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Ms. Sangeeta Tandon, Principal, Shri Shikshayatan School, Kolkata joins Curious Times to celebrate Teachers Day and shares her views on Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimagining Future! She is an eminent Leader and Educationist and has been inspiring students and future generation of teachers.

Curious Times, the leading school newspaper and children’s website is pleased to bring perspectives of Senior Educationists and teachers to our readers on Teachers Day 2022. Over the past 3 years a lot has changed in the education sector, teaching methods, curricula, use of technology, introduction of NEP 2020, emphasis on mental wellbeing of children and how schools shape careers of next the generation. We believe that the energy and enthusiasm of the leaders to adapt to these changes will help not just leading through the crisis of learning gaps but also reimagining the future of education.

Here is our conversation with Ms. Sangeeta Tandon, Shri Shikshayatan School, Kolkata:

Curious Times: Technology has brought about a shift in the teaching and learning ecosystem. As you reimagine future, what, in your opinion, would be the role of technology and what would be the role of teachers?

Ms. Sangeeta Tandon: Technology has been integrated in teaching learning ecosystem and is here to stay forever. It is a part of the next revolution in education. Technology should help teachers to reach out to more students, even those living in the remotest areas of the country It can help to have class without walls. The learning could become more experiential, and self-paced with feedback as well.
The role of teachers would be seamless integration and upgradation of technology as and when required. Hybrid teaching would be slowly adopted either out of necessity or for a wider reach and will become an integral part of teaching learning. Technology will help teachers to make teaching learning more effective. It is a tool which can be used to impart knowledge, research, experiment, asses oneself, devise strategies for improvement and design curriculum as per the need of a student/ students.

Curious Times: NEP 2020 puts a lot of emphasis on skilling and co-curricular activities. How will this have a positive impact on learning outcomes in the future?

Ms. Sangeeta Tandon: The 21st century skills will help students and adults to adapt and adopt to the fast-changing environment. The skill sets are more about holistic growth of an individual which will undoubtedly lead to better job prospects. Hence, greater emphasis on skills is more a necessity than an option.
Co-curricular activities are a part of curriculum, and this recognition and comprehension needs to come into society. Participation in co-curricular helps in acquiring skill sets which even conventional examinations cannot give. Unconventional and Wider career choices are open if students participate in co-curricular activities.

Curious Times: What role can schools play in making students reach their potential careers?

Ms. Sangeeta Tandon: The schools need to strike the right balance between curricular and co-curricular activities. Greater exposure to the world and environment, use of technology, improved communication skills , better values of integrity, hard work, perseverance and resilience are the need of the hour, to which all schools should look into. A school needs to take a note of the changing career scenario and prepare its students accordingly. Career counselling should be an integral part of the school’s annual calendar.

Curious Times: The pressures in the 21st century are different from earlier times. What will be the role of schools and teachers in mental wellbeing of students going forward?

Ms. Sangeeta Tandon: The counsellors and special educators should play a key role. All other teachers too should be trained to understand the challenges faced by the students today.
As in the modern setup, with nuclear families and both the parents busy with their jobs, it is the teachers and schools who have to play a greater role in the mental wellbeing of their students. Many a times they catch the first symptom of things going wrong. Parents and students, both are willing to listen to school more than any outside agency as it comes without any stigma attached. After two years of Covid, all have realised the role of the schools and greater acceptance and appreciation has come in.

Curious Times: As you reimagine the future, how can schools become inclusive and accommodate students from all ethnicities or with different abilities?

Ms. Sangeeta Tandon: To become inclusive, activities in school should be designed to include all Children with special needs (CWSN) . Frequent workshops of students and teachers, along with parents will help the society to accept children who need support, understanding and acceptance. Special educators should be there in all schools.
To accommodate students from all ethnicities, morning assemblies can be used to celebrate all festivals and reach out to address such issues. Collaboration on Projects with students from different parts of the country and world will help to understand and respect the culture of others, without being judgemental .

Curious Times: Schools prepare children for higher education. Should competitive exams have a different curriculum than schools?
Coaching classes and ed-tech companies have been supplementing the school education. What do you think should be their role?

Ms. Sangeeta Tandon: Competitive examinations should not have a different curriculum than school as it will lead to extra stress on students. The role of a school will get undermined. Emphasis would be on cracking a competitive examination instead of understanding a concept. We need to give better quality of life to our students.
Coaching classes and Ed tech companies are here to stay as there is definitely some gap in teaching of schools. Good teachers are not available everywhere, so Ed tech companies and online teaching will continue. However, where the students are bright and have good teachers in their schools, they should concentrate on self-study instead of running from schools to coaching classes, without internalising anything.

As educators, we do feel that the way of imparting education and the system of examinations needs total overhauling. The nation needs to pay more attention to improve the quality of education being imparted in our schools. Every student, irrespective of where he or she resides, should be able to receive good education.

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