Books that changed teachers’ lives

Ahead of Teachers’ Day on September 5, Bengaluru mentors list books that made a difference in their lives

Ignited minds

APJ Abdul Kalam

In this book, Kalam examines attitudes afflicting the people and hindering growth. Radha Swaminathan, history teacher from Deccan International School, Padmanabha Nagar, says, “It is about the obstacles that India faced and how he managed to show people how to remove those obstacles.”

Bharatiya Samskruthi

S Srikanta Shastri

This book discusses the history of ancient India in all its dimensions. Sindhu Jagannath, professor at SJB Institute of Technology, Kengeri, says, “This book has not only changed my perception of my own culture but has also given me the strength of knowing my history.” A good historian makes a dead civilisation come alive through analysis, and a good history teacher reading such scholarly books can inspire young minds, she says.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Paulo Freire

One of the most cited books in the social sciences, this book was based on the author’s experiences of helping Brazilian adults read and write.

“It completely revolutionised the way we looked at students and the way we looked at ourselves as teachers,” says Rakesh Katarey, senior professor at College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Dayananda Sagar University.

Katarey says he earlier used to look at himself as a repository of knowledge who merely had to pour his knowledge into students’ minds. “I realised that my true worth lay in building a critical consciousness among the young,” he says.

To Sir, With Love

E R Braithwaite

This 1959-autobiographical novel is a true story of the author taking up a school post in Greenslade, UK. “I had always wanted to be a teacher but this book showed me the kind of teacher I would like to be,” says Vivian Jennifer, professor of English at St Joseph’s Pre University College, Ashok Nagar. She loves this line from the book: “Every teacher should have a fund of ready information on which to draw; they should keep the fund supplied regularly with new experiences, new thoughts and discoveries by reading and moving around people from whom they can acquire things.”

Today I Made a Difference

Joseph Underwood

Published in 2009, it features a collection of inspiring stories from America’s top educators. “This book inspires, motivates and celebrates the biggest difference makers in society — teachers. After all, our favourite teacher is the one who made a difference in our life,” says Elizabeth Joseph, vice principal and biology teacher, Greenwood High International School.

ReWork

D H Hansson and Jason Fried

This book is hailed by many as a radical business book. Mansi K G, guest lecturer in Social media Marketing at Dayanand Sagar University, Kumaraswamy Layout, says she was always looking for perfection, and the book taught her how important it is to ‘just start’.

How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk

Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Two internationally-acclaimed communication experts came out with this book. Shefali Tyagi, principal of National Public School, HSR Layout, says, “A colleague had recommended this book to me when I was a young teacher.” The book helped her “speak what is right and when it is right.”