3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv

Issue #297, 10th March 2026

Do you, your students, your child have it yet? Freedom, autonomy, voice and choice?

Do you have Freedom in your home, school and classrooms?

— It’s the environment or culture

Do you advocate and support Autonomy in your home, school and classrooms?

— It’s about self-regulation and ownership

Do all genders and generations have Voice in your home, school and classrooms?

– It is relational, is about influence and being heard

Is there Choice available to all in your home, school and classrooms?

– This one is the most concrete — it’s about selecting between options

Choice without voice is just a menu. Voice without autonomy is performative. Autonomy without freedom is constrained. Ideally, all four work together.

This is a free newsletter for parents, educators, and students. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email address here.

Three Images of the Week

Two Thoughts of the Week
“If the words you spoke appeared on your skin, would you still be beautiful?”

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

One Video of the Week

Catherine is a high school junior attending Plano West Senior High School. She’s your average teen: her most recent profile picture received over 200 likes on Facebook, she knows all of the filters on Instagram, and she’s been a Starbucks Gold Card member since 2012.

However, Catherine is also a student activist who is heavily involved in politics, education, and government. She was recently elected Speaker of the House for Texas’s branch of Junior State of America, the largest student-run organization in the nation. Other achievements include–along with team members–being ranked within the top 8 teams in Public Forum debate in Texas, winning the World Affairs Council’s Academic WorldQuest national title, and achieving third place in the International Public Policy Forum Competition. She also serves as the Board Chairwoman for an education nonprofit she founded with a group of peers called The Outreach Movement. Catherine is on the verge of making student voices an integral part of our decision making equation.

Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
– Meenu Gera Consulting home and school librarian, a reading guide

Why Are Children Reading Less – And how do we act on it?

While being interviewed last week, a student posed the question, “Do you think kids are reading less these days?” To her question, my answer was a YES. There is a growing concern among teachers and parents, the phenomenon of children reading significantly less, and less in-depth, than previous generations. For the last 15 years, the available technology has resulted in a rapid decline of reading. 

• The Internet: A child’s attention span is shorter when they are told to read. Instead, they can play a game or watch a funny short video. Because of this, the internet is more appealing to kids than reading. 
• Time consuming: When children are given reading assignments, it becomes a slow and tedious task. 
• No fun: If you are not a Reading Role Model, reading can also be a huge task. 
• Trendy Text: There is less participation if children are given books that are not related to the children. 
• Engaged Text: If your students are not engaged in the text they are not going to show any interest in it.

How Can We Improve Our Readers? 

• Reclaim Reading for Pleasure: Encourage children to choose their reading material. By shifting reading for marks to reading for meaning children will feel empowered to pursue their own reading interests. 
• Create Literacy-Rich Environments: Reading will become part of the culture when cozy corners, accessible shelves, and book displays become the norm at both home and school. 
• Offer Diverse, Relevant Collections: The best way to engage children in reading is to offer books that mirror their own lives, when they see themselves in books they are more likely to become readers.
• Model the Habit: Seeing the adults around them read will help children normalize the practice. 
• Protect Sustained Reading Time: Focusing on reading for 15 or 20 mins without any interruptions is a way to build reading stamina. 
• Integrate Digital: Positively Technology can help if used in the right way (e.g. e-books, audiobooks, reading games). 

Encourage Discussion, Not Just Assessment. Worksheets are less engaging than book discussions. 

Ask the children questions like: What surprised you? 

Did you connect with any of the characters? 

Would you recommend this book? Why? 

Discussion deepens engagement and is more beneficial than completing worksheets.

The Bigger Picture: We don’t want to fight reading apps and games; we want to make reading important again. When kids find stories that interest them and represent their lives, reading becomes an opportunity instead of an obligation. We need to cultivate a community reading culture if we want to build better, more empathetic, and more confident learners. Children are not reading less because they don’t want to. Thoughtful spaces, relevant books, and adults who model reading are the ingredients that will tip the competition in reading’s favor.

Happy Reading!

I Think, I Wonder, I Ask

–Dr. Shreelakshmi Subbaswami, Academic Director, Vijaya School, Hassan, Karnataka

As the academic year comes to an end, we bid farewell to our graduating students. During this time, I often pause and wonder -what are they truly carrying with them into a world that is complex and unpredictable?

When students share their experiences of school, they speak about building confidence, making beautiful memories, and, of course, scoring high marks. These are important milestones, and as educators we work diligently to support them. We teach our subjects with commitment, prepare students for board examinations, and offer opportunities that nurture their interests.

But a question lingers in my mind- Have we truly helped them learn how to learn?

Do our students know how to approach a concept independently? Do they have the study skills and meta-learning abilities needed to navigate a new subject on their own? Can they assess their own level of understanding and build academic rigor without constant adult supervision?

In a world where knowledge is constantly evolving, content alone cannot be enough. If we want our students to become autonomous learners, our teaching must shift. Beyond delivering subject knowledge, we must equip students with tools, strategies, and habits that help them learn, unlearn, and relearn across disciplines.

Perhaps the most important outcome of schooling is not what students know today—but whether they know how to keep learning tomorrow.

Three questions for you…

• How often do classrooms intentionally build study and meta-learning skills?
• Can students evaluate their own understanding without external validation?
• What would classrooms look like if autonomy in learning was the goal?

Showcase: Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.

– Pooja Khatter, facilitator, Thrive

In this STEAM session, the concept of wheel and axle was introduced using a toy car. The children learned that a wheel is the round part that moves and the axle is the rod in the center that helps it turn, and that together they make work easier.

They compared big and small wheels and shared real-life examples such as a fan, cycle, doorknob, and giant wheel. Through a video, quiz, drawings, and a model-making activity, the children strengthened their understanding of the concept.

In a hands-on activity, they built a water wheel and observed that moving water creates energy that makes the wheel spin, and that stronger water flow makes the wheel spin faster.

Maira – 5.5 years
Yuvaan, Neev, Mayra & Tashi – 7.7 years
Samyuktha – 7.11 years

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.

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