What it takes to spread the joy of learning at schools - Unnati Dabral

Children and Young Adults tend to spend their joyful yet crucial years of life in school. School days are the precious years of a student's life. 

The joy of learning in schools may be defined in numerous ways. Learning something new with fellow mates always has its charms and challenges, whether in the classroom or on the playground. 'Finding Joy' is seeing oneself grow little by little, learning, growing, falling, escaping, again coming on the loop, trying and experiencing unusual things in those marvellous hours at school.

Have you ever thought about our adrenaline rush while reading a thrilling novel? Oh! And how just a mere acknowledgement of the fact that its sequel might be available in our school library in the coming month excites us? What a relieving thought with an inexpressible enthusiasm.

An infusion of joy with learning helps a learner to feel less stressed. It motivates positive learning experiences. Children are more eager to learn when handled with care and happiness.

To understand what it takes to spread the joy of learning at schools, we need to know what actually brings joy to the students?

The answer is:-
∆ Games
∆ Toys
∆ Colours
∆ Artworks
∆ Cartoons
∆ Adventures
∆ Jokes
∆ Celebrations

And for these to take place, a teacher should have the listed qualities and thus qualifies his/her limitations to strengths:- 
∆ Passionate towards teaching
∆ Caring
∆ Kind
∆ Able to create a flowing atmosphere
∆ Introducing egalitarianism among students
∆ Humourous
∆ Knows his/her students

There is much more to learn, give, write, do, and thus explore. Looking forward to spreading the joy of learning at schools and worldwide.

- Unnati Dabral 
Fellow at My Good School for the year 2023-24

Appreciation - Aria Gupta

Appreciation is a life skill. Most people say that you should appreciate others, and that is true, but you should also appreciate yourself. If you never show gratitude for anything, you might think your life is the worst when it might be the best, which can bring a lot of pessimism and negativity to you. On the other hand, If you are grateful for everything you have, you think that you are lucky, which can bring optimism and positivity.

On my first day of school after summer vacations, my bag weighed like it was a massive boulder. Our teacher spent the class not studying but making sure that everyone's bags were light. I cannot thank her enough. It might seem small, but it made a huge impact on me, who used to struggle everyday just carrying her bag. 

I also think there is a specific group of people we need to appreciate, celebrities. They work all day, whether they are singers or actors. Most of them are also forced to eat once a day to maintain their body and make the public satisfied! On top of that, they also have to deal with rumours, dating scandals and judgments from many haters. They’ll probably say things such as ‘She’s so self-centred’ if she asks someone to stop taking photos of her. It’s like the public is in control of their lives, yet they still do their work just for us to be entertained. They definitely deserve respect for that.

Aria Gupta

Grade VI 

Gyanshree school

Appreciation - Rishona Chopra

Appreciation is to appreciate, as in to be grateful and thankful for something. 

Most of us have so much to appreciate, but we still take time to find mistakes and need to remember to embrace all the privileges we have and don't appreciate. There shall always be greed for more, but it's on us to know how to control it, appreciates what we have, avoids finding what we don't have and stop this greed for more.

Finding out mistakes is easier and more catchy to talk about. I faced this problem myself! Although I have a lot to appreciate, I used to find what I didn't have. I have worked on that mistake and have stopped complaining and enjoying what I have. It's a little tricky, but when you think about your home, good clothes, and education, most people might not even have you feeling happy and grateful for what you have. 

Apart from appreciating the little things in our life, appreciating someone can fill a heart with joy. It can motivate someone to work harder and strive for more. 

Just clapping for someone, giving them a thumbs up, or even smiling at their work can bring a smile to someone's face. 

Appreciation is also a vital quality. Appreciating the little efforts done by our peers and students is essential. We each have something special about us, and instead of thinking just about ourselves, we should take the time to appreciate others. Who understands that better than our teachers? Teachers take particular time enjoying, helping, and thinking about their students. And I am sure we all can appreciate our teachers for the time they took to think about us.

At the same time, Appreciation for others shows your modesty and humbleness. Instead of thinking about ourselves, we appreciate other person's efforts. Humility and Appreciation build a good relationship between peers, two base values of a healthy classroom. Values like cooperation and respect come in when we have the base of humility ready.

Rishona Chopra Grade VII Gyanshree School

Benefits Of Reading - Avni Kochhar

Reading is an activity that may have evolved over time. Reading first became popular in ancient Babylon around 2000 BC.

Reading is understanding it better and comprehending its meaning more fully. This, in turn, allows for understanding written texts independently of oral communication. This also allows people to read more rapidly and with less effort than without reading comprehension. In more straightforward language, reading benefits both body and mind; it's all interconnected! 

At My Good School, all of this is nothing! One hour of weekly reading boosts your confidence, creativity, and critical thinking! 

Remember the 6 C's: Critical thinking; Creativity; Collaboration; Communication; Character; and Citizenship.

Avni Kochhar
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

A cause that matters to me - Aria Gupta

Future. People say this word a lot of times nowadays. Everyone wants a promising future. It’s not like some students will come to their parents and say, “ Mom, Dad, I wanna be a failure”. But is it pulling an all-nighter every day just to study for some exam? Is it really worth studying seven hours a day and burning yourself out? Is it worth avoiding all sorts of fun just to prepare for the future?. I personally love having fun. I cannot imagine how a person survives without it. Fun is essential in life.

But why have fun when you can spend that time studying?

I’m not saying don’t study; it is beneficial. But fun makes you love life, and when you love life, it can motivate you to keep going even in the worst possible situation.

To sum it up, preparing for the future is good, but don’t burn yourself out. Have fun too.

Aria Gupta

Grade VI - A

Gyanshree School

Social Media - Aria Gupta

Wait! Don’t just ignore this article! I know that you’re thinking, Ugh, this is going to be so predictable; it’s going to be about addiction, fake news, mental health, and blah blah blah, but this article is not like that. Trust me, this will be interesting, so just read it. 

I recently watched a documentary called The Social Dilemma. It was about what social media actually does to us. You might think, "Social Media makes us addicted," but another problem is invisible to most people. It’s based on this saying: "If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product".

We all know that social media platforms (what we think are products), such as  Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, are free.

I was baffled, too, when I heard this saying. But social media is  actually just selling our attention to advertisers since advertisers are the ones who 

actually, pay.

These platforms’ algorithms can do anything to grab our attention. They know you like you’re their best friend. They know if you are sad, lonely, happy, angry, excited, or scared; they know exactly what you want when feeling any of those emotions. If you want private guitar lessons, they know you want them. If they don’t know, they learn. They will recommend all sorts of content they think you’ll like, and you’ll pick one. The problem with this system is that they’ll recommend content that might be incorrect or controversial, and you might pick one of them. This has huge effects, as it can divide societies. This might turn India from unity in diversity to a separate nation. The algorithm doesn’t care about what is true or false; it just wants more attention from people to sell to advertisers. They can manipulate us into believing anything; they can control entire elections. We’re just lab rats who are being experimented on.

After reading this, you might think, "Oh my god, social media is so bad, I’ll never use it again". This is not against social media completely; this article is just spreading awareness amongst them and you so they don’t accidentally destroy the world.

We can spread more awareness about this by telling more people about it and being mindful about it. We can demand change so that the world doesn’t collapse. Something terrible might happen if we keep ignoring this issue.

But Aria? How do you become the product if you’re not paying for it? I’m baffled.

Fine, Aria, we are the product. So what?

Aria Gupta
Grade VI
Gyanshree school

Love To Serve - Rishona Chopra

It is said that what we do comes back to us. Karma, as some of us would call it. A good act of kindness comes back to us. It may be true and correct, but it should not be our cause to do something good. We shouldn't give, help, care or be kind, just believing that we will do good so good will come to us.

The law of karma isn't something that can be fooled. It is just a power of the universe. It looks at the thought behind it and not just the action. 

When we give something, do we expect something in return? Well, I did, and I realised that when you give someone something - not an item but even an act of kindness and care, not many return the same to you, and we have to live with it. The only way to yet be happy is to first accept it and then know that your deed of kindness has helped somebody. 

When God blesses you financially, don't raise your standard of living. Raise your standard of giving. - Mark Batterson

It is true what Mark Batterson has said, we should give not only when we are rich in our everyday lives, we should raise our standard of giving, it may not be just giving money, even giving a toy to a person who needs it or a book is an act of giving too! 

A small act of giving could mean everything to a person. Giving not only makes the other person happy but also makes us happy. As said,' make others happy, and you will be satisfied the same way give and give, and you will feel better.

                                                                       ***
Do we have this life entirely for ourselves? Are we given this life just so we can enjoy and live happily? Well, we are absolutely nothing alone. One cannot be anything alone at all. Mahatma Gandhi alone did not defeat the British. Mother Teresa alone did not help the people. No one has ever accomplished anything alone because it is simply not possible. As brave and fascinating as doing something alone sounds, it isn't. We are all connected; we are all one. We say Unity in Diversity, but do we mean it from our hearts?

We may differ in colour, race, background, education, age, and height, but we are still the same. We are just one soul. 

So why do we believe that all our actions must be for ourselves? Can't it be for others? Will that do us any harm? 
To check, let us just list out what could happen. 

DEED: LOSS
I gave a child my pencil: I had another one
I helped someone tie their laces: No loss
I donated money to charity: I earned some more
Meeting my sick friend: No loss
Gave food to a homeless: Spent little money
Helped someone study: No loss
Complimenting someone and appreciating them: No loss
Sat with someone and listened to them: No loss

These are a few examples of deeds of giving. I may have lost money, pencils and a few more little things, but all these deeds made me happier and were defiantly worth it. These deeds may have taken out some of my time, but they all make me happier. 

What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others lives on forever. 

Rishona Chopra

Grade VII

Gyanshree School