Nivedita Mukerjee
Education consultancy for parents and schools
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #166, 12th September 2023
Read because you can. Read because you should. Read because it is an amazing skill. So, what have you read recently? Read to yourself, read to your children, read to your students, read to your friends. Go ahead. Read this newsletter and find many reasons to read. Enjoy.
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So, if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email ID here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” —Fran Lebowitz
“The more that you read, the more things you will know.The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” —Dr. Seuss
One Video of the Week:
Why reading is so important in today’s society – a 9-year-old’s perspective Luke is passionate about reading and believes the reduction of readings is causing a lot of society ills
Guest expert of the week:
Reading with Ms. Meenu.
Why do reading and learning matter?
· I want children to understand that readers read to get smarter and to learn about themselves, other people, and the world that reading is something they can do independently that empowers them to control their lives and make the world a better place.
· I want children to know that smart is something you get and that through hard work, effort, and determination they can accomplish their goals.
· I want children to know that readers read, write, think, and learn with purpose and enthusiasm and see themselves as problem-posing, problem-solving citizens of the world who have what it takes to figure things out.
· I want children to engage in conversations and discussions about big ideas with open hearts and minds to be willing to share their own thinking and to appreciate, learn from, and respect the ideas and opinions of others.
· I want children to understand that learning is for always – it’s ongoing, lifelong, and vital.
Meenu Gera, consulting home and school librarian and reading guide
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.
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #165, 5th September 2023
Happy Teachers’ Day dear parents, for you are the first teachers of your child, Happy Teachers’ day dear teachers, for your dedication and passion makes the job of teaching a career to cherish, Happy Teachers’ day dear students for no matter what age you are, listening to you and being with you teaches adults how to be adults and yet nourish their own spirit. We learn to be better people and more responsible adults when we are around children.
What is being responsible? what do we understand by taking responsibility of oneself? how can we help our children and/or students to be responsible as kids and adults? here are some thoughts.
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So, if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email ID here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.”
― Anne Frank
“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.”
― J.K. Rowling
One Video of the Week:
“Why are some people changing for the better, while others are changing for the worst?” Charlie Johnson shares how he discovered the power of self-accountability and how to push forward no matter the obstacles.
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.
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #164, 29th August 2023
Bullies use violence in 3 ways 1. Political violence to intimidate 2. Physical violence to terrorize 3. Mental/Emotional violence to undermine.
What is your attitude towards oppression when you feel it on yourself when you see it on others? Bullying may happen to you as parents and teachers in the workplace and with students in schools and institutions while growing up. I have done workshops and discussions with many of you in person and virtually on various aspects of understanding bullying, tackling bullies and most definitely not being a bully yourself.
What ticks you off? and what makes you tick? what makes you rise up and when do you collapse? when are you strong, formidable, and indomitable in spirit and what weakens your spirit? When is it alright for you as a person to give in and when do you think you should stand up whether for a cause or a person?
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So, if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email ID here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
“When you’re nice, you’re not bullying people. But when you’re kind, you stand up against the bully.”
– Daniel Lubetzky
“The solution to putting an end to bullying is to stop it at the source but also to find out what is causing the person to behave the way that they do.”
– Hunter King
One Video of the Week:
From the day her 13-year-old daughter, Megan, took her own life following a brutal cyberbullying attack, Meier has passionately shared Megan’s story, transforming awareness into action and creating systemic change. Adults, if you want to help young people who are being bullied, then listen up! Meier is Founder and Executive Director of the Megan Meier Foundation.
She travels throughout the country as a keynote speaker on bullying and cyberbullying, addressing students, educators, administrators, parents, youth rallies, counselors, law enforcement, and other professionals.
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.
Showcase of the week:
A little bit about CENTA® :
CENTA® is a social enterprise, working in education with the aim to making it an aspirational field, by assessing and certifying the competencies of education professionals. We are a rapidly growing community of 9,00,000+ teachers from 90,000+ schools across 6,000+ countries.
About the CENTA® School Leadership Programme and Certification:
CENTA® is launching this program to provide current and aspiring school leaders an opportunity to get CENTA Certified in School Leadership. Developed with the latest research in consideration, this program involves intensive and practical professional development that will prepare you to become a great school leader!
For more details, please visit the website:
https://centa.org/learning/centa-school-leadership-programme-and-certification
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #163, 22nd August 2023
Teaching for Discovery and learning for reasoning. How are we as educators and parents planning for doing that with our students and children? What are some of the competencies that our student leaders, teacher leaders, and school leaders should need to hone in themselves to be better at helping the current generation to succeed in the increasingly complex world they are stepping into. What attitudes will make them problem solvers, socially responsible, and compassionate? Here are some thoughts, do you agree? would you like to add to these?
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email id here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
“Good feedback is THE most powerful tool you can use to help teachers improve. And yet, you can never have the impact you want to have with teachers if you are accidentally killing their motivation and ability to act on your feedback.”
Robyn Jackson
“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.”
John Buchan
One Video of the Week:
What must leaders in education instill in those they mentor? As we step into an increasingly complex future, we need new models of teaching and discovery. Evan Mazunik talks about (and demonstrates) some of the most vital skills students need to survive and thrive in the 21st century.
Evan Mazunik creates contemporary music as a composer, pianist, director, and educator in Denver, CO. Despite starting piano lessons as a near-sighted 4-year-old with stage fright, Evan has discovered the joy of music through improvisation.
He conducts ensembles to play off the page using sign language for real-time composition. As a performer, he has played at creative music venues in NYC and Denver such as Dazzle, Roulette, and The Stone. As a composer, his commissions have included works for jazz bands, choirs, and various solo instruments and interdisciplinary works for theater, dance, and film.
As an educator, he has led master classes and workshops at the New School, MSU Denver, the University of Indiana, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and many others, both as a soloist and in collaboration with other teaching artists. Evan received a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and a Masters in jazz studies from the University of Iowa.
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.
Showcase of the week:
A little bit about CENTA® :
CENTA® is a social enterprise, working in education with the aim to making it an aspirational field, by assessing and certifying the competencies of education professionals. We are a rapidly growing community of 9,00,000+ teachers from 90,000+ schools across 6,000+ countries.
About the CENTA® School Leadership Programme and Certification:
CENTA® is launching this programme to provide current and aspiring school leaders an opportunity to get CENTA Certified in School Leadership. Developed with the latest research in consideration, this programme involves intensive and practical professional development that will prepare you to become a great school leader!
For more details, please visit the website:
https://centa.org/learning/centa-school-leadership-programme-and-certification
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #162, 15th August 2023
Happy Independence Day dear students, teachers, and parents. What are your plans for the day? Here are some ideas for you. Share what you did, words, thoughts, and traditions you enjoyed today. You must watch the video in this issue. The idea of freedom found a new dimension for me. Jai Hind!
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email id here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
“To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect, and their oneness.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
“Patriotism can’t be our final spiritual shelter. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live.”
– Rabindranath Tagore
One Video of the Week:
When Sue Austin got a power wheelchair, she felt a tremendous sense of freedom — yet others looked at her as though she had lost something. In her art, she conveys the spirit of wonder she feels wheeling through the world. Includes thrilling footage of an underwater wheelchair that lets her explore ocean beds, drifting through schools of fish, floating free in 360 degrees.
Multimedia, performance, and installation artist Sue Austin keeps a fascinating mission at the center of her work: to challenge the idea of the disabled as “other” and represent her experience as a wheelchair user in a brighter light. She does this by creating quirky, unexpected juxtapositions — bringing a sense of whimsy and empowerment to the discussion of disability.
Austin is the founder and artistic director of Freewheeling, an initiative aiming to further the genre of Disability Arts. In 2012, she was asked to be a part of the Cultural Olympiad in Britain, a celebration of the arts leading up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The work she created for the event, called “Creating the Spectacle!,” is a groundbreaking series of live art and video works of an underwater wheelchair.
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.
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #161, 8th August 2023
Health and Finance. Two very key life skills that need to be managed all through our adulthood are somehow much neglected to be taught as curriculum in our schools. What are some of such essential life skills? Are they supposed to be taught by parents? are they supposed to be learned by experience? How do we know that our children/students will learn it in good time and not leave it to chance? Would that be after they have been unable to manage or struggle through parts of their life, aspects which could have been easily taught alongside the 3 Rs? Both of which would most definitely impact their health and life circumstances – emotional and financial. What do you think? what age is your child and what chores, leading to life skills is your child/student able to manage? here are a few checklists and thoughts for you to ponder upon. What are the 21st century lifeskills and when do we start to teach them?
Me skills, We skills, Why skills, Will skills, Wiggle skills, Wobble skills, What if skills – beautifully explained by the very well-known and respected author and pediatrician Dr. Laura in the video of this week would give you much to think and act upon as parents and educators.
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email id here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
Every kid in every school no matter their background, deserves to learn the basics about food – where it comes from, how to cook it, and how it affects their bodies. These life skills are as important as reading and writing, but they’ve been lost over the past few generations. We need to bring them back and bring up our kids to be streetwise about food.
– Jamie Oliver
Why can’t it be a curriculum? Why can’t it be a life skill that they learn just to look after themselves in terms of a healthy way of eating? I think we need to shake up that whole curriculum and give them a little bit more of a lifestyle early on, before they leave school at 18.
– Gordon Ramsay
One Video of the Week:
Is the current education system sufficient to make kids succeed in 21st century? Dr. Laura believes otherwise. Her talk will ensure that you and your kids are prepared to succeed in 21 century. Laura A. Jana, MD is world’s leading pediatrician, media spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and award-winning author.
With more than 20 years of experience in pediatrics, parenting, early education, public health and media/communications, she most recently served as Director of Innovation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and has a faculty appointment at Penn State University’s Prevention Research Center.
In addition to her acclaimed ‘Heading Home With Your Newborn’, ‘Food Fights’, and three children’s books, her most recent books – ‘The Toddler Brain’ and ‘Jumping Into Kindergarten’ – both focus on the 21st century skills needed to succeed in today’s world, and how they can best be fostered during the foundational first five years of life.
To everyone seeking the best possible environment for their child’s brain development, Dr. Laura Jana’s insights have been nothing short of life-changing.
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.
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #160, 1st August 2023
What do you do when you are not working? when you are not doing ‘job’, ‘chore’, ‘routine’ ‘work’? What does your ‘leisure’ look like? What does your student do in his/her leisure? What does your child’s leisure look like? Cerebral activities, physical activities, hobbies that build up over time, or hobbies that are time/age/opportunity look like? here are some ideas for you as an educator, parent, and student. What do I do? I like going for nature walks, swimming, listening to music, reading, traveling, writing a blog, and connecting with people in no particular order. My favorite people are students and teachers as you would have guessed by now. I am looking to play piano more regularly, watch uplifting docu features, and do more of what I do already which is connecting with more parents, students, and educators in many and more ways. Have you subscribed to my newsletter yet?
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email id here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.
– Dale Carnegie
A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.
– Phyllis McGinley
One Video of the Week:
The Remarkable Impact of Hobbies on Your Career We are masters of feeling guilty every time we get distracted by our hobbies when we feel like we should be working. But what if our hobbies are actually enhancing our careers? Bolstered by a recent scientific study, scientist and punk rocker Karen McFarlane Holman proposes a way for us to quickly dispel guilt and identify our strengths that we may not have recognized before. Karen McFarlane Holman, Ph.D. is a chemistry professor at Willamette University and is the Founder and Director of Science Rockstar Kids, a unique online program that offers interactive online science explorations for elementary school-aged children.
As a recipient of the Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year award, Karen has been inspiring and empowering tens of thousands of budding scientists for 30 years through her classroom and online teaching, science camps for girls in Saudi Arabia, laboratory research mentorship, a scientific TEDx talk, and 26 book chapters and articles.
As Founder and CEO of Punk Rock Professor, LLC, her current mission is to use creativity and connection in a variety of accessible platforms to inspire kids and adults to follow their curiosity of the world around us. Karen’s dedication to empowering unheard voices extends into music as a punk rocker, having performed on hundreds of stages for over three decades.
She still plays in two actively performing bands, City of Pieces and Hot Sheets. She is a podcaster, longtime radio programmer, and is the Founder of KMUZ-FM, the first community radio station in Salem, Oregon.
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…
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #159, 25th July 2023
Am I the better version of me or a different version of me since my last birthday? (continuing on my reflections in my birthday month) are you? is your child? is the school you are working in better/different because of your contribution than it was before you came in? what would you call it – comparison, competition, growth? How do you ensure that you don’t push your child, student, or peer into a corner of loneliness, depression, and dejection by comparisons and rankings that we have brought onto ourselves as a very grotesque form of survivalism that as a life sciences teacher appears to have been hardwired in us perhaps from 12,000 years ago when we started our existence as homo-sapiens? So deep is it in our subconscious? Today it feels to me, a kind of violence in the system of education. Something which is meant for nurturing growth and creativity in humanity.
Is there a method of judging yourself/your student/your child/your team without ‘judging’? Can we not walk away from the prehistoric habit of ranking? here are some thoughts and strategies to foster a mindset of supporting growth of intelligence of various kinds in various students and children, for a society that is happy, healthy and, intelligent in more ways than one. Where we value growth of individuals and groups in many different ways, ways that are not primitive, but is inclusive even if at different levels and varying paces.
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email id here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week:
“Win or lose you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition.”— John Smith
“If we continue to think and live as if we belong only to different cultures and different religions, with separate missions and goals, we will always be in self-defeating competition with each other. Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love.”— Muhammad Ali
One Video of the Week:
Education is supposed to prepare us for life. However, our schools, colleges, and universities are solely designed to teach us some skills. Concentrating on teaching knowledge, the education system is entirely consumed by “The Ranking Disorder”; everything is ranked to find the best, and to be the best.
This has made the postsecondary institutions into aggressive trade schools with no deep understanding of learning and intelligence. The cutthroat nature of competition culture and its relentless attempt to quantify, compare and rank students, professors, and universities breeds psychological disorders like stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depression that occasionally erupt into physical violence: student suicide.
The ranking disorder appears to be a “grotesque derailment” in the evolution of human beings, a phenomenon that permeates all aspects of our lives. The right way of education has to be free from ranking and competitiveness; it should emphasize the discovery and nurturing of intelligence by learning to be sensitive, inquisitive, and compassionate.
Hamid Tizhoosh is a professor at the University of Waterloo since 2001. He teaches algorithms and computer programming, artificial intelligence, and medical imaging.
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…
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #158, 18th July 2023
My birthday month is on and I am making a list of my favorite people, activities, places, and things to do. What are some of yours? Do you know what your student’s favorite things are? How about your child’s favorite things? Do you have a list of your own? How often do you revise it if you have one written down? Have they changed over the years? What are some of the reasons our favorite things change?
Sharing here some sample lists for students, teachers, and parents. Use these ideas to make your own with your students, friends, and family. Let me know how they turned out and what emotions did you go through while you were making them.
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email id here:
Three images of the week:
Two Thoughts of the Week
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time. “
Steve Jobs
“Isn’t that the only way to curate a life? To live among things that make you gasp with delight?”
Maira Kalman, My Favorite Things
One Video of the Week
In the talk, he spoke about his journey as a singer and how he “has always been Lucky” since childhood as his family belongs to cinema and theatre for ages. He developed an interest into singing at a very young age and described how his father made his first debut when he was born. He also spoke about his unembellished life where he likes to stay in the scenic and greenery areas of the city and how he usually travels the road untaken to achieve his goals. An important message that he enlightened us with was an eye-opener to today’s youth and all generations, he said “Until you fall, You cannot rise”. Lucky Ali, a man who remained true to his art, and at the age of 62, he is still pure gold! He is an Indian singer, songwriter, and actor. With several popular singles and albums like ‘O Sanam’, ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’, ‘Bachna ae Haseeno’, ‘Tamasha’, ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ and many more, he emerged as a significant figure of Indipop during the 1990s. There is no road trip or travel which is complete without his songs on and we wish we could show him the indelible mark he has left on our hearts and that will continue to be the case for generations to come!
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…
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #157, 11th July 2023
Hey all, this is my birthday month. Yes, I am a little wiser, much more grateful, and certainly more curious. Here are some questions that I ask myself often and most definitely around the time of my birthday:
- Who is the coolest person I know? What would I like to learn from that person’s attitude?
- What’s something new I learned since my last birthday?
- What’s my best piece of advice?
- What’s the most fun thing I did this year?
- Who do I look up to?
- If the world was ending tomorrow, what would I want to do today?
What do you reflect upon on your important days or milestones like birthdays or anniversaries?
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email id here:
Three Images of the Week – Birthday Bulletin Boards
Two Thoughts of the Week
“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! “
- Dr. Seuss
“All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much”.
- George Harrison
One Video of the Week
Birthday parties can be fun and kind to the planet. Reina talks about how she has celebrated her special days in sustainable and eco-friendly ways. Reina is a 3rd Grader who loves going on playdates. Her favorite time of the day is to practice her double jumps in figure skating. She believes young children can also play a role to make the world a better place. Grace is a sunny and cheerful 7-year-old who loves to spend time outdoors. She wants to help others and be self-sufficient, starting with growing her own fruits and vegetables.
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…
This newsletter is supported by the following :
Nivedita Mukerjee 