BOOKS OF THE WEEK

 The Arthashastra by Kautilya

ABOUT THE BOOK

Statesmanship and Economics at Their Best

'Arthashastra' is one of the oldest books with immense historical significance written by Kautilya or Arya Chanakya as he was popularly known. This book is one of the most effective books ever written on the art of statecraft and the science of everyday living. Originally written in Sanskrit, this is the English translation of the book which highlights the role of Government in the lives of people and the important responsibilities that it should carry. The book also speaks a great deal about economics; hence the name 'Arthashastra' has been used which is the Sanskrit translation of the word 'Economics'.

Broader Concepts 

This book is basically a collection of 380 shlokas which have been written in prose. It is divided into 15 different sections for the better understanding of the readers. It suggests that there are certain things that a man should strive to achieve during his lifetime and material wealth is also one of them. The concept of this book is very broad in this sense and it not only talks about money, but also about the aspects of material security and the interests of people.

Arya Chanakya

Arya Chanakya or Kautilya who is speculated to be a Brahmin from South India, wrote this book around 150 A.D. He was the person who was responsible for the downfall off the Nanda Dynasty in South India and helped Chandragupta Maurya win the throne. Chanakya was a great strategist which is self-evident from the fact that he overthrew an empire. He has imparted all of his knowledge in this book.

About the Author

L. N. Rangarajan has translated this book in English. He is an alumnus of the University of Madras. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1956 and has been in the Indian embassy of several countries including Greece, Sudan, Norway, Tunisia and Iceland. He is also the author of the book 'Commodity Conflict'.

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Reading from What Did You Ask At School Today? by Kamala Mukunda

Fridays @ EBD

What Did You Ask At School Today? A Handbook Of Child Learning Book 1

Book by Kamala V. Mukunda

Discussion on student motivation and the role of assessment in learning.

Key Takeaways

• Praise Effort, Not Ability: Carol Dweck's research shows praising effort (e.g., "You worked hard") fosters a growth mindset, leading students to choose challenging tasks. Praising ability ("You are so clever") creates a fixed mindset, causing students to avoid challenges to protect their self-image.

• Prioritise Mastery Over Performance: A mastery-oriented classroom focuses on understanding and effort, where students attribute failure to lack of effort, not ability. This builds resilience and shifts the question from "Can I do this?" to "How can I do this?"

• Replace Competition with Collaboration: Competition is a poor motivator that creates stress and social dysfunction. Collaborative learning, where students take ownership and responsibility for helping peers, builds essential real-world skills like teamwork and empathy.

• Use Authentic Assessment for Learning: Traditional tests drive rote learning and anxiety. Authentic assessment (e.g., projects, portfolios) measures skills developed in class, provides meaningful feedback, and aligns assessment with pedagogical goals.

Topics

Problem: Traditional Motivation & Assessment

• Traditional Classroom Models:

  • Competitive: Focus on peer comparison.

  • Cooperative: Focus on group achievement.

  • Individualistic: Focus on self-mastery.

• The "Curriculum Backwash Effect":

  • High-stakes, knowledge-based tests force teachers to "teach to the test," neglecting deeper understanding and application.

  • This creates significant problems:

    • Excessive time spent on test prep.

    • Motivation shifts from learning to outcomes.

    • High student and teacher anxiety.

    • Encourages cheating.

    • It can be unfair and depressing for students.

Solution 1: Mastery-Oriented Motivation

• Carol Dweck's Research on Mindsets:

  • Incremental Belief (Growth Mindset): Intelligence can increase with effort.

    • → Students are motivated to learn from challenges.

  • Entity Belief (Fixed Mindset): Intelligence is a fixed trait.

    • → Students avoid challenging material to protect their self-image.

• The Impact of Praise:

  • Praising Ability ("You are so clever"):

    • Creates a feel-good state contingent on maintaining the "clever" image.

    • Implies poor performance means a lack of intelligence.

    • → Leads students to avoid future challenges.

  • Praising effort ("You must have worked hard"):

    • Fosters resilience and a desire for growth.

    • → Leads students to choose more complex problems to learn from.

Solution 2: Collaborative Learning

• Collaborative Learning as an Alternative:

  • Group projects and peer mentoring replace competition with teamwork.

  • Benefits:

    • Builds essential real-world skills.

    • Fosters ownership and responsibility for peer success.

    • Develops empathy and a sense of community.

• Participant Examples:

  • Sneha: Group projects build team spirit.

  • Suman: Discussion methods with a peer leader.

  • Saman: Mixed-ability groups with a mentor for each child.

Solution 3: Authentic Assessment

• Authentic Assessment:

  • Measures skills developed in class, not just rote facts.

  • Examples: Open-ended questions, demonstrations, exhibits, and portfolios.

  • Benefits:

    • Provides meaningful feedback for students and teachers.

    • Addresses emotional and moral issues of traditional testing.

• Challenges to Wider Adoption:

  • Time: More time-consuming for large student populations.

  • Objectivity: Fear of losing objectivity compared to standardised tests.

• Measurement Theory Fundamentals:

  • Validity: A test measures what it is supposed to measure.

  • Reliability: A test is free of measurement error (e.g., repeated testing yields similar results).

Next Steps

• Sandeep Dutt: Share meeting summary, recording, and bookmark in the WhatsApp group.

• Manisha Khanna: Invite participants to the Sunday School session at 10:30 AM with guest Kartik.

• All Participants:

• Attend the following "Brewing Knowledge" session on Friday, January 23rd.

• Consider attending the "Wisdom Mandli" session on Saturday.

• Explore the revamped MyGoodSchool YouTube channel.

• Review the Good Schools Alliance (GSA) Impact Framework.

• 
  
• Summary Courtesy FATHOM AI

A Reader's Pace

I don't usually read one book at a time.

There's almost always a small pile beside me—some books open, some half-read, some simply waiting. 

Somewhere along the way, we started believing that reading only counts if a book is finished. As if the last page is proof that the experience mattered. As if anything unfinished is incomplete. But most readers know—that's rarely how it actually works.

During one of our Brewing Knowledge Sessions at EBD, during a meet-and-greet with Ratna Manucha, this very idea surfaced naturally. We spoke about how reading doesn't have to mean committing to one book at a time. Reading can be layered. It can involve many books at once, each serving a different purpose.

Many of us read multiple books at once. One for comfort. One for curiosity. One, we keep telling ourselves we'll finish soon. Some days, we reread the same few pages because they feel familiar, and almost like returning to a thought we don't want to let go of. Other days, we feel stuck in a book because we aren't in the right headspace for it. And sometimes, a completely new book catches our attention. We pick it up, read a few pages, just enough to understand its voice, and then quietly place it back, or they're meant to be carried. Nestled in your bag, against a notebook or water bottle, like a quiet companion with no demands.

Leaving books half-read isn't a failure. Neither is switching between them, nor pausing midway. Reading isn't a race, and it certainly isn't a checklist.

Reading is slow and time-consuming.

But even then—even like this—it counts.

Sneha 

- Intern at The English Book Depot