examples such as Richard Branson (dyslexia) and Thomas Edison (1,000 failures) show that success is built on persistence.

• Teaching Philosophy: The core lesson is “every child must succeed.” Teaching is about helping all students—the “tortoise” and the “hare”—reach the finish line, not just focusing on high-achievers.

• Logistics Update: The session time changes to 3:30 PM starting July 4. The new, simpler domain DilJeeto.com Now links directly to the Teachers Academy website.

Topics

Overcoming Fear & Stage Fright

• Problem: Students in the Wanted Backbencher were paralysed by stage fright, fearing a repeat of a past assembly disaster in which they failed to use memorised material.

• Solution: Teacher Roma used a multi-pronged approach:

  • Vulnerability: Shared her own experience of overcoming fear in a high-stakes group discussion (GD) to humanise the challenge.

  • Practical Strategy: Replaced memorisation with point-based speaking, which proved more effective for the students.

  • Empowerment: Introduced the “So what?” mantra to reframe mistakes and audience judgment, helping students manage anxiety.

Defining Leadership Through Brainstorming

• Roma led a brainstorming session to define leadership qualities, moving from abstract concepts to concrete examples.

• Key Qualities Identified:

  • Vision and drive

  • Being a “people person”

  • Positivity and motivation

  • Initiating change

  • Relentless pursuit of goals

  • Transforming difficulties into opportunities

• Inspiring Examples Discussed:

  • Richard Branson: Overcame dyslexia to build a business empire, demonstrating the power of personality and persistence.

  • Bethany Hamilton: Returned to surfing after a shark attack at 13, exemplifying extreme determination.

  • Thomas Edison: His 1,000 “failures” before the light bulb were reframed as productive learning, showing that leaders are motivated by setbacks.

  • Dhirubhai Ambani: A “rags-to-riches” story showing how to convert adversity into opportunity.

The Assembly Presentation & Its Lessons

• The class’s presentation on leadership was a success, with students using their new strategies effectively.

• Key Moments:

  • Jeevan: Opened with humour and questions, proving to be a natural communicator.

  • Supriya: Stumbled but recovered using the “So what?” mantra, demonstrating resilience.

  • Student Initiative: The students surprised a critical teacher (Sumita) by responding to her challenge and concluding with a powerful Gandhi quote on collaboration, reinforcing the session’s themes.

The Power of Reflection & The Teachers Academy

• A new Teachers Academy video was shown to emphasise the importance of reflection.

• Video Message: Reading and reflection are essential for independent thought, preventing individuals from being swept away by the “tsunami” of online information.

• Participant Reflections:

  • Sneha: Reading enables deep reflection, leading to personal and societal improvement.

  • Manisha: Reflection aligns with Social Emotional Learning (SEL), fostering self-awareness and better decision-making.

• Website Update: The Teachers Academy has a new, simpler domain: DilJeeto.com.

Next Steps

• All Participants:

  • Submit reflections, focusing on the theme “every child must succeed.”

  • Note the new session time: 3:30 PM starting July 4.

• Sneha:

  • Create and share a poster announcing the time change to 3:30 PM.

  • Prepare the next chapter, “Heart vs. Mind,” for the July 4 session    

Fathom AI generated content

Copy or Not to Copy & Fear vs Courage

 Learning Forward Saturday

Continue reading “Wanted Back-bencher and Last-ranker Teacher” and discuss its themes.

Key Takeaways

• Roma’s Strategy: To motivate her difficult class for a presentation, Roma shared her own past struggles with stage fright and low confidence. This humanised her, building trust and showing that overcoming fear is possible.

• Cheating Dilemma: A student’s detailed advice on how to cheat effectively prompted a discussion on integrity, highlighted by Roma’s decision to refuse a leaked exam paper in high school.

• Public Speaking as a Skill: Roma reframed the upcoming assembly as a crucial opportunity to develop critical thinking, verbal skills, and confidence, directly addressing students’ anxieties.

• The “Air Hostess” Experiment: To cure her stage fright, Roma applied for an air hostess job. She passed the interview by mastering facts, proving that deep knowledge, not a memorised script, is the key to confident communication.

Topics

Context: “Wanted Back-bencher and Last-ranker Teacher” by Kavita Ghosh

• The group is reading a book about Roma, an unconventional teacher who joined the profession for a certification, not by choice.

• The book’s title comes from a school advertisement, reflecting Roma’s non-traditional background.

Chapter: To Copy or Not to Copy

• During exams, students asked if Roma ever cheated.

• Roma admitted to being caught once, prompting a student (Jeevan) to offer detailed advice on how to cheat effectively.

• The Dilemma: Roma’s best friend, Rubina, offered her a leaked Class 12 board exam paper.

• The Decision: Roma refused to look at the paper, choosing integrity over a guaranteed high score.

• The Outcome: She never regretted the decision, finding deep satisfaction in earning her marks honestly.

• Invigilation Tactic: Roma used a non-confrontational approach during an exam, returning dropped papers to students without accusation.

  • Rationale: This gave students the “benefit of the doubt” while subtly signalling she was aware of their attempts to cheat.

Chapter: Fear vs Courage

• Staff Room Discussion: A colleague (Sumita) expressed doubt that Roma’s difficult class could deliver a successful assembly presentation.

  • Topic: “A Leader knows the Way, Goes the Way, and Shows the Way” (John C. Maxwell).

• Student Anxiety: Roma’s students were anxious, recalling a “disastrous” presentation last year that left them feeling ridiculed and humiliated.

• Roma’s Framing: Roma reframed public speaking as a vital life skill for:

  • Developing critical thinking

  • Fine-tuning verbal and non-verbal skills

  • Overcoming stage fright

• Roma’s Personal Story: To build trust, Roma shared her own history of stage fright.

  • The Failure: At 15, she froze during an inter-school debate, unable to recall her prepared speech.

  • The Experiment: To overcome this, she applied for an air hostess job.

    • Method: She mastered all facts about the airline and aviation industry.

    • Result: She passed the interview, proving that deep knowledge, not a memorised script, builds confidence.

  • The Insight: Public speaking is about connecting with people using relevant information, not just delivering a speech.

• Arctic Air Interview: Roma later faced a group discussion (GD) for a corporate internship.

  • Topic: “Women deprive men of jobs.”

  • Challenge: She had to navigate a competitive environment with 35 other applicants, including university debaters.

Next Steps

• Participants: Reflect on personal experiences with public speaking or integrity and share them with the group.

• Group: Meet next Saturday at the same time to continue reading.

• Group: Note the time change for the session after schools reopen in July.

Understanding the Teen Brain

Learning Forward Saturday

Discussing effective strategies for managing adolescent peer pressure and behaviour. Reading from the book Wanted Back-bencher and Last-ranker Teacher by Kavita Ghosh.

Key Takeaways

• Redirect Peer Influence: The goal is to redirect peer influence toward positive outcomes, not to eliminate it. This leverages the group dynamic as a powerful tool for good.

• Build Trust: A teacher’s trust is a more powerful motivator than punishment. Students will protect a trusted teacher from disappointment, creating a stronger foundation for discipline.

• Understand the Teen Brain: Teenagers are hardwired for risk-taking. Their logical reasoning develops by age 15, but impulse control and resistance to peer pressure don’t mature until age 25.

• Use “Gentle but Firm” Tactics: Effective discipline requires firmness without anger. Teacher Roma’s strategy of linking a class privilege (the football match) to the task of finding a hidden shoe successfully unified the group in resolving an issue.

Topics

The Problem: Adolescent Peer Dynamics

• Social Grouping: By 9th grade, students form defined groups for survival, as isolation makes them targets for bullying.

  • Nerds: Academic students.

  • Cool Kids: Popular students.

  • Goons/Troublemakers: Instigate mischief but also protect their group.

• Vulnerability of Isolated Students: Students outside a group are blamed for everything, excluded from activities, and lack support.

  • Example: Ankush, a shy student, was bullied and excluded from group projects.

• Peer Loyalty & Fear: Students protect group members from consequences, fearing retribution if they inform on others.

  • Example: Shreyas shielded his attackers (Romy, Jeevan, Ajit) after being dragged by the neck.

The Solution: Teacher Roma’s Approach

• Context: Roma’s class was delaying a football match to hide a shoe Romy had hidden after pouring water on it.

• Strategy: Roma used the class’s desire to watch the match as leverage.

  • Tactic: She refused to let the class leave until the shoe was found, threatening to make them study British rule instead.

  • Outcome: The class, including the goalkeeper, unified to find the shoe and identify Antony as the culprit.

• Principle: This demonstrates “gentle but firm” discipline, using leverage to redirect group energy toward a positive resolution.

The Rationale: Understanding the Teen Brain

• Context: A parent meeting was held after four students (Jeevan, Ajit, Shreyas, and Antony) were caught at a hookah bar.

• Scientific Explanation (from Uttara):

  • Source: Lorenz Tainberg’s Risk-Taking in Adolescence.

  • Finding: Teenagers are hardwired for risk-taking because their brains are still developing.

    • Logical reasoning → matures by age 15.

    • Impulse control & peer resistance → mature by age 25.

  • Implication: The brain’s emotion-regulating area becomes more sensitive during puberty, reducing risk analysis.

• Conclusion: Punishment is ineffective. The solution is open dialogue and counselling to build adult relationships.

The Outcome: The Power of Trust

• Key Insight: Jeevan’s father revealed his son’s first concern was that Roma would be “let down.”

• Significance: This shows that Roma had built a relationship of trust in which students feared disappointing her more than punishment.

• Principle: This trust is the bedrock of effective discipline, enabling teachers to guide students toward positive behaviour.

Next Steps

• All Teachers: Reflect on personal experiences with adolescent peer dynamics and effective intervention strategies.

• All Teachers: Submit a written reflection on the session’s themes, focusing on the power of trust and relationship-building.

FATHOM AI-generated notes.

The Scottish Incubator: Masterclass Saturday March 08, 2025

Chapter 17 The Scottish Incubator: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow by Naga Tummala

Q1. "There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less" – Kurt Hahn.

Actual growth often comes from overcoming one's own doubts, fears, and limitations rather than external challenges. As educators, how can we create environments that empower students to push past self-imposed barriers and reach their full potential?

Q2. Imagine you are designing a school curriculum where students learn as much outside the classroom as inside. What real-world experiences would you incorporate to develop resilience and leadership skills in students? 

Q3. A student in your class consistently misses deadlines and avoids responsibilities. At Gordonstoun, students are expected to self-report mistakes and take corrective actions. Instead of punishment, how would you create a system that encourages students to take accountability for their actions?

Q4. Hahn advocated for placing students in controlled, challenging situations to build resilience. How can we design safe yet challenging learning experiences that prepare students for real-world problem-solving?

Gurdeep Kaur
Ambassador The Teacher's Academy

Poetry Session with Brinda Ghosh - 27th Feb 2025

#ThoughtfulThursdays
Update: Henceforth, the sessions will be from 5:30 PM onward.  

Ms. Brinda Ghosh led the poetry session, which discussed the importance of sharing personal compositions and exploring different poetic forms. 

Participants shared their poems, including Nibbrati's tribute to her students and Saloni's metaphorical piece on overcoming fear. 

Ms Ghosh explained the differences between free verse and blank verse, emphasising free verse's flexibility and emotional depth. She also introduced the concept of sinquain and shared her poem about her father.

The session concluded with a reading of Naomi Shihab Nye's "Kindness" and a call for participants to submit their poems for reading and publishing in our Good Schools India Journal.

Tune in on SoundCloud:

My Good School · Poetry Session 27020225 | Enjoy the recording on SoundCloud