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A stark reminder of the influence educators wield was the unsettling incident in Muzaffarnagar, where divisiveness breached classroom walls when schoolteacher Tripta Tyagi made allegedly communal remarks and instructed her students to slap a Muslim classmate for struggling with multiplication tables.
With Teachers’ Day (September 5) approaching, we turn the spotlight on a cohort of educators in Mumbai who are going beyond academic rigours to create more inclusive and empathetic learning spaces. Their efforts manifest in various ways, including classroom exercises that debunk stereotypes, collective celebration of festivals, and secular school prayers among students to the equally crucial collaboration with teachers involving circle time for emotional grounding, teaching guidelines for sensitive topics, and periodic surveys to monitor prejudiced behaviour.
Anjum Panna, who works as a ‘peace educator’ and collaboration coordinator at Pragnya Bodhini High School in Goregaon (East), initiated a ‘peace curriculum’ by launching a 21-day ‘peace challenge’ this year, a sequence of “simple but impactful activities”. The rationale, Panna points out, is, “Peace isn’t merely the absence of war but the ability to connect with yourself… to be aware of our tone, words, body language, and intonations even when we are experiencing anger.”
The challenge begins with students looking in the mirror, saying three good things to themselves on day one. By day three, they pay a sincere compliment to at least three people. Day seven encourages speaking to someone new or sharing a bench with an unfamiliar classmate. Day 12 prompts contemplation about things they share in common with those different from them. The last day beckons students to embark on a gratitude journal — to write one thing one is thankful for each day.
At the core of her approach, Panna says, lies social-emotional learning (SEL). “The intent is not to compel students to suppress their emotions but to equip them with skills to navigate different situations, differentiate between fake and real, myth and stereotype, habit and character,” says Panna. She recalls an instance where they tackled the stereotype that ‘Bengalis eat fish every day’, often perpetuated by media and casual observations. “But when we invited Bengali children to share their experiences, a different truth emerged, that many Bengalis enjoy a variety of food, like everyone else.”
The approach extends to their ‘picture talk’ sessions guided by the ‘describe’, ‘interpret’, ‘verify’, ‘evaluate’, or DIVE, model. Panna recently tested this with fifth graders who were presented with an image of a kimono-clad girl, tears in her eyes, crouching with a microphone. Their interpretations ranged from a failed singing contest to a lost karate match. But the revelation — a Japanese mourner — changed their perspective. “If our children can suspend judgment and avoid hasty conclusions in the face of new information, we’re doing justice as an educational institution,” says Panna.
Tridha, a Rudolf Steiner School in Andheri, tackles divisive tendencies right at the root by eliminating the weight of exams until grade six or adopting a genderless uniform. “It’s a way of respecting the individuality of each growing child,” explains Navjyoti Brillant, the head of Tridha’s primary school. She shares heartwarming scenes of shared traditions during festivals that encourage an understanding of each others’ backgrounds. During Eid, mothers prepare Islamic cuisine for all the children, who dine on the floor from a common thaal. Diwali brings similar camaraderie when students, regardless of community, sing songs and light diyas around the school grounds. “Everybody participates as if it’s their own,” she says.
In Powai, Suchita Malakar, the principal of Podar International School, echoes similar sentiment. “We celebrate almost every festival in the school, encouraging a boy or girl from that community to share their culture and festivities during assembly.” Her school prayers, “carefully curated and not picked up from any religious text”, reflect this ethos. They also hold a weekly mindfulness period, where teachers craft age-appropriate lessons on tolerance, gratitude, and inclusivity.
Malakar also harps on a respectful learning atmosphere by instilling open-mindedness among the staff as much as the students. “Because the classroom will invariably mirror the teacher’s values.” Brillant agrees: “Yes, it’s teachers who perpetuate an attitude or emotion among their students.”
A zero-tolerance policy against casteist, racist remarks, or name-calling is part of Malakar’s school tenets, signed by teachers, while new teachers are guided on handling sensitive topics and refraining from expressing personal beliefs. While Podar School’s international curriculum allows comparative analysis of historical events, Malakar draws from her own experience as a former humanities teacher: “I would juxtapose events like a riot in India with one in the UK, to offer a social and economic perspective rather than focus on communal angles,” she says.
Meanwhile, Brillant highlights Tridha’s curriculum — teaching cultural and historical aspects of various faiths and figures to cultivate appreciation for their classmates from diverse backgrounds. “We don’t delve into discussions on communal differences. Instead, we share stories about the birth of Christ, the life of Prophet Mohammed, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and beliefs surrounding Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda to help students understand what’s precious to each.”
Pragnya Bodhini has a daily ‘circle time’ for primary and secondary teachers. “It’s a 10-minute pre-class ritual where teachers are asked to park their thoughts at the centre of the symbolic circle and consider what to ‘bag’ and what to ‘bin’. “It works as an emotional check against personal biases from infiltrating the classroom,” explains Panna.
At Tridha, an equally powerful metaphor is in place — the “coat”, which must be left at the door when teachers join hands in a circle every morning. It signifies the shedding of stress, of being judgmental, of all negativity.
With Teachers’ Day (September 5) approaching, we turn the spotlight on a cohort of educators in Mumbai who are going beyond academic rigours to create more inclusive and empathetic learning spaces. Their efforts manifest in various ways, including classroom exercises that debunk stereotypes, collective celebration of festivals, and secular school prayers among students to the equally crucial collaboration with teachers involving circle time for emotional grounding, teaching guidelines for sensitive topics, and periodic surveys to monitor prejudiced behaviour.
Anjum Panna, who works as a ‘peace educator’ and collaboration coordinator at Pragnya Bodhini High School in Goregaon (East), initiated a ‘peace curriculum’ by launching a 21-day ‘peace challenge’ this year, a sequence of “simple but impactful activities”. The rationale, Panna points out, is, “Peace isn’t merely the absence of war but the ability to connect with yourself… to be aware of our tone, words, body language, and intonations even when we are experiencing anger.”
The challenge begins with students looking in the mirror, saying three good things to themselves on day one. By day three, they pay a sincere compliment to at least three people. Day seven encourages speaking to someone new or sharing a bench with an unfamiliar classmate. Day 12 prompts contemplation about things they share in common with those different from them. The last day beckons students to embark on a gratitude journal — to write one thing one is thankful for each day.
At the core of her approach, Panna says, lies social-emotional learning (SEL). “The intent is not to compel students to suppress their emotions but to equip them with skills to navigate different situations, differentiate between fake and real, myth and stereotype, habit and character,” says Panna. She recalls an instance where they tackled the stereotype that ‘Bengalis eat fish every day’, often perpetuated by media and casual observations. “But when we invited Bengali children to share their experiences, a different truth emerged, that many Bengalis enjoy a variety of food, like everyone else.”
The approach extends to their ‘picture talk’ sessions guided by the ‘describe’, ‘interpret’, ‘verify’, ‘evaluate’, or DIVE, model. Panna recently tested this with fifth graders who were presented with an image of a kimono-clad girl, tears in her eyes, crouching with a microphone. Their interpretations ranged from a failed singing contest to a lost karate match. But the revelation — a Japanese mourner — changed their perspective. “If our children can suspend judgment and avoid hasty conclusions in the face of new information, we’re doing justice as an educational institution,” says Panna.
Tridha, a Rudolf Steiner School in Andheri, tackles divisive tendencies right at the root by eliminating the weight of exams until grade six or adopting a genderless uniform. “It’s a way of respecting the individuality of each growing child,” explains Navjyoti Brillant, the head of Tridha’s primary school. She shares heartwarming scenes of shared traditions during festivals that encourage an understanding of each others’ backgrounds. During Eid, mothers prepare Islamic cuisine for all the children, who dine on the floor from a common thaal. Diwali brings similar camaraderie when students, regardless of community, sing songs and light diyas around the school grounds. “Everybody participates as if it’s their own,” she says.
In Powai, Suchita Malakar, the principal of Podar International School, echoes similar sentiment. “We celebrate almost every festival in the school, encouraging a boy or girl from that community to share their culture and festivities during assembly.” Her school prayers, “carefully curated and not picked up from any religious text”, reflect this ethos. They also hold a weekly mindfulness period, where teachers craft age-appropriate lessons on tolerance, gratitude, and inclusivity.
Malakar also harps on a respectful learning atmosphere by instilling open-mindedness among the staff as much as the students. “Because the classroom will invariably mirror the teacher’s values.” Brillant agrees: “Yes, it’s teachers who perpetuate an attitude or emotion among their students.”
A zero-tolerance policy against casteist, racist remarks, or name-calling is part of Malakar’s school tenets, signed by teachers, while new teachers are guided on handling sensitive topics and refraining from expressing personal beliefs. While Podar School’s international curriculum allows comparative analysis of historical events, Malakar draws from her own experience as a former humanities teacher: “I would juxtapose events like a riot in India with one in the UK, to offer a social and economic perspective rather than focus on communal angles,” she says.
Meanwhile, Brillant highlights Tridha’s curriculum — teaching cultural and historical aspects of various faiths and figures to cultivate appreciation for their classmates from diverse backgrounds. “We don’t delve into discussions on communal differences. Instead, we share stories about the birth of Christ, the life of Prophet Mohammed, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and beliefs surrounding Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda to help students understand what’s precious to each.”
Pragnya Bodhini has a daily ‘circle time’ for primary and secondary teachers. “It’s a 10-minute pre-class ritual where teachers are asked to park their thoughts at the centre of the symbolic circle and consider what to ‘bag’ and what to ‘bin’. “It works as an emotional check against personal biases from infiltrating the classroom,” explains Panna.
At Tridha, an equally powerful metaphor is in place — the “coat”, which must be left at the door when teachers join hands in a circle every morning. It signifies the shedding of stress, of being judgmental, of all negativity.
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