Productive Failure: A Future Ready Approach - Rajni Dhondiyal

Assignment-3

Productive Failure- A Future-Ready Approach

 

The aim of education is to prepare young individuals for a promising future, to develop their personalities, minds, bodies, and spirits, and to make them responsible citizens.

All the curriculum, pedagogies, strategies, and training activities are aligned towards this aim. Fortunately or unfortunately, the system's effectiveness doesn't last long due to the theory of change. More than ever, the world is changing rapidly, and so is the need to develop a different set of skills among all the stakeholders, including students. 

 

Developing skills like critical thinking, digital literacy, and resilience, which are crucial for navigating new technologies, solving complex problems, and embracing lifelong learning for a fulfilling and successful career and life. 

 Developing new skills in students has become a must for educators, and troublesome, too. After all, they themselves are unaware of the future circumstances or needs. Their dependency needs to be reduced, Awareness to be increased and that too, without an elastic break.

While analysing the effect of productive failure, it was amazing to notice a vast range of similarities between the expected need of skills in 2025 and skills that are developed with the concept of productive failure.

How PF develops future-ready skills:

Productive failure@ Analytical thinking: During the ACTIVATION phase, the initial failure fuels observation of why the existing/prior solution did not work. Students willingly use analytical skills to break it down, consider possible solutions, identify patterns, and enhance their analytical capabilities.

Productive failure@ Resilience, flexibility, and agility. The temporary failure teaches the learners that setbacks are not permanent. But it does not happen immediately. It takes considerable time and patience to reach to final understanding from initial failure. The delayed instructions and continuous involvement keep the fire burning.  

Productive failure@ Leadership and social influence: While struggling together in groups, students fail and reflect on their mistakes, they communicate, resolve their conflicts and develop a shared problem-solving, building trust and faith in others. The true leaders volunteer and guide other members of the group without any instructional force.

Productive failure@ Creative thinking:  After awareness, the PF process suggests the students with creative prompts that encourage diverse solutions. Students try new approaches and innovate with different ideas.

Productive failure@  Data Analysis: Both the phases of PF include Data analysis. Students are given raw data, without direct instruction, so that they struggle and then generate multiple solutions, keeping data to find which will work, and most of the time, they fail. Even in the consolidation phase, they note why their previous attempts did not work. Even the instructors have to collect the data before and after following the PF strategy through data analysis.

Productive failure@ Complex Problem- Solving: Teachers ensure that the learners are provided with challenging, yet relevant complex problems, intended not to be resolved. It ensures productivity in the learning process. 

Productive failure@ Emotional Intelligence: In place of negative emotions like frustration or disappointment due to initial failure, learners are led towards awareness about self, empathy, collaboration and support for their emotional development and empowerment.

Productive failure@ Curiosity and lifelong learning: After incorrect solutions, learners crave the correct one. Instead of fearing and avoiding, they take the challenge as a chance to explore reasons. Curiosity helps memorise unrelated information to produce related information. It leaves a lasting impact on them.

Productive failure@ Critical thinking: Learners voluntarily compare and contrast the correct and incorrect strategies. Carefully analyse facts, evidence and arguments for conclusion reach. This process in itself allows them to logically think and develop their own ideas.

Productive failure@ Active listening: PFs strategically designed constructive failure encourages participants to actively listen, as they are already aware of the need for a more robust and lasting understanding of concepts.

Rajni Dhondiyal
Sunbeam Suncity (School & hostel)

Affection Vs Rejection - Khalid Zafar

Every year, as teachers, we encounter a new class of forty students, and with them, forty unique families, environments, and backgrounds. I firmly believe that understanding the individual child within this group, especially those coming from less stable or supportive family situations, is crucial.

Children raised in nurturing, positive family environments tend to develop healthier, stronger minds and bodies. They have the foundation for balanced personalities. However, when families experience trauma or hardship, these events can significantly impact a child's psychological well-being and development. Often, the child's emotional needs are unintentionally overlooked during these challenging times. This can lead to an unbalanced personality and manifest as rejection or withdrawal from social interaction.

It's important to remember that not all children react the same way. Each child is an individual, and their responses will vary. This period is critical because these children desperately need affection and acceptance. Without it, they may exhibit hyperactive, unstable, or even destructive behaviors. When we, as teachers, attempt to connect with these children, they might initially avoid eye contact, shielding their emotions. They understand that a single glance could betray the depth of their pain.

I recall a particular instance during an exam. In the creative writing section, one student poignantly described losing their mother during the COVID pandemic. When I spoke with the child, the raw emotion was palpable, just beneath the surface, threatening to spill over. The father, struggling to cope, had placed the child in a boarding school. While the child appeared to have adapted to the school environment, a lingering sadness clouded their eyes and face, a clear indication of the profound grief they carried.

As their pastoral teacher, I reassured them that I was always available to listen whenever they needed someone to talk to. Creating a safe space for them to express their feelings is the first step towards healing.

Khalid Zafar
Sunbeam Suncity

Tom and Jerry- Sunbeam School Indiranagar

In a school, teachers and students are like Tom and Jerry. Where the teacher, like Tom, keeps chasing the students to complete their tasks so that the students complete the given tasks on time. But some students are like Jerry, who are restless, they cannot stay on any task for long and get bored very quickly,  they also start misbehaving and do not even complete their work. In such a situation, a teacher tries that the students should be attentive by making them do different types of activities so that they can develop an interest in their subject and complete their task.

When a teacher behaves normally with the students and keeps aside his seniority, considers himself a facilitator of the students. There is trust in the teacher develops in the students, due to which they share their problems with the teacher which hinders their personality or learning. A teacher is not there only to impart bookish knowledge, he has to play different roles, sometimes he has to be a guardian, sometimes a friend, because to make a student a good citizen, a teacher has to take many forms.

Sunbeam School Indiranagar Varanasi
Chandrani Singh
Shalini Tiwari
Shilpi Chakraborty
Vijeta Wilson
Mizan Ali

Affection VS Rejection - Mohini Rai

When we, as a teacher, every year meet to a new class full of 40 student then we not only meet with each 40 students rather we meet 40 families, 40 environments, 40 surroundings! I as a teacher strongly believes that it is very important for a teacher to understand that particular child among those 40 students, who has come from unhealthy disturbed families.

When a child grows up in normal family surrounded by friendly environment ,it actually helps the child to develop into mentally and physically healthy and strong. The child gradually develops into a balanced personality. Sometimes due to any casualties or incidences, when the family goes through any trauma, it also affects the little child’s psychology and it's development. And somehow these little children and their thoughts get ignored by the family. Under such circumstances the child develops an unbalanced personality and starts showing rejecting and repulsive attitude towards people in the society.

It is not necessary that all the children shows the same symptoms. Each individual behaves differently. This phase of their life becomes very crucial because they need affection and acceptance. In absence of affection and positive acceptance such children start showing various behaviour such as hyperactive- unstable behaviour and also sometimes destructive mindset. If we as a teacher try to talk to such children, initially they don't make eye contact because they try to hide their hidden emotions because they know that if they will do so the whole truth through their eyes will just flow in one go.

I still remember an incident when it was an assessment exam and in the creative writing question one child has shared the incidents of losing his mother during the COVID. When I got to know this then I tried to talk to that child and I found that child was like was about to burst into tears and tears and tears. His poor father was unable to take care of him and hence have left him in a boarding school. Although the child had adjusted in the school very well but his blank's face and teary eyes were clearly expressing the deep sorrow of child's heart. I as a Pastoral teacher told him that I am always there to listen him whenever he needs to talk to me.

Mohini Rai

Sunbeam Suncity School

Never Give Up Hope - Prerna Rathod

Hope is a rope that is a lifeline for everyone. It is a ray of light when a person is in darkness. Hope makes us believe that nothing is impossible in this world. If you have faith in yourself and are ready to work hard, you can achieve success to complete the impossible task. Hope gives us wings to fulfil our dreams and help us create a path to achieve our goals. 

As Educators, we must inculcate this value of hope in our children. Life is very unpredictable, and sometimes we will face failure. So hope is the only thing that will help us to move on and restart our task again. We can give examples of great personalities like Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, etc., who didn't achieve success in one go. They faced many failures and then got a win. If we tell them their stories, then children will understand the importance of hope in our life.

I would like to give a real-life example. My aunt was diagnosed with cancer. All family members were worried and upset. My aunt was sad, and she gave up hope to live. But then, seeing her children, she decided to go through the treatment and fight cancer as her children needed her. So she took tratment. Though it was painful, she was successful in defeating cancer. She was cancer-free and now is with her family, safe and healthy. 

I would like to end with the quote, "Hope is such an energy by which any dark part of life can be illuminated". So let's carry "Hope" with ourselves.

Prerna Rathod 

The Fabindia School 

prd@fabindiaschools.in

Thoughtfulness and understanding - Parineeta Negi

Thoughtfulness and understanding are the two values that develop a child into a good citizen.

Thoughtfulness

Thoughtfulness is a value that develops the personality of a person. It develops a sense of love and cares for others. A little thought and kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money. Just one minute of thoughtfulness can change the whole life ahead. It develops love, care, empathy and understanding among the people. Thoughtful people pay attention to the people around them, reflect on the situation, and react and act peacefully and lovingly.

We can develop a sense of thoughtfulness in the children through different activities in the school.

1. Slow down.- through the activity like arranging the words, the child learns to wait for their turn and accept the other person's actions and then continue further. Activities like this can be done through alphabet cards or even number cards. This will teach a child acceptance and understanding of the other person's thoughts and work with coordination. This activity will also help the child not to jump on the conclusion but think and act accordingly.

2. Dig deeper and look back- sometimes it happens when we try to help students think deeper and give them a tool to broaden their understanding, but the child does not know how to use it. So we as teachers must help the student to think out of the box and think deeper. The only tools the teacher and the child need at that moment is patience and tolerance. This way, children will learn to look back if they have made any mistake and even think broader and improve.

3. Express empathy-Empathy is showing respect and love towards others and care for others feelings. In this situation, a teacher can be a role model for the children. For example, if the teacher is frustrated with a child's behaviour, they must come down and try to observe the situation from the child's perspective,, or if the student is upset, reflect back on his feelings and try to communicate with the child, read his behaviour and try to help him. When the child observes the teacher's behaviour, the child will surely develop it and show empathy.

Developing these values in children will help them develop in the classroom and the community outside of the school and contribute to their becoming better people.

Understanding

The ability to understand something or someone is called understanding. It is a value that develops within a person. If you have empathy for others, you will surely develop understanding. You will be able to think positively, care for others and support others. An understanding person will never jump up to a conclusion too quickly. He will try to dig deeper and look at both sides of the coin. He will be fair in his judgement and will be truthful, and a truthful person always wins the confidence of others.

In school, a teacher must be an understanding person. She has to become tolerant, empathetic and should always be fair in judgement. She must have the capability of making the right decisions.

When a teacher faces a typical situation with the children, the teacher should not prostrate instead, listen calmly and carefully to the children, dig the truth out and then talk to the children. Make them realise what mistake they have made and what was the result. She can even give them options of alternate actions that can avoid these kinds of situations.

To develop a sense of understanding, many activities can be done in the class.

Activity - To make the children understand the importance of understanding the block games, puzzle games are the best. Some parts of the puzzle can be distributed among the children forming groups and then ask them to solve it. They can even share their pieces with others to complete them. By doing so,, children learn to connect, coordinate, understand and relate. When they share the pieces with others, they learn to tell and develop a friendly relationship. They even understand the importance of teamwork.

Understanding is an important value that helps a child become more patient, caring, loving, empathetic and friendly. These values help him become a better citizen.

- Pareenita Negi(Principal)@JMMS, John Martyn Memorial School, Salangaon, Dehradun

Importance of Discipline - Shivani Rao

Courtesy Source: uiic@aktu.ac.in

Discipline is one of the most important personality traits in everyone's life. It refers to a set of rules and regulations which are to be followed while undergoing any task or activity. It is a way of being honest, hard-working, motivated, and encouraged while doing any task. 

It is a character trait that helps the individuals to complete the tasks in a given fixed deadline. The role of discipline in our life is to set orderliness, efficiency, punctuality, organization, and focus on our tasks. “Life without discipline is just like a ship without radar.” Therefore the importance of discipline in life just cannot be ignored.

Courtesy Source: https://www.cuemath.com/learn/importance-of-discipline/

Shivani Rao

The Fabindia School

sro@fabindiaschools.in

Humility and Appreciation - Prerna Rathod

Humility is an ornament of a good human personality. It is the best quality of a humble man.

All great men & celebrities of this world are adorned with this quality i.e., humility. Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Swami Vivekananda are live examples of a humble person. Due to this quality, they have achieved all goals of life and society without war and non-violence and are remembered for the work they have done for the society.

Appreciation goes hand in hand with humility. A humble person always appreciates the good qualities of the other person and never fails to praise them. This act of them reinforces the opposite person to appreciate him & his humility in return. So mind it, where there is humility, there is appreciation also. Both these qualities are the two sides of a coin and go hand in hand.

Lord Rama is a unique example to explain this. Rama was so humble that he happily ate the tasted berries offered by Shabri without any grudges. Thus, Rama’s humility is appreciated by all of us until today.

In return, Lord Rama appreciated the love & faith of Shabri. Her humility touched his heart & without giving a second thought he appreciated her act & ate the tasted remnants of the berries.

These both qualities are important for an Educator. An educator must appreciate a child’s work even if it is not the best work of the class. This will motivate the child to do his /her work sincerely and one day he/she will produce the best work in the class.

Finally, we can say where there is humility; appreciation resides there and vice versa.

Prerna Rathod
The Fabindia School

prd@fabindiaschools.in

Responsibility and Cooperation - Prakash Dangi

Responsibility is one of the most important aspects of human nature and personality. It is “doing the

right thing”. Doing the right thing means living a life where every move or decision you make is all your own and you do things that will not harm others. It is a moral belief that as individuals we must behave ethically and be accountable for our actions, and be conscious of our decisions and the impact it has on society. Responsibility is the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. Definitely, people are not born with a sense of responsibility. It's obtained automatically when we complete any task. It plays an important role in a teacher's life as without responsibility teachers' career cannot shine. Responsibility changes human behaviour. 

When we take responsibility for doing any work, we will definitely get success easily. It develops many other values such as patience, love etc in human nature. In the classroom, we can build the responsibility in our student by making a separate group of the student and then assigning them any task to complete. Since everyone has certain responsibilities: responsibilities of family, of school, of the nation, of work and so on. Every parent tries to raise the sense of responsibility in their child. It means caring for others. I will give an example of a cricket match. When 2- 3 players are left while playing in a team, they don't understand the value of responsibility. But when the last player is left, he takes full responsibility and plays very well, that is a real responsibility. Co-operation is one of the most important fundamental things in our life. Cooperation means working together. In other words, we can say cooperate with each other. No society can exist without this. 

Cooperation means working together for the achievement of a common goal. Co-operation is the process by which an individual or group combines their effort, in a more or less organised way for the attainment of common objectives. Co-operation is a form of social interaction wherein two or more persons work together to gain a common end. Cooperation is a key interpersonal skill which all students should develop and enhance in order to succeed in a future professional environment. So, educators have introduced cooperative learning within the classroom improving the whole student learning experience. Cooperation promotes a good working environment, encourages peace, and builds humanity. It is essential for a school because everyone plays a huge role in cooperation and increases the schools' graphs. When we talk about any games, without the player's cooperation we cannot achieve our goal and when all the players cooperate and work as a team, they definitely win. Today, the most common example of cooperation we can see is a doctor, nurse, police, people, etc. They all are working hard by understanding their own responsibility with the cooperation of people against COVID19 and with their efforts, we will win the battle against COVID19 and live our life like before. So responsibility and cooperation both values go hand in hand. 

- Prakash Dangi, The Fabindia School

Responsibility and Cooperation - Byju Joseph

Responsibility is a virtue to be possessed by everyone. It is a positive action towards a goal to fulfil. It makes a person think properly and take the necessary action to achieve it. Responsibility is also the dedication to perform certain duties. As a human being, as a citizen of the country, as a member of society and as a member of the family, we all should do our duties effectively. 

Those who are responsible for everything become more confident in their actions. It helps them to develop self-respect and self-control. Thus it helps them to develop their personality. Hence it is one of the personality traits. Responsibility will be varied in person to person according to their situations and positions. Being educators we have much more duties that the character formation of children is in our hands and that must be carried out carefully. It is the duty of educators to provide knowledge but it does not mean education. It is part of education only. Inculcating and nurturing the values in children and making aware of the importance of them are the major duties of educators. The goal of each educator is to make their children better citizens of the country. 

As a parent, we have the responsibility to take care and provide all facilities to our children. There are many adverse circumstances in our life which may tend to deviate from our duties and responsibilities. The strong will power only will help us to deal with such situations. As a social being, we all depend on each other in some of the other ways. So it is very important to share or help each other. Then it becomes an act of working together for a common purpose. It is exactly the cooperation. 

By cooperation, we are accepting and respecting the thoughts and ideas of others. Through this, we learn to work with the help of others as a team. In an institution or a company or any work site each and everyone to cooperate to accomplish the task assigned. Then there will be a common responsibility but individual responsibility is equally important. In the present education system, the teacher has a role of facilitator but it does not mean to deviate from responsibilities. It is there, at the same time students have responsibilities towards their duties. In the teaching-learning process mutual understanding and cooperation are essential. They should perform their duties and put their hundred per cent efforts to achieve better results. It is not an inborn trait, so it should be developed by everyone at an early age. 

Children are not bothered about their responsibilities but from their parents and teachers, they gradually learn and become responsible individuals. Teachers have the duty to make their students understand the importance of taking responsibilities. It is possible by assigning certain positions or works on a regular basis. Then they will surely cooperate with teachers and perform their duties well. 

- Byju P. Joseph,  The Fabindia School

The Importance of Good Manners - Punita Chouhan

Everyone praises good manners but few can practice them. They are medicines which

are good for every disease. Good manners are the sign of all progress in the world. They are the beauty and glory of our actions. Other qualities do not affect us so much as good manners do. Bad manners create evil beings. The wicked people who insult us are never liked by us. We must have regard for the opinions of others. That is a sign of good manners.

Man is the maker of his own date. He has a key by which he puts himself in dark or in light. If a man follows the evil things and becomes loose charactered he cannot improve his life and would be a burden on society, but if a man possesses good qualities, he can improve his life, society and the country and he can achieve his goal.

Good manners are the backbone of our life. They exert the greatest influence on the career of a man. A man of character is the key to the progress of society. Physical strength is nothing when compared to moral strength. We should build our character because it is a source of pleasure to others. Behaving well with others means having regard for their personality. Wealth gives us temporary luxuries but good manners and strong characters give us permanent happiness. Everybody in society will be happy to know us if we have a good character.

Punita Chouhan

The Fabindia School

Do Schools Kill Creativity: Usman Gani

I do not agree with the topic as schools in today’s world develop the overall personality of the students, in which creativity is an important aspect. The creativity includes various art subjects – dance, music, handwriting etc. The innovation in any field of interest is always supported and encouraged by the educators.

The previous concept in which mathematics and languages were on the top hierarchy , was acceptable in 19^th and early 20^th century when there was more need of  technical and learned persons, but today whether in business or in job a person has to be multitalented and multidimensional which is the need of the hour.

Creativity is the key to develop a multitalented and multidimensional individual, for which school is the playground.

Usman Gani
The Fabindia School, ugi4fab@gmail.com

Shrishti Nayak: Is your child ready to face the world?

"Good parenting is a skill that is acquired over a period of time”, this line has been very well incorporated in this book by Dr. Sibal.

The art of how to communicate with your child is something which is very challenging and this book has stood out against all the odds in explaining the effective communication. This world is ever changing and with this ever changing world, parenting also require some creativity and innovation.

The traditional and the modern way if jelled up together can bring out some great wonders in your child.

Children are considered as the purest soul in the universe who are free from any kind of biases . Children make us learn some new perspectives about life. A parent should act as a learner who is ready to act as a versatile personality who is able to handle a child on all platforms. One should never loose hope and always feel enthusiastic about trying new strategies.

“Complaining” should just get ruled out from our dictionary.

Be with your child in every stage and enjoy each and every moment. Never miss a chance of bestowing your love and care upon your children because when medicines fail, love conquers.

Shristi Nayak
Understanding icons
The Iconic School, Bhopal

Build Your Own Personal Brand

There are thousands of books, articles and papers available on the subject of product and services branding, and an equal number of agencies and executives across the world working on developing great brands. More courses are being curated as part of the curriculum in business schools and millions being spent on conferences and seminars to bring the experts in the field together to share their views. However, not as many conferences, courses and articles on ‘personal or individual branding’ make their way to the headlines! The fact is that all of us as individuals, too, possess the potential to be those great brands we revere. In a world that is fast to clone, it is worth thinking about what can then help individuals, in every ordinary walk of life, stand apart from the crowd and create brands for themselves. For individuals, the process can actually be simplified.

  "When you see the world through the eyes of your purpose, you see the beauty it has to offer!" 

Firstly, to share some facts surrounding Personal branding:

Effective Personal Branding is not a spin. It is not sugar coating or artificial packaging. Its roots lie in authenticity. The image manufactured for the world, has to be the actual person in reality as well. If you play a role, one that is not real, you will quickly be found out, and you will exhaust yourself one day just living those perceptions. It also means that you live in a world in which If your approach is to wear a mask, you will fail. You cannot be what others want you to be. You will have to get others to see YOU for what you really are. The traditional models at the workplace were about doing as told, blending in and adhering to what was the ‘normal.'  The new normal is to stand out. Current models are about passion, discovering meaning and purpose and about defining values. It’s about building your personal brand.

Personal Branding is not meant only for outgoing gregarious personalities. In fact, everyone, irrespective of their personality can possess a personal brand. Did you think the most amicable or social personalities are the ones who have their own brands? This is one of the biggest myths surrounding personal brand building. It supersedes personality, and rather is based on the strength of relationships!

Building a Personal Brand takes does not take time:  It emerges as a reflection of your behavior. It is not a hobby or something you ‘do’ in your spare time. You can’t ‘do’ a brand. You build it, bit by bit, everyday, every minute.

It’s not just business; It’s personal:  Can you imagine trying to say ‘ It’s not personal, it’s just business’ to any leader, teacher, or CEO who has spent half of his/her life at work and put their heart and soul into their work. Business is personal because we each crave a deeper connection with our work, a connection that transcends position and power and money, a connection in which we meet needs and create something. We all want to be valued and recognized. And we like to know that we are making a difference when we put our heart and soul into something. Our work reflects our personal lives, and our personal lives reflect our work. If you have cared for your customers, it’s personal. If you have lost sleep over a client, it’s personal. If you have gone out of your way for a colleague, it’s personal. If you stayed extra hours to help a team member, it’s personal. The fine line between personal and business has evaporated

We are connected- everywhere, all of the time. Your community partners will know what you are doing on your holiday. They will know if you are calling into work sick, but checking into a spa… or at your daughters PTA or just a shopping trip out. It’s all visible. You are being judged, and evaluated constantly. Your networks are receiving inputs and signals with everything that you say or do or don’t say or don’t do.  You walk into a meeting late; you are sending a message. You borrow stationery from the office for an emergency at home; you are sending a message, you write rude emails, you are sending out a message, you do not reprimand errant employees, you are sending a message… you go out drinking with your team; you are sending a message. Your brand is being defined and tested every minute.

On a lighter note, it is seldom that we are remembered for our professions…..more likely for what we stood for, what we meant and how we lived our lives..which tells us how important it is to build our character which defines our brand!

To begin creating a personal brand, you could follow a few simple steps:

1. Identify your Passion: What makes you tick? Call out your strengths and label them. Get as close to the basics as you can and be eloquent about what it is you believe you have on offer to the world. Several attempts could be made before you can zero in on what really defines you. But what is important is to believe in the fact that you had a purpose in life before anyone had an opinion about it! Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can. Keep characterizing yourself. Precise, concise and consistent.
2. Scale your Values to Articulate your Identity: Once you have defined yourself, you need to articulate your identity with your values. The Greek Philosopher Heraclitus had said that ‘Character is fate.' After all, if people like you, they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they will do business with you. Reputation matters tremendously. Admit mistakes if you make them. Work with all stakeholders to create mutually beneficial solutions to forge deeper relations. The base of all interactions should be Trust, Respect, and Humility, fundamental human values. Every interaction should reflect your values.  Brands don’t just live on the page anymore.  They are living breathing things. It is important to build your brand that is aligned with your values so that your actions are aligned with the message you are putting out there.
3. Resiliency & Growth: There may come upon some difficult times in your journey, which challenge your fundamental beliefs. The Valley of C, as this is often referred to, is the lowest point in a journey, from where on the only way forwards is upwards. To propel yourself out of the Valley of C, resiliency and growth are critical factors. These are important because they provide the opportunity to recalibrate, fortify and endorse your authentic brand. It is important not to let these create fear or shake your fundamental values. Forge through with the strength of your relationships and behaviors. Keep an eye on the goal and allow no one or nothing to weaken your resolve to adhere to your core values. The waves will settle, and what will emerge is a phoenix of a brand. Live out your promises in an authentic way and demonstrate those in how you relate and behave with all your stakeholders.
4. Don’t just Shift, Elevate: Constantly reinvent yourself and your offerings. ‘Don’t be part of the furniture,' as we often say at the workplace. It doesn’t help your brand to be one of the herd.  You ought to encourage yourself to think differently, keep adding to your experiences and perceptions. Don’t close your mind. Absorb and challenge yourself to see perspectives you previously found difficult to fathom. After all, wheels on luggage were introduced by a man who challenged the conforming way of lifting luggage!
5. Let the World see you as you are: The greatest power and impact of personal branding comes from thinking of all the above, holistically. If you speak at a forum, or at a professional association, identify ways to link it to the virtual world- like publishing your presentation online, or writing about your experience in your Blog, and uploading video snippets on YouTube. When you link the real and the virtual, you send a consistent message while amplifying your visibility and reducing the effort required to build a strong brand. Build a Twitter following. Use Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and other networks to build a following. When you have an opinion, share it respectfully. When you produce some work or do something meaningful, talk about it. Allow people to look through a window into your world. Let you work speak for itself.  

In short, to build your effective personal brand, you need to work on your core architecture. Use your values to create your competitive advantage. Create a consistent messaging. Use your behaviors to behave out the competition. Generals wear their medals on their sleeves as a constant reminder of what they stand for, what they live for, and what they are willing to lay down their lives for. Similarly, your values should serve as your armor, your compass, and your guiding light, directing behavior, sharing your message and articulating your brand!

Shibani is a scholar, consultant, and lecturer in the field of workplace cultures. She has a passion for issues around spirituality and leadership and is working on unconventional stimulating work in the areas of cultural competitive advantage through values, and about deeper purpose at the workplace. Shibani helps organizations around the world, articulate values-based behaviors.You can find out more about her on www.shibanibelwalkar.com

Brewing Knowledge - The Mission

Interview for the The Konverv Times

Sandeep Dutt

Personality & Career

1. Sir, let us start with a quick introduction for the readers. Please do give us a idea of what you are trying to do?

From family business to start-ups and corporate social responsibility (CSR), I have been passionately working with the youth of India to build great institutions.  A serial entrepreneur, bookseller, author, educator and a mountaineer. In his quest for leadership, have had the opportunity to travel all over the world; has been invited to many industry, government, social sector and education sector presentations for exchanging views; and has contributed to policy making. My ability to network and an understanding of digital communication has helped create international brands.

2. What do you think has been the highlight of your career so far?

Our work for The Fabindia Schools Programme, demonstrating excellence in school operations, involving the community and establishing a sustainable model for delivering good education in the villages of India, is now being replicated at a larger scale. We believe that the happiness of young people is in the hands of teachers and mentors, and 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 affordable quality education in rural and urban India, by putting in place good systems, offering best in class training and ensuring that we have happy teachers to lead us.

3. How would you describe your leadership style?

‘Servant Leadership’, the focus is on empowering individuals to lead, in reality this may translate to delegating leadership. When you want to build organisations you goal is to be like a cheerleader, inspire and help each individual find the leadership within.

4. What inspired you to pursue a career in education?

The education that my family and school provided was the catalyst for my thinking and helped shape my life. The idea of a liberal arts education through which students think and learn across disciplines, literally liberating or freeing the mind to its fullest potential. The essence of such an education is not what you study but the result – gaining the ability to think critically and independently and to write, reason, and communicate clearly – the foundation for all professions.

5. What are the main principles you encourage at the school?

A good school works for the personal and social development of an individual by offering an environment where experiential learning is made possible through activities beyond just study; this brings to life learning that would otherwise be theoretical and uncoordinated. School teachers have the most important role in delivering affordable quality education.

6. Can you share something unique about your school ? Can you share one of the best practices you have implemented in your school that may be other schools can replicate?

Our concept of building the professional learning community known as Brewing Knowledge 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. This group of passionate educators working for professional development and assists individuals, to leverage the power of professional learning to affect positive and lasting change.

7. From business to non-profits and then in education, you have come a long way, what is your biggest learning?

Philanthropy is not merely donating or giving away,  the real meaning of philanthropy is social wealth creation. ~ Sandeep Dutt

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Message to Students

1. What is your philosophy on discipline?

The learning environment, should be free of fear and favour, there needs to be a great deal of empathy in the relationship between the teacher and the student. The best way is for the teacher to lead by example, and delve deep into the minds of the children, before taking any corrective action.

2. How do you draw the academic best out of your students?

We have to encourage each child to find themselves, there has to be equal emphasis on service, skill, sport and study, to make a fair ecosystem for every child in the school to be appreciated.

3. What characterises the students graduating from your school?

We work for the personal and social development of an individual. This is achieved by the educational philosophy My Good School, where we 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.

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Learnings for Teachers

1. What advice would you give to a new teacher on his or her first year?

Live and think like a child, never ever grow up!

2. How will you motivate teachers so they will want to try new ideas?

Experiential Learning is the key, the teachers must find way to engage with children and making learning fun always.

3. Is the parent a teacher?

The first teachers in our life and perhaps the last too, are our parents. The best teacher in the world, and one who we unconsciously imbibe is our parent. No class teacher will be successful, without their engaging effectively with the parents of the children.

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School and use of technology

1. What are the main trends in education that you are seeing at the moment?

From taking teaching as a one way process, we will more to 360 degree learning. Where the teacher and the student will learn equally from each other. There will be more of experiential learning and collaboration between the stakeholders.

2. How are you leveraging on technology in your school?

Our focus is on making the work of the teacher less taxing, by managing information and data more effectively and assist them to build their skills to match the abilities of the smart young learners.

3. With the #digitalindia massive movement today, how are you planning to contribute to it ?

We are investing in infrastructure, and even more on training of our staff, to work in the rapidly changing environment. It is imperative for us to build a learning organisation and make the process of gaining knowledge great fun for all.

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Closing words for the Interview

1. Any message you would like to share with the readers?

I see the possibility of a nation where every school offers young people the opportunity to be rewarded for challenging themselves, rewarded for engaging with adult mentors, rewarded when finishing school, and rewarded for giving back to their communities. I believe we can help connect young people with new opportunities to change their world.

2. Finally, Sir why have you set up www.SchoolEducation.com?

Our mission is to help provide better governance, good leadership and build professional learning communities at schools. This will only be possible with The Professional Learning Community, “Brewing Knowledge”  a platform 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.

Brewing Knowledge is a not-for-profit open platform and connects teachers from all walks of life, online and offline as well. We are a group of passionate educators working for professional development and assist our members, to leverage the power of professional learning to affect positive and lasting change.

For more about the man and his mission, please visit www.SandeepDutt.com