My Name Is Cinnamon

Reading Vikas Joshi's book "My Name is Cinnamon," focusing on the last chapter, "Chapter 17: Going Home." Vikas shared insights into the book's creation, including the integration of Usher Syndrome and the emotional journey of the protagonist, Cinnamon. The discussion highlighted the importance of early disclosure of adoption to children and the challenges of bullying. Vikas emphasized the significance of community in his writing and provided advice for aspiring authors, stressing regular writing and resilience. The session concluded with a group photo and a reflection on the book's themes.

In the second part of the session Sandeep reads Chapter 12: Crowd Intelligence from The Inner Life of Animals by Peter Wohlleben, and there is lots to reflect about bees, insect behviour and animal life:

1. Collective Behavior

• How do animals benefit from collective decision-making, and what are some examples from this chapter?

2. Survival & Adaptation

• In what ways does crowd intelligence help animals survive in the wild? Can you think of a situation where acting alone might be more beneficial?

3. Comparison to Human Society

• How does the concept of crowd intelligence in animals compare to human group behavior, such as teamwork or social decision-making?

4. Ethical & Environmental Considerations

• What can humans learn from animal crowd intelligence when it comes to solving problems like climate change or resource management?

5. Personal Reflection

• Have you ever experienced a moment where working as a group led to a better outcome than working alone? How does this relate to the examples in the chapter?

Sandeep Dutt provided an update on the progress and schedule of "My Good School," a comprehensive educational program. The school hosts various activities on different days of the week: master classes on Sundays, teacher sessions on Saturdays, book readings on Fridays, poetry on Thursdays, music on Tuesdays, and art on Mondays.

The annual fee for the program is 2,500 rupees, which offers a total of 160 hours of learning. Additionally, the program includes a structured internship, a fellowship for teachers, and various workshops. They also share their learning experiences through newsletters, blogs, podcasts, and a YouTube channel. The My Good School Sunday session concluded with a video of the Waggle dance performance and the My Good School School. Check our our Joy Of Learning Diaries at: www.JoyOfLearningDiaries.com.