Satyaki Banerjee
WHAT MAKES ME A PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPAL
I feel that teachers need to feel supported both in classroom as well as in any other activity they are engaged in. They should be having a belief that if they have an issue in their classroom, the principal is there not to police but to help and assist in resolving issues. Students don’t feel my presence in the classroom (when a classroom is going on) as an alien who has come to observe the teacher. In PYP classrooms, I try to facilitate the process of learning by interactions with kids as well as a good support to the teacher. That helps in building up a great atmosphere in school. I am hopefully quite visible in the school compound as I do try to be a part of the learning process often in different areas like academics, co-curricular or even music and dance. My role is to mostly engage in interactions with students where I try to understand whether in-depth learning outcomes is being achieved or not, whether academic or co-curricular.
I try to elevate teachers wherever possible and responsibilities and posts(if vacant). With responsibility, I believe ownership also develops. I make it a point to look after the professional development of teachers which they all look upto. I believe in giving a lot of independence of thoughts in planning alongwith the empowerment to speak out their ideas regarding whatever they are teaching, may be academic, sports or other co-curricular activities. I listen to my teachers at peace before and believe in showing them the dream to fly high which in turn affects the students positively too. Confidence and skill building is the main area of focus of the Students of my school. Appreciation boards like “CAUGHT DOING GREAT” in the corridors of school make it a huge sense of motivation for teachers. The board mentions the activity which is found to be done by a teacher and its visible to the whole school.
I intend to bring in International Mindedness amongst students by developing the 10 important learner profiles of IB and I preach the same to the middle school (CBSE wing) as International mindedness is not the sole property of International Boards (as mentioned by IB). The teaching methodology has a common aim of making students inquirers and that itself makes a lot of difference in the whole learning process in the lives of the students. The departmental meets many a times are interdepartmental in nature where different teaching strategies are discussed in presence of other departments which actually helps in coming up with more ideas.
Internationalism is an important aspect which is embedded in both the IBPYP as well as CBSE curriculum. The teachers while planning add a variety of International activities that makes the students know what’s happening around the world in the context of whatever they are being taught. Teachers in my school have been trained to go beyond the chapters.
I do not have a traditional seating arrangement in the classrooms. Its mostly groups of four or a u-shaped – curve shaped classroom whether the teachers can conduct group/ collaborative activities. We are working on an International Exchange programme to Japan/Singapore. In other programmes like World Citizenship day we had citizens from 11 countries performing in our school along with discussions regarding the issues/problems of the countries and their problem solving.
I believe in quick problem solving instead of creating a ruckus. Teachers are given enough space by me to come with great ideas I am open minded and responsive to their suggestions for school improvement. I am dedicated to my work and am responsible for the development of all the kids as well as all my school staff as well. I make sure that we often talk about dreams to the students as nowadays I find students are confused till grade XI or even XII regarding their career. So they should dream and take baby steps towards their career from Middle School level and further teachers should facilitate the process. This culture is quite important in my school.
Presence of Reading LOGS (Record of weekly reading) along with BOOK reviews or blog reviews keep on happening in my school. Since students are poor in G.K., we do believe that basic questions need to be developed by couple of worksheets every week and at the month end an assessment of knowledge gained. All that motivates students a lot. Although G.K. develops through effective teaching of curriculum and through the process of Inquiry. I make sure that in my school parents should have active involvement with their wards. It’s not about helping kids in their homework but to discuss concepts and relate them to practical life (specially in KG to Middle school level at least) is the real work of parents which will make a lot of difference in the perceptions and thought processes of students. They become good friends of their parents which is highly lacking in the society today.
MY MISSION AS A PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPAL
Being a Progressive Principal will definitely add to my profile and further strengthen my personal mission and vision to make sure that students are inspired and prepared to succeed in a global society. I will make sure that my school’s core curriculum should nurture the keen minds and compassionate hearts of the children in a responsive and caring community of learners and our students mature into confident, healthy human beings inspired to contribute to a world that needs. Me and my team believe in motivating the students to meet the challenges with confidence and enthusiasm and also encourage them to become passionate, life-long learners within a diverse and supportive community. My pride that my school fosters the development of responsible and caring world citizens which further empowers the students to succeed in an ever-changing world. We engage parents and the wider community in a meaningful and cooperative partnership.
LEARNING BY DOING
Learning by doing is the basis of IBPYP curriculum and I have also tried to inculcate similar academic planning to some extent (whatever can be accomodated in CBSE curriculum as there is a compulsion of completion of specific chapter wise syllabus). This stimulating learning at Lakshya provides enriching experiences for the students.
Please find few great examples of learning by doing as we practice them at our school.
Transdisciplinary Theme :- Who we are (Kindergarten)
- Topic :- People around us….
Activity :- Meeting the community helpers and interacting with them (Driver, gardener, security, carpenter, Principal, teachers, nurse, Doctor, Chef, Helpers, Ayaas, etc) - Topic :- My Family Resource Person :- Parent along with extended family members.
Activity :- The students enact the role of the family members and thus understand the importance of their presence in the family. - Geography :- Learning about rills and gullies by making short trips to the surrounding areas of the school specially during
- Learning about ecosystems through the school surroundings (narrow streams surrounded by vegetation) – collecting plant samples / observing insects and other animals
- Organising mock parliaments and thus understanding the structure of democracy
- Visit to nearby hospitals and understanding the working procedure of the hospital industry. (Topic :- Healthy Life and Remedies)
- Learning about world issues as we participate in Model United Nations.
- Celebrating world FESTIVALS like La Tomatina, Bull run, Chinese New Year, Durga Puja etc for pre-primary as they understand about celebrations and festivals. Enactments for each of these are planned well for Hands on understanding alongwith viewing the original videos.
INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
A good example will be apt to explain this ideology as followed in my school. During the Inquiry on ‘WELL BEING’ Students prepared an Action Plan to remain healthy and fit throughout their life. They decide to follow their Action Plan daily. They also decide to maintain a diary where they write if they have followed those plans or forgot to follow due to any unavoidable situation (TAKING ACTION). They prepare a script depicting various reasons due to which people fall sick and become unhealthy and also gave the suggestions and solutions to avoid falling sick and remain healthy. Based on their script the students perform a skit and present it in front of the whole school during assembly. They also prepare an oath to maintain the surroundings hygienic in their own words and present during the assembly (ENGLISH INTEGRATION). The Assembly also has a song and yoga (with music) presentation on well being (MUSIC INTEGRATION). Our students prepare posters based on tips for healthy living and spread the awareness of maintaining a healthy lifestyle (ART INTEGRATION). Sports classes have their planning based on the unit and the teacher speaks about development of upper body/lower body strength development and also relate a diet plan to it (SPORTS INTEGRATION). This is just one example and the whole school curriculum is normally planned on these lines.
INTEGRATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTO EDUCATION THROUGH FACULTY
A very good example of the project which we took up is “Greeneria” where a group of students interested for developing a compost collected the waste from regular school breakfast and lunch and snacks (Peel of waste from fruits/vegetables/after lunch waste) and collected them in 6 pits continuously for about 2 and half months till the time the compost. They regularly visited the site and stirred the upcoming compost. Interestingly, worms were not required to be added as natural worms started coming up in the compost. When the moist compost was ready, it was set for drying. Then through a wire mesh the students separated the compost and further packaged it and named the packet with the product name. The packaging (made of non plastic material) also had other details like manufacturing date, price etc what a product normally has. Then in assembly, it was sold to parents and thus the students were named as Young entrepreneurs.
This activity was highly appreciated and it’s a continuous process. These kind of activities are a process through which students get to know the journey of making of a product and come up with marketing ideas as well as. Such kind of ideas are often discussed through the length and breadth of the curriculum for different subjects especially in science where students come up with great new ideas to prepare a product which will be useful to mankind. One such material was a small robot which can do basic work of picking up things and walk down to keep it somewhere else. Another one was making of a wiper on the sunglass keeping in mind if it rains and we can see through the sunglass properly. Such ideas/innovations are highly appreciated in the schools I have worked as an administrator and will keep motivating students to move forward with ideas from “Good to Great”.
PROBLEM SOLVING & CRITICAL THINKING AMIDST THE FACULTY
Problem solving and Critical thinking has been an important part of our school’s curriculum as we have continued with PSA (Problem Solving Assessments) worksheets for our students every week where the students as per the grade level and age. Furthermore, for our Life skills classes the students are given situations and students are expected to collaborate with their teams and come up with a solution to that problem. Critical Thinking is also an important skill kept in mind while designing programmes for the Value Education Classes. The students actively and skillfully try to conceptualize, apply, analyze through the typical question patterns through a group discussion leading to problem solving of a particular concern.
GROUP WORK AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SKILLS AMIDST THE FACULTY
There is a system of subject wise professional development period where teachers work in groups for development of teaching methodologies and sharing of each others findings. Departmental meets are mostly for inter-departmental exchanges of ideas/teaching strategies instead of mere discussions regarding basic paperwork or concerns regarding the completion of syllabus. On a weekly basis – mostly on Saturdays – half an hour of physical activity, meditation or yoga session is undertaken. Teachers collaborate and enjoy the sessions together and that helps in creating a great atmosphere. Staff get-togethers are planned twice or thrice a year which also promote collaboration and building of healthy relationships amongst all which further helps in the growth of school. Workshops on Meditation, building up self-confidence, building up of a progressive School, Stress management, have also been organised at good intervals.
UNDERSTANDING & ACTION BASED LEARNING
Normally a chapter/topic like Rural and Urban areas are read from the book and a few questions and answers are solved in classrooms. But we added an activity in grade V, where our students visited Gated Urban Communities and Open Rural communities to understand the differences in their particular lifestyles. The students interviewed the people of both the communities to learn about their lifestyle and problems. They reflected their feelings about the differences between both the communities and decided to help the people of rural community putting their Critical Thinking Skills to action and being sensitive towards the problems of the people at large.
The students learn about the chapter of democracy and plan a mock parliament whereby they discuss few issues and act like MPs where they debate and try to establish their points. Furthermore students learn about community service and make it a point to take action. The cuisine club of the students prepare Masala Puffed Rice which the students of whole school buy at a small price of Rs. 10 and then that amount is used to buy small educational items for poor kids of the village areas.
Understanding of Bones and Body structure is made more strong with a visit to the hospital where their learning goes beyond books as they get to learn more closely – how a hospital functions with different ailments and the work of different departments for different ailments. The doctors show them various instruments which are used to diagnose the disease and how further actions are taken.
COLLABORATIVE & COOPERATIVE LEARNING PROJECTS FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
PD sessions are compulsory on special days of the month where department wise teachers need to collaborate and come up with quality lesson plans and then share the same in an open forum. This helps to find out the leaders as well as develop the fear of speaking up amongst bigger groups. Inter-Departmental meets are also planned 4 times a month for collaborative planning. Teachers are also asked to give collaborative presentations in groups on various topics through music, sports, enactments and creative ideas. The best presentations are given small prizes. The presentations are mostly around personality development topics.
EDUCATION ACCENTUATING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SAFEGUARDING DEMOCRACY
As our vision and mission clearly speaks about development of responsible and caring world citizens which further empowers the students to succeed in an ever-changing world. It nurtures the keen minds and compassionate hearts of the children in a responsive and caring community of learners and they mature into confident, healthy human beings inspired to contribute to a world that needs them. I strongly believe that our curriculum is woven well to make the students understand that democracy doesn’t start and end at the ballot box. Through their social studies lessons they are made to understand that democratic freedoms and institutions we enjoy were won through people standing together to speak up about issues that they care about. So in school too, they have the space to come up with their thoughts and ideas in various subjects be it academics, be it sports or any other interactive class which invites their thoughts to be spoken about. A special softboard is being given to the prefect council to write about their ideas in different fields. There is a box too at our reception where students can post their grievances as well as appreciations (what they like in school and want it to happen more). Principal’s office is always open for students (except meeting time, except emergencies) where one can suggest or place a concern or come up with an idea for the development of the school.
DESIGN & DELIVERY OF A LEARNING ECOSYSTEM WHEREBY HIGHLY PERSONALIZED LEARNING ACCOUNTING IS DONE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL’S PERSONAL GOALS
The prime objective of my schools accounting an individual’s personal goals is to provide feedback on the learning process. The accounting procedure helps us in identifying what students know, understand, can do, and feel at different stages in the learning process. Students and teachers should be actively engaged in assessing the students’ progress as a part of the development of their wider critical-thinking and self-assessment skills. We do try to understand whether the students have developed a clear understanding of concepts over the time and if they are asking questions of more depth, that are likely to enhance their learning substantially. We try to find out if students are becoming aware that real problems require solutions based on the integration of knowledge that spans and connects many areas. We also record whether the students are demonstrating both independence and an ability to work collaboratively. The formative assessments which are spaced out throughout the year are varied in nature too and it provides information that is used in order to plan the next stage in learning. It is interwoven with learning, and helps teachers and students to find out what the students already know and can do.
INTEGRATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AND SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS INTO THE DAILY CURRICULUM
At Lakshya International School, we have decided to adopt a local village and take up classes for young children upto grade VIII. Our middle school students (VI to IX) also assists on weekly basis and is a part of the service in a true manner. This service really helps our students to understand the rural community and its problems much better and more closely. As they understand that, it will also be more obvious that they should start thinking of ideas how to improve those concerns in village areas surrounding the school. That would further help in igniting ideas amongst students. It would also help them to be more empathetic and sympathetic towards the poor and needy and the urge to serve others gets developed through this.
Further in curriculum students get to integrate community service as our students decide to help the underprivileged children of the rural community by donating food items, toys, stationery, water bottles, pens etc and encourage the underprivileged children to study well and take care of health at least twice a year under Community Action Service. Inviting students on Independence Day/Republic Day programmes and involving them to participate along with our school kids in sports or cultural activities adds a lot to our programmes.
Students do understand that inspite of all odds, the poor kids can perform well !! Further we are also trying to launch a recycling programme through which students can promote less of wastage of materials. Animal care is also an issue and students are told to report animal abuse to school authorities where the school leaders along with students take action regarding such incidents.
FUTURISTIC SELECTION OF SUBJECT CONTENT
Its best to give good examples of skill development which happens through the chosen subject content. IBPYP greatly supports that and it is designed in that particular way that the students develop the 21st century skills through the learner profiles — OPEN MINDEDNESS, CARING, REFLECTIVE, THINKER, PRINCIPLED etc.
During the Inquiry (for PYP) on ‘WELL BEING’ students prepare an action plan to remain healthy and fit throughout their life. They also decide to follow their action plan daily. They also decide to maintain a diary where they write if they have followed those plans or forgot to follow due to any unavoidable situation. During a field trip to Apollo Hospital our students interviewed few doctors and collected data about the number of sick people who visit the hospital and the major health problems of the patients.
The teachers irrespective of board are trained to make sure that students have a clear understanding of knowledge gained, understanding of concepts, skills acquired, attitudes developed and actions to be taken as one learns a particular topic. The first and the foremost thing students are made to understand that they are not learning for the their exams, but for life.
LIFELONG LEARNING AND SOCIAL SKILLS OF FACULTY MEMBERS
When a teacher joins my school, I am very clear with one thing at the very first day when they get selected that they should join my school if they would like to grow !!!! It’s not a school which would appreciate that you stay for long number of years without growth and growth doesn’t always mean to achieve higher positions. Becoming a better teacher over time is also growth. I thereby set expectations pretty high for all and the whole atmosphere in school supports this empowerment. Individuals are highly motivated to always learn from each other through structured meetings which facilitates the process of socialization as well as collaborative approach towards moving together from GOOD to GREAT !!!
Being a lifelong learner is a 21st century skill, where one individual needs to be aware what’s happening around him/her and further for that one needs to be very much active and proactive towards matured understanding, how to react to situations in a positive way. So it’s not always that we get teachers who would have that attribute of being a lifelong learner. It needs to be developed at all ages by making it an integral part of the school culture. Learning happens anywhere and everywhere and we get to learn from each other’s experience.
FACULTY ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION OF THEIR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS & PRODUCTIONS
I have developed a bi-yearly appraisal system for the teachers which I hope will be beneficial for them as they get to understand the expectations of the school from them as well as the areas of development. Through this system, they are intensively evaluated for their innovations and productions in school, be it music, yoga, academics or sports. The school atmosphere greatly promotes the thought process of innovation and supports them with all necessary paraphernalia required to carry out the process of innovative teaching. Its ideally the zeal and eagerness which makes the teachers do something different which has the maximum learning outcome for the children. That’s what is seen and observed by me in general and regular meetings. Appreciation boards for teachers are present where innovative practices are also written down and shared at collaborative meetings.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY TO FACULTY EMPOWERMENT
I do strongly believe that as a Principal if I give more importance to teacher empowerment, the morale of the staff members shall also increase. In my school, a culture of “Teacher Leaders” exists whereby teachers are empowered to be leaders in their own areas (where the responsibility is given to the capable one who further creates other leaders amongst the staff). That’s how the leadership density increases. Thus the focus of control changes from the principal to the teachers which further increases their confidence and when they feel competent in their abilities, classroom instructions also improves.
I believe in encouraging teachers to seize opportunities to share their strengths with their colleagues by providing opportunities or platforms to lead in various events, projects, etc. As my staff improves with their empowerment in school, the school morale increases as well. This is reinforced in the theory of collective efficacy. I have often noticed that empowerment also increases productivity when teachers have more time to collaborate. Teachers need to be placed in situations where they can learn from other teachers.
I normally try to find out and provide structures for collective practice for my staff members. Monthly Inter-Departmental Exchanges provide us great experiences as teachers during the school hours discuss student performance, curriculum, and instruction with their colleagues of different department, as well as, provide encouragement applause and support to each other. Professional Development Periods are compulsory for all teachers twice a week where they take up PD books or surf the internet to learn about teaching strategies for different topics. This is recorded in our school at the school library on a weekly basis. When the teachers get influenced and convinced by a particular discussion, decisions are taken on that. It’s important for me as a Principal to make the teaching fraternity convinced about the decision being taken in a data-driven format with clear cut action plan for its due implementation. By providing experiences for teachers to grow, they become more committed to the school’s mission. As an administrator, I find that as we empower teachers and show trust in them, teachers become more creative and are willing to take risks.