Hari Om! Parents,
All students were asked to watch the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma with their Gita hats on. Think about the problem presented in the documentary in terms of how the Gita would frame it, and ponder on solutions that we discussed through Lord Krishna's strategies to interact with this world. We encourage all families to watch this documentary together and discuss.
For class, we created a template presentation and divided the students into pairs to work on each slide. Then they all presented their thoughts and analysis. We are so proud of the children's effort to apply their understanding of the Gita to this very real threat their generation faces. You can see their presentation here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ApKX3x2NK_eR2on84jGbO05EhSidz0Ar/view?usp=sharing
We ended the class with each of us making a commitment to ease the grip of social media on ourselves - a measurable, simple habit that we will practice for 40 days. Examples include, not seeing the phone until morning routine is complete, reducing screen time with strict app control, using screen time to learn something new everyday instead of mindless browsing, turning off notifications, etc. We will hold each other accountable in order to make sure this is not a mere academic exercise but a good faith effort to protect ourselves from what the class agreed could become an existential threat. For those students who couldn't make it to class last week, please think of a commitment and begin practicing it asap. We welcome parents also to make a commitment and participate in partnership with your child.
We are all likely to fall off the wagon in our initial effort, it's ok. We need to forgive ourselves, understand that this is not easy, pick ourselves up, and try again. A tip for success: Don't falter 2 days in a row.
This weekend is Diwali, so we will not have class. Our next class is on November 20th. Wish you all a very Happy Diwali! Celebrate responsibly and stay safe.
Thank you,
Aruna and Sirisha
