One of the biggest challenge facing schools headmistresses today is to find a way to teach students through methods they themselves did not experience.
Speaking at ‘Dimensions of leadership’, a workshop organised by Teach for India (TFI) in partnership with the Chennai Corporation and International School of Prague (ISP), Cindy Vega, elementary school principal, ISP, said that there was a need to foster creative and critical thinking so that it becomes a routine.
“It’s not easy. This is not how we were taught,” she told a gathering of 35 headmistresses of schools run by the Corporation.
The thrust was on working together as a team and creatively exploring solutions that suit the local context, she added. “As a leader, you have to create experiences that you want for the students, and for teachers as well,” Ms. Cindy said.
The workshop explored ideas such as allowing teachers to take risks and try new things. When some pointed out that the HM was answerable at the end of the day, Ms. Cindy said it is a challenge. “But that does not mean that we don’t give them the opportunity,” she said.
Through a video, she introduced the HMs to the hands-on practices adopted at their school and encouraged them to brainstorm on what they wanted to know and what worried them, and invited suggestions.
They discussed not just challenges, but solutions as well. For instance, Ms. Cindy spoke about how in a larger classroom, students could be divided in groups. “In the video, the teacher is always moving around. She is hardly standing in the front of the classroom,” she said. They discussed the need to collaborate and develop a clear vision for the school.
Headmistresses said it was possible to adapt these practices in their schools, and some, such as activity-based learning methodology, were already being adopted.
The session had HMs from both schools with and without TFI classrooms, said Archana Ramachandran, city director, Chennai, TFI. They place young graduates and professional in low-resource schools and engage in the long-term through their alumni movement. Their fellows are placed in 25 Chennai Corporation schools.
The workshop was held as part of a five-day visit by the ISP team to Corporation schools where TFI has its presence. The goal of the ongoing collaboration, Ms. Cindy said, was to facilitate student-to-student interaction.