We often think of teaching as a way to share our knowledge with others, but I actually find I learn the most when I teach.
~ words from Mrs. N that keep us thinking and wondering ~
Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
Notice what you notice. Wonder what you wonder. There is no quiz, no right way. Read until something stays.
this film has no words. notice what you notice. notice what you wonder. wonder out loud. and don't forget to notice what you feel, too.
Teacher Empathy
I have seen it all: three misbehaving students attacking each other in the rowdiest fight I had ever seen; students providing company, support, and encouragement to their classmates in time of sickness; nerve-racking exam stress; celebrations after the most unexpected wins at the district sports tournament; students from different castes and races, once not even speaking to each other, becoming the best of friends. Over the last 35 years, I have seen more than I could have ever imagined. 35 years ago I entered the classroom for the first time as a teacher. Now as I prepare to retire, I have just one month left. Of everything I have witnessed and been a part of, the one thing I have loved most is seeing and contributing to my students’ growth in confidence, discovery of talents, and development of character. And how wonderful it has been to be a part of this learning journey!
My desire to become a teacher emerged back when I was a student. When I was studying, I was often helping my classmates with their work. I loved to learn, but more than learning I loved to share what I had learned and help my friends with their work. It was these friends that first suggested to me that I would make a great teacher. Since they first suggested it, I have held on to the idea and pursued the dream. After finishing school I went to teacher’s college and in no time at all, the dream began to come to life as I found myself at the helm of a class. We often think of teaching as a way to share our knowledge with others, but I actually find I learn the most when I teach. Through teaching my friends, and in teaching my class, I continue to learn. Even now after 35 years of teaching!
When I was a student, I remember thinking being a teacher couldn’t be too hard. Sure, our class was difficult to manage at times, but helping others learn seemed like an easy and fun way to spend one’s day. Upon entering the classroom, I realized it was much harder than what I imagined. Before I even get to teaching, there is so much to do: planning lessons, marking papers, setting homework and assignments, and even school administrative tasks. Lesson planning and setting homework used to take me at least one hour per grade per day and I had 3 grades I was teaching. Marking homework used to take 5 minutes per student per day. I used to spend hours before school and after school preparing and catching up on all the non-teaching work so that I would be free to focus on my students at school.
Nowadays having taught for so long it’s all just natural to me. The workload is much less and my patience and tolerance has certainly skyrocketed. Just from looking at my students, I know what each person is thinking and scheming about. There are days when I have a group of 30-40 children to teach, but there are also days when my colleagues are absent and I have to look after 60 or even 100 students at once -- across all grades. At these times I usually organize the students by age or grade and we all play games together. While this can get rowdy at times, I have learned to manage it all and these situations are of no concern. I think practice and experience is really the key.
My daughter has been so inspired by the impact her teachers have had on her life and chose to pursue the path of teaching in universities. It’s been a wonderful journey for her as well, and I hope many people have the opportunity to experience the joy and satisfaction of being a teacher. And what an absolutely wonderful learning experience these 35 years have been!
Have you ever thought about what it is like to be a teacher?” Encourage the group to step into the shoes of a teacher as you discuss.
One way to do this could be through leading a short visualization where the group closes their eyes, and you walk them through a day in a teacher’s life. In your life!
Watch and read “I am Mrs. N” above and in the story tab. Explore why teachers are important. Then discuss the challenges of being a teacher as well as the various objectives a teacher has to achieve daily, weekly, and yearly.
We could begin with discussing the various reasons why teachers are important. Once there is clarity on this we could move into asking the group to share the challenges they see in being a teacher.
Ask the group to reflect on the challenges a teacher faces and what their role (as students) is in these. How are they contributing to the challenges?
How are they contributing to the solutions? Could we be doing more? Give the group time to honestly step back and think about the various challenges of being a teacher that they have shared, that you have shared, and what part they play in these.
“How can we better appreciate teachers in our lives?” You could discuss ideas through which we can show our appreciation for all the effort and energy teachers put into their role. This could be in written form, a skit, a song, and so much more.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Most Important Job
I believe teachers have the potential to act as the pillars of human society. And yet one of the biggest challenges my school faces is a lack of teachers. And it’s not just my school -- so many schools around India and even around the world face this challenge. The teaching profession may not pay as well as other roles, which is a challenge in itself, but there is no doubt how pivotal this role is. Good teachers enable good students, and good students can lead us to a better society, nation, and world.
How is the role of a teacher important?
What do you believe their role in society is?
Why do you think there is such a large shortage of teachers?
Why do you think many people do not choose to follow this path?
Is this a challenge only in India, or in other parts of the world as well?
What does the challenge look like globally?
How many more excellent teachers do we need?
In my school there are about 100 students ranging from Grades 1-6. Ideally we would have one teacher per grade, but my school only has three teachers. Three! Often there will be just two of us leading classes while the third is in meetings, trainings, or completing administrative work. One of my friends in a nearby school has it even tougher. While we have three teachers for 100 students, she alone has a class of 100! I wish more people would recognize the value and importance in teaching and choose to walk this path.
I’d love to learn more about how the teacher to student ratio in your class compares with my friend’s class and mine.
What do you think is the ideal ratio?
Why is that?
How can we get there?
If we need more teachers, how can we inspire one another to see the value of, and even consider a career in, the teaching profession?
I treat every one of my students as one of my own children. I encourage and support them but I’m also strict with them, just as I am with my own daughter. Ultimately, I want all of them succeed. Every single one. Most of my time and attention is focused on the students that are falling behind. Many of these students don’t receive support from anywhere else, so I believe it is doubly important to help them. I also enable students who are ahead (like one of my very motivated students, Monica) to support these students.
And it works! There was one such student who was particularly behind in his academics and failing almost all of his exams. Many teachers doubted whether he would even complete his primary education. But with continued support and encouragement, he not only completed his primary and high school education -- he finished his higher education too. And now he has gone on to become chairman of a large, well respected organization! These stories remind me how important it is to give whatever I can to help every student thrive.
I often remind my students that they each have potential to succeed in anything they put their mind to.
It just takes effort.
Practice and a good support network help too.
Do you ever find yourself struggling with certain things?
Certain academic concepts?
Maybe in a sport?
Or another activity?
How could you improve in the areas you are struggling?
What more could you do?
Who could help you?
When I was a student I used to think school was just about learning academics. I now realize how my teachers taught me many, many things that have shaped who I am, far beyond what we studied in class: to care for others, to respect one another, to respect elders, to be neat and organized, and to stand up for and believe in ourselves, to name a few. One quality in particular that I hope my students will imbibe from me is punctuality. I make it a point to never be late for anything, and in fact to be a few minutes early. Always. When my students see me going somewhere, they know it is time they get moving too. Nowadays nearly all my students arrive at school and their classes on time -- even early!
What do you see as the purpose of school?
Why do you come to school?
To learn?
To pass exams?
To get a job?
To make friends?
To follow a dream?
What are some of the things outside of academics that you have learned in school?
Over the years I have seen and appreciated the importance of nutrition in a child’s education. In 2001, an organization called Akshaya Patra began providing free meals for our students at lunchtime. This has had a huge impact on our students. 20 or so out of 60 of our students used to be anemic (low in iron). As a result they were very weak, low in energy, and often fainted. Nowadays 95% of our students have good iron levels and are full of energy. Sometimes I think they might even have too much energy! Their concentration levels are much better, fewer students drop out of school, and their attendance is higher. We used to have about half our students absent every day; nowadays at least 90 out of 100 are present. For some of our students, this lunch is the only meal they receive all day. Having the mid-day meal program means our students are well nourished with healthy meals for a healthy mind.
How does food impact our learning at school?
Do you think it is important to consider what foods we eat?
Why?
What kinds of foods are good for us to eat?
I would love to show my class the various impacts of the mid-day meal program.
Could you use equivalent fractions to compare the number students that were anemic and attended school before and after the introduction of the mid-day meals program?
What improvement has taken place?
Want to create a calm and focused space to start the conversation? Set up desks or chairs in a circle and start the session with 2 minutes of collective silence.
Will you ever consider pursuing a career in teaching?” You could ask the class for a show of hands for those who would consider this option. Following this, you could ask certain people why or why not they chose their answer.
Explore humanity’s need for teachers: “What is the role of a teacher? How many students are in the world? How many teachers? Do we have enough teachers for each student?” Read “Mrs.
N Loves to Teach” at https://betterworlded.org/#experience-the-content. As you read the story, reflect on the role of a teacher. Mrs. N believes teachers have the potential to act as the pillars of human society. What does she mean by this? Mrs. N also believes that good teachers lead to good students, ultimately leading to a better society and world. She believes teachers have the potential to change the world! This is a great way to open a discussion on the purpose of a teacher and the various roles they play. Here is a good place to integrate math. You could ask the students to research how many students exist in the world and how many teachers exist. What is the ratio? How does this ratio compare with the student to teacher ratio in their class? In Mrs. N’s class? In Mrs. N’s friend’s class? In other parts of the world? You could discuss what the class believes the optimal ratio is and calculate how much the ratio needs to improve by. You might have a discussion on the following question: “Why aren’t enough people seeing the value in, and choosing a career in, teaching?” For further math you could also look at the role nutrition has in education and helping teachers fulfill their role effectively. You could calculate the changes in iron levels and attendance before and after the Akshaya Patra Mid-Day Meal Program was introduced. You could do this in a number of ways including: deriving and subtracting fractions, creating and comparing equivalent fractions, and calculating percentages before and after as well as the percentage change. You could consider using bar charts or other graphs to illustrate the change visually.
In small groups ask the class to come up with ideas as to how we could address the global shortage of teachers and inspire one another to see the value of – and even consider a career in – teaching.
You could encourage the group to brainstorm a long list of ideas. Following this, you could help them narrow down and choose one idea. They can then develop the idea further. What would the idea look like? Who would it target? Where would it take place? How would it all work? If you need suggestions, ideas might include creating and sharing videos about the importance of teaching. We could even organize a video competition and hold a screening of the top videos. Other ideas could be to create posters, or to write and perform a skit or play in their school or community about the importance of teaching. Maybe they could start recognizing teachers in their school for their contributions. Or the class could start Gratitude Days! At the end, encourage groups to present their ideas back to the class.
“How have our views or perceptions about teachers changed or stayed the same? Would any of those who previous would never pursue teaching now consider a path in teaching?” This could be a moment to reflect on the group’s perceptions.
What are the stereotypes we may have previously thought about teaching? Have any of these changed? Where do these stereotypes come from?
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Bridge The Empathy Gap
Have some of your teachers been role models to you in the way mine were to me? Who? How so? What qualities or aspects about them do you look up to? How can you live by those principles too?
Technically speaking, I am the Headmistress at Malleshwaram School here in Bangalore where I teach with two other teachers. I say technically because even though I hold this title, the three of us work very closely together to lead the school while teaching all the students. Hiring, enrollments, school tours, and government reports. Classroom cleaning, grounds maintenance, fixing lights and cleaning toilets. Lesson planning, marking papers, setting assessments, coaching sports teams, preparing for cultural programs. And most important of all: teaching.
You might wonder how we make all of this happen. The key to teamwork for us is trust. We can trust that the others will be doing what needs to get done, even if we can’t see them or speak to them in a busy moment. Some people call this a no-look pass; we can delegate without even looking at each other. There is just no need for formal designation of roles or responsibilities when you’re incredibly proactive and working in a tight-knit team.
Ideally we need to have at least two of us consistently teaching to give students the attention they require. Do you have any suggestions as to how I could best use my time? How I could best lead my schedule? If you ran a school and had to do all of these tasks with only three people, how would you allocate your time (by minutes, hours, or days in a week)? How would you do this at your school based on your schedule? How would you be as effective as possible with your team?
Working alongside Mrs. N has been one of the best experiences I have had. She has been like a mother to me, coaching and guiding me the whole way. And even though I am almost 15 years younger than her, she still treats me as an equal. That’s some real humility. There are many things I look up to and have learned from Mrs. N. She knows how to treat children and has a special bond with each of them! Every single child listens to her and respects her immensely. Mistakes are picked up on immediately and Mrs. N corrects students in such a way that they don’t even feel like they made a mistake -- they just want to be better. Her love and care for each child has such depth. So much so that numerous past students in the neighboring high school will drop by after school just to have a conversation and say goodbye to her before they leave home. She’s certainly left her mark on us all.
The love that Mrs. N shares is remarkable. Not only for her students, but also for every person she interacts with. I am striving to be like her in this way. What about you? Are there ways you could be more loving to your teachers? To your classmates? How so?
It was recently National Teachers Day here in India and Mrs. N received an award recognizing her as one of the top teachers in our entire district. When she received her award, the entire audience just would not stop clapping. All of us were so proud and happy. I cannot think of a more deserving person for such an award.
Teachers Day is a great event that happens annually, but I don’t think we value and celebrate the role of teachers enough here in India. What about the other 364 days?! Are teachers better celebrated in your country? What do you do? What more could we all do to recognize and acknowledge the role of the teachers in our lives?
Check out this lesson plan that works beautifully for Mrs. N's story!
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
If a moment stayed, follow it. If a question rose up, hold it. The quiet teaching is still teaching.
Three or four real stories woven into one lesson, your topic, your time. Mrs. N is one. The weaver finds the others, threads the math, the literacy, the values, the reflection.
Open the weaver →