Teachers emerging for one thing - joy!

This Saturday, a teacher had a baby in a milk bottle on her lap while she talked about her pedagogy to the group. Are we aware of the different contexts our teachers come from? A lot of teachers in the country are most likely waking up hours before school to cook for the family, wake their children up for school, have a tiffin ready for their spouse, deal with 2-3 tantrums, and then make their way to school. She might get to school late, arrive a bit tired, and not be motivated enough to be herself in class. There has to be more space for teachers in our education system, for their well-being and for them to express themselves. 

This week's happenings included Learning Forward Saturday, which explored how we can encourage teachers to talk more and share classroom moments and reflections. One beautiful instance that a teacher shared was when she was sitting in a garden with her young students. Basking in the warm sun. A butterfly came and sat on her. She asked her students everything they knew about a butterfly – shapes, form, habitat, colours, and lifespan. We discussed how cold books cannot bring to our learning what an experience of sitting together, observation and reflection can. Driving home this point may or may not be easy. Not because the teacher, as an individual, does not realise the importance of real experience; she is often a mother or has had children growing up around her, but it is a systemic failure. Do books hold everything that a student wishes to learn? More importantly, how do they want to know? 

Schools should take the teacher's word more seriously and invite her to the discussions about curriculum and teaching. The system can value her word and empower her. When we have teachers reading with us or them reading by themselves, we are creating a moment of revolution, reflection and unlearning. 

On a different note, I love classroom libraries. There are always moments when you see young minds engage with thoughts, climax and emotions- a way to enter into a deep relationship with them and their learning.  

Neelashi Mangal