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One of the features of schools is that teachers are expected
to do what they are allocated. Any additional initiative is
purely by chance or a product of the rhetoric and goading.
Creating an atmosphere where the well-being of the teacher is
one of the key concerns is generally regarded as too difficult in
the face of various other institutional priorities that demand
attention. One way of side-stepping the question is through the
time-honoured sentiment that the school is for the child and
the teacher must offer himself or herself to be consumed without
an iota of the self. Beyond humane working conditions, to look
for anything else seems almost a sacrilege. And yet we know
that it is only a continually growing, fully alive human being
who can create an environment that is truly nurturing and
challenging for the child. Krishnamurti, in his writings and
discussions with teachers, has indicated that the school is for
the teacher and the student to learn together. The schools
founded by Krishnamurti thus attempt to create more than just
a good working environment for the teacher. There is a palpable
invitation, not to rest with the given set of guidelines, but to
move beyond the confines of one’s experience. Each school
perhaps attempts to nurture its teachers in its own way.
This article gives an account of the practices and
programmes aimed at teacher growth, as they have evolved at
The School in Chennai. It also attempts to raise some of the
issues involved in creating an atmosphere in school for ‘teachers-who-are-learners’.
Staff Meetings
Staff meetings are the one forum where all the adult
participants in a school meet on a periodic basis. We have felt 64
that these meetings play a crucial role in the creation of a
challenging and nurturing atmosphere at school.
Staff meetings are held once a fortnight, on alternate
Saturdays through the year. These are 4-hour meetings with a
tea break, where the whole staff body meets, from teachers of
kindergarten to higher secondary classes, including teachers of
physical education, music, art and crafts. The first part of the
meeting is a ‘general discussion’ where wide educational
questions are taken up for discussion. These can be initiated by
any staff member (and not always by the head), and it may be
done in different ways. Some days a Krishnamurti Video may
be watched together, and at other times a passage read or a
question elaborated as a starting point.
The second part of the staff meeting has to do with business
matters and details of the school’s functioning. Issues from the
junior, middle or senior school are raised, spoken about and
decided upon. Sometimes a certain point may lead to a lot of
discussion of a philosophic nature. This is given room to develop,
for such a discussion helps each one to learn the various views
that are possible and also we become aware of the many points
of view that exist. However, unlike the previous part of the
meeting, it is not enough to merely discuss them. A decision is
often needed and decisions impinge on what one is expected to
do. What usually happens when a group of people need to decide
on a functional matter is that there are a few options that emerge;
most often, one person decides and everyone else accepts the
decision. Sometimes problems with the decisions may be voiced.
Some corrections may be made. However, this process could be
very much more dynamic and challenging if an attempt is made
not to find easy agreement but to find an honestly debated
solution. Having stated that ‘easy agreement is dangerous’, how
do we then move forward? Is it through authority, voting or
consensus? Or is there an intelligent way of moving ahead in the
discussion, where positions are given up and the best decision
for the school emerges out of the combined perceptions, through
the consideration of many minds? This remains one of our
ongoing concerns.
There are various formats that are used in the meetings
for unfolding a topic. There are small group discussions where
there is an opportunity for each member to speak. There are
large group discussions that are initiated by listening to one
person or to three or four people. Sometimes a conversation
between two people, with all others listening, opens up the
subject being discussed. There are meetings where the listeners
offer their observations on the content and the process, on the
manner in which the discussion has proceeded. The attempt is
to hold on to the invitation to listen and participate together,
without it becoming a burden. The importance of diverse
contexts is paramount if a structure is not to get stuck as a
ritual that has lost vibrancy. The key question is, “How do we,
as concerned individuals, share and together attend to the
education of the young and to the needs of the school?” The
operative word is together.
One of the key features of these meetings is that any staff
member may chair the meetings. This is decided through
volunteering or by the chairperson nominating the person to
chair the next meeting. Thus different styles of conducting
meetings become evident and also the responsibility of
conducting meetings is shared. One may feel that the content
and the sharpness of discussions may get diffused. However,
quite to the contrary, we have seen a shared space emerging
that involves many staff members taking responsibility.
These meetings have proved to be a very valuable learning
ground for a newcomer, as he or she is introduced to debates in
education and also to the processes within the school. Moreover,
any teacher is given room to openly voice his or her feelings,
however radical, without repercussions and to learn about
responsibly working together. Whether there is dissent or dirt, it is
better to make it visible rather than push it under the carpet. This is
actively communicated in a visible and experiential manner.
After all, it is the accretion of unvoiced contrary views which
block an institution’s energies. In the absence of an open
atmosphere, doubts and fears (about what can be said and what 66
cannot be said, about who will get hurt etc.) tend to grow and
occupy psychological space. Ritual politeness begins to mask
differences. Adjustments replace a working together.
The underlying concern behind these processes has been
to somehow ensure that the vision remains strong and bright
and does not get foggy due to a crystallisation of habit and
establishment of ritual. To keep the vision as a living concern,
not just held in monopoly by a small group, but held as widely
as possible, is seen as vital for the health of the school. Further,
we may ask: is it possible to hold the vision in such a manner
that the newest staff member feels free to join the ongoing debate
non-intrusively, and the oldest member also participates and
finds meaning and sustenance?
This has meant creating space for the growth of initiative
among the teaching staff and the emergence of a widely shared
mutual confidence. At times this has meant not fighting shy of
confrontation even in open staff forums. Sometimes it is not
only the content but also the tone of participation that has needed
to be addressed.
Stepping out of grooves
In a teacher’s life one usually gets lodged in an area of
competence and then rarely moves from there. However, this
may not be in the best interest of the teacher or the school. We
have consciously sought to invite teachers to teach subjects which
they are interested in or have an affinity for, even if they have no
direct qualifications for these. Competence in teaching a subject
may be considered as a matter of developing a perspective;
acquiring skills and knowledge is relatively easy. A person with
a Masters degree in History can teach Social Studies at the middle
school level and so also move to teaching Geography or English.
A teacher with a Masters degree in Biology ought to be able to
teach Chemistry up to class 10. The introduction of
Environmental Studies in classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 has forced us
to gain competence in an area where certification and
qualification have not started in a big way. Teachers with degrees
in various specializations, including Maths, Biology, Engineering,
Medicine and English, have had to engage in self-study and get
ready to handle the requirements of these classes. The knowledge
that the ISC Examination board permits schools to send in
alternative syllabi has also been used by us to create the
Environmental Studies curriculum for classes 11 and 12, which
has then been approved as a subject by the board.
A stretch of this kind makes demands on the teacher’s
capacity to remain a student and also generates the ability to
learn from and support each other. Such an approach also places
knowledge in the right perspective. This may be seen as putting
pressure on teachers. But, on the other hand, can an institution
ignore the necessity that teachers should remain learners and
that they must together collaborate, share and support each
other? After all it is not one teacher who makes a school. We
may in fact ask if the phrase teacher-learner does not better
describe the teaching staff we look for in our schools.
Stepping out of the groove of one’s field is easier in areas
like games and activities. Every school also needs teachers to
take charge of many other additional responsibilities. There is a
frequently encountered situation where the teachers who have
easily visible capacities end up sharing additional loads, with
the majority lapsing into fringe positions of passive bystanders
or at best in support positions. There are several roles such as
coordination of admissions, maintenance, stationery, books,
activities, school events, assemblies etc. that teachers may be
called upon to take up. We have found it important to rotate
these roles. This is a clear statement that every teacher has
resources and capacities and that these may be called upon by
the school. Also, ‘I have not done it before’ is no reason not to
try it this year. Usually the fear of sharing such responsibilities
is that they may not get addressed efficiently. On the other hand
if there is a supportive atmosphere and a feeling of sharing, it is
possible for things to run well and efficiently even as teachers
are learning the nuances of new responsibilities.
There are important benefits to be had from such a
perspective. Firstly, there is the active emphasis on the notion 68
that common sense and resourcefulness are not specialities.
Secondly, the functioning of the school becomes more
transparent and therefore open to discussion, suggestions and
criticism from colleagues. Thirdly, different styles can bring
untapped qualities to a role and probably greatly improve
functioning. A new person learning about, say, admissions, is
looking at the whole system and hence is in a position to raise
questions, reveal drawbacks and thus identify aspects that need
change. Last but not the least, rediscovering a capacity to handle
unfamiliar situations brings both a sense of confidence and a
sense of being trusted. In our experience such trust has never
been violated. And the whole movement makes for a group of
teachers who are learning not only about tasks they have never
done before but also, more generally, about collaboration,
responsibility and working together.
Administration
The administration–teaching staff divide is quite
pronounced in most schools. The ways in which decisions are
made by the head or other ‘responsible’ people in school often
leaves teachers uncomprehending or in doubt. We have tried to
respond to this difficulty by articulating that ‘every teacher is
concerned with all aspects of school’ or ‘no teacher can say that
he is not responsible for what is going on’. (We have this
pertinent statement from Krishnamurti: ‘The school is like a
submarine and the people here like a submarine crew, willing
to step in and do whatever is needed.’)
Another crucial area is the process of decision-making: how
are decisions made by designated individuals? Our style of
decision-making has generally been for the person making the
decision to consult two or three people, if not more, about most
decisions. A culture of consultation, which helps unravel the
complexities of any situation, reinforces a culture of listening,
and a deep understanding that no one person alone holds the
full picture. “What can you do alone, sir?” Krishnamurti often
asked.
The school has also moved in a direction in which there is
no one person alone who knows the reasons behind a decision.
Teachers who have been in school longer than 5 years meet to
discuss crucial matters such as policies and emerging guidelines.
Difficult decisions, such as the resignation of teachers over
disagreements etc. are discussed openly and senior teachers are
immediately briefed. This does not give room for rumours and
dissipating processes to take root. Transparency is also
maintained by inducting newer teachers into the crucial
admissions and teacher interview committees. This provides
an opportunity for new teachers to become aware of and ask
questions such as, “What are the criteria for taking in a new
teacher or a senior student? How do we interview parents?”
Feedback and self-appraisals
Over the years, through debates during staff meetings on
the issue of teacher feedback, the school went through a difficult
area—and this happened rather smoothly and painlessly. It had
always been recognized that teachers, left to teach in their own
way in the classroom, tend to get isolated. Classrooms can
become very isolated and isolating places—what happens within
their four walls is considered ‘private’; only between the teacher
and the students. Thinking about how to enrich what goes on in
any class, using the expertise that is already available with fellowteachers,
has led us to developing a particular system of teacher
feedback. Our attempt has been to evolve a system that is based
on invitation, where the initiative rests with the person seeking
feedback. Such a system is described below.
STEP 1: The teacher seeking feedback chooses and invites
three of her colleagues to her classes. The three colleagues should
be so chosen that they represent the following categories:
- one who teaches the same/similar subject to the
same/similar age group
- one who teaches the same/similar subject to a
different age group
- one who teaches a different subject to a different age
group
STEP 2: each of these colleagues needs to attend three
periods taught by the teacher who has sought their feedback.
The schedule for this must be worked out at the initiative of the teacher
seeking the feedback.
STEP 3: There is a feedback form that is to be filled out based
on overall observations. The observing teachers will hand out one
copy to the teacher seeking feedback and the other to a specific
colleague without any of the names being mentioned. The
Principal and the Managing committee receive the feedback
forms about the new teachers, who are on probation.
To provide an opportunity for teachers to take stock at the
end of the year and also to generate information about the state
of various experiences in the school, a system of self-appraisal
was introduced a few years ago. Every teacher, just before the
year-end meetings, fills in a self-appraisal form with some
clearly-worded questions. The attempt is to elicit from the
teacher a sense of what was done well, what were some of the
problems they came across, what was done when problems were
faced, were there interesting situations encountered, were there
opportunities for new or deeper learning etc. These answers
are as much a reflective exercise for the individual who fills up
the form as for the common space. The self-appraisal forms go
into the teacher’s file, but are never to be used for any future
evaluation of the teacher for purposes of increment in pay etc.
We have seen that individuals feel free to write about difficulties
faced and about problems and patterns they encounter, with
great honesty. ‘The truth can be spoken without punishment’ is
one of the most important messages for teachers and other staff
to receive. The strength of this communication keeps the air
clean. The depth and the sincerity of the responses from teachers
are as much a gift to the school as they are a learning experience
for individual teachers.
Sabbaticals, exchanges and inductions
The refrain of teacher growth has been stretched a bit
further too. The schools under the Krishnamurti Foundation
India have the opportunity of sending teachers to visit the sister
schools in England and America. Teachers are nominated from
the school with some care. The experience of entering a sister
school far away from Chennai, watching the processes at work,
and learning from these, has been found to be most enriching
by individuals and, through them, by the school.
We have also drawn up other avenues for a teacher to
pursue interests that may not have to do directly with academics.
We have attempted to define the school as a place of learning, where
living responses to life’s situations are being explored. A teacher, after
some years at The School, can ask for a one day a week sabbatical.
On this one week-day, say on each Monday, the teacher need
not attend school but can attend to a certain pursuit of
significance to him or her as an individual. So far teachers have
used this opportunity to write books, study specific courses or
issues, work towards evolving a course on Women’s Studies etc.
There is an advantage in this way of working. The teacher and
the institution understand that the teacher’s growth is also the
institution’s growth. And yet the services of the teacher continue
to be available to the school for the whole year, so that critical
academic classes do not get affected. In this manner an
institutionally coherent solution has been found, rather than an
ad hoc response to teacher needs (which may invite doubts about
privileges and fairness). It is important that even sensible things
must be done only after being cleared institutionally, or else it
must be stated that this is an experimental move. The school
has moved in a direction whereby it is now possible to tangibly
say that the teacher’s well being is part of the institutional concern
and the relationship between individual and institution is both
complimentary and synergetic. We are open today if a teacher,
after a few years at school, wishes to have time for:
- researching into K’s teachings
- working with teacher orientation (training) and
reorientation
- preparation for a new subject in the next year
- review or design of new courses and preparation of
materials
- self-education which is nourishing and growing for the
teacher
- documentation and publishing—books, monographs etc
- planning around future needs
- offering advice and consultancy to other schools and
educational bodies
- organising and conducting workshops / camps for parents,
teachers, students, alumni etc.
- public awareness work in selected areas such as
environment, education etc.
By thinking of the school in this manner, all such work—
that is needed to sustain a vibrant environment and wholesome
debate—becomes legitimate. The school also continues to draw
upon the resources of people, who would otherwise be
unavailable, if they were to go away on sabbatical or leave in
order to address their other interests. The school plans to
simultaneously train teachers for newer roles and refresh its staff
body. The definition of a teacher’s role in this manner permits
us to say, for example, ‘We invest 15 per cent of our teaching staff
time in “growth and meeting future needs” of the school, and 10 per cent
of the salary budget to provide the kind of rich experiences which would
promote these.’
To do this the school has had to review its induction policy
as well. Teachers are not inducted only against vacancies. On
the other hand the school invites interested individuals to
consider the school as a possible place to work and grow. A
capable individual, who would not fragment academic subjects
and deeper questions and who has the capacity of working with
others, may be invited into a threshold position. Once the school
feels that this individual is serious about finding out what it means
to be a teacher there are many options which can be explored,
starting with non-teaching opportunities. There are certain
explicit demands that are made:
- New teachers need to acquaint themselves with the
teachings of Krishnamurti which are pertinent to education.
- No teacher at the end of the probationary year may say
that he or she knows nothing about the founding principles
of the school.
- Teachers are required to voice doubts and apprehensions
that may arise on any points being discussed or which come
to their notice. They cannot remain disinterested or
unconcerned.
- A staff member may also be assigned non-teaching
responsibilities and is not expected to refuse unless there
are special difficulties.
It is through these means that we have been able to move
in the school towards a culture, an ethos, which permits the
operation of many styles and simultaneously makes quite
legitimate and healthy the demand to move within one’s own
orientations and deepen one’s own perceptions. This we feel is
the key to the creation of an atmosphere in school where the
teacher also remains a learner.
Education...has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.
—G M Trevalyan
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