आत्मविश्वास और दृढ़ संकल्प, Swati Tripathi

इस पाठ से मुझे यह सीख मिलती है कि आत्मनिर्भरता, साहस, जिम्मेदारी और दृढ़ निश्चय जीवन में बहुत महत्वपूर्ण हैं। माँ ने अपने परिवार की जरूरतों को समझते हुए स्वयं निर्णय लिए और कठिन परिस्थितियों के बावजूद अपने बच्चों के भविष्य को बेहतर बनाने का प्रयास किया। उन्होंने एक मिडवाइफ के रूप में अपने काम को बेहतर करने के लिए नई चीजें सीखीं और आवश्यक साधन जुटाए।

इससे मुझे प्रेरणा मिलती है कि हमें समस्याओं से घबराने के बजाय उनका समाधान खोजने का प्रयास करना चाहिए। यदि हमारे अंदर सीखने की इच्छा, आत्मविश्वास और दृढ़ संकल्प हो, तो हम कठिन परिस्थितियों में भी अपने लक्ष्य की ओर आगे बढ़ सकते हैं।

Swati Tripathi, Sunbeam Gramin School

शिक्षा केवल ज्ञान नहीं, बल्कि अपनी पहचान स्वयं बनाने का साहस है। - गुलाबी

आज के सेशन का मूल भाव शिक्षा, आत्मनिर्भरता, पहचान और अपने निर्णय स्वयं लेने की क्षमता से जुड़ा था।

शिक्षा केवल ज्ञान नहीं, बल्कि अपनी पहचान स्वयं बनाने का साहस है। Educated की चर्चा ने मेरे मन में एक बहुत गहरी बात छोड़ी। शिक्षा हमें केवल यह नहीं सिखाती कि दुनिया कैसी है, बल्कि यह साहस भी देती है कि हम अपने लिए दुनिया को नए दृष्टिकोण से देख सकें।

तारा वेस्टओवर के जीवन में शिक्षा एक ऐसी खिड़की बनकर आती है, जिससे वह अपने सीमित अनुभवों से बाहर की दुनिया को देख पाती है। जिस परिवार में सरकारी व्यवस्था और बाहरी दुनिया के प्रति अविश्वास था, वहाँ शिक्षा के माध्यम से उसके सामने नए प्रश्न, नए विचार और अपनी पहचान को समझने की नई संभावनाएँ खुलती हैं।

उनकी माँ का मिडवाइफ के रूप में आत्मनिर्भर बनना भी मुझे बहुत प्रेरित करता है। एक ऐसा काम सीखकर उन्होंने न केवल दूसरों की सहायता की, बल्कि अपने भीतर आत्मविश्वास और स्वतंत्रता भी विकसित की। इससे मुझे महसूस हुआ कि किसी व्यक्ति को सशक्त बनाने के लिए हमेशा बड़ी-बड़ी सुविधाओं की आवश्यकता नहीं होती; सही ज्ञान और उस ज्ञान को उपयोग में लाने का अवसर भी जीवन बदल सकता है।

मुझे एक ऐसे विद्यार्थी की याद आती है, जो पढ़ाई में बहुत पीछे रहता था। वह अक्सर कहता था, "मैम, मुझसे नहीं होगा।" उसके लिए किताब खोलना भी एक चुनौती थी। हमने उसके सामने केवल अच्छे अंक लाने का लक्ष्य नहीं रखा, बल्कि उसे छोटी-छोटी जिम्मेदारियाँ दीं, जैसे कक्षा की पुस्तकें व्यवस्थित करना, कहानी पढ़कर दो वाक्य सुनाना और किसी साथी की मदद करना।

कुछ समय बाद वही बच्चा दूसरों को कहानी सुनाने लगा। उसके अंक शायद तुरंत बहुत अधिक नहीं बदले, लेकिन उसके शब्द ज़रूर बदल गए। अब वह कहता था, "मैम, मैं कोशिश करूँगा।" यही शिक्षा की असली परिवर्तनकारी शक्ति है, जब "मुझसे नहीं होगा" बदलकर "मैं कोशिश करूँगा" बन जाता है।

एक शिक्षक के रूप में इस चर्चा ने हमें यह सोचने पर मजबूर किया कि हमारा कार्य केवल पाठ्यपुस्तक पूरी करना नहीं है। हमें बच्चों को प्रश्न पूछने, स्वयं सोचने, अपनी क्षमता पहचानने और जीवन में सही निर्णय लेने का साहस भी देना चाहिए। कभी-कभी एक शिक्षक की कही हुई छोटी-सी बात किसी बच्चे के जीवन में वही भूमिका निभा सकती है, जो तारा के जीवन में शिक्षा ने निभाई—एक बंद दुनिया में खुलती हुई खिड़की की तरह। इस प्रकार, आज के सेशन से हमने यह सीखा कि शिक्षा केवल ज्ञान प्राप्त करने का माध्यम नहीं, बल्कि आत्मनिर्भरता, आत्मविश्वास और स्वतंत्र पहचान विकसित करने का साधन भी है।

"शिक्षा वह प्रकाश नहीं, जो केवल रास्ता दिखाता है; शिक्षा वह साहस है, जिससे इंसान अपना रास्ता चुनना सीखता है।"

गुलाबी, Sunbeam Gramin School

 

The Eklavyas of AFA- Minakshi Prasad

People learn best when their interest is piqued.

In this tiny little village called Bandarjoor, where I now reside, I experience many quaint incidents that touch me deeply. Arthur Foot Academy is surrounded by small houses with large families. Most of the children here either attend government schools or do not attend school at all. Yet, their eyes are full of curiosity.

These children keep peeping into the school with wonder. To them, the school is both a mystery and a magical place — a dreamland. Some of them got their first taste of AFA during the Summer Camp in June. Since then, these starry-eyed children stand near the gates and walls, eager to catch any crumbs of fun and knowledge they can.

Recently, they learnt an English song, almost to perfection, while playing a game. Their enthusiasm and joy know no bounds when they are invited inside the school after regular hours. Tell them a story, and their eyes sparkle with delight. Teach them a song, and you will hear their gleeful voices echoing far and wide — "a hundred mile, a hundred mile."

Minakshi Prasad

Director 

Arthur Foot Academy

The Lamps That Never Burn Out 🍵

Teachers are like candles—burning themselves so others can have light.

They guide, scold, inspire, and yes—nag a little too (all in the same period!).

And today, on Teacher’s Day, we celebrate that spirit—with flowers, speeches, and the occasional mysterious box of chocolates no one is quite sure about.

Some teachers truly shine. Their classes feel alive, their words echo for years, and their presence leaves footprints on our hearts, not just chalk dust on the board.

They are the ones who turn history into a story, maths into magic, and science into wonder. The ones who remind us that learning is not just about marks—but about curiosity, courage, and character.

It only takes one such teacher to change the course of a life.

We all remember “that one teacher” who believed in us before we believed in ourselves.

So today, when we say “Happy Teacher’s Day,” let’s mean it for all those who still dare to inspire, despite the system, the syllabus, and the stress.

Because education doesn’t thrive on numbers or ranks—it thrives on the spark of a few shining lamps who refuse to let their light go out.

To them, the true teachers, we owe more than words.

They don’t just teach lessons—they remind us how powerful one bright flame can be in a room full of shadows.

Happy Teacher’s Day. 🌟

With gratitude for the genuine lamps of learning,
— Manisha Khanna ✨

🌕 Guru Purnima Tribute to Sandeep Dutt 🌕

On the sacred day of Guru Purnima, we take a moment to honour and express heartfelt gratitude to a guiding light in our lives — Sandeep Sir.

A Tribute on Guru Purnima

A true Guru does more than teach — they nurture, guide, and walk alongside us as we learn to navigate life. Mr. Dutt, you have embodied this role with quiet strength and deep humility. Your presence in our lives has been a gift, not just for what you’ve taught us, but for how you’ve taught us to believe in ourselves.

With patience and clarity, you’ve helped shape minds and build character. You’ve never needed to raise your voice to make an impact — your actions, your discipline, and your unwavering belief in your students have spoken louder than words ever could. You’ve shown us how to lead, not by instruction, but by example.

Each lesson from you carried more than knowledge — it took a message of integrity, of perseverance, of compassion. Even when we faltered, you saw something in us worth nurturing. You never imposed answers — instead, you encouraged us to think, to question, to find our own truths.

On this Guru Purnima, we offer our deepest gratitude. Thank you for being a guiding light — not just in the classroom, but in life. Thank you for inspiring us to grow not just in intellect, but in spirit.

Wishing you continued strength and fulfilment on your path. May your wisdom continue to shine in the lives of many more.

"A true Guru doesn't show you the path — he walks beside you until you find your own."

With heartfelt respect,

Manisha Khanna

Power Women of India - Venu Agrahari Dhingra

Politics, by its very nature, is controversial, and when a woman takes part in it, she becomes controversy's favourite child. 

"Power Women - India's Political Winners" chooses to focus on the upsides of women in politics and highlights the excellence the women leaders have achieved in Indian Politics with their grit, guts, and glory.

Women, unlike men, work harder more sincerely to make a mark in politics with the boldness of her inner Goddess  "Durga".

These women protagonists have come from all walks of life - some with legacy and some without it - but they reached the highest echelons of Indian Politics and became the President,  Prime Minister, Speakers, Chief Ministers, Union Ministers and Members of Parliament.

This book narrates the inspirational stories of these torchbearers - 16 women political leaders of India, retracing the hard work they have to put into every field of life, especially politics. Indian democracy,  the biggest in the world, has given equal chances to men and women from all walks of life to make their mark in politics for the nation. The women mentioned here made their mark in their own inspirational ways, working for the country and their gender. 

Highlighting the achievements of the country's women leaders also paves the way for inspiring more women to join the country's mainstream politics. It covers 16 women politicians across decades and different parties, past and present, who entwine together to weave a womanhood fabric. The 'Durga' aspect of each woman is a common thread, which these remarkable women have in them and used with brilliance to move ahead in life and outshine in the political world. The information collected has been a year's work of research and dedication. Some of them have been written about posthumously. This book is a culmination of deep introspective analysis from various online and offline media.

My tryst with politics began with being born in a politico-business family. My father was the Mayor of Allahabad (now PrayagRaj) and Member of Parliament twice from Banda and Allahabad. While growing up in a house frequented by many stalwarts of Indian politics, including three former Prime Ministers of the country -  Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shri VP Singh and Shri Chandra Shekhar, it was the women in politics who intrigued me the most. Whenever I accompanied my father to a rally, one thing that struck me was the plight and fate of my gender and what the female politicians did to make a change. I closely observed that women politicians worked harder because politics has traditionally been male-dominated and still is in many countries. The voices of women leaders resonated with me, and I believed that I could be an agent of change too. Seeing them overcome prejudice and voice their opinions fearlessly in the world's most prominent democracy seat inspired me to reflect on Women Politicians in India.

The book is available on Amazon.com, Kindle, and The English Book Depot.
Price Rs. 500.00 

Be A Dreamer - Prerna Rathod

A dream is a series of thoughts, images, or sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. It can also be said that a dream means a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal of a person.

Dreams are nothing but our goals or aims of life. Each person has their dream. They want to fulfil their dreams, but only a few are successful. It is not easy to accomplish all dreams. It takes great courage and determination to make our dreams a reality. One has to work hard and make it real. When we were small, our life goals kept changing, but as we grew up, we have one or two goals in life. These goals are nothing but part of our dreams. 

Each child must be given the liberty to dream, and just his goal of life starts forming. If parents and educators can help and support the child in achieving their dream, the path becomes easier. 

Dreams can motivate a person to invent new things, leading to new inventions and discoveries. All great men were, in fact, dreamers. If you have the courage, you can fulfil your dreams at any age in life. I would end with a quote from Walt Disney "If you can dream it, you can do it."

Prerna Rathod 
prd@fabindiaschools.in 
The Fabindia School

Medley DGS: Honesty earns Respect!!

“Be a reflection of what you’d like to see in others. If you want love, give love, if you want honesty, give honesty, if you want respect, give respect. You get in return, what you give.” Anonymous 

Nearly everyone knows the story of the poor wood-cutter whose iron axe slipped and fell into the river while he was chopping wood and at the end, his honesty was respected and rewarded. For one, to build the character of honesty entirely depends on his/her family values and surrounding, and school becomes a major part of it. As I sit and reflect on my life as a student, I find several incidents when one was honest and got punished, and at other times, honesty not only saved but also earned respect. As a teacher its different angle, as you are the authority and the child looks upon you with trust. It is difficult to make children understand the concept of honesty. At a young age, children find a lot of things attractive and want to have them. In one such incidence, a girl in my dorm took a toy of another child as she liked it very much. As a housemother, it is my duty to know every child, and somehow I knew who did it. On confronting, the child agreed that she took the toy. Now came the challenge of whether to punish the child for stealing or to spare her for her honesty. Manier times to teach a bigger lesson one has to forgive smaller mistakes. That’s how we earn the trust of the children when they learn that their honesty has been respected.

गुरु  कुम्हार शिष कुंभ है, गढ़ि  गढ़ि काढ़ै खोट ।

अंतर हाथ सहार दै, बाहर बाहै चोट ।।

………………………कबीरवाणी

And this reminds me of another incidence where a girl took a book of another child and wrote her name on it. The other girl to whom the book belonged recognized her book and claimed for it and the argument started. Since both the girls belonged to my dorm, they came to me with the fight. On questioning both, I understood who was telling the truth and who was lying. After dinner, I took the girl for a walk and told her that I know the truth. I said to her “You are a good girl, and it must be something important that made you do so. If you are honest with me I will help you as much as I can”. She told me the truth that she had forgotten the book at home and was very scared of the subject teacher. Hence, she took that book. Then she started sobbing, thinking what everyone would say when they will know that she was lying. I told her one such incidence when I had forgotten my book at home, and my teacher did not say anything because I was honest and promised to be careful from next time. After listening to my story, the girl got the hint and promised to accept her mistake in front of her classmate and the teacher. As a teacher, it is also essential to maintain the balance between being strict and discipline and being understanding and approachable.

While pondering over this incidence today, I realize the importance of not only educating our children on “honesty is the best policy” but also on why it is the best policy. Just as in this story, one lie leads to others, and soon we find ourselves stuck in the web of our own lies and dishonesty. That’s when we realize that for a shorter benefit, we put our respect at stake. And the fear of losing our respect forces us to say more lies. Honesty is expressing our feelings and opinions accurately, and when we are not doing that, we get into an internal conflict that makes us restless, tense, anxious and fearful.

Hence, Just like Mahatma Gandhi’s Experiments with Truth, let’s do our experiment with Honesty in the class and outside and see for ourselves whether truly, honesty is the best policy?

Proud to be Educators From Medley DGS - Anubhuti Sharma, Chandralekha Negi, Kirti Bisht, Mamta Kandpal, Neelam Waldia, Rudrani Ray and Sugandha Ahluwalia 

Defender of our borders: A salute to Indian soldiers - Punita Chouhan

In the honour of our Indian soldier today I want to share a poem. 

Words can never describe.

What a soldier and his sacrifice.

They put on hold their dreams and lives.

They die so that we can survive.

They are the most disciplined persons.

On them, depend.

The security and stability of our nation s,

They are the true son of our country,

Who fight to protect is from all the enemies

They are the real heroes of the nation, serving the motherland is their only passion.

Whether it's the blood-freezing cold 

Or the scorching sun's rays,

They are protecting us without holidays. 

They are the pride of our nation,

Their life is a source of inspiration.

Away from the mother, kids and wife 

They are fulfilling their duty for the sake of our life.

We are grateful to the mothers

Who gives birth to these soldiers,

We are obliged to the wives and kids.

Who sacrifice their rights for national deeds

Punita Chouhan

The Fabindia School

pch@fabindiaschools.in

Hope and Friendship - Nikita Rajpurohit

Hope is the probability of a wish happening true. Every day we hope for hell a lot of

things, and at the same time, we lose hope for some of those things. Example:- We sleep daily by putting on an alarm with the hope of waking up the next day and making the best use of the other day, but what if someday, our breaths don't cooperate with our hopes and we never wake up for the next day. Hope you got a basic idea of how hope emerges and gets lost.

Every task we perform in our life lies behind hope. We eat with the hope of healthy physique, drink water with hope for proper hydration, vocal health and many more. In fact, even we breathe with a hope of the next breath of life. So we can say that everything is surrounded by hope in some manner.

Friendship, according to me, is a term that could never be defined in a statement. It is a feeling, it is a trust, it is a bond, it is something that's not created through blood relation only, it is something that you can rely on when you find yourself left with nothing. It is a term enough to build a strong bond within two souls. Even love takes a second place in hearts but friendship is always a top priority. It doesn't have a daily conversation and gets stronger and stronger with time.

And somewhere between both hope and friendship lies a deep connection. When you become friends with someone, it automatically creates a hope in your subconscious brain that this person now, is the person I could rely on and we both can be interdependent on each other. And when the hope is fulfilled, it ends up in a greater bond of a strong friendship. So hope and friendship are the two important values which give the inspiration to live our lives in the best possible way. Make your hope and friendship strong.

Nikita Rajpurohit

The Fabindia School

nra@fabindiaschools.in

Thoughtfulness & Understanding - Super7 BHIS

HELPING HANDS

Different people see the world from different perspectives. Very often people do not see eye to eye with one another which leads to misunderstandings. Some choose to mope, groan, and even get angry about the way that themselves or others are treated while some decide to try and do something about it. Still, there are others who think to themselves that maybe the best way to deal with disagreements is to try and comprehend what others mean. This can be done only by the power of understanding. This is a very powerful virtue - if one is understanding enough, he can win the world very easily. An understanding person has more friends than foes and in case of any predicament, he will always have his well-wishers stand up for him as a wall of strength.

Thoughtfulness and understanding are two sides of the same coin- you possibly cannot be one without being the other. A thoughtful person is always considerate about others - he will never spell out anything that might be a cause of pain for someone else.

Thoughtfulness can also describe the intellectual depth - we have all read poems, stories and essays which speak of the thoughtfulness of the writer. Such works can be inspirational - they can motivate others to tread the same path. Only if the members are compassionate enough, can the society progress.

A perfect example to illustrate this would definitely be the current scenario - the unprecedented pandemic has perhaps been the greatest test of the two virtues. This is the time when we had to be thoughtful of each other's needs and work together to combat the disaster. We have seen workers from several sectors such as healthcare, police, emergency workers working on the front line to help others. Each member of the society had to understand the need of the hour and work accordingly. In the field of education, the teachers needed to quickly learn the various facets of technology in order to facilitate uninterrupted learning. Teachers also had to be understanding of the needs and restrictions of the learners and modify the curriculum accordingly. In most sectors, workers tried their best to work from home and employers had been considerate about the requirements of the employees. These are the two virtues which helped the society to move forward even during the phase of lockdown.

Online classes have proved to helpful for the children - the classes reduced their boredom and tried to bring about a little colour and cheer in their lives. Students were enthusiastic about trying on the new platform and could quickly adapt to the change from real to virtual. Students were able to devote time to learning new things without having to visit the schools. They were excited at being able to meet their peers and teachers, albeit virtually. Apart from studies, schools have also planned several Co-Curricular Activities, Yoga Sessions, Motivational Talks to keep the young minds happy and fresh. Rudransh Awasthi, a student of BHIS Thane, will share his views on this topic.

Super 7 @ Billabong High International School, Thane - Sayantani Mukherjee, Dimple Awasthi, Ritu Chitnis, Manjusha Saji, Jyoti Ramdhave, Vijaylaxmi Ramesh & Sumati Muthukumar

Hope and Friendship - Ajay Vijayvargi

In today's world, each one of us comes across situations when we need some help or support, which person/persons come to your mind first – definitely your FRIENDS who are hope in the day. A Friend in need is a friend indeed.

Each one of us has friends, but it is difficult to have/find true friends. Each one of us have a different definition of a friend, let us some of them – he is a person who understands us, makes us feel good, trustworthy, not judgmental, always keep in touch, listen to us when the world has left us, keeps communication uninterrupted and clear, accept you like yourself. Though it is difficult to find all qualities in a single person even if he has few of these in him, he will be our friend - our Hope in life. Whenever an incident happens to show our solidarity and our concern we light candles (Nirbhaya case) similarly when we light diyas on Diwali we do it to show our hope to remove the darkness of ignorance, fear etc. Hope can be our map to success, making our journey easier, helping us to cope up with stresses, it will help us to ignore hardships and sufferings, and give us inspiration, motivation and a mindset to achieve our goals. It helps us in making our lives better and is the essence of life. One we choose hope everything is possible, it is a belief that things will be alright and a small ray of hope helps us to fight immense darkness. Ajay Vijjayvargi The Fabindia School avi@fabindiaschools.in

Hope and Friendship - Shivani Rao

Hope is the feeling of expectation and a strong desire for a certain thing to happen. It is

a belief that a positive thing will happen out of the harsh circumstances and situation in someone’s life. Hope is the strong feeling that is desired and expected out of circumstances will be that things will turn up for the best. Hope is the essence of life. Many of us could not even live a life of peace without having hope deep inside the heart. Life is unpredictable and goes out of our hand and beyond our control many times. Hope helps us keep the fight on and improves the chances of making our life better.

It helps to keep our eyes wide open for an improved future. I know it’s very hard keeping up with the inner faith during the most critical times, but, those who never leave hope, actually make it till the end. Hope not only gives you the strength to overcome pain, but it also makes the journey for the future easier. Let’s not worry about the fact that today is bad. Hope keeps us telling that tomorrow will be better than this.

Hope keeps us to stay positive. As you know, our mind has lots of effects on our actions. If your mind tells you to stay strong on a path and not to lose courage, you will do so. Hope gives a positive mind power.

Hope will always be the essence of life. It helps us to ignore the sufferings of the present. When we stay positive about our future and feel that we have to fight to win the problems, our probability to succeed increases.

Hope is a belief. You believe something good will happen. With its help, you can make an impossible possible, or win a war. Ask yourself – what you believe. If you believe to have something good in the future and expect it to happen, that is hope. When you keep telling yourself that there will be no more pain and suffering soon, you hope for it. Hope will give you the courage and inspiration to stick to your dream as long as you breathe. If you have a strong aspiration, hope and faith, nothing can bring you down. It let you aim at the sole purpose of your life.

Friends make our life joyful and hopeful True friends do not only share things but also share feelings, emotions, love, etc. Good friends are always there to help us no matter what happens. Sometimes they risk their lives for us. They make us feel comfortable with them. We cannot choose our relatives but we can choose friends. Good friends are great pillars of our lives. It can make us or can break us. Their support can lead us to success or doom.

Shivani Rao

The Fabindia School

sro@fabindiaschools.in

Stay Physically Active during Self-Quarantine - Rahul Kumar Thakur

As new COVID-19 cases continue to emerge in the Country, many healthy individuals are

requested to stay at home in self-quarantine. Staying at home for prolonged periods of time can pose a significant challenge for remaining physically active. Sedentary behaviour and low levels of physical activity can have negative effects on the health, well-being and quality of life of individuals. Self-quarantine can also cause additional stress and challenge the mental health of citizens. Physical activity and relaxation techniques can be valuable tools to help you remain calm and continue to protect your health during this time.

WHO recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, or a combination of both. These recommendations can still be achieved even at home, with no special equipment and limited space. The following are some tips on how to stay active and reduce sedentary behaviour while at home in self-quarantine: Take short active breaks during the day. Short bouts of physical activity add up to the weekly recommendations. You may use the suggested exercises below as inspiration to be active every day. Dancing, playing with children, and performing domestic chores such as cleaning and gardening are other means to stay active at home.

Follow an online exercise class. Take advantage of the wealth of online exercise classes. Many of these are free and can be found on YouTube. If you have no experience performing these exercises, be cautious and aware of your own limitations.

Walk. Even in small spaces, walking around or walking on the spot, can help you remain active. If you have a call, stand or walk around your home while you speak, instead of sitting down. If you decide to go outside to walk or exercise, be sure to maintain at least a 1-meter distance from other people.

Stand up. Reduce your sedentary time by standing up whenever possible. Ideally, aim to interrupt sitting and reclining time every 30 minutes. Consider setting up a standing desk by using a high table or stacking a pile of books or other materials, to continue working while standing. During sedentary leisure time prioritize cognitively stimulating activities, such as reading, board games, and puzzles.

Rahul Kumar Thakur

The Fabindia School

Humility & Appreciation - Super7

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”

- C.S. Lewis

Humility enables a better world of selflessness and dignity. A person with humility listens to and accepts others. Humility is staying stable and maintaining power on the inside and not needing to control others on the outside. Humility is in fact, one of the most powerful and important attributes of growth, both in and out of the ring. Being humble helps to build trust and facilitates learning, which is a key aspect of leadership and personal development. As the revolutionary Nelson Mandela had once said, “The the first thing is, to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself… Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.” We all know what humility is – a character trait of being humble and accepting of human limitations. It is all about acceptance of limitations of one’s own knowledge, and the willingness to learn from others. In a classroom, if students develop these moral values,  they become better learners as they are always curious to ask questions and seek further explanations. The students will always accept their mistakes and learn from them. Those who are intellectually humble will have no problem in accepting that they are wrong. The value of intellectual humility is best seen if the students in the class work as a team. It enables them to listen to different points of view and respect other’s expertise and knowledge. Socrates rightly said - "True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing". If one enquires deeply, one will find a lot of knowledge and depth about the subject. Students have to understand the purpose of education, put knowledge to practice and experience new things. When we have intellectual humility, we recognise new ideas that can be improved by sharing and collaborating with others.  When you are in a classroom, you should realise there is often much to gain by listening to other's ideas around you and this humility will never let you stop learning. We also need humility for inner well-being. Becoming frustrated and angry at failures comes with any struggle in life. It’s important we understand humility to be able to better navigate those struggles and pick ourselves up after the falls. It might sound counter-intuitive, but the more humble you are the more resilient you can be. If you can admit and recognize your part in the downfall you can work towards changing it. If you combine humility with your passion in life, you’ll rise to the top and overcome failure. For teachers, learning from your students is just as significant as teaching them. Students of all ages have their own unique perspective on the world and can teach you a lot about yourself and about life in general. Other times, students may go out of their way to be respectful and active participants in your classroom. Regardless, there are many times when a teacher wants to show his or her students how much he or she appreciates them. This show of appreciation can go a long way in terms of creating an academic community and building self-esteem in your pupils. While teachers must always be aware of maintaining boundaries between themselves and their students, taking the time to know our students individually show them that we value them. Knowing more about their personal goals and hobbies can also be a way to motivate your students in the classroom through tailoring lessons to their interests. Learning is not only about nurturing the quality of humility but also accepting the fact that someone can be better than you. This doesn’t mean you are not worthy enough, it just means you have to work harder this time. The quality of humility makes you a humble for sure moreover, it gives you the ability to take the progress of others in a positive way and keeps up with the sportsmanship spirit in you. It enables you to value the work of others and praise them for what they are good at. During an art class, the teacher had asked everyone to paint a picture of a rainbow. Sachi was the first one to complete her drawing followed by Rudransh. Rudransh is a great painter and has brought many accolades to the school. However, Sachi's painting too was beautifully done. They showed their respective drawings to the teacher and the others. All children began comparing the drawings and took to judging whose was the best. When everyone asked Rudransh for his opinion, he spontaneously replied that Sachi's work was far better than his. Being a humble child he knew that this time Sachi had outshone him and he did not flinch from admitting the truth. Appreciation is a fundamental human need in both professional and private life. We want to be appreciated for what we are, what we do and what we achieve. We all need to know that we are important in other people’s lives. We all want to be noticed and valued. Appreciation is at the core of all healthy relationships even a teacher-student relationship. In every classroom too, there is a whole, big range of personalities. You have students who just can’t keep quiet and other students who hesitate to share. There are students whose behaviour always demands your attention, and then some who stay in the background just because they are always so good. As a teacher, it’s sometimes hard to treat each student as important. And it is important that we remember that every role played is equally valuable. The student who waters the classroom plants is as important as the one who reads a story aloud for the class. When we appreciate each student and the roles they play, we foster a respectful learning environment.

Appreciation is the inspiration that one needs in achieving anything in life, be it the post of a CEO or be it learning how to make proper round tortillas. Appreciation is the key. Achieving things requires you to have confidence in the idea that you can actually achieve it and appreciation just adds fuel to this car of self-awareness and confidence on its journey to success or even being a better version of yourself.

It was the first day of the new session. The class was full of new faces and each one was brimming with excitement. The teacher too was very enthusiastic. Some of the learners were continuing students of the school while there were a few for whom it was the first day in a new school. 

The teacher asked each child to introduce himself. There was a quaint child named Sheila who appeared to be uneasy. When it was her turn, she almost started trembling out of nervousness. Sensing something was wrong, the teacher tried to do something to distract her. The child had in front of her a rough notebook which was covered with a wonderful piece of art- a stream flowing over rocks and stones with wild greenery all around. Instead of the introduction, the teacher appreciated the artwork. The child's face broke into a smile as she informed that it was she who had painted it. The teacher warmly welcomed the painter to the class. She later learnt that Sheila suffered from the fear of public speaking. She is now a grown-up girl who never forgets to thank her teacher whenever they meet for boosting her morale on that day. As teachers, we must never be miserly while appreciating our students. A few words of encouragement can make the day for them.

Hence, humility and appreciation are two aspects of the same coin. Humility is the humbleness that you have while learning new things from others and appreciation is praising them for having that knowledge which turned out to be useful to you too. Inculcating these qualities in the students is of utmost importance. It makes them ready for accepting challenges in life. It teaches them how to take their failures and the success of others in a sporting way. The students are required to know these qualities for not only academic basis but also as values for living a generous and happy life.

Super 7 @ Billabong High International School, Thane

- Sayantani Mukherjee, Dimple Awasthi, Ritu Chitnis, Manjusha Saji, Jyoti Ramdhave, Vijayalaxmi Ramesh & Sumati Muthukumar

Social entrepreneur is transforming schools to empower young people

SME INSPIRATIONS

Enterprise: EBD Educational Pvt Ltd
Founder: Sandeep Dutt
Year it was founded: 1986
Sector: Education
Based out of Dehradun

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela

This is the core belief that drives Sandeep Dutt, a social entrepreneur who has been working tirelessly to upgrade the standard of education in India’s schools for more than three decades. As the founder of EBD Educational Pvt Ltd, he helps schools to transform to deliver better. The aim is to enable schools to plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so that they can achieve success with their system and empower their students. The ‘My Good School Program’ helps 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.

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL), Sandeep Dutt (Sandeep) shares his vision for providing quality education in India.

GL: Tell us about your initiative and how it came into being.

Sandeep: In our quest for 'My Good School' for over three decades, we have always tried to address the dilemma ‘what makes a good school’. This has given us deep insight into schools, today we are most delighted to share that schools can change—the only way to do so is by strengthening the school culture.

Our work with ‘The Fabindia Schools Program’ 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. My belief is that the happiness of young people is in our hands, we must do all to help them live their dreams by providing them with the best possible education. Taking ahead this vision and mission, we are working to provide quality education in schools across India.

GL: What do you believe are the challenges and opportunities in our educational sector?

Sandeep: The Indian education market is one of the largest in the world and expected to grow at 13-15% over the next 3-4 years. Further, the share of the private sector is rapidly increasing; K-12 segment (kindergarten to grade 12) is the largest in the world with 260+ million students and ~1.5+ million schools but continues to face multiple challenges. These include access and enrolment, differentiated stakeholder demands, an insufficient number of teachers, rapid pace of external changes, quality and relevance.

The focus must be on creating an environment where:

Experiential learning is made possible through activities beyond just study, this can consolidate and bring to life learning which would otherwise be theoretical and uncoordinated.
Encouraging students to become involved in activities in the community outside the confines of the school curriculum will help develop their confidence, knowledge and contacts to follow passion after leaving school. With teachers’ encouraging young people, they can take full advantage of what both the school and outside interests can offer; this can be a key factor in their progressing successfully through adolescence into a rewarding and fulfilling life.

GL: What are the challenges you have faced in establishing your initiative?

Sandeep: Changing a school's culture takes time, training, and support—resources that school leaders, especially principals, often don't have. Developing more opportunities for professional learning and collaboration often requires additional funding, which schools and promoters may find difficult to secure.

GL: How do you believe GlobalLinker can benefit business owners?

Sandeep: Thanks to GlobalLinker, we can not only connect, but work together to take learning forward and help schools deliver better. If you are a vendor, a service provider, an employer and a working professional you will find the right connections to take ahead your mission and yes,  grow your business.

GL: What is your big business dream?

Sandeep: My dream is to set up the largest professional learning association in the world, this alone will help us bring the necessary change in the quality of our lives and ensure that we not only care for the environment around us but build it to make the world better for generations to come.

GL: What is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Sandeep: Leadership is inside you, we do not need to wear a patch or a badge or even look outside, find your passion and just follow it, with honesty, trust and single-minded focus.

Disclaimer: This article is based solely on the inputs shared by the featured member. GlobalLinker does not necessarily endorse the views, opinions & facts stated by the member.

GlobalLinker Staff
16 Nov 2018, 10:16 — 5 min read

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

Fall in love

And I want to inspire you, too. I want to be able to push you. To stretch your limits and make you step outside of your comfort zone. Because inspiration is like a weed when you have the right amount. It grows wildly and quickly, and spreads throughout the surface. When it works, when it really works, we feed off of each other. We make each other better. We consistently try new things and pursue higher heights. That’s…well, that’s inspirational.

And that’s what I hope for. Maybe it’s a bit far-reaching but maybe it really isn’t at all. Must read...

http://thoughtcatalog.com/stephanie-althoff/2014/02/you-should-fall-in-love-with-someone-who-inspires-you/

Stephanie Althoff

A rambling Midwesterner with too much time to think. A full-time worker, student, and adventuring ginger. I …

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