Sunday School No. 165
Reflection of the week
-From My Name Is Cinnamon-
1. What was your takeaway from the session today?
2. What were the key points in the chapter?
3. Journey of self-discovery
4. How do you think his birth parents will react?
5. If he met his birth parents, how would Cinnamon feel?
6. What do you hope for in the story?
7. How would you feel if you were in Cinnamon's place?
Discuss education approaches with guest speaker Lina Ashar and continue reading "My Name is Cinnamon" book.
Key Takeaways
- Focus on developing emotional intelligence (EQ) and life skills over just academic knowledge
- Design learning experiences that build empathy, critical thinking and adaptability
- Encourage students to define success for themselves beyond just grades
- Use AI as a tool for research/collaboration, but ensure reflections are authentic
Topics
Guest Speaker: Lina Ashar on Education Approaches
- Emphasized need to completely overhaul conventional schooling
- Advocated measuring traits like kindness, empathy, ethical decision-making
- Suggested embedding values into learning design, e.g. teaching empathy through debate exercises
- Highlighted importance of self-driven learning based on student interests
- Recommended 80% focus on EQ development, 20% on IQ/academics
Time Management and Focus
- Lina suggested "time boxing" - allocating specific time blocks for tasks
- Identified focus and anti-fragility as key skills for the future
- Advised teaching self-regulation, mindfulness, flow states to improve focus
Stress Management for Students
Book Reading: "My Name is Cinnamon"
My Good School Program Updates
Next Steps
- Acknowledged anxiety/depression as growing concerns
- Noted lack of nature exposure and sensory overload as contributors
- Suggested increasing recess time, cutting unnecessary academic content
- Recommended parents ask more feeling-based vs. doing-based questions
Book Reading: "My Name is Cinnamon"
- Read Chapter 11 detailing Cinnamon's arrival in Ratnapur to meet birth parents
- Discussed characters' emotions and motivations as story progressed
- Reflected on themes of identity, belonging, and defining success
My Good School Program Updates
- Reviewed upcoming calendar of events and activities
- Discussed new WhatsApp community structure for communications
- Emphasized focus on "Joy of Giving" initiative and school partnerships
Next Steps
- For more about Lina and her work, listen to the Podast on www.GSI.IN
- Talk on Joy of Learning Diaries blog and how to post quality reflections.
- Students to submit reflections on meeting, avoiding over-reliance on AI
- Continue "My Name is Cinnamon" reading in future sessions
- Prepare for upcoming Varanasi trip and end-of-year reflection
These are some suggestions you can choose from. Looking forward to seeing your wonderful and thoughtful reflections! You can email your reflections at - mk@learningforward.org.in, even better post them as comments below!