Every positive action reinforced in a school contributes meaningfully to a student’s overall development. When values and manners are nurtured consistently, they shape personality in lasting ways. The belief that manners make us complete  forms the foundation of an environment where young people grow through encouragement, appreciation, and purposeful practice. One of the greatest gifts an educator carries is the ability to observe the good in people. This includes noticing t

The idea of a Human Library  often enters schools quietly through a conversation, a suggestion, or a moment of curiosity. In one such instance, the concept was introduced during a discussion with school leadership, sparking an exploration into an alternative library experience where people, rather than printed texts, become sources of knowledge. What began as an unfamiliar term soon revealed itself as a powerful educational practice, one capable of transforming a school libra

As principals, we co-create classroom values and agreements at the start of the year as a foundation-building process rather than a one-time activity. Instead of handing students a ready-made list of rules, teachers should be encouraged to involve students as active partners in shaping how their classroom community will function. This begins with guided conversations in the first week of school where students reflect on questions such as what helps them feel safe, respected a

Modern classrooms are increasingly inebriated by speed. This intoxication is not the result of overt espionage or covert reform, but of a gradual embedding of haste into everyday practice. This is a result of subtle adjacency of praise with quickness, through alluring metrics of efficiency, and through a fictitious belief that fast learning is superior learning. In this engulfing climate, the true privilege of education deep thought stands estranged. As educators gather in ev

As we step into 2026, many schools can confidently say they are well organised. Processes are defined. Policies are documented. Compliance is tracked. Timelines are met. And yet, beneath this efficiency lies a deeper question: Are our schools truly thinking organisations or simply well-managed ones? This question came sharply into focus for me in December, during an intense strategy meeting with the heads of our various education ventures and projects. For the first time in y

It was one of those mornings when the school corridor hummed with the usual rhythm: teachers juggling notebooks, students rushing for assembly, bells echoing like a metronome of speed. Pausing to observe this familiar scene raises a quiet but important question, are schools racing, or are they truly enabling learning? In a world obsessed with “fast,” education too has caught the fever, faster syllabus completion, quicker exam revisions, and instant results. Somewhere in this

Communication between parents and school plays a vital role in a child’s holistic development. When parents are well informed and involved, children feel more confident and perform better in academics and behaviour. As education continues to change, a school’s communication with parents will also go through a transformation. For the new academic year, communication must become simpler, more regular and meaningful. In the past, schools mainly depended on written notices, diari

As the year draws to a close, it offers us a rare pause – a moment to step back and at what we published, and more importantly, at what educators across the country were thinking, questioning and quietly negotiating . Over the past year, Mentor became less of a repository of answers and more of a listening space through stories that reflected the changing rhythms of schools, classrooms and leadership conversations. Speed One of the strongest themes to emerge was a growing dis

An “eternal boarder” by his own description, Saurav Sinha’s journey through education has been shaped by lived experience rather than linear ambition. From years spent in boarding schools to a corporate career and a return to education by what he calls destiny, his leadership at Mayo College, Ajmer reflects a deep belief in values-led schooling. In this candid reflection, he speaks about what boarding schools truly teach, how legacy institutions can remain future-ready withou

A confidence gap among students remains one of the most persistent barriers to academic success, engagement, and social development. While academic skills are undeniably important, a student’s belief in their ability to learn, contribute, and succeed is often the force that shapes their long-term trajectory more powerfully than raw ability alone. The start of the school year is a crucial window of opportunity. In those early weeks, classroom climate, teacher expectations, pee