3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV

Issue #214, 12th August 2024

How Do I Typically Respond to Stressful Situations?

• Do you become anxious, avoidant, confrontational, or calm?

What Strategies Do I Use to Manage Stress?

• Do you practice deep breathing, exercise, seek social support, or use other techniques?

Do I Recognize When I’m Becoming Overwhelmed?

• Are you aware of your stress signals, such as irritability, fatigue, or difficulty concentrating?

How Do I Process Negative Emotions Like Anger, Sadness, or Frustration?

• Do you express them healthily, suppress them, or let them dictate your actions?

Do I Have Healthy Outlets for Stress Relief?

• Such as hobbies, creative pursuits, or relaxation techniques.

Am I Able to Seek Help When Needed?

• Do you reach out to friends, family, or professionals when facing challenges?

Do I Resort to Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms?

• Such as excessive alcohol consumption, overeating, or procrastination.

How Flexible Am I in Adapting to New or Unexpected Situations?

• Can you adjust your plans and expectations without significant distress?

Do I Maintain a Balanced Lifestyle?

• Including adequate sleep, nutrition, exercise, and leisure activities.

How Do I Handle Failure or Setbacks?

• Do you view them as learning opportunities or do they significantly deter you?

Do I Practice Mindfulness or Meditation?

• Techniques that can enhance emotional regulation and stress management.

Am I Able to Set and Maintain Personal Boundaries?

• Both in personal and professional relationships.

Do I Engage in Positive Self-Talk?

• Or do you often criticize and doubt yourself?

How Do I Approach Problem-Solving?

• Do you tackle issues methodically or feel overwhelmed and avoid them?

Do I Reflect on Past Experiences to Improve Future Responses?

• Learning from past coping successes and failures.

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Three images of the week

Two Thoughts of the Week

“Parents learn a lot from their children about coping with life.”

– Muriel Spark

“One of life’s best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference.”

– Robert Fulghum

One Video of the Week

Dr. Andrew Miki explores the intriguing connection between pigeons’ learned behaviors and human mental health. Drawing on his experience in animal cognition, he reveals how our brains, like pigeons, reinforce coping mechanisms over time. Dr. Miki sheds light on counterproductive common coping habits such as procrastination and smartphone reliance, emphasizing their impact on anxiety and depression.

Through personal anecdotes, including his role as a father, he highlights the importance of developing self-confidence to combat mental health challenges. The talk encourages viewers to reflect on their coping mechanisms, fostering a dialogue about mental health, and inspiring a journey toward unlearning unhealthy habits for improved well-being.

Dr. Andrew Miki, a registered psychologist in BC, brings over 25 years of expertise in neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to enhance the lives of those grappling with stress, anxiety, and depression. Founder of Starling Minds™ in 2013, he pioneers digital mental health, reducing stigma and offering personalized support to over 4.5 million individuals.

Holding degrees from prestigious institutions, including Queen’s University and York University, his clinical work and research feature in prominent scientific journals and publications like Forbes and Authority Magazine. Dr. Miki is dedicated to applying his knowledge to empower people for healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week

Outdoor Literacy Themed Backpacks:

Outdoor-themed backpacks are a great way to engage your readers outside. Try to pick books on the subject areas where your readers can connect themselves with the outdoors or any book that invites students to interact with their setting. It’s a great way to start moving outside with  backpacks as everyone is involved with the same topic with various activities. Here is an example: Try to pick books about birds, clouds or bugs.

Once students have had the opportunity to engage with the idea of the book backpacks outside, it’s easier to understand their reading needs and interests. Try to use a variety of formats, including picture books, graphic novels and chapter books? Put your students in deliberately designed partnership or trios with their names on a sticky note on the book covers. Here are a few titles to start with:

Everyday Birds (VanDerwater 2016)

Mama Build a Little Nest (Ward 2014)

Fluffy, Flat, and Wet (Rau 2006)

The Cloud Artist: A Choctaw Tale (Maret 2017)

The Beeman (Krebs 2020)

Keep Reading!

Meenu Gera

Career Mentoring for Working Professionals: From Developing Project Management Skills to Pursuing a Master’s at Erasmus Mundus University

 She approached us in late 2016. She had started her first job and was facing challenges in executing projects and questioning if this was the right career for her. Her journey with us began with a career test to understand her competencies and learning style. Our expert conducted a high-level analysis of her job profile, career report, and personality. The best part was her receptiveness, adaptability, and learner mindset. She followed our initial guidance to learn project management skills. Trained by our expert, she applied these learnings to her everyday tasks, seeing immediate results. She continued with weekly, fortnightly, and monthly career mentoring sessions to break down her aspirations into short-term and long-term goals, overcome mental barriers, build confidence, and grow in her career.

This process helped her apply for a master’s program in Europe. She dedicated a year to the necessary preparation and was accepted into the M.S. Ecohydrology program at Erasmus Mundus in July 2022. This would be her second master’s degree after completing an MSc in Water Policy and Governance from Tata Institute of Social Science in 2016. With regular career mentoring sessions she was able to get clarity, plan and execute regularly, expand her comfort zone, take on challenging tasks to build an impressive CV, and receive the best research paper award in 2022. Team Fermata is proud to be part of this young adult’s growth journey!

Case study provided by:Team Fermata, www.fermataco.com

Student speak

UNIVERSAL ADULT FRANCHISE. This means that all over the world adults above the age of eighteen have the right to vote. but is that all there is to it or do these 3 words have a deeper meaning ? . while a teacher may forget a good student, a student will never forget a good teacher. In today’s generation, teachers are given the most importance as they help young minds learn and adapt to the changes of the world. but to teach someone to adjust to new changes it is important that the teachers themselves master it. many teachers worldwide are clouded with a sense that they know best and that their methods are crucial. what they don’t realize is that times have changed, they cannot walk around with a bamboo stick hitting every student who they think is indisciplined, they cannot walk around cursing students’ upbringing just because they are angry, and most importantly just because they are teachers and claim they know what’s best they cannot get away with it. You may think that this does not happen anymore but I assure you that a scar from words hurts more than scars from a bamboo stick.  in a student’s life a teacher is someone who they will remember forever either for the good or bad. teachers may think that what they are doing is for the best, to discipline them means to scold and hit them but there could not be something more untrue. when a teacher harms a student’s self-esteem they do not realize how much it breaks the students. just because you cannot hit them doesn’t mean you can spew hateful words at them. this is something many are not able to grasp. But this does not mean we are to blame them, after all, they have been taught to be like this by their own mentors. Being a student myself I can say that a teacher’s advice is something that pushes us in the right direction and motivates us to do better, but if the advice is put together in the wrong way it can demotivate and discourage us from reaching our goals. my request to all the adults out there is that if you are in any way involved in a kid’s life be it as a teacher, parent, neighbor, or anything else, please make sure that your opinion and advice is taken in a positive manner. we kids understand that you people are more qualified and experienced than us but please don’t let it boost your ego that somehow you are always better than us. Just because we are learning does not mean that we cannot be successful in the future. After all, how you treat us is how we treat the future generation. I believe that every person has the right to dream, create, and innovate new things. Let us not let age get in the way of it.

By Likitha Aradhya

Student of Grade 7

Jain Heritage School, Bangalore

Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.

3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.

And Finally…