3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms Niv

Issue #005 / August 11, 2020

Is education only about making people literate and getting better grades? Can boredom lead to brilliant ideas? How can you read faster and retain more? Can you rate your performance as a parent? And finally, twiddle your thumbs to tell a story. No really, not kidding. Go ahead and find out all this and some more in this week’s news letter.

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Three Images For The Week

For Educators:

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For parents :

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For students :

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Two Thoughts For The Week

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
— Leonardo da Vinci

“I realized that becoming a master of karate was not about learning 4,000 moves but about doing just a handful of moves 4,000 times.”
— Chet Holmes

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One Video For The Week

“Users” is often used by technologists and drug dealers…Tech is designed to be addictive whether social media or gaming.  Our attention is the product when the product is free…In current times when we are all online and on our gadgets, it is important to be mindful of the time spent and what we are using the tech for.

Do you sometimes have your most creative ideas while folding laundry, washing dishes or doing nothing in particular? It’s because when your body goes on autopilot, your brain gets busy forming new neural connections that connect ideas and solve problems.

Go ahead plan for some time to get “bored”! Turn your phones from task masters to tools.

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Guest column :

Educator of the week (By invitation)

Where the dignity is without fear!

As part of their English syllabus, my eighth graders, and I, were doing the story The Umbrella Man by the master storyteller Roald Dahl. The protagonist, ‘The Umbrella Man’, is a trickster who gets the better of an overtly cautious mother. This light-hearted story goes on to show how gullible human beings can be. Another facet of human nature was uncovered by grade 10, when studying David Roth’s ‘Nine Gold Medals’. The emphasis is on cooperation, collaboration and humanity brought by 9 differently abled athletes who help a fellow athlete when he stumbles and falls. In the end, they all hold hands to reach the finishing line together, making the Special Olympics that year very special indeed! In Grade 9, we talked about James Patrick Kinney’s thought-provoking poem, ‘The Cold Within’ which brings to fore the dogmas and mindsets people have.

This poignant comment on discrimination on the basis of religion, race and color seemed to find real-life examples closer to home: that evening I get a forward from a student about a certain outlet that was being targeted for discrimination. I was taken aback because I knew the people who run the outfit. They are humble, grounded, very professional and they worked very hard to get to the place they had. I went on to the read the comments below, the forwards and I was surprised at how many people felt that was the platform to air their grievances about the outfit. Not all the comments related to the incident in question in the first place. It became clear that people just wanted to be part of the circus, without any differentiation between fact and fiction. I felt social media is like giving a gun to a monkey. It will obviously fire away without applying any thought. Its focus is not on the people it hurts, but the action it can control (pulling the trigger).  Similarly, social media, our trigger, allows us to ‘fire’ (click-clack on our keyboards and type away) and send our thoughts into the world. Unfettered and unfiltered, we are ‘trigger-happy’ without so much as a thought towards the damage.

This got me thinking really long and hard. I am not a social media person at all so pardon me if I sound like a novice (which I am). Is education only about making people literate and getting better grades?  In short, what one spends imbuing into oneself for 16-22 years is just a fairy tale! Are we all so gullible that a post on WhatsApp or Facebook is followed without any application of mind? While undoubtedly they are great platforms to share one’s thoughts.

A child in my school — very talented and multifaceted, put up some well thought through posts during the pandemic. To her utter shock and disbelief  few kids bad mouthed her to try and pull her down. She fortunately reached out and we stepped in. We spoke to all the children to show them the pitfalls of any action. They realised that it’s one’s own insecurity that leads them to be negative. Fortunately, these young minds admitted that they were jealous, and some said they were having some fun! I could understand the former, but the latter worried me!

Instead of making them thick skinned can we sensitise ourselves and our kids or for that matter figure our own insecurities?? And realise the effect of our actions. And see how vulnerable gullible we are.

The second side to this coin is that discrimination does definitely exist. There are places and pockets where people are judged on the basis of their dress, religion, status, skin-colour and their economic background. The reality is that people on all sides of this coin take advantage of the situation whenever and however they can.

So, the message our children grasp is ‘be fake’.

At a very subconscious level, we all tend to fall for words and actions, forgetting who we really are and what we stand for. We instinctively know when we are being put down. Sadly, we allow that. Instead, can we help them understand that they should not put themselves down in their own eyes. Our youngsters should know when and how to put people in their place, without sounding rude or brusque. Most importantly, keeping their dignity. Is this difficult? Certainly not. It needs effort and the willingness to look within and to accept that we are flawed. That these flaws can be corrected.  Teach them to laugh at themselves. Accept and respect themselves for who they are, respect where they come from and acknowledge their values. Change themselves as long as they do not vamoose from their true selves. Finally, our dignity is in our hands. I have a choice to walk away.  (not avoid); choice to politely put my foot down, make myself presentable but not skedaddle from my likes and dislikes – be it in my dress, my body type, my values and my upbringing and most importantly struggle to fit in. We all have a choice to recourse all the wrongdoings around us – by collaborating and cooperating in a positive manner for a positive outcome.

If we can enumerate with examples from the same world we live in like – Jesse Owens and Luz Long – the duo who went beyond the racist views of Der Fuhrer to show what a true sportsperson and true companionship is? Eunice Kennedy Shriver the large-hearted lady behind the special Olympics? James Patrick who actually stood up for fairness to all fellow humans?  It is doable. The innumerable heroes in our own neighbourhood are testimony to that. They do their bit, neither hankering for a name nor getting influenced by the negativity.  Are these people serious and solemn? Certainly not, they have a zest  and zeal for life just like everyone. They just make sensible, sensitive and compassionate choices.

I am an eternal optimist who believes that our younger denizens can be empowered to build the mental strength and character. Believe deep down that this strength comes from the values we uphold. Yes, there will be slippery paths but then one can always anchor themselves again.  I am a living testimony of so many students who are out there who are walking with dignity, standing up for what they believe and for themselves.  You may look down at me and put me into the folder that reads ‘a naïve optimistic educator living in her cocoon’.

To all the naysayers, the world is still a good place to be in despite the scum! Because …

Written by Shailaja Rao M & Edited by Kshira Mushunuri

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Parent speak

If parenting is an art, am I a good artist then?
If parenting is a duty, am I fulfilling it to the best of my abilities? If parenting is a full time job, am I getting my dues in return? If parenting is a way of life, am I experiencing and enjoying the journey?

When I was asked to write about parenting, the first thought that lit up was, “am I the right person?”What do I know about parenting, besides being a parent? Is that qualifying enough for presenting thoughts on parenting?

What am I doing as a parent? How is my performance rated?

Am I policing her? Disciplining her ? Nudging her to wake up early every day?
Can’t she wake up on time and be ready for the day? Don’t we have to give them the space to choose her study time, as long as she’s ready for life? Should I be at the helm of things and  tighten the saddle all the time? Will she not own up to the responsibilities of her life?

Just because I had her in my womb, should I always have her under my thumb? Am I not crushing or squeezing her? Just because I feed her, should I choose her platter? Just because I was the reason for bringing her to this world, should I dictate terms for her life and living? Isn’t it her life? Just because I am her first teacher, should I impose my learnings on her? Doesn’t she have all her life for learning the tricks of the trade? Just because, I am her parent, should I expect her to report every tiny detail of her life. Am I issuing a COVID times’ e pass ? Shouldn’t she have some secrets for herself? Just because, I give her shelter, should I expect her to keep it spic and span at all times. Isn’t it fine, that I give her own time to clean up her mess, as long as she does it?

And many, many more questions queued up ahead and squarely faced me. Time flies. A few more years of theirs will be spent with us. A few more for them to build their own nest. Soon, we are left with the rest of our lives to complain about things scattered all around, not adhering to time, random eating habits, no one demanding a quick bite at odd hours…

Only memories of those moments that remain with us. Isn’t there a beauty in the mess? A pleasure in the efforts that you put in? A delight in all that you go through. Just for the love of your  child?

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Showcase: (Advertorial)

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Nature gives us 9 months to prepare to be parents. But to become teachers a parent got no prep time or training time. There were multiple options, with varied pros and cons, from home-schooling to online schooling to no schooling at all! Whatever the choice, the child would only benefit from how the plan was delivered. That is where Samatha Learning Center steps in.

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And Finally

Do you feel a lack of resources? Twiddle your thumbs? Not kidding…here’s an innovative way of using your hand gestures to tell stories and more to your children, whether you are a preschool teacher or a mom. Enjoy this story with Sonal Chawda, an expert in preschool curriculum design and training. shows you how.

Stories in your hands

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I have been a research scientist, a journalist and an educator over 3 decades. I read and I write.  With this weekly newsletter, I intend to share what I read, learn and experience while I engage with students, parents and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions and ed-tech organisations.

3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms Niv  is a newsletter for you to subscribe and enjoy your learning journey with me. Most of you would have been too busy to track trends in education, ponder on most relevant thoughts or deliberate on career choice, parenting or pedagogy. Find it all here.This week, it consists of:  3 images, 2 thoughts and 1 video.

For whom? Students, educators and parents

When? Every Tuesday

Where? my blog post, register with your e-mail id, it is free.

If you have created any material, virtual or physical that you think can be reviewed and/or featured in this news letter, please feel free to write to me at : niveditamukerjee10@gmail.com 

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, share, comment. See you next week.

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