I won’t deny it; the past month has been a tough one for those engaged with struggles over inequality and social justice. You might ask, which month—or week or day—is not?  That is true, but some months—days, weeks, hours—are harder than others. Teachers may not been seen as social justice warriors, but there’s no denying that our classrooms are places where we can glimpse the potential and possibility for social change, one individual at a time. Which is why—as the theme of this issue suggests—we need to find ways of finding and keeping our inner strength, ways of staying centered and calm even when the world around us seems to be falling apart.

If you pay any attention to the news, you would have seen the headlines screaming out at you about the horrific events involving a medical professional in Kolkata, or the equally horrible fate of a young woman outside Mumbai, or again, a teenager in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Some of you may have joined protests or silently shed a tear, thinking that the stories never seem to end. Ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat remarked that while such gruesome incidents make the headlines, the struggle against gender based violence is an everyday fact in almost every sphere of activity. And, one might add, in almost every space, whether private or public, domestic or professional. The Justice Hema Committee report, made public in late July, which deals with gender-based exploitation in the Malayalam film industry, lists the persistent practices that render women vulnerable. It’s been called Kerala cinema’s “Me Too Moment”, leading us to wonder how many more industries and sectors will reveal their own sordid stories. The teaching community, and the education sector more broadly, are not exempt, and issues of gender based exploitation can affect those who deliver education, manage institutions, and, most crucially, those who enter these spaces to learn.

In Teacher Plus we do not often talk about such issues, except in the context of how we might make our classrooms more gender equitable, or how we can sensitize children in a way that makes them less likely to engage in gender-discriminatory behaviours. We have in the past delved deeply into matters of sexuality and sex education, carrying more than one series of articles that give teachers ideas about how to deal with these sensitive topics in class. But clearly what we are doing in our classrooms and in our homes is not enough to make this culture change. We still have to worry about our girls (and boys), and we still have to teach them ways of protecting themselves from a society that refuses to shift its ways of seeing and thinking.

But we must go on. And we must keep trying. And each time a young face looks at you with comprehension, or whose eyes light up with interest, or who sees the connections you have attempted to show, you know it’s all worth it. The ability to “keep on keeping on” comes from a space inside you fed by your own interests and passions, but it is also fed by these signs that tell you that what you’re doing touches lives. And maybe, can change things.

As for me, where do I go to find that energy, or to rest my mind and spirit when faced with the tragedies of the world, large and small? I fall into the comfort of a novel, to discover other worlds of possibility, and I cushion myself with music and poetry. When it’s not raining, and there’s a weekend with hours to spare, I take a walk in whatever piece of greenery I can find. Or I sit doing nothing, holding a cup of hot filter coffee.

Usha Raman