Learning
Like an Urban Yogee
Supra academic workshops for kids and teens.
What will separate humans from the soon-to-be indistinguishable from humans AI in the coming years? Poised as the world is, right at the brink of freedom from mechanical repetitive work, the human factor is something that is yet missing from our exam marksheets.
Ethics. Creativity. Innovation. Judgement calls. Decision making based on things other than pure statistics. Intuition. Self development, personal growth, professional updation, spiritual evolution - meta skills such as these will make all the difference to how our future generations navigate their increasingly fast changing and complex world.
Urban Yogee Kids
preteen kids
ages 7 to 9
ages 10 to 12
Urban Yogee Teens
adolescents
ages 13 to 15
ages 16 to 18
Our present world is so fast paced that the 21st century denizens see as many changes in one lifetime that earlier centuries saw over a couple of generations. Before the advent of the internet and computerised storage, our civilisation's body of knowledge grew over centuries and decades, compared to the exponential growth over years, months and yes, even days, in these recent years. Textbooks become obsolete almost as fast as they hit the shelves; in some areas even before the plates are off the press. In such a scenario, static knowledge and rote learning of facts have little meaning or value, and subject based expertise requires constant updation.
Basic literacy in our modern world is more than merely knowing how to read, write, count; it can be defined as the ability to express ourselves using the variety of media available, as well as the capability to understand the new. To succeed today requires good communication skills, as well as the ability to seek out and acquire the knowledge and skills demanded of us by different situations and circumstances prevalent at various points in our lives.
Along with this, we also need the capability to analyse, synthesise and critically evaluate the barrage of new technologies and data coming at us, so as to make informed decisions, even while we manage the stress of a constantly changing world and challenging demanding lives.
Soft skills remain, of course, as relevant to success and happiness, both personal and professional, as in any other span of human history. Lastly, emotional growth and spiritual seeking is gaining recognition as the key difference between human contributions versus the artifical intelligences (AIs) that will soon run the mundane tasks of our world.
Workshop Topics
Each topic covers a definition, an introduction with a brief explanation, followed by age appropriate practical techniques where applicable.
Sanatani stories, analogies from Upanishads, examples from traditional Indian culture, along with yogee and psychology concepts will be freely used to illustrate and explain these topics.
Analysis
seeing the trees in a forest
Cutting through the extraneous, to arrive at the heart of the matter.
Synthesis
painting the big picture
Structuring a coherent whole from related or dissociated facts.
Seeking Information
acquiring new data
Filling gaps in your knowledge base. Authenticity and reliability of sources.
Communication
understand and express
Articulating thoughts and ideas. Understand others, express oneself.
The Art of Debate
seeing five sides of a topic
Constructing arguments for multiple sides of an issue, respectfully.
Critical Evaluation
forming informed opinions
Separate the wheat from the chaff. Verifying what you know.
All about MOOCs
finding online learning sources
Finding and using virtual learning resources effectively.
Online Safety
keeping safe in a connected world
Protect yourself on the internet - pitfalls and precautions.
Decision Making
making choices
Arriving at a plan of action from a plethora of choices.
Problem Solving
constructing solutions
Finding a way around obstacles - how civilisations advance.
Creative Thinking
thinking out of the box
Thinking laterally, innovating disruptively or incrementally.
Self Learning Skills
learning how to learn
Learning is a lifelong process - learn how to learn new skills.
Self Discipline
working well with oneself
Setting personal goals. making priority lists. Scheduling and time management.
Teamwork
working well with others
Co-operating and compromising to achieve common goals through a shared work load.
Managing Emotions
raising your EQ
Identify feelings and their meanings. Dealing eectively with emotions, those of others and of yourself.
Conflict Resolution
when opinions collide
Resolve differences, not lose people. Manage opposition without losing track of goals. Agree to disagree.
Self Initiative
motivated self direction
Taking charge of yourself and your life, your hobbies and interests, your careers and social life.
Spiritual Growth
personal evolution
Growing into a better version of yourself. Seeking to stretch yourself. Reaching for your higher self.