Books & Films for taking a Year-On!
Books:
1. Learning the Heart Way
http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/samyukta-eng.pdf
Samyuktha’s book may dramatically alter the way young people think about college or university education in future. Most youngsters would like to be free of the drudgery and boredom associated with college lectures, mouldy professors, sterile guides and endless examinations. Coming from an ordinary middle-class environment in Andhra, Samyuktha decided to opt out of the ‘rat race of learning’: the endless tests and scores; the straitjacket imposed by college disciplines which actually narrowed down the world of learning to mugging badly written texts of history, political science, economics, psychology, and yes, sociology; the endless chase after MBA degrees. Instead, she created her own ‘higher education’ curriculum, one that suited both her heart and mind. The result is a marvellous book on learning’ as if the heart mattered’.
2. Free from School by Rahul Alvares
https://www.amazon.in/Free-School-Rahul-Alvares/dp/1421801809
It’s not every day that a 16 year old writes a book. In fact, girls and boys of that age are supposed to spend their time studying what other people write. It is presumed that at that age they do not themselves have anything significant or interesting to say. And the education system guarantees just that. The best rewards go to those who can parrot set answers to set questions in examination halls. Those who try to use their imagination or reply differently are often punished with low grades.
Rahul Alvares did not set out to write a book. Under the encouragement of his parents, he consciously set out to try his hand at learning things outside the school framework and you might say as a result, Free From School, actually came looking for him! After his SSC, unlike his other classmates, he opted out of schooling to follow his instincts; fond of reptiles, he chased them at the Pune Snake Park, and at the Crocodile Bank at Mamallapuram. In the process he also picked up trails of spiders, earthworms and turtles. He caught snakes in the company of Irula tribals. He got bitten by hot-tempered reptiles. He came out of it all grinning and wiser.
Free From School is his story of a year out of school, when the learning graph of his young life went up leaps and bounds. He wrote it to encourage other body and girls his age to move out of the sterile school and college environment offered by India’s antiquarian educational system, if they wish to experience another side to life and learning. He lost nothing but gained a lot. So did his parents. When you read his story, so will you.
3. Teenage Liberation Handbook
http://shikshantar.org/sites/default/files/PDF/10-teenlib1.pdf
This book tells teens how to take control of their lives and get a “real life.” Young people can reclaim their natural ability to teach themselves and design a personalized education program. Grace Llewellyn explains the entire process, from making the decision to quit school, to discovering the learning opportunities available
4. Jonathan Livingston Seagull
https://www.amazon.in/Jonathan-Livingston-Seagull-Richard-Bach/dp/0743278909
This is a story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules…people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves…people who know there’s more to this living than meets the eye: they’ll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and faster than ever they dreamed.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull’s right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in teaching younger gulls the joy of flight and the power of dreams. The special 20th anniversary release of this spiritual classic!
5. The Alchemist
The story of Santiago, the shepherd boy on a journey to realize his “Personal Legend” has inspired people all over the world to live their dreams.
6. Finding a Purpose in Life by R.M. Lala
https://www.amazon.in/Finding-Purpose-Life-People-Inspired/dp/8172238568
There is a pilgrim soul in all of us, an inner searching that continues throughout our lives For lack of a purpose, millions in despair seek refuge in unbridled consumerism, drugs, alcohol, crime or antisocial behaviour. From times immemorial, man has striven to know his place in this bewildering world, find a direction and pursue a purpose higher than his own advancement. In this book, R.M. Lala addresses these issues through the medium of great lives like Abraham Lincoln, Albert Schweitzer, Emperor Asoka, Vinoba Bhave, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Narayana and Sudha Murthy and others. He highlights the difference between ambition and purpose, career and purpose, and indicates how understanding this lies at the core of understanding oneself. This inspirational and motivational work shows how each of us can find a purpose satisfying to ourselves and meaningful to others.
7. Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters
https://lauriethompson.com/books/changemaker-start-something-matters/
Empower yourself in today’s highly connected, socially conscious world as you learn how to wield your passions, digital tools, and the principles of social entrepreneurship to affect real change in your schools, communities, and beyond.
This book will empower you with the confidence and knowledge you need to affect real change. You’ll find all the tools you need right here — through engaging youth profiles, step-by-step exercises, and practical tips, you can start making a difference today. This inspiring guide will teach you how to research ideas, build a team, recruit supportive adults, fundraise, host events, work the media, and, most importantly, create lasting positive change.
8. UnCollege Free Guides:
These guides are awesome. And they’re free.
9. Space Between Stories by Charles Eisenstein
This online learning journey might be valuable to you if…
You are in some way stuck in an old story (work, relationship, bodily condition, etc.) but you can feel it is unsustainable, that a change is on the horizon, that it is starting to break down…..
You are in the space between stories. The old world isn’t coming back, but the new one hasn’t arrived yet either….
You are living in a new story, and it feels maybe a little tender or fragile, and you want support and a frame of reference to help navigate its challenges.
Also by Charles:
The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible
In a time of social and ecological crisis, what can we as individuals do to make the world a better place? This inspirational and thought-provoking book serves as an empowering antidote to the cynicism, frustration, paralysis, and overwhelm so many of us are feeling, replacing it with a grounding reminder of what’s true: we are all connected, and our small, personal choices bear unsuspected transformational power. By fully embracing and practicing this principle of interconnectedness — called interbeing — we become more effective agents of change and have a stronger positive influence on the world.
https://charleseisenstein.net/books/the-more-beautiful-world-our-hearts-know-is-possible/
10. Walk Out Walk On by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze
http://walkoutwalkon.net/
https://www.amazon.com/Walk-Out-Learning-Journey-Communities/dp/1605097314
In this era of increasingly complex problems and shrinking resources, can we find meaningful and enduring solutions to the challenges we face today as individuals, communities and nations?
In Walk Out Walk On, authors Meg Wheatley and Deborah Frieze invite you on a learning journey to seven communities around the world to meet people who have walked out of limiting beliefs and assumptions and walked on to create healthy and resilient communities. These Walk Outs who Walk On use their ingenuity and caring to figure out how to work with what they have to create what they need.
From Mexico to India, from Columbus, Ohio to Johannesburg, South Africa, we discover that every community has the ingenuity, intelligence, and inventiveness to solve their seemingly insolvable problems.
11. Universities & Colleges Are For Dummies! Claude Alvares
https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/aCdr9zkKYzRrzvZWjLtiRzLJ
I am surprised that every year hordes of people are still getting drawn into the university circus, filling in forms, chewing fingernails before entrance tests, celebrating entry into this college or that, into this course or that. This is despite the evidence that there is no confirmed connection between degrees and jobs.
12. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
https://www.amazon.in/Oh-Places-Youll-Classic-Seuss/dp/0679805273
From soaring to high heights and seeing great sights to being left in a Lurch on a prickle-ly perch, Dr. Seuss addresses life’s ups and downs with his trademark humorous verse and whimsical illustrations.
The inspiring and timeless message encourages readers to find the success that lies within, no matter what challenges they face. A perennial favorite and a perfect gift for anyone starting a new phase in their life!
13. Ten (10) Tools Guide for An Unconventional Life
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I2yyL6qTvlM_JA267H7cSl5XAaFRaG-1/view?usp=sharing
14. The Quest of Ruby:
The Quest of Ruby is an imaginative little story about a seed who undertakes a perilous journey in search of her dream. The story draws us into the forest world and then takes us through the challenges a tiny, ordinary seed faces in her quest to become something way beyond her own limitations. A metaphorical story, it is as suitable a read for a 12 year old or a 80 year old.
15. Walden by Henry David Thoreau:
Must Watch Films on the Spirit of Introspection, Adventure, Exploration, Disruption and New Creation!
1. Matrix
2. Into the Wild
3. Peaceful Warrior
4. Tamasha
5. The Motorcycle Diaries
