Wednesday, June 16, 2010

endings and possible beginnings

Endings invariably hold within them seeds of many new beginnings. Teacher Plus, which turns 21 this month, has arrived at what appears to be the end of a difficult but always satisfying journey. It is in many ways ironic that this chronological coming of age has coincided with the closure of the magazine. But in these 21 years, we have created a small but loyal and always interactive community of readers, writers and thinkers who have shared their ideas and experiences with us and with each other through the pages of the magazine.

A big thank you to all those people--


  • teachers who continue to struggle and smile and suffer and find joy in classrooms;
  • curriculum developers who straddle the line between the ideal and the practical, who hold a vision in their heads and try to draw it on paper through syllabi and materials;
  • principals and school administrators who must meet varying demands, and serve diverse needs and expectations;
  • parents who hold hope and worry, and try to give their children the tools, through education, to deal with their futures;
  • reformers and idealists who think education holds the key;
  • ...and just everyone who fits those labels and others.

Teacher Plus has endeavored, through its articles, to spark ideas and means of their implementation in learning spaces, and also to give teachers a sense of themselves--as people, as professionals, as important catalysts of human development.

Unfortunately, material resources drive the expression of ideas, and when those resources are in short supply, it becomes difficult to sustain activity. Teacher Plus has been fortunate over the past 21 years to have had the support of many individuals and three organizations that have believed that change in education--through teachers--is possible. These are Orient Longman (now Orient Blackswan), Spark-India, and Wipro Applying Thought in Schools (WATIS). But at some point the ideas must create enough energy to propel their own expression. And that is what could not be achieved by Teacher Plus.

However, the team at Teacher Plus does not really believe that this is the end of the road. Call it denial, call it wishful thinking, but we truly think we have a good thing going, and it's not "done" to just shut shot and call it a day. We've had heartwarming and encouraging responses from authors and readers who have heard the news of the closure, and all of them have asked if they can do anything to help us stay afloat.

So we're thinking. And looking long and hard at possible options. Something may come of that yet.

In the meantime, this is a space where the Teacher Plus community can continue to share and continue to learn from each other.

Ideas are welcome!

1 comment:

  1. It is sad news.
    Something will definitely come up . All the Best.
    Lakshmi

    ReplyDelete