The Teachers Academy : Introducing Wanted Back-Bencher & Last-Ranker Teacher

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Staff Leadership Development Program

Introduction

To launch the new Learning Forward Saturday season and introduce the book Wanted Back-Bencher & Last-Ranker Teacher by Kavita Ghosh

New Book Introduced: Learning Forward Saturday is now a book club, using Kavita Ghosh’s Wanted Back Bencher, Last Ranker Teacher, to foster reading, reflection, and relationships.
Monthly Chapter Focus: We read one chapter per month, starting with “Conventional vs. Contemporary School Management” in February.
Unorthodox Teacher Protagonist: Roma Mathur, a temporary teacher hired to address a school’s deep-seated problems, brings a fresh perspective.
Actionable Reflection: Participants will write reflections on each chapter for publication on happyteacher.in, building a public portfolio of their learning.

Goal: Shift from general classroom advice to a focused book-reading model.
Rationale: To create a structured program for reading, reflection, and relationship-building, empowering teachers as leaders.
Program: The club is part of the “Staff Leadership Development” program, one of three book-based initiatives offered by Learning Forward.

Author: Kavita Ghosh, an English teacher and German PASH Project Coordinator at Delhi Public School, Bangalore South.
Protagonist: Roma Mathur, a temporary teacher with a marketing background.
Motivation: Mathur takes the teaching job to fulfil an adoption agency’s requirement that she demonstrate experience with children.
Core Theme: The story explores the complexities of school life through Mathur’s unorthodox methods and her interactions with students, parents, and management.

The book’s 11 chapters tackle a range of universal school challenges:

Conventional vs. Contemporary School Management: Mathur’s arrival amid a management crisis.
War vs. Peace: Addressing student bunking and dislike of learning.
Love Learning vs. Hate Learning: Fostering a positive learning environment.
Affection vs. Rejection: Supporting students from disturbed families.
Like vs. Unlike: Protecting bullied children and managing peer groups.
Right vs. Wrong: Handling peer pressure, risk-taking, and parent-student disconnection.
Copy or Not to Copy: Dealing with cheating and promoting honesty.
Fear vs. Courage: Helping students overcome stage fright.
Heart vs. Mind: Counselling students and parents on sensitive relationship issues.
Smiles vs. Frowns: Rebuilding positive teacher-student relationships.
Smart Tom vs. Crafty Jerry: Mathur’s unconventional final actions and departure.

Author’s Note: Ghosh connects universal classroom situations to logical reasoning and research.
Goal: Bring learners, caregivers, and educators together to create a “happy place” where learning resonates with laughter.
Research Basis: The book’s principles are informed by experts like Laurence Steinberg (adolescent development), Kenneth Wissen (neuroscience), and Sally and Lois Land (complex behaviour strategies).
Forward: Defines an excellent teacher as a “multi-grain diet” for the brain—a subject specialist, mentor, communicator, and appraiser.

Platform: Participants will publish their reflections on the happyteacher.in blog.
Process:
- Week 1: Introduce the chapter.
- Weeks 2–3: Draft reflections.
- Week 4: Publish reflections on the blog.
Precedent: The book was previously used in a World Bank Education Group-acknowledged Global Innovation Program, where teachers’ reflections were compiled into a separate book, demonstrating the model’s effectiveness.

All Participants:
- Purchase a copy of Wanted Back-Bencher & Last-Ranker Teacher.
- Reflect on the session’s introduction and share initial thoughts in the WhatsApp group.
Neelashi:
- Schedule an author talk with Kavita Ghosh for a future Friday session.
- Define “proletarian teacher training” and share the definition with the group.
Learning Forward:
- Post the YouTube recording of this session to the Good Schools Network channel (www.goodschools.net).