DreamNobel

17/08/2023

On this Independence day let's pledge to create a world where our minds and our children minds can break all the shackles and think/dream/live without boundaries.

https://linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7097112071565193218

On this Independence day let's recall the following poem by Rabindranath Thakur and strive to create a world where our minds and our children minds can break…

22/07/2023

Let me share an interesting incident that happened in one of my recent Science class. For those of you who don’t know, I teach an integrated Science course i.e., a course in which Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology are integrated into a single narrative without tight subject boundaries. During one of my recent class, I was exploring what are called as Newton’s Laws of Motion. As a part of that I was explaining to children some simple experiments wherein, under different conditions, one pushes an object on a flat horizontal surface and records the data w.r.t distance travelled and time taken. Analysis of such a data lets one appreciate the laws of motion, especially the first two laws. As I was explaining this, an interesting conversation happened with one child...

https://dreamnobel.medium.com/why-the-hell-i-cant-think-like-a-child-5bfa890d99db

Let me share an interesting incident that happened in one of my recent Science class. For those of you who don’t know, I teach an…

10/05/2022

Hand of God… Really?

Let me tell you a short story. A person X cheated another person Y to take away his money and then with that money X created a successful initiative and became a celebrated leader. Now if I tell you that X is conducting a session on leadership lessons, would you be interested in listening to him?

If your answer is ‘No’ then we need to ask ourselves, Why?

Look at it this way — the person did become a leader after all… so what’s the problem listening to him on that?

Continue reading...
https://dreamnobel.medium.com/hand-of-god-really-14fdd93dfbd9

Let me tell you a short story. A person X cheated another person Y to take away his money and then with that money X created a successful…

09/12/2020

Vijay Dinanath Chouhan (aka Amitabh Bachchan) said in Agneepath, "Is duniya maine tarakki karne ke liye bolna bahut jaroori haine...".
I thought, if that's what it is then let me also speak.
So, here are my thoughts on the White wave going around and the message it leaves for us w.r.t children and education. If you don't like my thoughts please contact BigB.

Jeene ko to jeete haine sabhi...
https://dreamnobel.medium.com/jeene-ko-to-jeete-haine-sabhi-c570d6e2424d

Let me also warn you that this post is around 15 minute read... You see I am pretty serious about doing taraaki... Anyway the point I want to make is that if you are also the one who needs videos to make sense of anything in life then please click the above link at your own risk...

Let me state upfront one thing. I am not a WhiteHat Jr employee/management/investor/advisor/sympathizer etc. etc. In fact, with all my…

07/10/2020

I was reading the following paper few days back that I came across on a WhatsApp group...

Title: Screen time influences children's mental imagery performance
Link: https://lnkd.in/gC2cAKX

I personally feel that animation, brilliant images, etc. all look very exciting and there is this necessity to use them because we feel it engages the child and makes it interesting. However we must use them sparingly for we should not forget that there is a reverse harm happening and this a very long term harm that's almost irreversible. As a teacher I see indirect evidence of it day in and day out in my science classes. We should not forget that purpose of education is not to entertain kids... it is supposed to challenge kids. A teacher is supposed to make children work/struggle towards answers because when they do so the envelope of "possibilities" open up. Fast and so called entertaining answers shuts off those possibilities. I have seen so many good quality videos which are now available online and they are definitely useful, but if we think they can take care of teaching then we are utterly mistaken. Technology, at best, is just a supporting cast in the movie called as "Education".

14/08/2020

Children and Science...

What is science?
The word science comes from the Latin word "scire" which means "to know". Science is just another word for the desire to seek a "good" explanation for a curiosity, irrespective of the fact where this curiosity originated from. It's a coincidence that Mr. Rabbi became a scientist (refer to attached story). He could have been a brilliant financial expert or a painter or for that matter anything.

This raises a question - does this mean anyone who is curious will become a "scientist". The answer is Yes and No. If we think curiosity is the ability to ask questions, then the answer is No. If we think curiosity is the ability to ask a "good" question then the answer is Yes. This brings us to another question - what is a "good" question. Let me share here what children have taught me...
A "good" question is one that's an answer in itself.
Sounds cryptic?
If it does then it's because we are not children anymore. Children when given freedom to explore go from a "question" to "good question" effortlessly.
And how do they do it?
They do it by creating "creative interconnections" effortlessly. "Science" is the art of creating creative interconnections.
And no adult can ever teach this to a kid.

26/03/2020

S.M.A.R.T (Stories Me And Rational Thinking)
An Online Course For Children and Families
Course Link: https://dreamnobel.teachable.com/p/the-art-of-rational-thin…

Children ask a lot of questions and we as parents are always looking out for ways to satiate their curiosity. However, what we don't realize is that as parents our responsibility is not to answer their questions but use this inborn curiosity to lay the foundations for a successful adult. If you are a parent who thinks that answering a child's question is not the best way to teach them then this course is for you and your child.

S.M.A.R.T online course uses time tested stories (Akbar-Birbal, Jataka, Panchtantra, Mahabharat, etc.), as an educational tool to introduce the key ingredients of empathetic critical thinking, applicable in real life situations, in a fun filled engaging manner. It is for families that believe in using a child's curiosity to create joint journeys of exploration whereby they can teach their kids to create/find their own answers to real life problems.

|| Testimonial ||
"Based on your suggestion, I have tried the storytelling methodology of practicing problem solving with my family. It worked out really well for us. Helped me motivate and demonstrate to my daughter that she has ideas and capability to pen a story/composition. However, she is still reluctant to do write-ups. Deeply appreciate your guidance."
- Manisha, Mother of two young children

23/02/2020

The world is changing at a past pace and we all know that our education system is not keeping pace with it.

How do we get our children ready to face the fast paced future with confidence?

So we started thinking as to how to teach children in a way that they can live and manage this new future happily. After a number of trials and errors (while engaging with children and adults) we created this Art of Rational Thinking (ART) course.

The ART course uses time tested stories (Akbar-Birbal, Jataka, Panchtantra, Mahabharat, etc.), as an educational tool to introduce the key ingredients of empathetic rational thinking, applicable in real life situations, in a fun filled engaging manner.

Explore more:
https://dreamnobel.teachable.com/p/the-art-of-rational-thinking-course

20/02/2020

Education = Fanaticism?

Given the environment nowadays there is a lot of talk w.r.t fanaticism. Now I am not interested in all this but what got me thinking was when for some reason I ended up looking up the dictionary for definition of word fanaticism. As per oxford dictionary, fanaticism means “extreme beliefs that may lead to unreasonable or violent behaviour”. In simple words, extreme belief in anything is fanaticism (religious fanaticism is just one of them). This realization made me reflect on our education system in the light of what Nobel laureate Richard Feynman said, “Everything we know is only some kind of approximation, because we know that we do not know all the laws as yet”. So, if a system teaches children as if its imparting real (& not an approx.) knowledge, then are we not asking them to become a fanatic w.r.t the shared knowledge?

This is where the challenge is. Our education system follows a 1Que-1Ans model thereby implicitly training children to consume knowledge as realities of nature. So, are we not then intrinsically creating people with "fanatic" mindset (instead of an "empathetic" mindset) because of the way we teach them? Think about it.

Do share you views.



https://dreamnobel.teachable.com/