Abstract
S. Giridhar, Ordinary people, extraordinary teachers. The heroes of real India. Chennai: Azim Premji University & Westland Publications, 2019. 296 pages, ₹349.
S Giridhar’s Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers is a descriptive book of the daily lives of over 100 educators including headteachers and teachers, working in rural government-run schools in the three states of Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The districts have been selected based on where Azim Premji Foundation has a field presence. The book is significant for the author’s deep and vast engagement in the field, especially in rural India. The author examines some of the challenges teachers and head-teachers face in rural and remote government schools on a day-to-day basis. The book highlights the commitment that these teachers and headteachers possess to educate the most marginalised and vulnerable children of the country. The descriptions, depicted through the lens of individual teacher’s daily work, the hurdles she/he faces and her/his selflessness provide a panoramic view of education in rural India. Although Giridhar positions the fieldwork as a qualitative study, this book is cast more in the form of a reflective dialogue with detailed field notes written up as cases, rather than a formal qualitative study. Giridhar has grouped these cases into two broad categories, education leadership and management and teachers’ work. The themes he uses to connect the evidence and reflect on the education ecosystem are ‘head teachers as CEOs’, ‘reflective practitioners’, ‘equality and quality’, ‘teamwork’ and ‘heroes’, though there is no explicit mention of how he arrived at these thematic classifications. Giridhar presents his views and experiences related to each of these themes first and supports this empirically through specific cases that he offers for each topic.
The themes ‘head teachers as CEOs’ and ‘teamwork’ together demonstrate how successful school leaders are connected and committed to the community they teach in, and how they seek out support from the system and the community for school infrastructure and resources. Of the two, the theme ‘teamwork’ further highlights how some headteachers gain the trust of their teachers for working together as a team to achieve their goals. A common goal of these leaders is to demonstrate to the parents that their children will receive quality education in their schools, and thus, prevent them from moving to low-fee private schools. There has been a significant decrease in government school enrolments, with parents perceiving that the low-fee private schools offer better quality education. However, this perception has been challenged through empirical work by educators and researchers (Jain et al., 2018; Sarangapani & Winch, 2010). Their research indicates that quality of education is a complex and multifaceted construct and that low-fee private schools often use superficial ideas of quality to lure parents from marginalised communities. In the cases Giridhar presents, leaders have been successful in achieving increased enrolments in their schools through concrete actions. This includes improving the infrastructure and delivering on learning outcomes as evident in their students successfully getting admissions into sought after district Navodaya Vidyalaya schools. The theme ‘head teachers as CEOs’ highlights the unique needs of students and schools located in rural and remote locations in India. I think it is impossible for any private enterprise to provide sustainable educational provisions in such contexts.
The themes ‘reflective practitioners’ and ‘equality and quality’ address the work and education of teachers and speak directly to the pedagogic and classroom practices of teachers. Pedagogic work is at the core of teachers’ professional identity formation (Sarangapani et al., 2018); however, these two themes have been dealt with very superficially. Girdhar’s exploration of a reflective practitioner is weak, and therefore, it is difficult to link the cases he offers with good reflective practice. A reflective practitioner can critically analyse her/his practice against theoretical ideas with colleagues and use an inquiry approach to her/his teaching to improve practice (NCTE, 2009). Further, findings from NCERT’s study of Continuous Professional Development outcomes in 15 states shows little indication of teachers use and understanding of constructivist pedagogies (Yadav, 2012), as suggested in the National Curriculum Framework (NCERT, 2005) or even demonstration of reflective practices by teachers. Merely remembering ‘aha’ moments of specific workshops do not count for reflective practice, and Giridhar’s analysis falls short of presenting deeper insights into these areas.
One of the pedagogical aspects that is highlighted in this book is the teacher’s acceptance and implementation of the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) policy. However, the treatment is broad and generic, and one is not able to discern if these teachers have genuinely grasped and implemented the underlying principles of formative assessment. Concrete evidences of pedagogic practices, as in the case of Anita Rawat: ‘If I give them an independent assignment and they are able to do it in a responsible manner, it is an important indicator of their interest in learning’ (p. 88), are far too few to give a comprehensive picture of teachers’ pedagogic and reflective practices. Most of the evidence presented is in the form of statements that Giridhar himself makes regarding the quality of the teachers’ pedagogic practices. Similarly, maxims such as ‘every child can learn’, ‘child-centred learning’ or ‘all-round development of a child’ are described as good pedagogies teachers adopt for equity and quality education. The cases attempt to illustrate the beliefs that these teachers have around such pedagogical ideas; however, they fall short of providing evidence that may show that these beliefs are translated into consistent practices in classrooms.
In general, it appears that the work of education leadership and management are captured more easily as the processes and outcomes are more explicitly visible. On the other hand, a teacher’s pedagogic activities are more implicit and less visible. This requires a deep and sustained attention to core elements of school education—curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments—and the nuances of these elements as evident in classroom practices of teachers. In its simplistic approach to the work of the teacher and the elements that inform the development of her/his professional practice, this book has not been able to address adequately this nuanced and layered nature of their work in our government schools. Giridhar often invokes the positive impact of one particular teacher professional development program Nali-Kali in his cases without providing detailed evidence. However, a significant body of critical empirical research exists related to the Nali-Kali framework and its notion of child-centred pedagogies (Menon & Thirumalai, 2016; Sriprakash, 2010). The thick descriptions (Geertz, 1973) that a qualitative researcher generates through intersections with theoretical ideas and field notes are what distinguishe it from anecdotal evidence. In the case of the teacher and her pedagogy, this book fails to provide thick and detailed descriptions.
This book intends to address head-on the research discourse that questions government school teachers’ ethical and moral commitment to their work through the research work around teacher absenteeism and reduced efficiency of the public school system as compared to low-fee private schools. The theme ‘heroes’ specifically highlights cases where teachers go above and beyond their call of duty to ensure the best possible educational opportunities for their students. This theme has similarities to Khora’s (2011) in-depth qualitative study of teacher professionalism in a district of Odisha. Khora’s (2011) findings also show that the teachers in his study were morally committed to their work and exhibited a sense of selflessness, indicating a cultural phenomenon, perhaps closely tied to the notion of ‘teacher as guru’. Building this discourse of teachers as heroes, in my opinion, is problematic. It suggests the idea of a ‘teacher’ being glorified (as a person) as opposed to being respected for her professional work and identity. Problematizing the idea of ‘teacher as guru’ in the current context of teacher accountability, Khora also questions the discourse of altruism that is often expected of the teaching profession to the extent of sacrificing one’s individual identity and aspirations. This further burdens the teacher to deliver at any cost, minimising the government’s responsibility to provide sufficient material resources, support and infrastructure. Do teachers need to be heroes to do their work, or does the government have a moral and legal responsibility to provide adequate resources for teachers to go about their work without having to be selfless on a day-to-day basis?
Giridhar’s cases describing education leaders working in rural India are comprehensive. His grasp of issues and themes around education leadership and management are detailed, and he portrays the problems and shortcomings at both the school and systemic layers and provides readers with ample ideas for implementation of possible reforms to address these concerns. The theme ‘head teachers as CEOs’ alone convinces the readers why we must support government schools. I would recommend this book for any organisation, CSRs and individuals who are working or intend to work with the government system and schools, especially in rural India. On the other hand, reforms related to teachers’ development are complex and the scale of reform cannot be achieved single-handedly; it requires a collaborative effort from multiple organisations and stakeholders, including teachers themselves. However, a paradigm shift is needed in conceptualising such reforms in India to improve the quality of teaching, formation of teacher’s identity, the status of teachers and thus the quality of education. Such reforms and programs must be built on strong theoretical understanding, empirical findings and responsible leveraging of technology. Theory, after all, is the practitioners’ most valuable means for understanding and transforming practice.
This book is an indication that we must consider the distinctive context of government run schooling in rural India while planning any reforms to improve the quality of education. These are the schools that cater to the majority and most marginalised communities of the country. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers is only half the work done, we need Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teaching to ensure quality education for all.