Aheli Shah

Student at @Alphaschool
2x TedX Youth Speaker

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

People say Gen Z is behind.

Less resilient.
Less independent.
Less prepared for the real world.
But that diagnosis might be completely wrong.
This generation isn’t dumber.

We just spent our risk years behind a screen.

In The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff explain a quiet shift in childhood.

Parents became overprotective in the real world
and underprotective in the digital one.

Kids stopped climbing trees.
Stopped wandering neighborhoods.
Stopped solving problems without adults nearby.

At the exact same time:
They were handed smartphones and social media.

So an entire generation missed something previous generations took for granted:
Unsupervised risk.
Risk is where kids learn:

• How to negotiate with other kids
• How to handle conflict
• How to test their limits
• How to recover after failure

You cannot learn those things through a screen.

You learn them outside.

Haidt calls this part of healthy development “free play.”

Kids used to spend hours exploring without adults structuring every minute.

Through that play they learned independence, courage, and social competence.
Take that away, and something important disappears.
Not intelligence.
Practice at being a human in the real world.

So when people say this generation is weak or behind, they’re missing the real story.

We didn’t get less capable.

We just got less time in the environments that build capability.

Source: The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Making your own rules in school before GTA 6 at @Alphaschool ...

Today I was assigned a book to read, and from that book we need to come up with three rules.

These three rules will be presented to the whole school and then voted on by the student body to see if we pass or fail.

Follow along for the rules!

[Kanhai Shah @ShahKanhai157]

Bradley donated 1.79 pence through superchat,

4 years later he created one of the biggest streamers of all time.

Ishowspeed.

The Butterfly Effect: how the smallest, most insignificant actions trigger massive, unpredictable chaos.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

@AugustCastilIo HAPPY BIRTHDAY

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

If I come to school and I don't get humbled at least once, then I know something is wrong.

Let me explain...

@Alphaschool doesn't just teach feedback as a skill. It's integrated into everyday conversations. And somehow, nobody gets offended. People actually ask for more.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

@glukianoff @JonHaidt Reading this book opened my eyes SO MUCH. It taught me things that I wouldn't have known otherwise. All young people should read this book, considering the way that the world is operation today.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Today @Alphaschool, I used my own goal setting GPT to plan the next three weeks.

When I set goals I automatically set the bar a bit lower so they seem achievable. My GPT doesn't do that.

It actually gives me feedback on what part of my goal I'm missing or gives me a different perspective I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

This is was my initial response when I first heard about this. Even after thinking about it more in depth it still bothers me that they think this is a solution. If anything it'll make students even more anxious. It'll cause a kind of unrest culture on campus that no college wants. Stop protecting the next generation from everyday problems.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Have you ever set an 'ambitious' goal that sounds a lot like "Go to the gym everyday"?

Did that goal actually get achieved?
If I had to guess, probably not...

This afternoon at @Alphaschool we learned how to create personal goal setting GPTs. The goal was to set three goals and get them approved by your GPT.

For the next three weeks (one goal for each week) we will be trying to complete these goals.

Follow along to see how it goes!

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Follow people in your niche and take inspiration from there. Analyze what worked and what didn't work in their posts. Also make sure to engage with the content on your feed by commenting and reposting. And one last thing, follow at least 100 people so X knows what you're looking for/what you want to see.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

@ujjwal_pan99103 @X Look for successful accounts in your niche and take inspiration from there. Analyze their posts, take notes, see what worked and what didn't. Make sure to engage with the posts on your feed by reposting or commenting. Let me know if this works!

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

@z1ro_dev Look at accounts with a similar niche to you and take inspiration from those. Look at well established accounts see what they did to become successful. Reposting/quoting/replying is all helpful. Let me know if this works!

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Growing on X is difficult but not impossible. Look at peoples accounts that have a similar niche to you and take inspiration from what worked from them. Also look at well established accounts not for content but for format. And engage with other posts, quoting/replying is very helpful. Let me know if this works!

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Compliment sandwhich? Not at @Alphaschool.

We use Radical Candor instead.

This afternoon our goal was to give feedback to people via X and receive three replies using radical candor.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Public speaking can definitely be scary. But it's more reps than anything. If it's a speech keep rehearsing it over and over again until you're tired of it. If it's something that doesn't require memorization just have a couple of bullet points ready in your head. Also, whenever you're practicing do it in-front of a mirror, get used to seeing/hearing yourself speak. You got this!

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

I think it was executed so well, he did a great job conveying the emotion and frustration in the scene which really tells us that something influential is going to happen. This trailer was definitely more fantastic four focused especially with Sue narrating in the opening scene. However, they need to start mentioning Shang-Chi more they're making it seem like he's not even a part of the movie and is just a forgotten side character.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

@iamblueiphy I would've liked a happy ending where they all reunited and went on the ferris wheel one last time before moving on to their adult lives. Max and Elsa got married, Leo gets married and their trio grows.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

@spn_aesthetic We never got to learn too much about Jess (her interests, WHY sam liked her so much, etc.) so we don't really know if sam would've been happier with someone else. Also, the only thing we know about his type is that he enjoys dating people that they're supposed to hunt...

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

Looking for post ideas is so difficult sometimes especially when you're trying to build an audience. I would recommend searching for people on X that have a similar niche as you and see what they post and get inspiration from there. Also, maybe take a look at a celebrity's account that you like and see HOW they post rather than WHAT they post.

[Aheli Shah @aheli_ns]

@JDHipHopSince84 @meleebrawler64D No, it's Tom Holland.