Making Mistakes And Learning

Teachers living in a village, in my imagination, can feel this is all. This week, Project Fuel, one of our partner organisations had a long chat with the teachers at Arthur Foot Academy. The conversation got stirred in the direction where we had to think about what wisdom can we bring to the world. When the teachers were sitting together, the Principal exclaimed, "We are ready to take on any task that comes our way!" Education, now branching out to the well-being of not just students but teachers as well, will have a significant impact on our learning in the classroom. 

The teachers at Arthur Foot Academy are slowly speaking in our reading sessions. There are voices in every classroom. We need more listeners. This brings me to a very heartwarming session with Ms. Ratna Manucha. Our dear author from Dehradun. In an impromptu conversation with her, we were discussing that we have more writers in our community and less readers. There are more stories in every classroom but less listeners who are asking questions. Questions that stir us from within. 

Learning Forward Saturday

The session was primarily on storytelling and using stories as a medium to teach. Meenakshi Ma’am started the session by introducing the need to use stories and talked about how teachers could make students tell/write stories.

Brinda Ma’am then gave the teachers a task. They were trained to use personification and imagine being any non-human and weave a story. Each teacher narrated their creation. There was then a discussion on how a storyboard could be created in class. It could be an individual storyboard or a collective class storyboard. 

The teachers were excited about trying out the collaborative story building activity.

We are making small attempts with our due share of mistakes but we are. 

Neelashi Mangal, Good Schools Alliance

The Path Forward: Self-Acceptance & Contribution

Read And Lead: Masterclass 2026: Reading from the book The Courage To Be Disliked by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi, with Sandeep Dutt.

Discuss Adlerian psychology concepts from The Courage to Be Disliked.

Key Takeaways

• Horizontal Relationships: Establish relationships as equals to foster trust and shared responsibility, replacing vertical hierarchies that create dependency and enable responsibility-shirking.
• Worth on the Level of Being: Value people for their existence, not just their actions. This mindset enables gratitude for all, including newborns and the bedridden, and provides a foundation for self-worth.
• Self-Acceptance vs. Self-Affirmation: Accept your current self (e.g., a 60% score) as a starting point for improvement, rather than using false positivity (self-affirmation) that can lead to a superiority complex.
• Courage to Be Disliked: Overcome self-consciousness and the fear of judgment by acting authentically. This courage is the key to building genuine relationships and achieving happiness.
• Topics

The Problem: Self-Consciousness & Vertical Relationships

The Youth's self-consciousness (fear of judgment) prevents authentic expression, creating a "straitjacket" that stifles their "innocent self."

This fear is rooted in vertical relationships, which create hierarchies and dependency.

Example: Following a boss's orders to avoid conflict and then blaming the boss for failure is a "life lie" that shirks personal responsibility.

The Youth feels worthless because their job (sorting books) is unskilled and replaceable, leading them to believe they are "no one else but me" and not uniquely needed.

The Solution: Horizontal Relationships & Worth on the Level of Being

Horizontal Relationships: Treat all people as comrades and equals in consciousness.

Rationale: A single genuine horizontal relationship can transform one's entire lifestyle, gradually making all other interactions horizontal.

Practicality: This is about mindset, not ignoring social structures. It means asserting oneself respectfully and taking responsibility.

Worth on the Level of Being: Value a person's existence, not just their actions.

Rationale: This counters the Youth's initial view that worth derives solely from being "of use," thereby devaluing newborns, the elderly, and the bedridden.

Example: A mother in critical condition is still "of use" by being alive, providing psychological support to her family.

Gratitude: Express gratitude for existence itself, not just for specific acts.

Example: Instead of comparing a child to a perfect ideal and subtracting points, start from zero and be grateful for who they are.

The Path Forward: Self-Acceptance & Contribution

Community Feeling: The ultimate goal of interpersonal relationships.

Components: Self-acceptance, confidence in others, and contribution to others.

Action: "Someone has to start." You must initiate cooperation without waiting for others.

Self-Acceptance vs. Self-Affirmation:

Self-Affirmation: False positivity ("I am 100%") that can lead to a superiority complex.

Self-Acceptance: Honestly accepting your current self (e.g., a 60% score) as a starting point for improvement.

Principle: Focus on what you can change and accept what you cannot. This is "affirmative resignation," echoing the Serenity Prayer.

Next Steps

All Participants:

Apply the principle of self-acceptance by focusing on what you can change and accepting what you cannot.

Practice building horizontal relationships by treating others as equals in consciousness.

Cultivate the "courage to be disliked" to overcome self-consciousness and act authentically.