Attending the book reading session with Sandeep Dutt, founder of the Good School Alliance, was a genuinely enriching experience. I read My Good School, a book that beautifully weaves together ideas on becoming a more effective teacher and, just as importantly, on nurturing a love of reading in children. Sandeep sir’s own passion for books was infectious and set the tone for the entire session.
One of the highlights was creating a flipchart based on the book, in which I didn’t just summarise the chapters but also wove in my own reflections and classroom experiences alongside the author’s ideas. This exercise helped the concepts feel personal and immediately applicable.
The session also reinforced something I’ve always believed but rarely paused to articulate: reading isn’t just something I should encourage in children; it has to be visible in me as a teacher too. Children learn far more from what I do than from what I tell them to do. When a student sees me genuinely absorbed in a book, unhurried and unprompted, it communicates something no reading chart or assigned novel ever could: that reading can be a source of real pleasure, not just a task to be completed.
Sandeep sir’s own infectious love for books was proof of this in action; his enthusiasm was the best advertisement for reading I encountered that day. It made me realise that if I want children to become genuine readers, I first have to let them catch me being one myself.
The day wasn’t only about structured learning, though. I had unhurried time to read in the garden, sip coffee while flipping through pages, and browse the bookstore at leisure, a rare and refreshing way to reconnect with reading itself. It struck me that this is exactly the kind of experience I so rarely give myself as a teacher, yet it’s precisely what recharges my relationship with books. That relationship eventually spills over into my classroom.
Looking ahead, I want to bring back into my classroom a stronger emphasis on modelling reading behaviour myself, being seen reading, talking about what I’m reading, letting my own enthusiasm show, alongside creating cosy reading corners and giving students more unstructured time to simply enjoy books. If I want my students to love reading, the most powerful thing I can do is let them see that I love it too.
Mahima Bissa
Mayoor School Jaipur
