Heart Vs Mind - Sunbeam Suncity

Through the video HEART VS MIND, we have focused that how heart and mind often stand in contrast, representing emotion and reason. The heart symbolizes feelings, intuition, and passion, driving decisions based on love and desire. The mind, on the other hand, represents logic, analysis, and rational thinking, ensuring choices are made with careful consideration. While the heart may lead to impulsive yet fulfilling decisions, the mind focuses on practicality and long-term outcomes. Striking a balance between the two is key to making well-rounded choices in life. Too much reliance on the heart may lead to emotional turmoil, while excessive dependence on the mind can make life feel rigid and uninspired. The best decisions often come when the heart and mind work in harmony.

This will help individuals to manage his/ her work in day to day life and achieve the goal. Being an adult we start dealing things with the mind but being adolescent they use the heart as the frontal lobe of the brain is still in the process, this is the reason for the communication gap and anger issues in adolescents.

Hence, under such situations instead of being stern, rigid , not opening up to the children, we should display soft - power. Means we are supposed to be assertive and deal the situation with patience.

Mohini Rai 

Carol Henrick

Sunbeam Suncity 

Fear VS Courage - Sunbeam Bhagwanpur

Fear vs. Courage highlights two contrasting yet interconnected emotions. Fear is like when your heart races, your palms get sweaty, or you feel shaky before doing something that scares you. Fear can impact a person’s life in both positive and negative ways.

Negative:

1. Physical Health leads to chronic stress, high B.P., sleep deprivations, tension, fatigue

2. Anxiety and Depression decrease self-esteem, panic situation

3. Fear can lead to avoiding situations or activities

Positive: 

1. It increases awareness, can sharpen focus, and helps people to stay alert.

2. Fear is a natural, subjective feeling; there is no place for objectivity in it. Everyone has this feeling at some point in life.

Courage can be used to handle fear. People believe that courage is the absence of fear. But I think that courage is not the absence of fear; rather, it is the ability to deal with it.

Courageous people do feel fear, but they can manage it. Courage is the willingness to act despite fear.

Finally, fear is normal, but courage is what helps us grow.

Sneha Singh
Sanyogita Dubey
Reeta Tiwari
Sunbeam School Bhagwanpur

Simplicity and Trust - Welham Boys' School

Simplicity

What is Simplicity: Simplicity is a state of being simple (Uncomplicated or Uncompounded) *. 

How is Simplicity of things Identified: In essence, anything that is plain, natural and easy to understand is simple. Like everything in life, Simplicity is relative and depends on the recipient's views or perceptions of the recipient(s).  

The following six key attributes help in generalising criteria to identify Simplicity in any creation. 

1. Reduction (Should not contain any non-essential clutter) 

2. Organization (Should be very well organized, in appropriate sequence) 

3. Affordances (Should meet expectations of target audience) 

4. Tangibility (Should be useful/helpful) 

5. Intuitiveness (Should be self-explanatory, easy to navigate or understand) 

6. Familiarity (Should be familiar/relatable) 

Why is Simplicity Important: Simplicity focuses on what is essential and eliminates clutter. That gives time and energy back to focus on other vital things in life. In today's world, simple living has become a social responsibility. Less consumption helps eliminate waste, improves the sustainability of our planet and helps divert resources toward those who need them most. 

"Live simply so that others may simply live" - Mahatma Gandhi. 

Why is it challenging to create Simplicity:  

"I did not have time to write a short letter, so I ended up writing a long one ☺" – Mark Twain. 

All natural beings are made simple at the core. Our experiences, perceptions and environmental factors create a clutter of mind that obscures Simplicity.  

Striving for Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus; focus on what is essential to the subject (a process being established, a topic being taught in the classroom, a product being manufactured, a software program being developed) and clearing clutter.  

Eliminating any type of clutter (Physical or Mental) requires focus and practice. Simplification involves a lot of hard work, patience and thinking. In general, the following steps help in simplifying any problem or situation:

1. Write down the problem in a language that is easy to understand 

2. Break the problem into smaller parts 

3. Engage with experts to understand complexities and eliminate them 

4. Re-Imagine the situation / Rearrange / Reorganize 

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Leonardo da Vinci. 

Things I will carry out in a class. 

1. Understand children's definition and perspective of Simplicity 

2. Carry out an exercise to pick a topic (e.g. How a computer works?). 

a. Explain it simplistically. Have children come up with their explanation of the topic 

b. Conduct feedback sessions.

c. Summarize learning from the exercise

Trust

What is Trust: Trust is the willingness of one party (the trustor) to become vulnerable to another party  (the trustee) on the presumption that the trustee will act in ways that benefit the trustor.  

"Trust is the new currency of our interdependent, collaborative world." - Stephen Covey. 

Why do we need Trust: Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships. We have survived and progressed as species because we can trust and reciprocate.  

By nature, every human is born trusting. As we mature, we learn to build and identify trustworthiness through our experiences and instincts.  

In all our relationships, integrity plays an essential part in trust building. Operating with integrity fosters mutual goodwill and support, which leads to an improved sense of spirit, mutual loyalty, cooperativeness, shared responsibility and resilience. All these qualities lead to more mutually satisfying and enduring relationships. 

"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not" – Oprah Winfrey. 

How to build Student-Teacher Trust: Trust and mutual respect are crucial elements in creating a positive classroom environment. Students trusting in the ability and intent of teachers can outperform their ability and progress well in studies and life in general. At the same time, teachers who believe in students' sincerity feel rewarded and are inspired to go out of their way to provide better education. 

Trust is earned by honesty, positive intent, strong competencies, and a track record of results. 

Building trust is a process which requires consistency and practice. Some of the tips to build this mutual trust and  respect are 

1. Honor each other's time, be open in giving / receiving feedback 

2. Engage students at their levels, respect their talents and interests 

3. Always accept student differences, and listen to them actively 

4. Remember to complete your commitments consistently 

"Trust is built on telling the truth, not telling people what they want to hear" – Simon Sinek. 

Classroom Trust Building Exercise: 

1. Build class bonding – Talk about each person's family, areas of interest and hopes for the future. 

2. Make a calendar of important dates for class (including students and teachers). Celebrate important milestones/dates. Appreciate each other's company and accomplishments as a group. 

3. Conduct periodic meetings with students to review progress and provide & receive feedback 4. Conduct one or more team-building exercises with the class. **

Vandana Sahay, Monika Gupta & Neelima Parmar 

Welham Boys' School

JOL Cohort 2022

*Simplicity - as defined in Miriam Webster Dictionary
https://simpleacresblog.com/how-to-model-simplicity-for-our-kids/ 

**Classroom Trust building exercises.

Quality and Love - Sweta Thapli

Quality 

Quality is the characteristic that something or someone has. It refers to how good someone or something is in comparison to others.

When we talk of people, quality refers to the attribute or characteristics that they possess.

Case-I- A student who does a shoddy job with classwork and homework. 

 We can deal with such students by:

• Finding out the reason- As a teacher, I will try to find out the reason that why the child is not performing well with homework or classwork. Maybe the child is going through some trauma or maybe he is facing some problem at his home. 

• Praise their work and effort- We can appreciate another child in the classroom who are doing good with their work. Seeing everyone getting appreciated the child will focus on his study and he will be able to do his homework and classwork properly. 

We can also mention their academic achievements to the other teachers and also to the students.

• Encourage the child- Encouraging a child will help them to achieve good results.  We should always be available to our students for their questions and concern as teachers.

• 

  Individual time- Spending individual time with the students help them to understand things properly and easily. This will help the teacher to get to know the child better.

• Limited work- We should not give plenty of work to the students, this loses the interest of the students in doing things. We should give them less work so everyone can do it without any difficulty. 

Love

"Love yourself first and everything falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." - Lucille Ball

Love is a strong feeling that you have when you like something very much. It is the feeling of liking a friend or any person in your family.

School is the place or extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in the school environment. 

It is the psychological feeling of attachment that makes the students want to go to school every day. 

Cave-II Two underage students in a romantic relationship. 

We can deal with this situation by: 

• Not scolding them for things rather explaining to them that it is the age where you feel attached to someone. But that is not love it's just an attachment. Like:- you love dogs, chocolates, family and friends. You are attached to them. 

• We can have an individual talk with both of them. 

• We can have a discussion with the parents. 

• Counselling can be done to both and explaining to them that at this age you must focus on your studies and your career. 

• Explaining to them the importance and value of their time and their future.

There's a famous saying by Buddha:

When you like a flower you pluck it, but when you love a flower you water it daily...

-Sweta Thapli@JMMS, John Martyn Memorial School, Salangaon, Dehradun 

Focus does not mean we should be serious! - Nibbrati Rathore

“Focus is essential to achieve your desired goal”- a commonly heard statement used by almost every other person at some point in their life.

 

“Sit quietly and focus on the activity” another widespread instruction given by a teacher in the classroom setup.

As a teacher and a parent myself, I believe sitting at a place is the most difficult task for a child. And we commonly perceive that the one who can’t sit at a place can’t focus. 

I would like to disagree with this notion and present my thoughts on it: 

I believe there are many misconceptions surrounding focus. These misconceptions often lead people to have a misinformed perspective on focus, thus making it difficult to adopt as a possible quality to cultivate in life. I’ll pick a couple of them and hope to eliminate these misconceptions here.

During a regular class, we essentially wish that our children only follow us with all their senses. We wish to have a classroom where: 

1. Children sit attentively and do not ask unnecessary questions
2. Children complete their work on time and do it neatly
3. Children understand all that is taught in just one go 
4. Children do not disturb the class
5. They remain seated during the class

A perfect classroom to many is synonymous with “NO NOISE.”

Look at the following picture and reflect:

 

1. Are these kids not focused on listening to their teacher?
2. Are they distracted?
3. Why are they listening to this teacher?
4. How this teacher has caught the attention of all 5 kids at the same time?

The answers to these questions can perhaps change one’s perception of focus.

We often confuse focus with discipline. Let’s see “What, the focus is not”.

Focus is not the absence of joy- Focus for most people is an image or a video of someone concentrating on reading a book or a tennis player focused on waiting for his opponent to serve the ball to him. Eyes locked in on the subject of focus. An absorbed and highly attentive look across the face with the forehead slightly cringed. Also, we’ve all seen a video or more of a girl running carefree through the forest or on a beach, arms stretched out to the side, embracing the wind blowing through her and on her face. She looks like she is not concentrating. When you see this video, you think to yourself, "She’s free. That's what I want. I don't want to be so focused that I can’t enjoy life." Let’s not make learning a similar experience.

 

 

I believe that a person can be most focused when he/she is enjoying. Imagine how you remember every detail of a party that happened a few months ago, or the scenes of a movie, not to forget the educational trips and the school annual days. You remember every detail of these events because you had a great time, and that’s what focus means. As a teacher and parent, it’s high time we reset our expectation.

“Focus simply defined is the ability to stay engaged with who or what you are within unbroken continuity”.

Focus doesn’t mean being stressed - Another common misconception is that if I am focused, it means I am not relaxing. Has it ever happened to you that you are reading your favourite book sitting on a recliner? And when your mom asks you didn’t answer the doorbell, you say, “I didn’t hear it.”

Here you were focused and relaxed at the same time. On the contrary, when you cannot focus, it takes a lot of effort to focus, and this act is not relaxing indeed. Hence, so many people think focusing is exhausting and not relaxing because all these people can’t focus.

  

The bottom line is that: the state of focus results in greater joy because you can better experience the things and people that you love.

When we can develop a love for ourselves and the subject, focus automatically comes into the picture. 

Now, look at the first picture again.

1. Do you think the teacher and students have a strong connection?
2. Do you think that the students would be focused in her class and love learning what she teaches?

If it’s “YES”, then the key here: the day you start enjoying a task, it means you have attained focus in it. So let focus seep in automatically and make our journey of learning a joyful experience. 

 

 That is living a full life!

Nibbrati Rathore is an educator at the Gyanshree School, Noida

She is a Life Members and volunteer on the National Training Team of Learning Forward India.

You can join Learning Forward, find out more at 

www.SchoolEducation.com.

It's never too late - Kusum Dangi

Courtesy Source: croninsta.com

It is said that there is no age to dream, it takes just a little time to achieve them.

By the age of 15 -17 years, it seems that it is still small, focus on studies. It seems to be 21, think about the career of 30-32, it seems that dreams are being left behind and they are getting 45 years old. Now, there is no age to dream nor to fulfil them.  But the truth is that there is no age to fulfil dreams. Where one more of the example of Barack Obama who retires at the age of 55, while the other is Donald Trump is 70 years old at the age, as he started his term as the President of America, it is most important to have faith in yourself. If we believe in ourselves, then we can fulfil our dreams at any time, just be encouraged yourself that yes I can do it.

Kusum Dangi

The Fabindia School

kdi@fabindiaschools.in

Focus and Diffuse Thinking - Richa Solanki

When we are in difficulty and solving a problem, there are two ways we can solve it: using focused

thought or using diffuse thought. Focused thinking is just straightforward. It concentrates on the main matter. If we adopt Focused thinking it is a highly attentive state of mind where the brain uses its best concentration abilities to ignore all outside information. As you all know when we are in our focused mode of thinking, it’s like we have a sure solution for the matter at hand. Whether we are practising or doing any work or skill, focused thinking allows us to zoom directly in on the most important information.

Another way of thinking in a  diffuse way, it looks at a big way of sight. Unlike focused thinking, diffuse thinking is all of our mind distractions. Diffuse thinking happens when you let your mind freely and think peacefully. The diffuse mode of thinking does not happen in any one area of the brain, but rather all over. Diffuse thinking gives you an opportunity to connect with any situation because it's happened randomly. Between focused and diffuse thinking is the best way to solve a difficult problem. First, we use the focused mode of thinking to understand the basics of a topic without any distractions. Then we use the diffuse mode to learn and make connections to other things we already know. 

Once you have repeated this process a few times, the information will get you.

Richa Solanki 

The Fabindia School

rsi@fabindiaschools.in

National Simplicity Day - Rahul Thakur

National Simplicity Day was born out of a need to be free from the complications of the

world and to allow ourselves to just be simple. This day focuses on stepping away from the technology, unnecessary stress and to enjoy life in a simple way as it is. Don't make life complicated.

“Simplicity is the essence of happiness.”– Cedric Bledsoe

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”– Robert Brault

Tips to simplify life 

No need to complicate life, don't be stressed out, dissatisfied and unhappy. There are solutions to every problem.

- Live for purpose.

- Focus on the essential facts of life.

- Discover what is important for you and make a list which will consist of things, goals and activities. He further focuses on small achievements.

- Don't buy unnecessary things for all the wrong reasons. Identify the important thing and get rid of the rest.

- Put a ban on impulsive buying.

- To have clarity on what is important, let go of unnecessary conditions and tune into what you value most.

- Live away from technology...Unplugged your devices. Do something different.

“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail.”― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Rahul Kumar Thakur 

The Fabindia School

rtr@faidiaschools.in

Unity and Caring - Shivani Rao

Unity refers to accepting and appreciating each other and their contributions. When people are united,

their focus is to work towards a common goal instead of satisfying their own selfish motives. Unity protects us from all kinds of evil. We, people, should help each other and together fight and face the evil and negative things. When we stand together only then we get freedom from all kinds of negativity.

The feeling of having united with others makes a person so powerful and confident that no person or no situation can defeat or harm. Unity creates a sense of belonging and increases well-being for all. We have heard a story of a farmer who has four sons, and they were unable to break the bundle of sticks and another story of birds that were trapped in a net by Fowler, and by being united they got success in flying together along with the net. "United we stand, Divided we fall".

We got independence after years of struggling only because we all were united and our focus was in a common direction. Our country is a place where many communities, different castes, different religions are available but having unity among all in a common thought of being Indians. Unity is an important value that can't be taught in a classroom but can be experienced by playing in a field. When we work as a team and play, we will definitely win.

Caring for an individual means connecting with them from our heart. Actively listening and being emotionally present, as well as providing support, are important aspects of care. When we are unitedly working for a common goal, caring is shown for each other.  A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle rather it lightens the room more. Similarly caring for each other will develop a beautiful bond between people, it will cost nothing. Also, it will create a sense of belonging. When you care for others, others will give you the same love and care. Your true wealth is not measured by money and property. True wealth is created by caring for your loved ones, by creating good friends and relationships. 

Treat everyone around you with your ethics, not with theirs. Treat the people the way you want to be treated by them. What you give is what you will receive. Caring is not only important for our loved ones but equally important for animals, for plants, for the equipment you use.

Shivani Rao

The Fabindia School

sro@fabindiaschools.in

Let's build a better world - Sharmila Vijayvargi

How can we make this world a better world? We can make this world a happy place by achieving peace.

I would like to share a story of Henry Ford. Henry Ford, the builder of an automobile empire once said, "Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is a success."  We can add to this that living together lovingly is peace. Peace is coming together and working as one. It is not separating and working against each other. The necessary things for peace are loving, caring, generosity, friendliness and sharing. In living together, one must feel warm fellowship with others in spite of differences. The road to peace is long but once you get to the end of it, heaven is at your doorpost.

In the present difficult times, everyone should focus on achieving peace by living together.

Peace on Earth to men of goodwill!

Sharmila Vijayvargi

The Fabindia School

Better Teaching | Stronger Leadership | Improved Systems

Please view this short presentation

Our Focus
Transforming professional learning, increasing educator capacity, and improving student achievement. We focus on school transformation with an emphasis on culture as a service. We'll design a plan that meets your unique needs and improves teaching and learning in your system.

Our Advisors
We have a committed set of advisors from all over the world. With 300+ years of total experience, the leaders are committed to our mission of school culture transformation.

#HappyTeachers #MyGoodSchool #SchoolsCanChange

Your Partner For School Improvement

Our focus is on school transformation with an emphasis on culture as a service. We'll design a plan that meets your unique needs and improves teaching and learning in your system.

1. My Good School - We help our partner schools to work for the personal and social development of an individual by offering an environment where experiential learning is made possible through activities beyond just study. The program helps measure the improvement in student learning at school. #MyGoodSchool
2. Professional Learning Program - focuses on building professional learning communities. The program leverages the best in adult learning, research on organisational change, and practical experience to create capacity for sustained improvements in educators. #HappyTeachers
3. Schools Can Change -  Upgrading or setting up a school, we closely work with the client organisation, to further the vision and mission of the promoters. This includes systems, training and management support. #SchoolsCanChange
4. School Leadership Development - Principals are the key driving force for any school, we assist schools in finding and mentoring the right people to help build a good leadership team. #SchoolLeadershipDevelopment
5. The Value Of Values - Dr Anupam Sibal and Sandeep Dutt are the Value Creators for the Program, they have the most wonderful association of Professional Learners who have worked together for over five years to help build the first of its kind Professional Learning Association in India. The work of the Value Creators has been much appreciated all over the world. #ValueOfValues
6. The YES Workshop -It is all about finding the leader within, you will be able to discover your hidden self! Open to all, mentors, students, teachers, parents and volunteers of any age or size!! This one day workshop is conducted on campus/location provided by the school/ college. #YouthEngaging Society
7. Brewing Knowledge - build professional learning communities, and assists members to leverage the power of professional learning to affect positive and lasting change. #BrewingKnowledge

www.LearningForward.org.in

गुणवत्ता के लिए हर व्यक्ति जिम्मेदार है |

1. एक छात्र की अध्ययन  प्रगति का आकलन करना शिक्षक की प्राथमिक भूमिकाओं में से एक है |

2. कक्षा में छात्रों के नियमित और निरंतर मूल्यांकन से अभिप्राय बच्चो और माता-पिता को प्रतिक्रिया देना और बच्चो के बीच  अध्ययन समस्याओ के लिए हल निकलना |

3. विद्यालय में शिक्षण विधियों में नई तकनीक प्रदान करना तथा शिक्षक को कक्षा में पाठ्यवस्तु को तथा कक्षा की गतिविधियों को रोचकपूर्ण बनाना शिक्षक की जिम्मेदारी है |

4. बालक का प्रथम विद्यालय उसका घर होता है घर में उसको किस तरह की शिक्षा प्रदान की  जा रही है यह कर्त्तव्य माता-पिता का होता है |

5. जब बालक विद्यालय में प्रवेश करता है तब उसके शिक्षक का प्रथम कर्त्तव्य होता है की वह उसकी आंतरिक चेतना को किस तरह उजागर करे |

6. सभी बालको में कोई न कोई गुण होता है शिक्षक का काम है उसके  गुणों को उजागर करना |

7. यदि किसी छात्र को पढ़ने में रूचि नहीं होती है तो यह शिक्षक की भूमिका होती है की वह उसका मार्गदर्शन करे तथा  शिक्षण भी रोचक बनाये | 

हमारी सीख - आइसक्रीम मेकर by सुबीर चौधरी

अजय विजयवर्गी , कुसुम डांगी , तरुण मिश्रा & उस्मान गनी - The Fabindia School