As education rapidly evolves to meet the demands of a complex, fast-changing world, the role of school leadership becomes pivotal in shaping both learners and educators. In this in-depth conversation with Triparna Ray, Dr. Syamali Chowdhury, Principal, Birla Open Minds International School, Kollur, offers valuable perspectives on fostering emotionally intelligent classrooms, empowering teachers as lifelong learners, and delivering a holistic education that goes beyond academics. From mental health support systems to collaborative learning models, Dr. Chowdhury outlines a compassionate and future-forward vision for education in the 21st century.
How do you nurture healthy and respectful teacher-student relationships that adapt to the needs of the modern learner?
It is utmost important to encourage open and honest communication between teachers and students, a culture where all students can share their thoughts and feelings without the fear of being judged. The teachers maintain professional boundaries of mutual respect and compassion while being approachable. At times, students are not comfortable to initiate a discussion or share their feelings, but they want it to be heard. So, we have set up a system of feedback boxes placed at all strategic locations to share their thoughts or the message that they would like to convey. These boxes are only accessed by the leadership team who ensures that the message is acknowledged, and the needful action plan or guidance is being shared with the students.
We encourage collaboration of the students and teachers to make the students feel empowered. The students make the Essential Agreements of the Classroom, share their opinions and plan the activities jointly with the Teachers. We also have peer mentoring programme for making the new students feel comfortable and the students who need more attention and emotional support, to build a sense of ownership.
The Emotional Intelligence of the teachers and students are being nurtured by sensitising them on importance of active listening, understanding the emotional needs and being empathetic towards all. While the teachers are being trained to be mindful about inclusion and equity in teaching learning process by customising the teaching methods to take care of the learners’ requirement, their abilities and learning styles, the students are also guided to respect other’s opinion and value their perspectives to avoid bias interactions.
The learning community demonstrates integrity and accountability which enables us to address disagreements between teachers and students in a balanced manner explaining them regarding the outcome. We acknowledge the efforts taken by the students in organizing school events and their contribution in different activities. The Review and Reflections are also conducted jointly by the students and teachers where a critical analysis is done to focus on areas of improvement as an opportunity to learn and grow.
How can school leadership empower teachers to be lifelong learners in an education system that is evolving faster than ever?
In the rapidly evolving educational system, lifelong learning is an integral part to foster a culture of learning by being open minded and adaptability to changes. The school leadership should always be open to new learning by actively participating in professional development workshops to stay updated about local and global educational trends and explore innovations in education. Promoting a participative leadership style encouraging teachers to take ownership of their roles, leading to a more engaged and motivated workforce fostering a culture of achievement and collaboration.
It is also very important to establish a safe space for the teachers to try different approaches without the fear of being failure if the desired outcome is not achieved. The teachers must be provided access to self-paced professional development learning programmes, workshops for professional development to be equipped with new teaching methods and approaches, competency for subject specific understanding, different e – learning platforms, technology integration, practical applications of edtech tools to enrich teaching leraning practices.
The teachers must be given an opportunity to attend community meets, other Institutions, connect with professional associations and conferences to share their best practices which gives them a sense of accomplishment and learn from different educators.
The School Leadership must encourage collaboration to discuss about the curriculum changes and involve them in decision making regarding embracing any changes that is required in the best interest of the learners. The teachers should be encouraged to reflect on the existing practices, implementing the feedback and suggestions constructively and evolve their strategies.
While the teachers embrace all the challenges and look for opportunities of growth, the school leadership must acknowledge their commitment and celebrate the milestones achieved by them to keep them motivated and it inspires the others as well.
What support systems must schools build to address growing concerns around mental health—for both students and staff?
Wellbeing of staff and students is a priority for a thriving learning community. To address the growing concerns around mental health, schools must have a framework of support systems for a nurturing environment where they feel valued and supported. An Open-Door Policy and approachable leadership ensure creating a culture of trust and respect for the staff and students to share their concerns without any hesitation.
The counselling services by trained school counsellors must be available for the students and staff members to seek support as and when necessary keeping in mind the confidentiality aspect. An anonymous reporting system also facilitates in seeking help without any stigma. For students, it is important to train them regarding coping with peer pressure, Learning to Say No to Wrong Choices, Anger Management while for the staff members, it is vital to organize sessions to manage burn out, maintain work life balance, anger management and professional stress.
Guidance and counselling by peers for emotional support sometimes work wonderfully for senior school students and also for staff members. It is very important to develop an understanding of emotional regulation, stress management and developing age-appropriate resilience among the students; Also, it is important to conduct workshops to guide the teachers for identifying early signs of mental health challenges and sensitise the students for seeking timely help.
The Anti bullying Committee, Health and Wellness Committee and Grievance Redressal Committees in school where both teachers and students are a part of it to address the students by recognizing and responding to situations.
The Wellness Programmes like Yoga and Meditation sessions, Team Building Retreats really helps and hence should be extended to students and staff members as well.
What core life skills—beyond academic knowledge—should schools focus on to prepare children for a complex, uncertain future?
In the era of cognitive revolution, preparing the children for the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) World requires nurturing core life skills that go beyond academics. The first and foremost focus should be on communication skills to express thought and ideas confidently and being active listener to connect with people around them. As a global citizen, they need to develop an understanding of social, cultural, and environmental issues. This will help them foster their civic responsibility and ethical decision-making on the importance of contributing to society.
Information can be retrieved very easily in today’s world but it requires the ability to think critically, analyse situations, evaluate the best suitable options, develop the adaptability to accept the same and make informed decisions.
Emotional Intelligence is also a key driving point where the children develop self-awareness by understanding the strengths and weaknesses, being empathetic towards others and managing their emotions appropriately to collaborate effectively and resolve conflicts amicably; Along with Financial Literacy, Technology proficiency, it is also utmost important to develop age-appropriate Leadership Skills, ability to work with the teammates sharing creative ideas, adapt to change, and thinking out of the box for seeking creative solutions.
How can schools provide a holistic education that includes sports, arts, social awareness, and life skills alongside academic learning?
A holistic education is extended by integrating multiple dimensions of learning into the curriculum. The learning environment is very dynamic, and it is driven effectively when partnership of the school with the parents is strong. It is important that the parents understand the requirement of skill development beyond academic scores.
The school needs to plan age-appropriate sports and performing arts, maintaining the balance of scholastic subjects. However, social awareness programmes, life skills and collaborative learning projects must be integrated within the curriculum so that it is reinforced strongly as a part of their learner profile. When students participate in group projects or in team events, their leadership and team spirit is fostered naturally. Encouraging Student Led Activities and Events, contribution of ideas in School Policy framing, develops the ability to instills decision making skills.
The Teachers to be trained continuously for facilitating a holistic learning environment by following different pedagogical approaches and extend the learning beyond the classrooms, encouraging collaboration and allowing the learners to enjoy their self-exploratory learning experience.
