Let them make some noise

In Imagine: No Child Left Invisible , one small exercise author Shelja Sen sets out is to invite you to reflect on one teacher from your schooldays who touched your life. Stop and take a few minutes to do this, then pick up the book again. This is how Imagine demands to be read: by making connections between words, action and introspection.

A second tagline clarifies the purpose of the book: Building emotionally safe spaces for inclusive & creative learning. As we struggle to wrap our heads around the brutalisation of children and childhood, it stands to reason that building safe spaces and enabling the creation of an inclusive society be the primary concern of individuals and organisations. As Sen, who is a child and adult psychologist and family therapist, writes: “The simple truth is that children do not learn from teachers they do not like or look up to.” We know this instinctively. We knew it as children, we know it as parents/adults; some of us know it as teachers even if we refuse to acknowledge it.

New lessons

Combining eclectic wisdom from scholars, experts, philosophers and writers, with anecdotes from personal and received knowledge, the book offers a commonsensical yet philosophical approach to the learning experience in schools. It primarily addresses teachers, parents, counselors, therapists and others engaged in enabling change, urging them to “reflect, rethink and redesign schools” that celebrate children. However, the writing would appeal as well to anybody who is interested, and that includes children themselves. The detailed table of contents suggests a textbook; that fear is belied in the introduction. However, when Sen writes that schools “need to be spaces where children are nurtured, allowed to think, be curious, get inspired, imagine… ask questions. Where they can learn to communicate, collaborate, interact meaningfully… Where they can play, laugh, love, make mistakes…” you begin to wonder if the author is not being unrealistic.

Luckily, the book falls between pragmatism and idealism. It is engaging, if somewhat overwritten in parts, and makes friendly connections. Importantly, it allows readers to dwell on their own personal experiences — and not necessarily as teachers because after all, learning happens everywhere — and draw their own conclusions. It is a teaching book that promises to make learning an enjoyable and enriching experience.

We know that a majority of children go through school feeling ignored. Only some get noticed — for several, sometimes valid, reasons — and only they have the potential to reap the maximum benefit. The rest carry labels: ‘failure’, ‘under-achiever’, ‘incapable’, ‘lazy’. On the other hand, teachers are often overburdened, or they’re incapable or not interested. So when Sen urges us to look at children, to see them, to be mindful, this is the place she’s coming from.

She emphasises how important it is to acknowledge the existence and relevance of each individual, build community, culture and connections, and take different approaches to teaching (“If I can’t learn the way you teach, can you teach me the way I learn?”). She draws attention to the presence of diverse learners, and the need for thinking classrooms, rethinking discipline, understanding teenagers as works in progress, mindful leadership, commitment, and so on. Too much to digest? Not really. Sen pulls it off because she moves the heavy stuff with a light touch.

For instance, in ‘Chapter 3: Community — it takes a child to raise a village’, she says: “So rather than asking our children ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’, we need to be asking them ‘What do you want to do now ?’” She posits the argument that by asking this question, we will enable children to acquire the abilities to become change agents now, in their growing years, than after they have become adults and have catapulted into their professional lives.

This compelling logic is made more effective by the author then talking about nurturing ethical leadership through compassion, character, critical thinking, courage and collaboration. (Yes, there’s a little too much of this kind of alliteration.)

Be a mindful teacher

When she points out that “children have a built-in dignity” and “small gestures carry a strong message of worthiness and significance”, it brings to mind images such as berating a child publicly, or pulling her ears for ‘talking’, or even snatching something from his hand — actions that make a child feel humiliated.

A sensible voice is heard through the idealism, and suggestions in sections titled ‘Reflection’ and ‘Dig Deep’ offer useful directions to a range of issues. When she quotes Emma Watson, famous as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, as saying, “If you’re anything other than an extrovert, you’re made to think there’s something wrong with you”, it is sure to strike a chord.

She quotes educationist Joe Ruhl’s TED talk in which he “mentions two kinds of love teachers need to have: love for the subject they are teaching and love for each child in the classroom”. This immediately recalled a certain bandmaster who routinely hit his wards — clearly, he loved neither music nor children. It also recalled a maths teacher about whom Sheshagiri KM Rao has written in The Gentle Man Who Taught Infinity (Ekalavya).

Scholarly and academic this book is not. It’s a mix of formal and informal, information and illustration. The personal touch is what makes it easy to relate to. It offers a healthy dose of practical advice as also insights into the nature of children.

As Sen points out, children are designed to be noisy. She also says, “It’s not about being the perfect teacher but a more mindful one.”

But the one big problem is the number of typos, unacceptable in any published work, more so in a teaching-learning book.

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