NPOs are catalysts of change for India’s children, their childhood, and learning. As partners to different public or private institutes, we bring policy into action, and vision into reality. But we have the potential to play another crucial role, an amplifier of the voices of people who are the center of this change, whose lives we are closely witnessing and impacting.
I am Vidhi from Simple Education Foundation and today I have taken over the Bachpan newsletter to share about a recent collaborative event “Voices of Teaching” with EkStep Foundation (as a Bachpan Manao, Badhte Jao collabaction) which enabled us to create a platform that brings voices that matter to the forefront.
The Intent
Children spend 1/3rd of their day in school with teachers. They know children, their learning needs, and patterns the best. The acknowledgment of this fundamental truth became the foundation of Voices of Teaching: A Space for Teachers, by Teachers.
At Simple Education Foundation, we build a 360-degree ecosystem of support for teachers. Through coaching, training, tools, and resources we ensure India’s Government school teachers are equipped to lead safe, fun, and effective learning experiences for children. Our work across Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Punjab is informed by the needs of teachers, i.e. we design hyper-local and needs-based solutions for Government schools and teachers. This is both a self-reinforcing design principle and a core belief we carry: Decisions in education, on children’s needs, curriculum, and teacher training cannot be taken without teachers’ voices.
Over the years, I have heard multiple stories of teachers, and stories by teachers, each pointing to three facts:
- Teachers have a vast amount of knowledge & experience
- They are grossly underrepresented in top-level decision-making
- They are not celebrated and acknowledged in proportion to their effort
This became the foundation for designing the event.
The Design
Collaboration for Diversity
To ensure the event was as representative as possible, we looped in other non-profit organisations working in education to inspire teachers they met with. This also fundamentally expanded the definition of inspiring and impactful, as different geographies require teachers to show up in different ways.
We hosted teachers from five States, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Karnataka, Chhatisgarh, and Maharashtra. One of the teachers shared, on meeting others, “You all have made somewhat of a mini India here”. While we have a long way to go, she did understand the aspiration.
Stories at the Centre
The event had two spaces of conversation and interaction: A Joy of Teaching: A Panel Discussion and a Living Library. Both are intentionally designed to ensure teachers can reflect on their journeys, celebrate themselves, and share actionable strategies with peers.
It was crucial for us, that the panel be free-flowing and a conversation rather than a Q&A and we are grateful for Reshma Bachwani, Illume, who pulled that off. The Living Library gave teachers different prompts that allowed them to authentically share their teaching experiences, aha moments and what keeps them motivated.
Offering Tangible Learning Resources
Through the space we wanted to exhibit that an exchange of stories and experiences can lead to tangible learning. In this case, practices and mindsets that teachers offered each other in sharing how they have navigated classroom challenges.
We prepared a post-session toolkit for all teachers and also collated teachers’ stories and practices in cards, which we will soon be disseminating.
The Learnings
“I never thought I’d be able to share my story, thank you all so much”
– Ayesha Ma’am
Voices of Teaching made all of us see India’s teachers from new perspectives, and learn about pieces of their lives and professions that mainstream media or research has yet to cover, but is crucial to inform how we design teacher professional development.
Reshma Bachwani, who anchored the Joy of Teaching Panel on both days, shares some of our key insights from the event which we as practitioners can be mindful of:
The context and stories matter
Whether in life, theatre, or education, the backstory is always compelling. While some changes in the teaching profession are evident to observers, the intricate dynamics and daily realities of educators frequently go unrecognized. Missing them is missing opportunities to create stronger solutions.
Teachers are a multi-faceted support system for children
The role of teachers today has become an exercise of filling in the *blanks* that they attempt every day as per the need of the hour. They become counselors, advocates, mentors, and friends — based on the situation. This evolution mirrors the rapid changes in our society, and the teacher professional development ecosystem needs to acknowledge and cater to this.
It takes a big heart to teach little minds
Creating safe environments where students feel comfortable expressing themselves is essential, particularly for those from challenging backgrounds. Recognizing this critical aspect of teaching requires support from civil society, which plays a pivotal role in promoting and sustaining such environments. Moreover, it also requires empowering and supporting teachers’ well-being who are present physically and emotionally for children every day.
The Stories
These learnings have come from the beautiful stories shared by teachers during the panel and library sessions. Every story was filled with learnings, insights, and seeing sides of a teacher’s life that we wouldn’t have otherwise known about.
Here are a few of our favorite stories that we wanted to share with you:
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