The Heart of a Good School: Reflections on the 3Rs

Sometimes, the most profound shifts in education come not from complex new methodologies, but from a return to the fundamentals of human connection.

Recently, I had the distinct privilege of stepping out of my usual routine to volunteer as a coach with the Good Schools Alliance. I facilitated a training session for an incredibly dedicated group of Asha teachers. This experience left me deeply grounded and reminded me of the true essence of our work in education.

Our session centred around a deceptively simple yet transformative framework: The 3Rs—Reading, Reflection, and Relationships.

In the daily rhythm of leading and supporting schools, exploring these three pillars with fellow educators reaffirmed how they interact to fundamentally alter a learning environment:

• Reading opens the mind to entirely new perspectives and expands our worldview.
• Reflection provides the crucial pause, allowing both students and educators to process and deepen their understanding.
• Relationships form the absolute emotional foundation of any thriving classroom.

When educators intentionally weave these 3Rs into their daily practice, they act as a catalyst. They are the vital ingredients that transform an ordinary learning space into a truly “good school.”

Coaching these teachers was about much more than simply sharing a pedagogical framework. It was an exercise in active listening and holding space—allowing these educators the time to reflect on their own practices and recognise the immense, lasting impact they have on their students’ lives.

I am immensely grateful to the Good Schools Alliance and Sandeep Dutt for championing this vision. When we invest in our teachers and prioritise the human elements of learning, we uplift the entire school community.

I am also deeply humbled to have interacted and worked so closely with Brinda Ghosh and Jugjiv Singh. Finally, a special thank you to Kunal Rajpurohit, whose support and initiative in helping me contribute to this meaningful cause are genuinely appreciated!

- Shalini Kapoor, Vice Principal, Gyan Anant Vidyalaya

It was a humbling experience to lead a small training session on behalf of the Good Schools Alliance for a group of volunteer teachers from ASHA, which has been working to educate not-so-privileged children across NCR and other regions. Humbling because these volunteers are giving of their time and sharing what little education they have. They are eager to learn and yearn for training. 

Giving back what I have gained in all these years of teaching to those who are keen to learn was rewarding and enriching! Today, as on other such occasions, I thank the Almighty for the opportunities of sharing the joys of learning!!

- Brinda Ghosh, Coach Good Schools Alliance

A Boy In The Library

Today, something small happened, but it stayed with me.

One of the didis who works with us asked for leave. My first response was a simple no. The day was busy, with plenty of work to accomplish. She then said softly, “Ma’am, I need to complete some formalities for my son’s competitive exam.”

Out of curiosity, I asked, “Which exam?”

She said, “Engineering.”

For a moment, I was surprised. And that surprise made me pause. It made me realise that somewhere inside, I had been carrying an assumption about who usually gets to pursue something like engineering.

I asked her where he was taking coaching.

She said very simply, “Ma’am, we cannot afford coaching. He studies online. Our house is small, so every day he goes to the library at 8 in the morning and comes back at 9 in the evening.”

For a few seconds, I had nothing to say.

I could imagine that boy sitting quietly in a library for hours every day. No big coaching institute. No elaborate setup. Just a table, a chair, and the discipline of showing up every single day.

These days, we often say life is extremely competitive. But sometimes I wonder if it really is.

When so many people are busy scrolling endlessly through reels and distractions, perhaps the real competition is actually much smaller — among those who choose to focus.

That boy, sitting somewhere in a quiet library from morning till evening, has already chosen which side he wants to be on.

Interestingly, we are reading The Courage to Be Happy in our MasterClass these days. In one of the conversations, the philosopher says:

“The past doesn’t exist.”

At first, it sounds strange. But maybe it simply means this — what really shapes our story is not what happened before, but what we choose to do now.

Watching that boy in my mind, sitting in a library somewhere and quietly preparing for his dream, that line suddenly makes sense. 

You now decide the past.

Gurdeep Kaur

Cohost Sandeep Dutt’s Masterclass

Have We Learnt Any Lessons?

Have we learnt any lessons by Sandeep Dutt

Why does a student need to be a pawn in the coaching and extra-class business?

Read on Substack

"Let me now come to the challenge we are trying to address: the tuition industry and the coaching centres. Their meteoric rise has been fueled by intense competition for the limited number of seats in higher learning institutions and the hand-in-glove of policymakers and businesses, who are cashing in on the market." Sandeep Dutt, read the full post on www.GSI.in

Report: Impact of The Teacher's Academy July 2024

 

The Teacher's Academy is dedicated to helping everyone unlock their full potential. Our comprehensive online program offers personalised coaching and top-notch mentorship to help you reach your goals. With customised learning programs and a special offer of Rs 25,000 per annum for your school's Whole Faculty Study Group, we make success easily attainable. Our user-friendly platform and experienced instructors are committed to helping you advance your career, acquire new skills, or explore different subjects.

Masterclass every Saturday

Saturday at 5.30 PM, thirty minutes on Google Meet! For an annual fee of Rs 2500/- per head, individuals acquire access to valuable insights and techniques that will take their teaching skills to the next level. Join us and see the results for yourself!

Here are the key points about the impact of The Teacher's Academy (formerly LFIN Academy by Learning Forward India), as per research done by Otter AI:

The Teacher's Academy is a professional development program for teachers run by the Learning Forward India Foundation. Its goal is to help teachers improve professionally and personally, leading to greater happiness and better learning outcomes.

• The program focuses on core skills like reading, reflection, and relationship building. The World Bank education group recognised it as a top global innovation.

• Over the years, hundreds of teachers have participated in The Teacher's Academy program. Pre-pandemic, it was run in-person and then shifted online during COVID. It continues to run weekly sessions on Saturdays.

• Teacher's Academy aims to help teachers cover the 50 hours of professional development required by India's National Education Policy. The program includes reading, assignments, reflection, and relationship building.  

• Participating teachers have improved their skills and capacities, and student achievement has also increased due to teacher participation in the program.

• The Teacher's Academy has increased happiness among teachers and students and helped create positive school cultures and environments.

• The Teacher's Academy has demonstrated that focusing on teacher development empowers and supports teachers, leading to better student learning outcomes and experiences.

In summary, The Teacher's Academy has significantly improved teacher skills and capacities through professional development, leading to better school cultures and increased student achievement. Its innovative model has been globally recognised.

The Teacher's Academy has helped improve teacher skills and capacities:

• Reading: The Teacher's Academy focuses on improving teachers' reading skills through weekly reading sessions. In these sessions, teachers read and discuss a chapter from a book together, which helps improve their comprehension, vocabulary, and ability to analyse texts.

• Reflection: Teachers are encouraged to reflect on their reading and share their thoughts through voice messages, texts, emails, etc. This develops their critical thinking and self-assessment skills.

• Relationships: By reading together and having thoughtful discussions, teachers build stronger connections with each other. This improves their communication skills and ability to collaborate.

• Writing: Teachers have opportunities to write blog posts, tweets, etc., to share their reflections, which enhances their writing skills.

• Digital skills: Teachers learn to use online tools like Telegram, Google Drive, blogs, etc., which builds their digital literacy.

• Content creation: Teachers are encouraged to create podcasts, presentations, etc., to share their learning. This develops their ability to synthesise information and teach others.

• Coaching support: Experienced coaches guide teachers, which helps them implement new teaching strategies.

In summary, The Teacher's Academy employs a holistic approach to developing essential skills, such as reading, reflection, collaboration, writing, content creation, and more, to significantly improve teacher capacities.

https://schooleducation.com/the-teachers-academy

New online course: Effective Coaching to Strengthen Instruction

Learning Forward Special Invitation

New online course: Effective Coaching to Strengthen Instruction Learn the fundamentals of instructional coaching to increase the quality of classroom practice to improve academic success. Learning Forward is pleased to announce that we have launched a new online course in collaboration with Public Consulting Group: Effective Coaching to Strengthen Instruction by Joellen Killion. Develop the essential skills of building relationships, communication, and observation. With these skills as your foundation, learn a coaching cycle for planning, implementation, and debriefing in the context of three different instructional supports—modeling/demonstration, co-teaching/collaboration, and observation. Upon course completion, participants will be able to: Use communication skills to work effectively with others within a coaching relationship; Determine which type of classroom support to implement, depending on the circumstances; Observe, take notes, and debrief a lesson to implement the coaching cycle with teachers; Assess the effectiveness and impact of their own coaching to support the continuous improvement of the coaching program; and Identify actions coaches can take to foster a coaching culture within the school to strengthen teacher performance and student achievement. This course includes a coach to provide personalized feedback, videos of authentic classroom practice, and flexibility to engage with the content on your schedule. Learn more...

Sandeep Dutt: Future Of School Education

Future of School Education - Long-lasting success in professional learning needs a ‘culture of learning’ and this is where he feels that till teachers do not take charge of their learning, there is no future. The teachers need to discover themselves, they need to discover more methods, they need to share more and overcome the lack of professional learning. With the explosion of information on the internet and low-cost data services delivered in India, it was high time for the PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) to take charge. As the Founder of Learning Forward India, you can support your teams to design the Future of Learning – which could be focused on the level of the classroom and transformation in organizational culture.

Coaching improves the quality of an educator’s practice as much as a decade of experience in teaching. 

#SchoolCoach #HappyTeachers#LearningForward 

Sandeep Dutt, School Coach

Email LF@ebd.in