More LIstings for the Small but Ultimate Book of Online Safety

 https://www.hatchards.co.uk/book/the-small-but-ultimate-book-of-online-safety/nidhi-arora/9798893223002

Walmart US 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Small-But-Ultimate-Book-of-Online-Safety-Paperback-9798893223002/5885519392?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0

Waterstones UK 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Small-But-Ultimate-Book-of-Online-Safety-Paperback-9798893223002/5885519392?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0

The Small but Ultimate Book of Online Safety - July 2024 Edition now out

Very happy to share that the July edition of the book - The Small but Ultimate Book of Online Safety, is now available. 

This edition has a chapter on cyber bullying and some newer financial frauds have been added. 

If you have tweens/teens at home, I do recommend this edition very much. 

Even though we speak about online safety at home, when I asked my son what he would do if he heard from someone that they have a nude pic of him, the answer was confusion. I then realised that these dimensions of deepfake, cyber bullying, etc. are not getting enough attention in our conversations. 

The chapter on cyber bullying has two sections - one for parents and one for the t(w)eens. 

I hope you like it. 

Amazon India link: 

https://www.amazon.in/Small-Ultimate-Book-Online-Safety/dp/B0CZTVY87X

International Listings for The Small but Ultimate Book of Online Safety

 1. Barnes and Noble :) 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-small-but-ultimate-book-of-online-safety-nidhi-arora/1145557178

2. Ebay UK: 

3. 

What are the top 5 security risks for young professionals

1. Political Manipulation (aka Election Interference) 

2. Dopamine Addiction 

3. Incorrect use of AI 

4. Identity Theft through Deepfake 

5. Financial and other Fraud  

The experience of learning Spoken Sanskrit

Many years ago, I got a call from a friend - "Some of us are starting a batch for our kids to learn spoken Sanskrit. Will your child join?" 

"Of course!" 

And that is how Gavish sir, with his unique teaching methodology, entered our lives. And what a difference that has made! 

Later, the batch didn't quite work out, so we converted the classes to individual classes for my son. 

 

Learning spoken Sanskrit is different from learning Sanskrit the way it is currently taught. ALL other languages, without exception, are taught literature and enrichment content first, and grammar last. Sanskrit is the ONLY language in the school in which we start by learning grammar. And everyone knows how interesting that is. It is as if the people doing the curriculum design wanted students to HATE the subject, and they succeeded so well. 

Gavish sir started the same way our kids learn English - with picture books, large format teaching aids, rhymes and very tiny stories. 

From there, we progressed to watching Vartavali - a Sanskrit program that is routinely aired on Doordarshan. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCQNFe7Crz8&list=PLxx0m3vtiqMZGmsUEVeTAuWIXqc9fTMHy

For rhymes and easy stories, we used many Youtube channels, but Vedika is my favorite: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfTbFiweqvA&list=PL-NnUsrhQb_aV8YvAwZXiImb2xkskdgk7

And then we also heard Sanskrit news on radio. 

How is learning spoken Sanskrit different from current pedagogy? 

First, of course, its wayyyy more interesting. 

Secondly, the ability to speak even simple sentences makes one feel rather accomplished. For instance, I will go becomes अहम् गमिष्यामि  - a full and complete sentence. 

Third, we start by making mistakes of grammar and vocabulary - a LOT. But as we keep listening or watching, they slowly iron out. 

Fourth, it does not become perfect. Which means that you might be able to understand the broad meaning of a shloka, you won't be able to create one. Just like English and Hindi, you are always correcting your grammatical and vocabulary mistakes. 

Fifth, it is way easier to understand Vartavali and Radio news. it is not always easy to read, let's say Vidur Niti or Arthashastra. 

Sixth, your exposure to Sanskrit is not just religious books. It is a lot more broad-based. You hear news in Sanskrit, rhymes, stories, and later, i started reading these general interest books. I still prefer to read them with a Hindi translation being readily available. Sukti Saurabham (a brilliant set of books by CBSE) was easy to understand. Vidur Niti, not so much (I have the edition by Chaukhamba). 

 

So, that has been my experience of learning Sanskrit in this way. 

Some great publishers who make awesome beginner story books in Sanskrit are: 

A. National Book Trust has an entire collection in Sanskrit children's books. 

B. Samskrit Bharati Publications has these books that have common phrases in Sanskrit. The books are incredibly low priced. 

C. For more advanced books, there are many publishers like Motilal Banarsidas etc. But I prefer the work of Chaukhamba Prakashan best. I find their translations very good. 

There is also a Sanskrit newspaper that is still in publication - Sudharma. 

I would like to end with a small observation - Sanskrit is not just for reading religious books. Sanskrit has a really rich collection of fiction and non-fiction books. The original Hitopadesha, Panchatantra, Rajatarangini, Kalidasa, Arthashartsa, Lilavati Beej Ganit - all these books are in Sanskrit. So, Sanskrit, like any other language, opens the doors to a rich collection of literature and knowledge, not just religious and spiritual content. 

What I have been trying to explain about my meditation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXtNqL2vxoA

This composition describes it so beautifully!! 

What we should do about education

Whichever way you look at it, education needs help. 

In 2023, more than 10,000 papers were retracted by journals for being fake. 

This article gives a good perspective on how we created this Frankenstein. 

This year, the top US universities found themselves answering to the House of Representatives about support to terror on their campuses.  The Harvard president resigned.  As did the president of U Penn. 

The youtube recording of this hearing is heart breaking. 

Graduates are not guaranteed jobs. In the West, we had job fairs instead of placements any way, but this year, many premier institutions in India had to reach out to alumni for internships and jobs. They did not always succeed. This hasn't happened in one year suddenly. For some years now, placements have been a challenge. 

It's not just higher education that's suffering. 

School teachers are quitting in droves in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, and India. (see links in bibliography at the end). 

So, we have stressed out teachers, frustrated students, broke parents. For whom is this system working? 

It doesn't matter. The fact is, its not working for the primary stakeholders - students, teachers, and parents. 

For decades, education has needed reform. 

That reform has been forthcoming. The National Education Policy, drafted with inputs from the public, educators, and specialists, made some important changes - vocational skills got priority, 

Here is my set of pointers for education 

1. Delink research and education 

It is enough to be a good teacher. One should not need to be a good researcher as well. 

They are two different jobs and while a teacher who researches is great, it should not be mandatory.  There is no logical reason to club these two professions. 

2. Have more practitioners in the classroom 

As a student and a parent, i would like at least 60% of the classes to be taken by people doing the job in the field. There is a huge difference between how it is supposed to be done and how it is actually done. Students need to learn from practitioners. Have them as visiting faculty, or professors of practice. But get the doers in, so that the kids learn how to do. 

3. Pay teachers more 

It's as simple as that. Pay them more. Wayyyy more. Elementary teachers have to do a lot more than high school teachers. Their patience is saintly. 

If a parent had to pay someone to babysit and educate their child at home for that many hours, they would pay, at the very least, 10x more than what they pay per hour to the school. From that, the teacher makes a measly penny. 

The reason that teachers don't get paid more is that parents don't want to be involved with their children's education. When selecting schools, they look at the infrastructure, the brand name, but they don't ask to interact with the teachers. HOWEVER, when doing private tuitions, the same parents want to know everything about the teacher! 

Please, invest in your teachers. They are going to mould your children. Ask the school to pay more to them - both attention, and money. 

4. Make subjects relevant 

At least in India, subjects up to grade 10 are largely relevant. Everyone needs to know basics of history, civics, economics, physics, biology, and chemistry, etc. But the subject matter - not so much. What is covered in high school subjects needs a rehaul. A total rehaul. 

More children need to know how to fix appliances than need to know integration in maths.  

More children need to know the biology of all their organs than the biology of frogs. 

More children need to know how to grow their own food than the creation of Hydrochloric acid in a factory. 

5. Zero Tolerance for Political Activity 

Unless one is designated a political activist (i.e., formal participation in student politics), an academic institution should have zero tolerance for all political activity. This includes but is not limited to: 

A. Social Media posts where the poster names their institution on their profile. (i.e., where they can be recognised as students of so and so). 

B. Events and speakers at the institution. 

C. Volunteering as a member of the institution. 

D. Any place where they represent themselves as being students of an institution. 

I feel terrible recommending something as Draconian as this, but where does one draw the line? The kind of support for Hamas terror we have seen on American universities is shocking. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LMLIGwluao

https://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelabramwell/former-teachers-reveal-final-straw-moments

https://www.devlinpeck.com/content/teacher-burnout-statistics

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jun/08/teachers-england-schools-figures-department-education-survey

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/03/06/more-teachers-quitting-than-usual-driven-stress-politics-data-shows/11390639002/

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/young-nsw-teachers-quitting-in-record-numbers-20220923-p5bkfq.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkx2fdGFh4g

https://www.businesstoday.in/education/story/india-has-a-deficit-of-over-1-million-school-teachers-unesco-report-308683-2021-10-07

https://www.indianpolitics.co.in/number-of-teachers-quitting-for-mental-health-reasons-hits-record-high-in-japan/