Nivedita Mukerjee
Education consultancy for parents and schools
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #124, 22nd November 2022
What is working hard? what do we understand by rigor? what inspires us to persist? can we do it consistently as educators and parents with our students and children? can we institutionalize the concept of meaningful rigor? here are some thoughts for you to consider.
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Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
One thing was clear: To give our kids the kind of education they deserved, we had to first agree that rigor mattered most of all; that school existed to help kids learn to think, to work hard, and yes, to fail. That was the core consensus that made everything else possible. — Amanda Ripley
Every obstacle is destroyed through rigor. – Leonardo da Vinci
One Video of the Week
Get smarter with the power of ‘yet’. Teachers, and parents, are you listening?
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 for you to 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 #123, 15th November 2022
Happiness and having fun are often used in the same breath. How do you have fun yourselves? Can learning be fun? is having fun frivolous? or can we achieve some learning, some work, happiness, bonding, collaboration, and enduring understanding while having fun? What is your idea of fun? Is there a formula for having fun? Find out in today’s issue and subscribe if you haven’t yet.
Happy Children’s day! Have fun folks 🙂
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Dr. Seuss
Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun. Randy Pausch
One Video of the Week
Why Having Fun Is the Secret to a Healthier Life | Catherine Price
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 for you to 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 #122, 8th November 2022
What does it mean to be accountable? is it being responsible? is it to not make excuses? is it to accept one’s role in an activity? is it to ensure self-governance? is it to be aware of the consequences of one’s words and actions? What does it mean to you as a teacher, as a student, and as a parent? Can we learn/teach/role model it? How can you address the elephant in the room and have accountability conversations with yourself and with those whom you care for?
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“Accountability means to say what you do, and do what you say”.
— Pearl Zhu
“The best kind of accountability on a team is peer-to-peer. Peer pressure is more efficient and effective than going to the leader, anonymously complaining, and having them stop what they are doing to intervene.” – Patrick Lencioni.
One Video of the Week
Could a conversation change the fate of an individual, a family, organisations, or whole countries facing failure, underperformance, and disappointment? In this talk, Tafadzwa Bete Sasa shares two questions and a skill that can transform accountability conversations from awkward exchanges about elephants in the room to acts of love that help our loved ones, colleagues, and leaders improve and do better.
Tafadzwa Bete Sasa is a high-performance strategist who designs and facilitates tools and knowledge for sustained growth and success that benefit people and organisations. She holds a BSc in Human Resource Management and (at the time when this Talk was delivered) is an MBA candidate at the African Leadership University.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
Showcase of the week :
Fermata is an Italian word. Fermata in music means a pause on a note at the performer’s discretion.
This ‘pause’ directs us to ‘tune in’, to reflect and reassess the path we are on and course correct towards growth. At Fermata, we guide you to – design your life, career, and business. We help you explore and discover the world of possibilities and opportunities and make conscious choices.
And Finally…
This newsletter is supported by the following:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #121, 1st November 2022
What according to you is courage? Is it mental strength? Is it moral strength? Is courage facing danger, facing fear, going through difficulty? Is it strength to venture, to persevere?
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
― Lao Tzu
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
One Video of the Week
The beautiful balance between courage and fear
After being diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that deteriorates muscle, Cara E. Yar Khan was told she’d have to limit her career ambitions and dial down her dreams. She ignored that advice and instead continued to pursue her biggest ambitions. In this powerful, moving talk, she shares her philosophy for working on the projects that matter to her most — while letting courage and fear coexist. Watch for heart-stopping, vertigo-inducing footage of a trip that shows her living her theory to the full.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
Showcase of the week :
Fermata is an Italian word. Fermata in music means a pause on a note at the discretion of the performer.
This ‘pause’ directs us to ‘tune in’, to reflect and reassess the path we are on and course correct towards growth. At Fermata, we guide you to – design your life, career, and business. We help you explore and discover the world of possibilities, of opportunities and to make conscious choices.
And Finally…
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #120, 25th October 2022
Do you react or respond to change? how does your student/child respond to change? how does your institution respond to change? is change always good? always bad? or the outcome is dependent on your response. We have all heard change is constant… so how do we learn to live with it and teach our students/children/teachers to work with it? here are some thoughts.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“A scholar who loves comfort is not fit to be called a scholar.”– Confucius
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”– Charles Darwin
One Video of the Week
Embracing Change: Making New Choices Instead of “Safe” Choices
Aden Nepom is a Senior Facilitator for On Your Feet Improvisation for Business and President of the Art of Change – Skills for Life. She helps people navigate our ever-changing world by coaching skills and exploring habits that develop people into stronger collaborators, better business partners and more influential communicators. She has worked with clients at Dell, Nike, Lockheed Martin, IAAP, the Federal Reserve Bank, Uber and more.
Aden is also an internationally touring Improv Theatre performer and teacher! When not working with clients, you might catch her in ridiculously entertaining (sometimes heartfelt, sometimes hilarious… sometimes both!) shows like USS Improvise the Next Generation the Musical, B.A.B.E. Presents “I Love Musicals” an entirely improvised 1950’s sitcom-musical, or Manacle: Improvised Love Stories – a show in which Aden and real-life husband Eric convert audience stories into improvised One Act plays.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
And Finally…
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #119, 18th October 2022
Choices and voices, in person and online, tutoring and mentoring, exams and individualised expectations, technology and pedagogy… it is no more an either/or world in learning and education. It is a yes… and… version of learning that we are moving towards. More than classrooms, more than institutions, more than content. What are some of the key words of future of learning? What is it now that we have included in the post pandemic vision of education? Here is a glimpse. Please share your thoughts by commenting on this post and subscribe by entering your email id here to receive this news letter every week on Tuesdays.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.’ –Alvin Toffler
‘Don’t just teach your children to read. Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything.’ –George Carlin
One Video of the Week
Even before the global pandemic, universities around the world were facing a wave of change. The rapid evolution of digital technology has produced societal changes and different expectations in our learners. The lockdowns in the UK and the pivot to remote working threw these changes into sharp relief and ignited a heated discussion about the relative values of in-person sessions and online activity. In this talk, I aim to demonstrate that there is a false dichotomy between “face to face” and “online” and that the power has shifted from universities to learners in ways that have been supported by advances in connectivity. Finally, I will discuss how universities can reinvent themselves to lead by example in the climate emergency and increase participation through accessibility and flexibility to create work-ready graduates who are willing and able to participate as citizens.
Helen is Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, I am responsible for providing strategic leadership of the academic function of the University, including the development of the academic portfolio, enhancement of the teaching and learning experience and leadership of the Deans of Faculty. I joined Chester on 1st April 2021 and before that was Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) at Keele University.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #118, 11th October 2022
What are your top 3 priorities? Whatever you are looking for – you will find. Are you out looking for opportunities or obstructions? Problems or solutions? friends or adversaries? Often we have found that when we are looking for a particular thing, the signs become prominent around us. We find people discussing it, we find those news articles popping up, events around that topics happening… how does that happen? Coincidence or that our brain is actively seeking what is top of our mind? how do we tune in to what we are seeking? how can we help our children and students tune in and manage their priorities? how do we help ourselves and our students learn to prioritise what really matters and makes a difference to our lives? here are some thoughts for you to chew on as a parent, teacher and a student.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. “
– Stephen Covey
“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”
― Bruce Lee
One Video of the Week
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. James Altucher is now considered to be a renowned author and serial entrepreneur, but in this brutally honest talk, injected with outrageous humor, he reveals how at one point failure led him to consider suicide, and how he turned his life around by following five key practices. Improve your physical health (focus on exercise and diet), improve your emotional health (be around people that you love and trust), improve you spiritual health (always expressing gratitude), capture your brilliance (write down ten ideas every day), and finally, give without expectation (give your ideas away). “If you don’t make the choices in your own life, then someone else is going to end up making them for you, and it won’t be good.”
James Altucher is a successful entrepreneur, chess master, investor and writer. He is the author of the WSJ and Amazon Best-Sellers “Choose Yourself” and “The Power Of No” as well as ten other books. He has started and run more than 20 companies, and sold several of those businesses for large exits and failed miserably at all the rest. His book “Choose Yourself” explains how he rose from repeated failure to find success. He has also run venture capital funds, hedge funds, is an active angel investor, and currently sits on the boards of several companies.
Showcase of the Week
Link for registration: https://m.centa.org/pwa/masterclasses/package/ind/315
To Rubric Or Not To Rubric – a recorded masterclass with CENTA certification.
Key Takeaways:
1. Why do we need a Rubric for an assessment?
2. When does one use a Rubric?
3. How to create a Rubric?
4. Who is the Rubric for – student or teacher?
About the expert:
This masterclass is being facilitated by Ms. Nivedita Mukerjee. Nivedita is an education advisor for schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech companies. Over the last 3 decades, she has taught life sciences and communication in high schools and colleges, co-founded a Post Graduate Institute of Media studies, an IB world school, and, helped set up a private University in Bangalore, India.
The recording will be made available for 3 months from the date of purchase.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #117, 4th October 2022
We fret about it. We try to avoid it. We are embarrassed by it. We try to hide it. Failure, everyone faces it more often than we would like. If it is so universal, how do we teach our child/student to cope with it? how do we cope with it? Is it a learning moment, a moment of reflection, or of shame, or worse, blame?
Happy Dushehra everyone!
Please subscribe to this weekly newsletter for educators, parents, and students by putting in your email here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” – Ken Robinson
“If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes backbone to lead the life you want” – Richard Yates
Showcase of the Week
Link for registration: https://m.centa.org/pwa/masterclasses/package/ind/315
To Rubric Or Not To Rubric – a recorded masterclass with CENTA certification.
Key Takeaways:
1. Why do we need a Rubric for an assessment?
2. When does one use a Rubric?
3. How to create a Rubric?
4. Who is the Rubric for – student or teacher?
About the expert:
This masterclass is being facilitated by Ms. Nivedita Mukerjee. Nivedita is an education advisor for schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech companies. Over the last 3 decades, she has taught life sciences and communication in high schools and colleges, co-founded a Post Graduate Institute of Media studies, an IB world school, and, helped set up a private University in Bangalore, India.
The recording will be made available for 3 months from the date of purchase.
One Video of the Week
He is a veteran in the field of Economics and has donned many hats. A professor by choice, he obtained his Ph.D. from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been a visiting professor of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla, an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, and a Visiting Professor at the Turin School of Development of the International Labour Organization.
Professor Errol D’Souza – the Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad speaks about facing failures from his personal life experiences.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #116, 27th September 2022
Schools and homes are places where we open our minds, our children’s and student’s minds. Not places or cultures where we fill empty minds. The road to learning and growing is by making mistakes, experimenting, learning from so much that goes on in the day, and connecting the dots. Imagining from the dots, inventing new ideas, processes, and possibilities. Ah! the role that classroom, school, and home culture play in our lives. Here are some thoughts for you to ponder upon.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“In traditional schools, you’re penalized for making a mistake. But that won’t work in the new information culture, in the digital world we live in today.” — Daniel Greenberg
“The vision is, first, that the school will be a community, a place full of adults and youngsters who care about, look after, and root for one another and who work together for the good of the whole in times of need and times of celebration. Every member of a community holds some responsibility for the welfare of every other and for the welfare of the community as a whole.” — Barth, R., The Culture Builder
One Video of the Week
Our children are more than the sum of their school grades. Behind every exam result lies a whole person with incalculable, untapped potential and myriad facets and capacities just waiting to be discovered. What a child shows she knows in school is not an accurate measure of her lifelong learning ability or her human potential. Schools are for growing minds but nothing stifles growth like ranking or grading.
It’s not how smart you are that counts, it is how you are smart. Proficiency in the 3Rs of reading, remembering, and regurgitating factual knowledge may get you an A*, but to thrive in adulthood you need deep-down things that aren’t so easily measured – tacit knowledge gained through our senses, observations, and social interactions. The good news is, we have all we need from an early age; and we need to redesign our schools so that our children can pursue their natural inclinations and in so doing find their self-worth. There is nothing in adulthood that an adventurous, untrammeled childhood cannot prepare you for. Andrew has spent twenty years teaching, leading, and authoring in education.
Still a headteacher, he continues to counter the calls for short-term, measurable outcomes with a cry for long-term gains in creativity, aspirational thinking, and positive well-being. He is a champion of adventurous childhood and believes that the most secure adulthood is built on a childhood free from the pressures to prepare for being a grown-up. Shedding light on the ‘invisible curriculum’ in schools has been Andrew’s obsession throughout his teaching and writing career. He holds a BA (Hons) QTS and an MA in Creativity in Education. Currently studying for an Ed.D, he is focused on demonstrating how the ethos and culture of a school have the greatest impact on positive attitudes and behaviors for life.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #115, 21st September 2022
Post-pandemic return to school has been hard for teachers and students. Issues of discipline, focus, and differences in levels of what has been learned in the past couple of years have surfaced. What are the choices for educators and educational institutions? How are you coping? Managing? Reimagining?
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way and you lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the other way and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realize our true creative potential—in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities—we need to think differently about ourselves and to act differently towards each other. We must learn to be creative.” — Sir Ken Robinson
“Every maker of video games knows something that the makers of curriculum don’t seem to understand. You’ll never see a video game being advertised as being easy. Kids who do not like school will tell you it’s not because it’s too hard. It’s because it’s boring.” ― Seymour Papert
One Video of the Week
The vulnerable are most impacted in crisis. In this insightful talk presented by Professor Asha Kanwar, President & CEO (co-written by Dr. Betty Ogange, Education Specialist: Teacher Education) at the DETA Conference 2021, here is some direction for institutions to plan for their teachers’ professional development.
Most of the resources available by Commonwealth of Learning is open source for educators and institutions to use. Great learning from the innovative methods and flexible models that have been developed for teaching and assessments.
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 for you to subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
Nivedita Mukerjee 