Summer is upon us again, bringing with it the heat and the piles of papers that signify final examinations. As …

Learning spaces need to be accessible to all children, so that they get the opportunity to grow into happy, productive adults. But since children have different expectations and needs, a standardised curriculum may not fit the bill. So, while the RTE Act is an important policy that promises to make schooling accessible to all children, alternative spaces where learning happens must also be allowed to coexist.

There’s no disagreeing that education is at the centre of any programme of change. History has shown us that propaganda …

As the New Year dawns, it seems as if everything is in a blur, with time rushing by and anxiety levels of teachers and students rising . There is a mad rush to complete the syllabus and students are asked to finish their assignments on time. This is a process that continues year after year but what keeps the adrenalin flowing is the sense of newness that each year brings with it.

Asking that question places me at risk of repeating a popular advertising line, and one that I am not …

How can we as teachers achieve democracy in our classrooms? As individuals in the larger scheme of things, we often stand helpless, not knowing how we can can bring about the much needed change. But in our classrooms, we can work in minute ways transferring values to our children, helping them to think, act and generally be.

How are teachers concerned with issues on biodiversity? When there is already so much on their minds do they need to add this to their bucket of problems? Yes they do. Teachers are citizens of this world like all of us and more importantly they are the ‘change agents’ with the power to influence a younger generation. And when biodiveristy is part of everything we do–whether it is the food we eat or the trees we walk by on our way to school–it is important that we inspire a concern for it in our students.

Sometimes the routine pattern of our lives does not allow us to see things in a different perspective. Teachers, particularly, need to pull back and take a break. This Teachers’ Day, our contributors explore the idea and the benefits of a getaway.

The rains have finally come and the planet is soaking in some much needed water. While this brings a smile to our faces, there is also the flip side–the problems that schools face. No matter how well prepared we are, the monsoon manages to surprise us every time. Apart from battling runny noses and wet classrooms, teachers have to understand that their students’ lives, during this season, outside the classroom cannot be ignored. Teachers have to learn to acknowledge and work with these realities.

The recent debate on whether political cartoons should be allowed in textbooks grabbed a lot of media attention, but in all this hullaballoo, the voice of teachers was found missing. Teachers’ opinions on the debate would have certainly been an eye-opener. It is time teachers acknowledged that the classroom is an equally important political space and begin to use it in a way that will make students think beyond their textbooks and build a culture of debate and discussion.