Teaching Tales, Learning Trails

How do the dynamics of a school spill over into the seemingly unconnected events at home, in the community, the nation, the world? Do they? How often do we, as parents or teachers, act like our own parents/teachers? How often do we as students, experience a disconnect between what we are taught to do and what is implicitly expected of us? How much of those influences do we carry with us, as we start families and choose careers? Surely the ambitious CEO as well as the lackadaisical vagabond both went to some school that shaped them — in no small way? What were the teachers of today like — as school goers? What made them turn into teachers? How do parents experience the schools that they send their children to? What can happen if there is an attempt to create a dialogue between teachers and other teachers, teachers and parents, students and teachers?

Are such things even possible? This is a set of ten stories based largely on events that actually unfolded but do not serve to depict entirely accurate portrayals of what transpired — ‘fictionalised fact’. The intent is not so much to produce memoirs as it is to set the reader off on an exploratory journey. The stories are followed by rich discussions between groups of principals, parents, students, teachers, teacher educators and pre-service teachers, as they reflect on the questions raised by these stories.

Neeraja Raghavan, Vineeta Sood and Kamala Anilkumar are teacher educators working with THINKING TEACHER and this is a THINKING TEACHER publication.

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Praise for the book

“A highly enjoyable and stimulating book … probably the only such book available with Indian experience.”
– Sharad Behar, Chief Secretary (retired), Govt of Madhya Pradesh

“What came through quite strongly was the deep emotion which runs below relationships between some teachers and their students … so like the relationships between parents and their children.”
– Amman Madan, Parent

“There are hardly such spaces like these where one gets to express one’s thoughts and also put forth arguments in a simple manner, without being ‘academic’ and without the burden of being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.”
– Nisha Butoliya, Teacher Educator

“Testing Times was the story that I could relate to the most … the most familiar thing was the fear of exams and how we are judged based on the scores we get.”
– Mansi Pai, Student

“The spirited debate of the students’ group touched me greatly …”
– Satyabrata Biswal, Teacher

“I congratulate your team’s efforts and the exemplary initiative that you have taken to bring all the stakeholders into a discussion.”
– Kausalya Srinivasan, Founder-Director of a school

The story Let Me Dance has given me a multidimensional view … by putting me in the shoes of a student and a teacher as well.”
– Shalini Das, Teacher Trainee