For this anniversary issue, Teacher Plus asked its contributors to share one ‘Big Idea’ that could transform education, an idea that could be implemented, or an idea that teachers have lived with for long but have not seen it take shape. So, here we offer 25 ideas, big and small, which can be put to work in your own spaces.

Dyuti Basu
Geography is concerned with aything and everything that is related to the Earth and people. It is a very vibrant and exciting subject. But in schools it ends up being dry and boring. Geography needs to be redeemed in schools and for that teachers have to show students how the subject is interwoven with all other disciplines and our lives.

Santhosh Padmanabhan
Why is physical education not seen as a priority area by most school managements? Why is it viewed as a luxury and a wasteful exercise that does not add value to a child’s mental development? A schooling system that sees sports and physical activity as an integral part of the classroom and the life of its students and staff creates a healthy community that learns joyfully. Our cover theme this time explores the idea of how the pursuit of sport can impart some of the greatest life lessons that there are to learn and calls for integrating sports into the curriculum.

Kanupriya Jhunjhunwala

When a person joins the teaching profession, is he/she ever given a job description? Apart from a vague mention of the responsibilities the school expects from the new teacher, there is nothing concrete said or written. Does the state have rules and guidelines about the teachers in its schools? Are there stipulated work hours for teachers? What is a teacher actually meant to do and what does he/she end up doing in the course of his/her work as a teacher?

Simran Luthra and Mounik Shankar Lahiri
Are schools assuming a more corporate-like structure with teachers taking on newer roles and responsibilities? Why is this so and is this a way to create more opportunities for teachers to complement classroom pedagogy? Is this an ‘additional’ responsibility or is there huge value in being inspired from these corporate-like practices?

Divya Choudary

Once upon a time education was considered a service but today it is a business like any other; started to make a profit. With more and more schools opening up, marketing them to parents and kids is becoming necessary. With many schools concentrating on the razzle-dazzle, is the quality of education taking a beating?

Vandana Aggarwal
School uniforms or dress codes remain the preferred manner of clothing in many nations around the world, many of which base their school system on the Western model. Different countries and communities have different approaches to uniforms. The uniform as it is worn today has seen a lot of change over the centuries. What remains constant is that it was present then and it is present now and it is still following its primary principle which is to promote team spirit, discipline and equality among all students. A look at the history of uniforms.

Hriday Ranjan

In the era of technology in education, how relevant are textbooks? As against the visual graphics of the multimedia, can the textbook still hold its own? How much have the textbooks changed and how dependent are we on them now? Find the answers in this times cover story.

Rohit Dhankar

Can reflective practice be taught to student teachers? How can this be done? One way would be to ensure that teacher educators are also reflective practitioners who have a clear idea of reflective practice. Another pre-requisite would be to have a curriculum and pedagogy that is suitable to develop reflection and mastery over the practice.

Over the years, education has undergone a lot of transformation. Today it is more open, allows for a more varied …

Mini Krishnan

Is there a place for religion in schools? How will children benefit if introduced and explained fairly in classrooms? The ideal way to go about it would be to focus on peace education. But without value education, there can be no peace, so they have to be integrated into mainstream classroom study. Children need a space to express their emotions and talk about things that trouble them.

Jayanthi Narayan

What is inclusive education? Who are the stakeholders involved? What is the status of inclusive education in India and what do we need to do? Find answers to these questions in this times cover story.

A subject that is fun and exciting,chemistry combines colour, sound and smells. It is the study of reactions, of the relationship between structure and properties. Knowing the properties, you can infer the structure and knowing the structure, you can infer the properties. This is what teachers must try and convey to students.

Maya Menon
My mother and her much-older siblings walked long distances every day in the hot sun or pouring rain to …

Sangeeta Menon
A school is more than just a space for learning and teaching is more than just delivering a prescribed syllabus. Education is all about nurturing the child’s sense of self which several alternative schools are doing in their small and imaginative ways. Will the Right to Education Act take away their right to exist because they do not fulfill the norms laid down within its framework? Will these alternative schools be forced to shut down by the end of this month if they do not comply with the provisions of the RTE Act? Some of the concerns raised by these schools are genuine and need to be heard if there truly has to be reform in education. These individuals and groups wanting to bring in fresh perspectives into education must be given their space.

Ketaki Chowkhani

In India, sexuality education has been restricted to a couple of chapters in the biology textbook. Whether the school or the home, people have been happy to scratch the surface of this important subject and not traverse beyond. It is necessary that schools and homes become progressive and comfortable environments where children can find answers to all their questions without fear and hesitation.

Gopal Midha
What is practice? What is the magic change that it can bring about? How can it be rescued from turning into a dull and meaningless chore? What do students think about it? Our cover story tries to answer some of these questions and suggests ways in which practice tasks can be restructured.

Kamala Krishnaswamy and Ruchi Vaidya
Food or ‘annam’ is the basic necessity of life and existence and ‘annam’ is “aham”. We …

Simran Luthra and Mounik Shankar Lahiri

Democracy in /and education have long been buzzwords in any discourse in education. But to what extent have these concepts been understood? This article tries to demystify these concepts and touches upon why democratic education is desirable, what hinders democratic practices in education and what teachers and educators can do to practice democratic education.

Chintan Girish Modi

When a child fails, to a large extent he ends up getting blamed for the failure. Sometimes fingers are pointed at the teacher. An already upset child is labelled ‘lazy’, ‘dumb’, ‘stupid’ and we succeed in demoralizing the child. Instead have we ever asked, ‘Why is the child not interested?’, ‘How differently can I teach to create an interest?’, ‘How can I encourage my child and commend him for what he can do?’ As parents, teachers, and schools who have an interest in the child we have to take equal responsibility and help a child overcome his failure.

Sheela Ramakrishnan

As teachers, many of us have often wanted to take time out for ourselves, to indulge in some quiet time, to pull back from the children whom we teach and just think about where we are heading. In our journey as educators, this ‘me time ‘ becomes essential, not only to recharge our batteries but also to become better professionals. Our cover story this month is about how teachers have managed to go on a voyage of self- discovery and personal growth.

Sangeetha Sriram and Manasi Karthik
More and more parents are taking the courageous decision of not sending their kids to school and instead finding learning spaces in their own homes and surroundings for their kids. Why are parents choosing to walk this bold new path? Find the answers in this times cover story.

Ninad Jagdish

System Dynamics is a method of study that has been used for over two decades in schools in the US, Germany and other Scandinavian countries. This method can be useful in a country like India where there are several issues around learner-centric education. The current article touches just the surface of what system dynamics is and how it can be used in schools, but it gives a taste of just what might be in store!

Makhan L Tickoo
Background: Two major changes have taken place over the last six decades in Indian ELT. Both have made …

Indira Vijaysimha
Why do most women opt for teaching as a career? Is it because it gives them the flexibility to perform their other roles as homemakers and caregivers while also doing a respectable job? This element of constraint accounts for the fact that many women would have taken up other career choices but ended up in the teaching sector. To empower women teachers and to bring equitable status, it is important that the teachers’ roles, their lives, their perception, their problems and voices are understood and heard. Only when women teachers are empowered , can education play a transformative role.

Chintan Girish Modi

Did you know of a bully as a child? Chances are you didn’t. But your child who is going to school today probably does. Bullying is becoming more and more common in schools even in India and after a couple of fatal bullying incidents a lot of schools are waking up to this fact. Schools are putting policies in place to prevent and discourage bullying. Teacher Plus interviews three schools to see what schools are doing to tackle this problem.

Divya Choudary
After tuition classes and coaching centres, we now have after-school learning centres that use contemporary digital technology to make the teaching-learning less hierarchical and more student-centric. These centres aim to foster inquiry, reasoning and keep students and teachers engaged in the learning process. This article takes a look at what happens at these learning centres.

Gopal Midha
What are lesson plans? Why are they important? Read a brief history on lesson plans and their importance. Also find guidelines on how you can develop your own effective lesson plans.

Kanchi Kohli
Where does the problem of environmental degradation lie? The land mass around us is fast diminishing, water wars are already agenda items of heated political debates and the world has warmed up to the idea of climate change. For each one of us, locating the problem of environmental crisis is crucial. Kanchi Kohli helps to give us an understanding of the issues at hand.

Teaching in a residential school–how different is it from teaching in a day school? What kind of spirit and attitude should teachers who teach in residential schools have? Are teachers who live on campus more stressed or satisfied at the end of a day? We set out to find answers to these questions and more.