Cheeselings at the Learning Forward Retreat 19-21 July 2026

Presentation by Nidhi and Saumya from the Doon International School at Dehradun

Attending the My Good School Capacity Building Programme was an enriching and thought-provoking experience. 

The sessions inspired me to look beyond academics and understand that education is about nurturing values, character, empathy, and responsible citizenship.

The two-day programme offered practical ideas and meaningful discussions that encouraged self-reflection and reinforced the importance of creating happy, inclusive, and value-based learning environments. I came away with renewed motivation to implement these learnings in my classroom and contribute positively to my school community.

A heartfelt thank you to Mr Sandeep Dutt for his inspiring vision, insightful guidance, and unwavering commitment to transforming education. His words encouraged us to become educators who shape lives, not just teach subjects.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr Kunal for his constant support, excellent coordination, and encouragement throughout the programme. His dedication ensured a smooth and engaging learning experience for all participants.

I am truly grateful for this opportunity and look forward to putting these valuable lessons into practice. Together, we can build schools that inspire every child to learn, grow, and become compassionate global citizens.

Saumya Shankhdhar

Is Your Child Ready to Face the World?

Reflection as a Student

The book- Is Your Child Ready to Face the World?

Has changed the way I look at success. The stories taught me that dreams, compassion, purpose, resilience, and happiness are not just lessons—they are life skills. I realised that true education is about becoming a kind, confident, and responsible human being, not just scoring marks.

 As a teacher 

This book reaffirmed that our greatest responsibility is not only to educate minds but also to shape character. Every story reminds us that children need values, empathy, courage, and purpose to thrive in the real world. Our role is to inspire them to become capable individuals who make a positive difference in society.

Regards
Shweta Morolia
Sunbeam Suncity, Varanasi.

The Magic of Reading and the Everlasting Bond of Teachers & Students ✨📚- Special session with Sandeep Dutt! 😊📖

Teachers Travel With You All Your Life by Sandeep Dutt

Episode 1: Reading My Good School with Sandeep Dutt

Read on Substack

Today was extraordinary as we had the privilege of reading My Good School by Sandeep Dutt in a special session. What made it even more remarkable was that Mr. Sandeep Dutt read the book aloud! 🎤📖 His narration brought life to the words, making the experience profoundly enriching and memorable.

One of the most touching chapters we explored was "Teachers Travel With You All Your Life". It beautifully portrayed the multiple roles a teacher plays— a journalist 📰, a friend 🤝, a guide 🧭, a mentor 🌟, a guardian 🏡, a detective 🔍, and a problem solver 💡. This chapter truly emphasized that teaching is much more than just standing in front of a class with chalk and a blackboard. A great teacher carries their students in their heart, making learning a joyful and meaningful journey. ❤️✨

We realized that learning is fun when teachers deeply understand their role and connect with students beyond textbooks. A good teacher doesn't just teach; they inspire, nurture, and shape young minds for a lifetime. 🌱📚

A Beautiful Quote to Reflect On:

"A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart." 💖

Let's cherish the wonderful teachers in our lives and celebrate the joy of learning every day! 🎉📖🌟

A BOOK FOR ANYONE AND EVERYONE ASSOCIATED WITH SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLING. 

This book is for parents to select the school for their child, as the choice can have a lifelong impact on the growth and personality of the child. A guide for you to look beyond that high-rise building and those perfectly manicured lawns to go deeper in your search for your good school. It will encourage you to observe, question, evaluate, and choose a school that will truly prepare your child for a life beyond the campus, a life beyond theory, and a life beyond algebra. This book will help educators, school administrators, and management build and rebuild such institutions and change the future of learning. 

Enriched with the knowledge, experience, and, most importantly, the wisdom of Sandeep Dutt, a Doon School alumnus and school improvement coach, this book will encourage conversations about our education system and help shape the future of education worldwide.

Courage and Patience - Welham Boys' School

1. A Fearful student

Every time we encounter different types of students who might be fearful or impatient. These students should be dealt with carefully and patiently to cater to their needs. We need to be patient with these students as we don't usually know what triggers their behaviours and why they behave the way they are. Child psychology plays a significant role here in both situations.

First, let us talk about a fearful child.
A child usually fears the teacher because he/she feels that the teacher might scold or make fun of them for something easy for students to understand but difficult for that particular child. The child fears that other fellow students might make fun of him for asking such a silly question, or the child might simply be introverted and scared to speak up in front of everyone. As a teacher and an efficient educator, I would like to hold a personal question-answer session where children can come up to me personally and ask me questions if they fear asking in front of the whole class. I also appreciate the students if they ask questions in the course no matter how big or small the question is because no two people have the same ability to understand. Every student is essential and unique in their own way.

2. An Impatient student

In the second situation of an impatient child, I usually tell them to wait for 5 seconds in their mind and then speak. I also often encourage them to be more patient before asking questions or doing a group task. These children are more challenging to deal with than fearful students because they are hyper and impatient. They have to be trained gradually to wait and think before speaking and doing a task or submitting their homework. They should be taught that everyone will get a chance to speak or volunteer, and they have to raise their hands and wait for their turn to say or do any work.

We conclude that roses and lilies cannot be compared; likewise, two students with different needs and personalities should not be compared to each other, as every student is different and unique in their own way.

As teachers, it's our responsibility to ensure that all the children get equal attention and guidance according to their own personal needs.

B) Advice to educators who want to inculcate the values of courage and impatient in their students.

Teaching students courage in the classroom increases engagement and academic achievement but also helps students learn how to handle adversity. You might not think children endure many hardships, but they do — they try new things every day at school! You can effectively inspire courage in the classroom by teaching students what it means to be courageous and what it looks like in real-life situations.

Let your students know that when things are difficult, it's OK to be fearful and make mistakes — that's how we learn! Encourage students to try new things that seem difficult, including trying fresh foods, learning a new sport, speaking in front of the class, or standing up for a friend in need.

Courage does not need to be a big affair; it can be as small as raising your hand to ask a question. Sometimes courage is quiet, meaning there is not always applause at the end. Teachers must encourage, recognize, and celebrate when students show courage because they might not realize they're doing it. Students also need to learn how to voice their opinions and respectfully disagree with others, which can come in handy when the time comes for them to stick up for what they believe in.

To inspire your students to be courageous, you can discuss characters in stories and novels that could have shown courage. Ask questions and listen to what they think courage looks like. You also can purposefully study famous courageous figures for the students. Discuss with your students and see what they have to say about the courage these figures have shown.

Patience is more than just the ability to wait. It's how we behave while we're waiting. Not only is patience a success principle, but patience is also a skill. And like all skills, patience can be learned. There are many benefits of patience. From the ability to make more rational choices to the craft of focusing and obtaining long-term goals, patience can make a big difference in a person's life. The best way to learn patience is to practice patience, but sometimes, that is easier said than done.

Patience is essential for everybody to learn. And you know, It's easier to be patient as an adult if you learn to be patient as a child. Children whose parents strive to teach patience when they're young grow up to have more self-control and long-term critical thinking skills. In fact, many child development experts argue that teaching children to be patient is an essential step in child development.

5 Steps to Teaching Kids Patience

Step 1 – Teach Patience by Starting Small. Most young children aren't born patient.

Step 2 – Wait for A Little Longer (Avoid Instant Gratification).

Step 3 – Acknowledge The Difficulty in Waiting Patiently.

Step 4 – Practice Patience through Play.

Step 5 – Model Patience Yourself!

Neelima Parmar, Vandana Sahay and Monika Gupta
Welham Boys' School 
JOL Cohort 2022

Thoughtfulness and Understanding- Prachi Jain

We meet these people almost every day in our life, whenever we step out of our house.

They are important, but we underestimate them because their hard work is not packed up in some expensive and decorative wrappers and then labelled with some big brand names. Even after knowing this fact, we try to low-ball these vendors in price, we bargain with them while we pay EXTRA very much when it comes to brand name. 

If we talk about a classroom, the same thing happens with the children also. We always go after those children who can fetch our attention towards them. But what about those who actually need attention and are not able to express it. Most of the times, they are missed out, their need is also underestimated, and their emotions are bargained with.

So, on the part of a teacher-

Ø Thoughtfulness is the quality of thinking carefully about how to do something which is effective for every child.

And, for a student-

Ø Thoughtfulness are showing kind and considerate regard for those who showed the right path to them and helped them reach their goal. For them,

It’s THOUGHTFULNESS that inspires them to send a “thank you” note to –

§  Their grandparents for the birthday gift.

§  Their teachers on Teacher’s Day and much more….

We should always be thankful to the people at the previous steps who taught us how to move up, how to grow before we move to the next one.

Thoughtful people pay attention to the people around them, reflects on the situation and then choose to react and act purposefully and lovingly which takes a bit more consideration & time and most important-

A lovely quote that fits here-

                   “Never underestimate the power of thought; it is the greatest path to discovery.”

It shows that – Thoughtfulness and Understanding work in a cycle. If we start with Thoughtfulness, we come with a better understanding all the way and when we start with Understanding, we make an arrangement about actions to be taken.

Thoughtfulness has the power to change/improvise our thoughts, and Understanding gives us the power to take action for an effective outcome.

- Prachi Jain, The Doon Girls' School, Dehradun

You may know about sports coaching

You may know about sports coaching
But did you know that Educators can have coaches too?

Is this new to you? Would you like to find out what coaching has to offer you? The not-for-profit  LFIN Foundation connects educators with professional coaches, for free. Educators receive coaching support at no cost. In our work to bring coaching to educators, LFIN coaches waive their fees for the introductory session.

Just like a sports coach, your LFIN coach is able to see your ‘performance’ from outside the box. They see what you can’t see. Your coach works in collaboration with you to shift what needs to be shifted, changed or let go of so you can perform to the best of your ability.

Leonie Hurrel shares why coaching has been important to her.
"My own experience of coaching played a significant role in my career as a Headteacher. As a leader, it enabled me to work more effectively, manage change, balance the demands of an intensive job with a young family and feel far more confident and happy in myself."

In India, you can connect with members of Learning Forward India, an association that shows you how to plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so you and your team can achieve success with your system, your school, and your students. Simply connect with us by email LF@ebd.in

We 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.

Sandeep Dutt founder Learning Forward India Foundation
As School Improvement Coach, he focuses on school transformation with an emphasis on culture as a service. With over 30 years of experience as a trainer and mentor, Sandeep has been involved with schools across the country and worked with teachers and students all over the world. Read more https://hundred.org/en/profiles/sandeep-dutt

Learning Forward India (LFIN) is an affiliate of Learning Forward, membership is open to any person interested in professional growth and organisational development.

- The post is inspired by the writing of Martin Richards, and he works for Inspiring and encouraging educators to believe even more.

www.LearningForward.Org.IN