An insightful Masterclass Session where we delve into Chapters 23, 24 and 25, completing the last section of the book with a Deschool the Roadmap, and reading the reflections of Raj and Naga from Shomie Das The Man Who Saw Tomorrow by Naga Tummala
📅 Date: April 5, 2025
🕠 Time: 5:30 - 6:15 PM
📍 Venue: The Teachers Academy
Partake in our engaging discussion to explore how we can rethink traditional education and create meaningful learning experiences. #LearningForwardIndia #BookDiscussion #ShomieDas #DeschoolTheRoadmap 🚀
The questions:
Q1.Suppose traditional schooling were to be redesigned from the ground up. What would your ideal learning ecosystem look like—spaces, roles, routines, and relationships—that foster curiosity, collaboration, and academic growth? (You may choose to illustrate your ideas by sketching your vision of the "Future Classroom.")
Q2.How can schools foster a culture where parents and teachers collaborate effectively to support a child's holistic development rather than just academic success?
Q3.How can schools integrate humanities subjects effectively into a predominantly science-oriented curriculum to ensure students develop a well-rounded understanding of the world?
Q4.As an educator, what teaching strategies would you use to balance structured instruction with experiential, self-directed learning while ensuring students still develop foundational academic skills?
Sandeep Duttwelcomed educators and enthusiasts at 5:30 PM and introduced the focus of the day—the Chapter "How Your Child Learns Best" from his book My Good School. He encouraged reflections from previous sessions and participation from all.
🧠 Understanding Learning Needs
The session emphasised the importance of learning needs analysis.
Inspired by Rhonda Wynne, it explored learner-centered methodologies that prioritise relevance and individual growth.
Key steps include:
Assessing current skills and knowledge.
Identifying learning gaps.
Setting realistic, personalised goals.
Finding strategies to overcome learning obstacles.
🛠️ School Building from the Ground Up
Manisha and Meenakshi shared their journeys of building a school from scratch:
Manisha emphasised the value of clear vision, phased planning, and the evolving nature of goals.
Meenakshi talked about the need to continuously adapt curricula and expectations.
Both highlighted the importance of student-provider alignment and adaptability in education.
📚 Navigating Educational Challenges
Sandeep discussed individualised learning and the limitations of standardised systems.
The value of mentorship and a supportive teacher-student ratio was emphasised.
A school evaluation checklist: qualifications, environment, and support systems were introduced.
🌐 Media Disruption & Its Lessons for Education
Traditional, centralised media (temples) were compared to the emerging, decentralised ecosystem (gardens).
The discussion explored:
Social media's role in democratising information.
The shift toward economic autonomy and independent voices.
It parallels education, where decentralised learning spaces and trust-based communities are thriving.
🌱 From Temples to Gardens of Learning
The metaphor of a knowledge garden emphasised:
Nurturing individual potential.
Fostering collaboration, creativity, and trust.
Encouraging continuous professional learning and reflection.
💬 Voices from the Community
Umesh Vyas spoke on how media and education transformations mirror each other.
Kunal Rajpurohit linked insights from the Substack post to Nate Silver's book Nexus, focusing on data, information flow, and impact.
🎧 Action Items & Looking Ahead
✅ To Do:
Listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 3-hour podcast—a reflection on changing media narratives
Productive Failures—its lessons for classroom innovation.
📖 Next Session Focus: Understanding performance scores in education and how they shape learning outcomes.
💡 Final Reflection
"Understanding mindsets is the need of the hour."
"One size does not fit all"—this session reinforced the belief that each learner is unique and that systems must be adaptable, inclusive, and empathetic to truly educate the whole child.
We invite you to share your thoughts or reflections in the comments below. Let's celebrate the beauty of words together! ✨📜🎶
Our Thoughtful Thursday sessions in the last two weeks have taken on a different dimension. They have helped us explore the deep-rooted connection between poetry, music, and all art forms. Therefore, we call it a MAP, focusing on Music, Art, and Poetry. The integration of these art forms has brought depth and meaning to the interpretation of the different genres and styles of art.
When we spoke about poetry inspired by war and connected it to music by songwriters and performers like Bob Dylan, we could clearly see how music became a medium to take poetry to the masses. Lyrical poems have been composed, sung, and passed down through generations in ancient India and many other countries, like the Rhapsodies of Greece, Tanka of Japan, Shijig of China, etc. The folk singers of our country, like the Bauls of Bengal or the Pandavanis of Chattisgarh, create memorable poetry, set it to music and make an invaluable contribution to Literature.
Similarly, history proves that great works of art have inspired great poets, giving rise to Classic works like the famous Ode to a Grecian Urn by John Keats and Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by William Carlos William. In fact, Ekphrastic Poetry is a genre of poems written by poets inspired by works of art. This experience probably made Leonardo Da Vinci proclaim, ' Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt and Poetry is Painting that is felt rather than seen".
Brinda Ghosh Host for Thoughtful Thursday Webinar and Mentor The Teacher's Academy. With extensive experience in educational leadership, she now serves as the Director of Training at Gyanshree School (formerly the Principal) in Noida.
How the session unfolded
📧 Echoes in the Inbox: The Challenge of Engagement
Sandeep Dutt and Brinda Ghosh addressed the concern of low email open rates among teachers, which hover between 7-19%. Recognizing the digital clutter teachers face, they explored ways to enhance engagement, including structured messaging via WhatsApp and Telegram for better accessibility.
📜 The Melody of Poetry: A Journey Through Time
Brinda Ghosh introduced a fresh format blending poetry and music, tracing the roots of lyrical poetry from Greek 🇬🇷, Sanskrit, and Hindi 🇮🇳 Literature. She emphasized the enduring magic of rhythm and rhyme, highlighting the ballad as a timeless lyrical form.
🖋️ Sonnets: A Dance of Words and Rhythm
Brinda Ghosh illuminated the beauty of sonnets, explaining their 14-line structure and iambic pentameter 🎵. The discussion celebrated Shakespeare's mastery 🏰 while acknowledging modern poets like T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, who embraced free verse. The session also explored Indian lyrical poetry, particularly the Ghazal and Geet 🎤.
🌼 Verse in Bloom: Shakespeare & Wordsworth in Harmony
Through an analysis of Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"), Brinda Ghosh highlighted themes of eternal love ❤️ and poetic immortality. The discussion then turned to Wordsworth's Daffodils, exploring its song-like quality, rhythmic flow, and evocative imagery.
📖 Lyricism Across Cultures: Dickinson, Ghazals, and Beyond
The lyrical depth of Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop for Deathwas examined alongside the rich heritage of Indian poetry. The discussion extended to translations of Indian poems, emphasizing their significance in modern education.
🎵 Harmonizing Words and Notes: The Art of Musical Poetry
Jatin Soni introduced the concept of art songs, where poetry and melody merge seamlessly. Using Franz Schubert's Erlkönig 🎻, he demonstrated how emotion, melody, and storytellingintertwine in music. The role of voice, accompaniment, and animation in enhancing poetic depth was also explored.
🎭 Art, Music, and Poetry: The Fusion of Expression
Brinda Ghosh and Sandeep Dutt emphasized the profound integration of art, music, and poetryin education. They highlighted the irreplaceable human touchin teaching and the value of time ⏳ in fostering creativity. Ethical concerns regarding the misuse of voice data by AI were also discussed.
🔮 Looking Ahead: The Canvas of Thoughtful Exploration
The session concluded with a commitment to further artistic exploration, previewing an upcoming session on art appreciation. The speakers emphasized the interconnectedness of words, music, and art, reinforcing the teacher's role in cultivating holistic artistic sensibility.
🌟 Thoughtful Thursdays continues to be a beacon for educators, illuminating the path where Literature, melody, and creativity converge. 🎶✨
We invite you to share your thoughts, reflections, or poetry in the comments below. Let's celebrate the beauty of words, music, and art together! ✨📜🎶
