Michelle C
Is good quality education available to everyone equitably? Learning is continual and an ongoing process and knowledge has to be acquired but the path to open access and free knowledge is not entirely straight. Open Education believes in a world where everyone, everywhere has access to high quality education and training they want; where education is seen as an essential, shared, and collaborative social good. But there are barriers to this goal. The truth is that real knowledge is not free. The aim of this article and the others covered under this theme is to question the commodification of knowledge, how it denies access to millions and what educationists and practitioners can do to bring openness in education.

Jeny Rapheal

Change is constant. Change is inevitable. Yet most of us are afraid of change, the developments they bring in our lives. This is sad because change is essential to the process of learning, to our evolution as thinking beings. It is only the motivated student that looks upon the changes in the journey of learning as an important means to the end; for the uninterested student these changes are unwanted hurdles and this attitude inhibits their learning. And it is up to the teacher to convert the uninterested. For this the teacher should herself keep abreast of the changes taking place in the world of education.

Ranjini Krishnaswamy
In a school’s academic year, how are things planned and executed with precision? From teaching, testing and evaluating all that needs to be evaluated and including all the co- curricular activities that form part of the curriculum, it is indeed a tall order. Given that our country has three national syllabi and two international curricula, there are bound to be conflicts with so many different boards following different calendars. Do schools have any flexibility in planning their calendars? How do school heads face these enormous challenges that crop up? Does a packed academic calendar result in student fatigue? Do schools create spaces to facilitate students’ emotional and spiritual well-being? Our cover story by a leading principal and the additional articles accompanying it throw light on some of these issues so that both school heads and teachers can plan out their days more efficiently.

Simran Luthra
What is teaching philosophy? How important is it to have one? Does it change as a teacher grows in her profession? What influences a teacher’s teaching philosophy? We went searching for these answers to five teachers from very different streams of education.

Shailesh Shirali
Can a school have regular classes on culture? Can it be made a part of the school’s curriculum? Culture is shaped partly by our attitude and behaviours which we replicate from society. But most of this learning falls outside the curriculum. In this article which is the lead story in this issue, the author argues that there are many other things we learn along with geography, history or science or math. Students learn that not all people are equal, that some are rich, some are poor, some are capable, others struggle etc. But what they do not learn is self- awareness. It is this that must be taught to children.

Ardra Balachandran
Gone are the days when teachers were revered in society and teaching considered a sacred profession. Today teachers are a harassed lot. While expectations from teachers are huge, most of them are shorn off even their basic rights. Salaries are delayed, they are overworked, are abused by parents and school managements. If we expect our teachers to do their jobs perfectly then let us create an environment in which they are taken care of. Let us put in place proper grievance redressal systems so that no teacher is denied justice.

Shweta Sharan
The CBSE’s attempt to mandate NCERT textbooks across India has received mixed responses. While the Madras High Court has stayed the HRD Ministry’s order, there is every possibility that NCERT books may become compulsory at some point. If it does, the impact on the publishing industry will be significant. But will it impact teaching and learning outcomes too? Teacher Plus spoke to several school principals, teachers, publishing experts and parents to get their views on this. While the poor availability of NCERT textbooks is cited as the reason for schools prescribing textbooks from private publishers, many parents suspect that private schools and private publishers have an unholy nexus of sorts. In the midst of all this, there is an urgent need to introspect on the widely prevalent textbook culture itself.

Alok Mathur

What makes a teacher depends largely on the relationship that a teacher builds with his students. A relationship that leads the teacher to observe his students, identify their needs, understand them and work with them to help them emerge as good human beings; a relationship that is reciprocal in which a teacher gains as much as he gives.

Sheela Ramakrishnan
Every professional needs to be a continuous learner if he or she has to cope with the dynamism prevalent in the world today . Teachers too need to keep themselves updated about new developments in the field, new materials and changes in the curriculum. Today’s educator needs to enable students who can learn to learn. In this milieu, therefore, it has become absolutely essential for professional update sessions to happen in every school. This issue of the magazine explores the concept of continuing education through the framework of in- service workshops. Do workshops really work? How can schools invest time and the will to train their teachers? How can resource persons deliver what is most required? Here are a range of perspectives that can offer some solutions.

Fiona Vaz

Empathy is perhaps the element that makes us different from animals, makes us human beings. Our ability to not just tolerate but accept “the other” is a very important aspect of who we will become. In order to have a better, more peaceful and happy society it is necessary that we create environments that nurture and grow the empathetic feelings that children are naturally wired for.

Madhavan Mukund
What exactly is a computer science class? Schools need to go beyond word processors and spreadsheets and teach students how to construct documents and effectively collect and organise data. Students need to be taught about security, privacy and ethics and to be responsible citizens in an Internet driven world. Basically the curriculum must be made more relevant to the students. Computing or computational thinking is what teachers should be teaching. Computing is about problem solving and at its core is the idea of an algorithm – about how to solve a problem. Teachers and curriculum developers need to think more on how this essential idea can be conveyed without disrupting the existing system.

Neerja Singh

A school’s ability to provide transport to its students has already become one of the main considerations for parents when choosing a school for their children. What involves a school transport system? How do schools build and manage efficient transport? What measures do they take to ensure the safety of their students? Teacher Plus takes a look at this very important link in the chain of education.

Lakshmi Karunakaran

Here are some questions that most schools need to ask : Is there value in having a school counsellor? Is there understanding of the role of the counsellor? Should teachers be trained as counsellors too or should there be trained counsellors different from the teachers ? Since the teacher is the first point of contact and can reach out to the child easily, simple issues and mentoring can be handled by the teacher and this could be the way forward in future. But, there is also a significant need for a professional counsellor whom children can approach in confidence and without fear of any social stigma. Our cover story is a call for the entire school community to create a culture that is committed to treating all students with respect and sensitivity.

Gita Krenek

Rules are important for no society can function without them. But insistence on blind obedience of rules only encourages passive acceptance. As responsible influential adults in the lives of children, teachers have to ensure that they nurture critically thinking children who understand and imbibe the values behind those rules. And perhaps the best way to do this is perhaps to become role models they can emulate.

Chintan Girish Modi

Are human beings capable of achieving great feats? Can a heroic act be attempted by ordinary individuals? How can we nurture heroism in the classroom? Heroism is an attitude , the act of heroism is being able to take the jump into the unknown, to take a stand, to ask why or even to challenge the status quo. Can these attributes or heroic habits be developed ? Can a teacher be a hero by willing to take risks in terms of the pedagogic choices she makes, by her presence in the classroom, in the way she relates to her students? Answers to these questions can help decide whether we are all heroes in waiting.

Jessica Hoffmann Davis

The arts have always had to fight for their space in the curriculum. To justify the presence of the arts we talk about the value they add in our learning of the “more important” subjects. While it is true that we can learn math from the beats of the drum, language through song and science from works of art, perhaps arts should be taught not for what they do in service of other subjects but for the intrinsic value they bring to us as human beings.

Ardra Balachandran

CCTVs in the classroom, cameras in the toilets…. can this happen in schools in our country? Make no mistake. Slowly, but surely, Big Brother keeping a watch on teachers and children is becoming a reality. This idea of school surveillance is our Cover Story this month and our correspondent spoke to several teachers and students to get their view on this invasive mechanism. The use of CCTVs in classrooms and schools may have improved safety systems, but using them to monitor teacher activity has raised a few hackles. Is surveillance or monitoring necessary to run a system? How far can one go and when does it become invasive? The questions are many and the answers difficult to comprehend.

G. Gautama

By striking a different path in the field of education, alternative ideas have made a space for themselves.There are more people experimenting today than before. But unlike what is popularly known as the “mainstream”, alternative ideas haven’t yet managed to take strong root. Some alternative ideas have succeeded, others have faltered. What is it that helps sustain an idea? Is there a model that can be followed?

Susheela Punitha
Devraj, who teaches undergraduates, is entrusted with an additional task of taking evening classes in the absence of another teacher. Does Devraj live up to his new role or does he find teaching burdensome? How does he tackle the unruly set of students that he sets about to teach? Does he manage to win their hearts with his patience and motivated talk? This story wins the first place.

Mehak Siddiqui

The teachers of today are no longer confined to the four walls of a classroom. The role of the teacher has become multi-dimensional now from its earlier uni dimensional avatar. More and more teachers are finding that they can put their skills and experience to use even outside the classroom. Whether as examiners for standardized tests, curriculum designers or trainers, teachers have these and many more options to choose from.

Garima Bansal
The introduction of CCE has compelled teachers to assess students’ learning levels continuously, provide timely feedback and remediation. This has increased the workload of teachers leading to stress and overwork. In this scenario, the notion of outsourcing assessment by schools to external bodies has gained ground. What are the pros and cons of this kind of outsourced testing? Is it a convenient tool to assess students’ learning levels comprehensively? Are all schools able to invest in technology and human resources? Finally, what are the positive effects for the teaching- learning process?

Alex M Thomas

Economics textbooks teach students only the now popular and mainstream economics otherwise called ‘neo classical economics’. But studying this will be a uni-dimensional way of understanding the subject especially when several noted economists have charted out different ways of understanding the subject. So to understand what economics is we have to unlearn what we learnt as economics and explore the subject in several different ways.

Devika Nadig
Most schools have a purpose and goal in their educational process that can be broadly divided into economic and social. This is towards attaining what is called ‘holistic development’ of the child. But how can the schools realign their goals to include certain individual aspirations of some students ? This is something that needs attention and is now neglected. Here are some smart strategies that schools can employ given the complexity of achieiving the two important goals — one that is school driven and the other that is individualised

Sharmila Govande The best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky – Margaret McMillan A young preteen couldn’t contain her excitement. While she enthusiastically told me about her trip, what caught my attention was the overall impact the trip had on her self-belief and the resulting confidence levels. The highly spirited […]

Vijay A. Singh
Competitive events related to academics such as the Olympiads in math and science celebrate the best young minds in high school. They are an excellent educational resource and need to be used wisely. School managements and teachers must realise that they offer a glorious opportunity for students to be exposed to the beauty that lies in the subjects especially mathematics. Our Cover theme gives an overview of the Olympiads and how teachers can nurture their students to participate in these events.

Milan Kaur

With the Internet at their disposal and a facilitator to guide them if necessary, can children become their own teachers? Are self-organized learning environments (SOLE) as proposed by Dr. Sugata Mitra really possible? Teacher Plus participated in a SOLE session at Gocharan in West Bengal to see how a SOLE Lab works, how children learn there, what the role of the grannies who provide the stimulating environment is and it turned out to be quite an interesting experience.

Krishna Kumar
How can a teacher teach like Gandhi? If a teacher wants children to be happy and self- reliant in their lives, she or he must give them experiences that require all-round care and exercise of responsibility. This explains in simple terms the Gandhian idea of education. Read up this article to get new and fresh insights into how your teaching can be made more delightful.

Rohan D’Souza

Which of us doesn’t like a laugh now and then. And children, with fewer tensions and problems, laugh unabashedly. When we all enjoy a little humour, is it worth looking at how we can make use of our ‘funny bones’ in pedagogy? Also how important is it to inculcate in children the ability to laugh at themselves and others without denigrating them?

Mounik Shankar Lahiri
Do schools which serve a critical function in society also turn out to be spaces that are faced with different kinds of power struggles? What is the kind of internal dynamics that pervades the school space? Does the interpersonal relationship between teachers and other members of the staff, or the power struggle between the teacher and the student in the classroom impact the nature and quality of learning? Our cover story this month is an attempt to acknowledge that though politics is an unavoidable reality in any institutional set up, school leaders need to be aware of how it operates and how it can be regulated.

Neerja Singh

Every book, every film, or every idea that a teacher comes across is a learning instrument for her. As part of its Teacher’s Day offering, Teacher Plus brings you a bouquet of resources that teachers have learnt from and recommend to fellow teachers. Neeraja Singh, former teacher and now a writer, talks about the impact that the book Dibs in search of self can have on teachers. Reading this book will help one understand what an enabling relationship between teachers and their students can help achieve. The book is a child therapy classic that sends out a strong message–never give up on any child.