Teachers as readers

Reading positively impacts teaching practice, but time remains a major impediment for teachers to read, writes Aruna Sankaranarayanan

Schools have always exhorted students to read. At Crayon Preschool in Bengaluru, books are always given as prizes or gifts. A CBSE school in Faridabad rewards children who borrow the maximum number of books from the library. Students can be found curled up with books during the dedicated silent reading time at The Atelier in Bengaluru.

Even as schools actively champion reading in students, do they nurture reading in teachers? What are the reading habits of teachers?

A broader definition of reading

For Madhu Prakash, the Academic Coordinator, Crayon Preschool, reading is a “stress-buster.” Though she hasn’t been formally diagnosed, Madhu feels she’s dyslexic. Although reading, especially dense tomes, remains a challenge, she pushes herself to read for at least fifteen to twenty minutes every day. She prefers short articles, particularly those related to education and psychology. She reads every night before going to bed because it soothes her. Likewise, Pratima, a teacher, counsellor and bibliophile in Faridabad, turns to reading when she is nettled by something. She tries to squeeze in an hour every day and devours both fiction and non-fiction.

Neelam Dixit, co-founder of NeeAr, Nurture Equity Education Awareness & Research, a consultancy for schools, reads newspapers, magazines, and books for at least half an hour every morning. She finds it difficult to read many pages at a stretch and prefers to reflect on short extracts at a time. At night, she reads research papers as it gives her something to mull over while falling asleep.

Vani Ramachandran, a primary years teacher at The Atelier, reads widely across a gamut of genres almost every day. While she has always been an avid reader, she experienced a period during which she questioned the purpose and intent of reading.

Vani believes that purists define reading in a rather narrow way by limiting it to books, particularly highbrow ones. However, she argues that we need a less judgmental approach to what constitutes reading, including any engagement with the printed word. So, reading can encompass anything from labels to recipes to letters to instructions to articles to books. If we consider reading to involve only books, we set the bar too high, which often dissuades many children and adults from seeing themselves as readers. 

Developing a reading community

Both Madhu and Pratima enjoy being part of a community that discusses books. Madhu has formed an online book club with relatives, while Pratima is part of a WhatsApp group that exchanges book recommendations. However, neither of them had luck trying to persuade their colleagues to read more. 

While Madhu tried to initiate a book club for teachers at her school, the suggestion wasn’t met with enthusiasm. Pratima says that her colleagues eke out time to scroll on social media, but don’t prioritise reading. However, she piqued the curiosity of some teachers after delivering a presentation on The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Neelam also finds it hard to coax teachers to read. Most of them are pressed for time and are intent only on completing the syllabus. She finds that teachers of Indian Boards tend to be more textbook-focused, whereas teachers of international schools that follow the International Baccalaureate curriculum are more open to reading and learning from other sources. 

Vani’s school has a vibrant reading culture among teachers, who often carry books. She often discusses books with her colleagues, particularly those related to pedagogy or child development. Reading is also baked into their professional development sessions, with time allotted for silent reading for teachers. 

All the teachers unequivocally stated that reading has positively impacted their teaching practice. Vani states that Playground Politics by Stanley Greenspan and Jacqueline Salmon helped her observe and make sense of the dynamics of childhood relationships. Reading Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers by Kathy Short helped Vani invite children to generate ideas to write their own books. For Pratima, Dibs in Search of Self by Virgina Axline and To Sir with Love by E R Braithwaite have influenced how she engages with children.

Madhu says that reading has broadened her worldview and helps her view situations from multiple perspectives. Neelam directs parents of children with learning delays to the writings of Helen Keller or Toto Chan by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi to help them appreciate their child’s strengths.

What can schools do to create a reading culture for teachers on campus? Because time is a major impediment, schools should reduce the administrative burden on teachers so that they can allocate time to reading. Having teachers present the books that inspired them, or creating a space for discussions of interesting details they read, can move the needle in the right direction. Given limited budgets, schools may at least stock books on pedagogy and psychology, as most teachers are keen to improve their craft.

(The author is a freelance counsellor)