Exceptional Educators

 Yesterday, we did our first ever Exceptional Educators chat with the Jindal Mount Litera School, Nagothane.

One of the things we heard was - Every child gets a response to their email when they write to The Children's Post. That is very important.

This is something that we been particular about.

"This is not a scalable model." "You cannot manage to write back to every child as your numbers grow."

Yes, but at the other end of that email, is a child or a parent, waiting with anticipation. We have to show them the respect that they deserve.
We have all been those children. :)

#ValuesthatMatter

Surprisingly, Google (and our laziness) is the harbinger of 1984

 With our current technology, short of Brain Computer Interface, there is only one way for 1984 (the book) to come true.

That is, if people stop remembering. If they depend on the internet for everything, every piece of information. The internet can be changed in a short time. History can be altered really easily using Wikipedia. (As some of us already know).

The Growth Imperative

In Europe, there was bakeries that bake a certain number every day. At the end of the day, or when they are done, they shut shop and sit back and relax. They make a small profit every day, and use that to live. 

In India, there are samosawalas or chhole bhature walas who bring a certain amount of production to the market every day. Once they have sold it, they shut shop and go home. 

There is never any need to grow, diversify, increase etc. 

When we started work, both at Topgain and at The Children's Post, we came from a place of happiness and content. We were not in a race. We were not chasing anything. We were doing the best that we could, as much as we could with happiness, but giving it our all. There was no stress. Just the joy of doing great, fantastic work and adding value to the world. 

Today, both Topgain and The Children's Post have grown. Every day, esp on The Children's Post, we are asked questions like Growth numbers, projected growth, etc. 

The thing is, we are still not chasing anything. Only rats run rat races. We are here to focus on our work and to take the paper to more children. 

Growth is not an imperative for us. We have experienced that some people find chasing targets inherently joyous. We are not among them. To us, this endless chasing of targets leads to stress and not happiness. 

We understand that this is not a conventional view of business. But contentment is a good part of Indian business. The samosavala is inherently Indian.  

Of course, contentment precludes greatness and a place in history books. But we would rather be Nandan and Chandamama than Times of India :) 

On Agile

 Agile is not a methodology. Its a mindset. 

Chat with Kavita Neelkantan

 Switch Episode 8 - YouTube

What a lovely, lovely interaction! Thanks so much for this Kavita! 

How to write a feature / news for The Children's Post of India

If you want to write news or features for The Children's Post, this feature is for you. 

Step1: Read and Understand 

Read at least 8-10 different sources before you start to write. Note down the key figures. Make sure you cross check ALL the key figures that you are going to present and also save the source of each key figure. For instance, if you are reporting a figure on women and their welfare, the only authorised figures are the ministry of women and child development, govt of India. 

Understand all the key terms. Don't assume the meaning of ANYTHING. Read, read, read and understand. 

Step 2: Readiness check 

In your mind, explain the concept to an 8 year old child. If you have a neighbour or a sibling, nothing like it. Otherwise, practise in your own mind, or with friends or parents. Make sure you talk to someone who does NOT know the topic before hand. 

If you are able to explain the topic to them and answer their questions, you are now ready to write a feature on your own. 

Step 3: Write 

Different writers have different techniques. Some just sit down and start writing/typing and get it all together. Some first prefer to structure their content, figuring out how it will flow and the word limit for each section. Then, they write the main points under each section, and then they start writing. Most of u s are somewhere in between. In general, it helps to start with 100% planning and slowly internalise it so it becomes automatic in your head. Its just like driving. When we first start driving, we do Brake-Cluch-Neutral like a checklist. But after a few months, we just do all this the minute we sit in the car. 

Step 4: Illustrate 

Find CC0 images or your own original images. Even if you are using CC0 images, pls give credit where you know the name of the photographer. Sometimes, you can do Steps 3 and 4 together. Sometimes, you can even start with a vital illustration and write the story around or based on that. 

Step 5: Put it together. 

Visualise your story - both in the paper and on the website. How will it look? Where will the image come? What should the background colour be? Combine the text and images and create a full story. 

Step 6: Check 

First, read it as a third person. Does the story hold your interest, or do you lose interest after a few lines? Is there a coherent story, or does it jump from point to point? How does the story make you feel? Do you put it down with a smile or a sense of wonder? Well done, then! 

Sometimes, we pick up some phrases from the internet unintentionally, or because they just say it better. Even Helen Keller was accused of stealing a story once! To ensure that this does not happen to you, take some of the interesting figures of speech, clauses, phrases etc. that you have used and google them or use a plagiarism checker. If there is a match, change that part. 

DO NOT depend on Grammarly or any other grammar check software. The idea of writing for TCP is to help improve your vocabulary and grammar. Read books by S Upendran and GMAT guides. The idea is to help you write flawlessly. Further, these apps are not as accurate as they need to be for TCP. 

Step 7: Review 

Have someone else read your submission. Ask them to check for grammar, facts, correct usage of words, structure, and interest - everything! 

If all is well, send it to us. 

We LOVE hearing from you. 

Important Tips For You 

• DO NOT expect perfection from yourself. 

            Not the first time, and not the hundredth time. And not the thousandth time. We will all make                 mistakes, we will all learn. 

• Originality before excellence

            Please remember - we really don't want the wittiest thing, or the best thing. We want YOU.                     Write in your own original voice. No one else can do that. 

• We are strict about copying or not giving credit 

            Like, crazy strict. We will stop publishing anything by you after the third strike. And if there is a             strike, we will not publish anything by you for a month. Same thing for avoiding credit or taking             images from other publications or from people without taking their express written permission. 

All the Best! 

Fair Exchange of Value, and why Indians do it differently

 Have you ever noticed these: 

A. In a langar or bhandara, after serving, the person doing the serving thanks the person being served with folded hands. 

B. In the courts of kings, the person sitting next to the king is not the chief minister. It is the Rajguru. After that, the chief minister, and then the other ministers get their seats. 

C. When a teacher enters the court, the king gets up from the throne and touches the feet of the teacher. 

D. When the sage came to king Dashratha, he had to send his children with the sage, irrespective of his misgivings, or the fact that he was the parent of the boys. 

E. Sita was kidnapped because a beggar refused to take alms from her. Chandragupta raised his army through students who went door to door and sought support from householders. Buddhism got its first ashrams thru the bhikkus. 

Compare that to a modern office, or our current lives, and much of this will appear strange. 

So, why did this happen?? 

The first one, in my view, is the most telling of the underlying values that defined this society. When we give something to someone,we expect gratitude from the person. That is a fair exchange of value. But when we give something and then also offer our gratitude, that is one person receiving twice the value, and the giver receiving none. Why does that happen? 

Because, the giver has been given an opportunity to serve. This opportunity to serve is important to the giver. Not only because it gives him/her good karma. Why is good karma more important than money, or the instant gratification one gets from gratitude? 

Because, karma is a long term thing. One of the first spiritual concepts you will learn in India, irrespective of your religion, is that when you leave this world, only your soul and your karma goes with you. All material possessions are left here on Earth. Only your good karma tags along. 

Which means that the benefit one derives from good karma is far more than the sum total of material wealth and emotional strokes of momentary gratitude. The giver folds his hands and bows because he is getting something far more long-lasting and precious than what is being given. 

What is the impact on a society of a belief system like this? 

First, it implores people to do good for its own sake. The books of account are never closed - what you do in this birth, remains with you till it is paid off. Dying doesn't save you from the effect of your actions. 

Second, it creates a culture of learnt humility. The king vacates his seat for the guru, not because the king lacks in power, but because the teacher exceeds in spiritual power. 

Third, it acknowledges, on a day to day basis, that giving is as important to the human heart as receiving. 

Our need to love is as universal as our need to be loved. Our need to give as universal as our need to receive. 

When we acknowledge the universality of this need, we begin to understand that the person who gives us an opportunity to fulfill this need is, in fact, doing us a favour. Therefore, we thank them with folded hands. 

When we live and work in India, we come to accept this core value system and the underlying comprehension that it incorporates. 

To give is as much a luxury as to receive. 

How is this applicable? 

1. Many Western companies are very focused on reporting impact. They find it strange that the Indian arm is not as diligent about measuring impact and getting back on whether any difference has been made. THis is because the Indian believes - Neki kar dariya mein daal - let the good you do not be tom-tom-ed. 

2. Most Indian promoters do NOT report the CSR work that they do. I have been left gaping when promoters casually mention how they empowered thousands of women who did not have a choice, or how they adopted 80 schools and funded their redevelopment from their personal funds. The level of charity that I see in promoter led organisations, and the personal commitment of the promoters to doing that good is, quite simply, astounding. But this approach to charity leads to a situation that the Western mind does not understand - there is no report made on the CSR index of Indian organisations. If you see the reports made by private organisations, the list will mostly have non Indian MNCs.