War vs. Peace continued, reading Chapter 2 from Wanted Back-bencher & Last-ranker Teacher

Learning Forward Saturday

To read and discuss the “War and Peace” chapter from the book Wanted Back-bencher & Last-ranker Teacher, by Kavita Ghosh

Key Takeaways

• Proactive Discipline: Use movement breaks and outdoor lessons to improve student focus and prevent disruptive behaviour.

• De-escalation Strategy: Counter aggression with calm redirection. In a crisis, a teacher’s composure can defuse a situation that a direct confrontation would not.

• Interpersonal Relationships: Build trust by believing students’ claims of innocence, even when administrators are sceptical. This strengthens the teacher-student bond.

• Next Session: The April 11th session will be held live at the Learning Forward retreat in Jaipur and streamed online, reading the chapter “Love Learning vs. Hate Learning.”

Topics

Proactive Classroom Management

• Problem: Prolonged sitting reduces brain oxygenation, leading to fatigue and poor concentration.

• Solution: Incorporate movement and outdoor lessons (e.g., teaching figures of speech on the lawn) to boost student engagement and attention.

De-escalation: The Jeevan Incident

• Crisis: A student, Jeevan, threatened to pull down his pants in front of the Physics teacher, Reshma, after she lost control of the class.

• Analysis (from counsellor Uttara):

  • Problem: Transgression of classroom decorum.

  • Critical Element: The entire class was in “mischief mode.”

  • Context: Jeevan sought to elevate his image among peers.

  • Teacher’s Miscalculation: Reshma’s direct challenge (“Would you pull down your pants?”) was unwise, as it invited the defiant response that escalated the situation.

• Resolution (Roma’s Intervention):

  1. Regained Control: Roma’s silent, composed presence at the desk immediately calmed the class.

  2. Redirected Focus: Instead of confronting Jeevan, Roma told Reshma, “Let them go ahead,” subtly conveying the threat of consequences without a direct challenge.

  3. Preserved Dignity: Roma spoke to Jeevan privately after class, avoiding public shaming and preserving his self-esteem.

• Outcome: Jeevan apologised to Reshma, and the class remained silent for the rest of the period.

Interpersonal Relationships: The Sizzler Gang

• Incident: The “Sizzler gang” (Simi, Supriya, Rupa, Patricia) was accused of damaging a washroom wall.

• Administrative Response (Ms Henkel):

  • Process: No hearing was held; the girls were judged and penalised without a chance to speak.

  • Punishment: Initially, one week of cleaning, increased to two weeks for “insolence” after Rupa protested the unfairness.

• Roma’s Response:

  • Belief: Roma believed the girls’ claims of innocence, strengthening their trust.

  • Humour: Roma used a self-deprecating joke about mowing her lawn to break the tension and help the girls accept the punishment.

Participant Experience Sharing

• Gulabee: Uses “stand up, sit down” games and clapping to redirect restless LKG/UKG students.

• Sunita Gupta: Engages disruptive students with active tasks, such as reading aloud.

• Sunita Tripathi: Uses a “someone is coming” warning to gain silence, then asks the most disruptive student to explain their behaviour.

• Ritu Rai: Defused a noisy class by singing a song and inviting students to join, successfully redirecting their energy.

Next Steps

• Sandeep Dutt:

  • Create a bookmark for the “Love Learning vs. Hate Learning” chapter.

  • Add the bookmark to the WhatsApp group.

• All Participants:

  • Prepare a “War and Peace” story for discussion at the next session.

  • Submit stories to Manisha Ma’am for publication on the happyteacher.in blog.

• Next Session:

  • Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026, for reading Chapter 3.

  • Location: Live from the My Good School at Mayur School, Jaipur.

  • Format: Live-streamed on Zoom and other channels.
    
    FATHOM-AI generated notes, read with care.