3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms Niv

Issue #267, 10th June 2025

“When a lesson fails or students struggle, do I see it as a problem to solve or a reason to give up?” This reveals whether as a teacher you view setbacks as learning opportunities or personal failures, which directly impacts your resilience in the classroom.

“When my child faces disappointment or failure, do I rush to fix it for them or help them work through it?” This shows whether as a parent you’re building their resilience or inadvertently weakening it by removing all obstacles.

“When something gets difficult, is my first instinct to quit or to try a different approach?” This indicates whether as a student you’ve developed the persistence needed for long-term learning and growth.

Suggested here are ways to check and build your mental toughness whether you are a teacher, parent, student.

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Three Images of the Week

Two Thoughts of the Week

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary

One Video of the Week

Joe Risser MD, MPH has been doing clinical research for over 40 years. In this insightful talk, he shares important recent findings, with examples and evidence of how anyone can improve their mental toughness. TeamHoodWorldRecords.medium.com #Grit#Plank#MentalToughness#Yoga#Clinical Research #TEDxSanDiego#TEDx#TEDxSpeaker Dr. Joe Risser is a Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at UC San Diego and a board-certified physician in Preventive Medicine. With over 40 years of research experience, Joe has pioneered studies on therapies, diagnostics, and behavior change strategies. He chairs the first Department of Clinical Research in one of over 15,000 community clinics in the U.S., serving vulnerable populations. Joe also holds a master’s in Biostatistics, completing his education and residencies at the University of Hawaii and UC San Diego. His lifelong passion lies in studying mental toughness, or “grit,” and its profound connection to the protein Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). Joe unveils groundbreaking research on BDNF, sharing the life-saving stories of two extraordinary individuals who embody extreme mental and physical resilience. Joe reveals how anyone can strengthen their mental toughness, making a tangible difference in their lives. http://teamhoodworldrecords.com This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week

Beyond the words themselves: Adding visual cues to strengthen meaning

As we know more about the Word Stones let’s plan word stones can be an opportunity for learning about graphic design. Students can probably describe some of their favorite logos, icons and T-shirts. Ask your students about which fonts catch their eye. Which fonts might they use to convey Christmas or Diwali words? To create a mood? They probably already know that a message in all capital letters implies shouting – how might a particular font help convey the meaning of whisper on a word stone? The size of the word can also send a message; if students fill the whole space of a stone with words “large” and “tiny” that might be found in a small corner of the stone, they begin to see the artistic and symbolic power of visual literacy. Do use books featuring concrete poetry like Meow Ruff(Sidman 2006)  or A Poke in the I (Jeneczko 2001) to help students get a sense of how these decisions support meaning. Color wheels, font charts and other tools of graphic design will enable your students to study all the variables that visual artists consider to grab our attention and send a message. These examples of graphic design can be found in all the graphic novels. Here is an example of Word stones with different fonts and colors.

Happy Reading!

Meenu Gera 

Consulting home and school librarian, reading guide

Despite all odds…

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Vidya Stars – In Conversation with Nivedita: Meet Khushi, Rinkesh and Shikha. Stars of 2025 scoring well above 90% and realising their dreams despite all odds. About VIDYA, a school for children from underprivileged backgrounds.

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Know more about VIDYA by visiting : https://vidya-india.org/

Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.

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