Arthur Foot Academy - A matter of sunshine on a rainy day

In the midst of heavy rains in Uttarakhand, a courageous person who drove from Dehradun to Arthur Foot Academy came along. As you enter the roads leading to the school, you're surrounded by tall trees, low trees, and other vegetation. I was happily welcomed by Ms. Minakshi Prasad and Reena, the Principal at Arthur Foot Academy. They both took me around the school to meet all the young teachers, some of whom have been with them for many years and some who have recently joined. 

Meeting all these teachers reminded me that there is a lot of joy and hope when some people choose to teach and are concerned about a child's learning. Ms. Minakshi, Ms. Reena, and I believe that all the teachers at the Academy are eager to learn and improve. They were sharing their classroom challenges with a lot of openness. Math teacher Mr. Sushil was discussing the benefits of learning by playing, and if there is even one person in the school who believes there is a way to learn like that, half our work is done. 

We discussed how, in the coming weeks, we can come together on Zoom to read and uplift ourselves as teachers, bringing the same joy to our classrooms for children. Interestingly, children with even a few chairs in a school were so hungry for learning. They had some beautiful posters up on the wall. 

Arthur Foot Academy has a significant opportunity ahead, and the time is ripe to empower teachers through collaborative learning, reading, discussion, reflection, and sharing. There is so much power in a classroom, between the space of a student and a teacher, for both. 

- Neelashi Mangal, Program and Training Lead with the Learning Forward India Foundation, you may email her at NM@LearningForward.org.in