Nivedita Mukerjee
Education consultancy for parents and schools
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #21 / December 1, 2020
Are you a teacher struggling with online teaching? A parent figuring out home schooling? A student finding it difficult to cope with effective note taking? Here are some tips for you in this week’s newsletter. Don’t miss listening to Eduardo Briceño in the video of the week as he shares how each one of us can improve if we are able to differentiate our actions between when we are in the learning zone and when in the performance zone. How can we balance the two for achieving our goals and being the best we can be in almost anything that we set out for.
Read, enjoy, share and subscribe.
Three Images For The Week
For educator, parent and student. The Holy Trinity of Education
Two Thoughts For The Week
“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
“If you think education is expensive, try estimating the cost of ignorance.”
— Howard Gardner
One Video For The Week
Working hard but not improving? You’re not alone. Eduardo Briceño reveals a simple way to think about getting better at the things you do, whether that’s work, parenting or creative hobbies. And he shares some useful techniques so you can keep learning and always feel like you’re moving forward.
Eduardo Briceño is a learner, leader, speaker and writer devoted to enabling a more learning-oriented world.
Guest Column
Nigar Rao, Educator.
Online teaching during covid-19 – An Essential Escapade!
‘Essential’ and ‘Escapade’ are oxymorons. One is for bare necessity and the other is used while talking of an adventure, which in our society is looked upon as luxury. However, both of these words have become terms used in conjunction for online teaching during this pandemic. These times, while cannot be called the best phase of our lives, it has come in with its very unique pros and cons. Being a part of the education sector, we teachers are honour bound to hold and raise the flags of optimism and adaptability. There seems no doubt that one side of this transition to online teaching is often perceived as an imposition, we know that in many ways it is paving the ways for a future we intended for.
In a country like ours where the internet infrastructure is reportedly not ready for the paradigm shift to online learning forced on us by the situation, it becomes a duty of all the educationists to put our heads together and analyse – if online teaching is actually a boon or a bane in the Indian context!
There has been a plethora of arguments both in favour and against online teaching, but the fact of the matter is that we do not have an alternative . Also, the fact check brings us face to face with the history of mankind standing tall to deadlier pandemics and holocausts than we are facing today when through it all the continuity of education was shielded. There’s no looking back on the point that learning should go on.
Pushing education to the back seat or not considering it as a priority is not quite the option. I would like to establish that education is the barest necessity of mankind. As John Dewey said.. Education is not way a preparation for life, rather education is life itself. Taking into consideration all glitches at the delivery end, hitches in reception and the poor internet infrastructure, it won’t be an anomaly to say that we have progressed towards the 21st century learning and teaching skills – skills we’ve been talking and dreaming about since more than a decade. Eureka! Here comes the good news. We have already moved on the way to inclusiveness with reference to technology. Changed content, different pedagogies, crisp lesson plans and altogether a new approach to teach is all that we have already achieved in a matter of six months. I am sure now that the silver lining is clearly visible, and when I say that this draconic dark cloud of Covid-19 has given a tangible hope to teaching fraternity, it definitely lays a solid claim. The shift from chalk and blackboard to screen and keyboard, teacher reincarnated as a real facilitator, teaching with whatever they had, however they could make it to work, has ultimately shown us the tremendous calibre of our educators and hence a promising future in reality.
Showcase
And Finally…
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.
If you want to contribute an article, are organising an event, have a product that you think can be reviewed and/or featured in this news letter, please feel free to write to me at : niveditamukerjee10@gmail.com
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Nivedita Mukerjee 
We do don many number of hats during these modern times, but yes: the online teacher’s hat-rack must be the biggest one.
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