November 29, 2025

Bhushan Adhikari

Today I am sharing of a student who made me realize critical thinking can be obtained through a habit of reading. This boy of grade six was called to deliver a speech once. Completely forgetful of his turn to deliver speech, the moment his name was announced, he nervously proceeded to deliver the speech. At first, he stood on the dais fully silent for about two minutes. Meanwhile, everyone began to lose patience on his prolonged silence. However, upon reaching on the dais he was neither agitating nor showing any gestures of restless nervousness. He was just standing silent. Eventually, by the end of his silence, he closed his eyes and smiled.

He started his speech. He began with addressing everyone present. He spoke on coconut. I began to ponder what a unique topic it was. Generally, students delivered speech on human rights, women’s education, afforestation, Dashain, Tihar, etc. His topic was something different from others. He introduced the coconut by describing the shape, the size, the features, the uses, the places grown where it is grown. And he paused for a moment and concluded with this statement.

“We can learn a great lesson from a coconut. In order to survive in this era, we must learn to be tough from the outside and soft, sweet and juicy from the inside just like a coconut.”

What an amazing presence of mind! His silence was for the preparation on the topic. What amazed us was the kid’s thoughtful insight at the end. What an analysis!

Everyone praised him for his speech, especially referring his conclusion. His concluding statement literally remained in my memory. His instant analogy completely moved us to find out how he was capable of doing so. The answer he gave was simple, “While speaking, the concept popped out and I thought it would be good to share.” I asked, “Did you read this anywhere?” He said, “I read only about coconut in an encyclopedia.”