Teachering - it's the real thing
[First published in My Kolkata on June 12, 2024. Read it Online ] [This piece is close to my heart and based on over four decades of practical classroom teaching, observation and working with teachers across the country.] “Hey Teacher, leave them kids alone / All in all you’re just another brick in the wall” sang Pink Floyd. “If you wanted the sky, I would write across the sky in letters… / To Sir, with love.”sang Lulu in the movie. I’m sure we have all met both types of teachers. But this piece is on what makes teachers tick. I was watching a shared video of students of a Kolkata school on an exchange program in Australia. Delightful, made even more so by the brief appearance of an accompanying teacher stepping up on stage and doing a namaste. This got me thinking about teaching and “teachering” - a phrase I invented to explain the myriad things that teachers do other than transact a syllabus. As schools reopen after the vacation, teachers are invited to attend ...