Happy Halloween (A Story for school kids)

My daughter requested that I share a story she can recite at school on Halloween Day. It's one of those moments when parenting teaches you skills you never knew you had. Here's the story I came up with.

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One day, I saw a witch on my balcony, next to the drawing room. She appeared to be enjoying herself on my swing, wearing a nice, glittery black hat and a black gown. At first, I was quite scared to see the witch on my balcony, but I gathered my courage and approached her. I asked, "Hello, Ms. Witch, what are you doing on my balcony, and why are you on my swing?"

 

She replied, "Little Aarna, I get bored flying in the sky and staying in my fort. I noticed the lovely swing on your balcony and the beautiful decorations at your house, so I decided to stop by. 

 

I showed her my schoolbooks and homework, which seemed to make her happy. She was also excited by my pain­tings and my collection of toys. As a token of her appreciation, she offered to take me on a ride on her broomstick to show me the stars and the moon in the night sky. I happily accepted, and we travelled through the night, enjoying the view in the sky. 

 

However, my adventure was suddenly interrupted when a loud sound rang out. It was my alarm clock, telling me that it was time to wake up and get ready for school. With a sigh, I realized it was a wonderful dream.

 

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. 

YouIn You Foundation: To create an equitable world through education

 India's remarkable journey from the 10th to the 5th largest economy is a result of millions tireless efforts on skill development. Our diverse and talented workforce has attracted numerous Global Innovation and Development Centers to set up their bases in #India.

Imagine the awe-inspiring sight of millions of people uniting for a common cause, spanning the vast expanse from Jammu to Kanyakumari. The same threads that pulled our freedom fighters together—a shared desire to secure our country's cherished freedom and independence—are the threads that weave this strong tapestry of unity and #purpose.

Purpose - a mere five-letter word, yet it carries an essence so profound that it has the capability to transform lives in an instant. The moment you uncover your purpose of life, your individual journey takes on a new, energising trajectory. It has the remarkable ability to bridge gaps, drawing like-minded souls together under the banner of a shared mission. And not just like-minded souls, but a #diverse multitude, where differences of gender, color, and caste fade into insignificance.

Think of the tireless social reformers and activists who dedicate their lives to "a cause" across various sectors. Their driving force? Purpose. The purpose of uplifting society, of fostering a better tomorrow. For me, education is a realm particularly close to my heart. The right to quality education holds the transformative potential to reshape not only individual destinies but to ripple through families, communities, & the very fabric of society itself.

Recently, I had the privilege of attending the 3rd Annual meet of the YouInYou Foundation on 15th August. This incredible organization has dedicated itself to the realm of education for the past three years. Their mission is noble: to create an equitable world through education. #YouinYou collaborates with schools like:
• Shidiswa Samvarddhan Gurukul (SSG Ballia, Uttar Pradesh)
• Swami Sivananda Memorial Institute (SSMI, New Delhi)
• Lotus Petal Foundation (Gurugram, Haryana)

As you embark on your personal journey, remember that purpose extends beyond material aspirations. It's about aligning with something that resonates with your very core. If you're unsure about the avenues available, consider exploring the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals encapsulate the aspirations for a better world and offer numerous pathways for meaningful contribution.

If you believe that #education is the foundation of progress, consider making a difference. The annual cost of supporting a child's education (INR 18,999) or the monthly cost (INR 1,599) is less than a modest gathering expense. Your contribution could be the spark that ignites a brighter future. For more information, visit https://youinyou.org/

Let us join hands to build an equitable world for our children, granting them the freedom to dream and the means to realize those dreams. #VandeMataram.

Stigmatized Mistakes & Beliefs

The current education system is designed to build army of rooks, bishops and pawns where each of them has limited role and option to move on the chessboard. Our system and families define the goal of their children which is to chase the race. If any of them refuse to take part or run slower than others then our society treat them like a discarded product. I was lucky that my parents never forced me to run in 90%-95% marks race. I got decent scores &  participated in every possible sports, art competitions, quiz, camps, trekking etc, luckily got prizes whatever I did. I think we lived a better life than studious students. They must be earning few millions but at what cost?

Most of the schools have one session/class for sports and co-curricular activities which are mandatory for students but students are rated/evaluated on the basis of their academic records not sports/extra activities. The problem is we under-evaluates our kids and doesn’t spend time in nurturing the talent. Imagine, if we give them enough space and options they can change the world.

Few of the well renowned personalities like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Dhirubhai Ambani etc. are role model for millions but do we know that all of the aforesaid personalities are either college or school drop outs. I am sure there journey was very tough and difficult for them to convince families or friends about their “i-m-possible” ideas.

A week ago, I was watching a video of 2 young school kids who have started their own company and they are the youngest CEO’s of the company. Now imagine, if their parents had demotivated them and told them to focus on their education. We could have lost 2 intelligent minds.

Few weeks ago, I saw a presentation by Sugat Mitra which he gave in TED conference. I was highly impressed with his research and the concept “Beyond the Hole in the Wall”. His book is an eye opener, he has challenged the current education system of India. How he has experimented with poor kids across the globe and find out the learning trend is same. It clearly shows that if we provide enough arms & ammunitions to even a poor kid, they can learn their own (without any guide). The power of self-organized learning is better than a forced learning.

Ken Robinson who is working in education industry feels that schools are killing creativity of the students. One of the important point he raised was kids who are in school are prepared for future but the fact is world is unpredictable and we don’t know what will be the scenario after 5 years. We are living in an era of “education inflation” which means 50 years ago a candidate with normal graduation degree used to get a job but now even a PHD holder won’t get it. The challenge is if we don’t encourage creativity of any kid at a younger age, it would impact them in future. The older you grow people are scared to be wrong.

One of the key messages from all these initiatives & research by different scholars or physicist is that we need to look things differently if we really want to add any value. Society will always oppose you whenever you come-up with an idea or if your thought process/believes are not in-line with their expectation. They will come-up with their silly reasons and every possible thing to become hurdle in your success or life. It is very tough to fight with them but if parents or system show the confidence and prepare them for the bigger challenges as well as failures. Ken Robinson said in one of the TED conference that “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

All creative and genius person are insane and passionate about their work. People should change their attitude and thought process towards them, most importantly stop stigmatizing mistakes and beliefs of others. Everyone has a talent to create a history, now it’s upto you whether you would like to be known for good or bad side. I think giving a shot to your idea or following your beliefs is a better choice than doing some non-interesting job.  

We are not born to live and die. We all are born with a purpose and contribute to the society and humanity. Think about it……