Kamala Mukunda As a teacher, I value the kind of reflection that perhaps any human being would benefit from. It has to do with how we understand our own actions and attitudes. It’s quite easy to evaluate other people and systems; we can all come up with excellent analyses of the flaws in another teacher, or a student, or another school, or the government education department! But turning the whole thing inward, on oneself, is a very different cup of tea. What does it feel like to encounter one’s own ‘flaws’? My instinctive answer to that question usually runs along these lines: Of course I know I’m not perfect. I know my own strengths and weaknesses. I’m really bad at this, and I’m not so good at that. But on closer reflection, these admissions sound a bit insincere. To tell the truth, I see myself only dimly, behind a haze of justifications and excuses. I’m rarely that accommodating of the faults of other people! Especially as we gain experience in the teaching profession, we tend to become more and more sure of ourselves. The hesitation and tentativeness of youth gradually (sometimes rapidly!) recede, replaced by a sense of being assured and knowledgeable. Of course this is a move for the better; we do need to be confident, act decisively and not be paralyzed by self-doubt. But the other side of this coin is a deep reluctance to re-look, to re-examine the assumptions behind what we do, to backtrack, to acknowledge a mistake. I read somewhere that CEOs and heads of organizations find it all the more difficult to reflect on their actions, because being in that position means they have a lot more to lose by admitting that they have made a mistake. And because of this, and the power they wield, the potential damage to the organization is very high if a mistake is made. This is quite similar to the role of a teacher, as CEO of his or her particular group of students! The teacher has significant authority and power in that situation. So, it is critical that she give time to reflect upon what she is doing and why. What are some of the things a teacher could reflect upon? The list is long, ranging from a quick interaction with a student or colleague that didn’t go so well, to long-term habits of relationship. I could ask myself questions like this: Do I make the other person uncomfortable? Did I allow

Kamala Mukunda As a teacher, I value the kind of reflection that perhaps any human being would benefit from. It has to do with how we understand our own actions and attitudes. It’s quite easy to evaluate other people and systems; we can all come up with excellent analyses of the flaws in another teacher, or a student, or another school, or the government education department! But turning the whole thing inward, on oneself, is a very different cup of tea. What does it feel like to encounter one’s own ‘flaws’? My instinctive answer to that question usually runs along these lines: Of course I know I’m not perfect. I know my own strengths and weaknesses. I’m really bad at this, and I’m not so good at that. But on closer reflection, these admissions sound a bit insincere. To tell the truth, I see myself only dimly, behind a haze of justifications and excuses. I’m rarely that accommodating of the faults of other people! Especially as we gain experience in the teaching profession, we tend to become more and more sure of ourselves. The hesitation and tentativeness of youth gradually (sometimes rapidly!) recede, replaced by a sense of being assured and knowledgeable. Of course this is a move for the better; we do need to be confident, act decisively and not be paralyzed by self-doubt. But the other side of this coin is a deep reluctance to re-look, to re-examine the assumptions behind what we do, to backtrack, to acknowledge a mistake. I read somewhere that CEOs and heads of organizations find it all the more difficult to reflect on their actions, because being in that position means they have a lot more to lose by admitting that they have made a mistake. And because of this, and the power they wield, the potential damage to the organization is very high if a mistake is made. This is quite similar to the role of a teacher, as CEO of his or her particular group of students! The teacher has significant authority and power in that situation. So, it is critical that she give time to reflect upon what she is doing and why. What are some of the things a teacher could reflect upon? The list is long, ranging from a quick interaction with a student or colleague that didn’t go so well, to long-term habits of relationship. I could ask myself questions like this: Do I make the other person uncomfortable? Did I allow

Gopal Midha A few days ago, I attended a “reflection meeting” at a school. The Head of the middle school was sitting with a few teachers. She began the discussion with some pointers about the approaching Annual Day. After 30 minutes of instructions on the responsibilities of each teacher, the discussion finally shifted into reflection mode through the analysis of a lesson plan. A teacher presented how she planned to teach the concept of “pressure” to grade 6 students. For the next 15 minutes, all the others in the staff room discussed how the plan could be improved and soon after, the school day ended for the weary teachers who were glad to head home. I sat in the staff room as everyone left, thinking of what had happened. The school had allocated 60 minutes for reflection but what I observed did not really seem like a reflective session. Suggesting changes to a lesson plan would definitely involve thinking, but I wondered if all thinking was reflective? And what about the first 30 minutes of the meeting spent on administrative tasks? Why did “reflection” get sidelined? Was it just another case of urgent tasks usurping activities that are important? Do we come ready with the tools of reflection or can there be a method and structure to make it more effective for teachers? So, I began to dig deeper into this concept of reflection and reflective engagement. This article presents my current understanding of this concept and presents a method which I believe will be useful for teachers and other professionals. Reflection is important but how do we do it? John Dewey describes reflective thought as an ‘active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends’ (Dewey 1933: 118). So, for thinking to be called reflective, it requires persistence, care, and action. Further, reflection tries to go behind the scenes and figure out what beliefs we hold and where they lead us. This sounded like a good enough beginning. I am not sure that we are born experts on reflection. It seems like a deliberate and careful process of probing into the innermost chambers of thinking. And this might not be easy. First, a lot of our actions are grounded in beliefs hidden from us. Second, we never really were expected or supported to do this kind of thinking in school. Most of our

Geetha Durairajan Evaluating others and ourselves As human beings, we engage in many kinds of reflections. Some of these are evaluations which are reflective and others reflect our values. Every time we look at another person, we evaluate them. This ‘judgment’ if it can be called that, is often unconscious and automatic. Without even realizing it, we judge the appearance, clothes, and even language (particularly accent) and actions of people. The nature of this ‘judgment’ or evaluation is a reflection of our values and ourselves. Those of you who are regular readers of my column Touchstone may recall my first article in that series titled ‘Coloured judgments’ (Teacher Plus, February 2012). I had assumed that a dark skinned woman in a crushed sari could not be an interpreter. This judgment was a reflection of my own values and showed me up in a bad light, not her. We look at other people and their actions and evaluate the actions to find them wanting, or think that they are fantastic. This evaluation is a reflection of our assumptions and our goals. Our views are reflected through our evaluation of other people. If I feel that it is not right for women to sing and dance in public or wear modern ‘revealing’ clothes, then I judge that woman as dressed ‘scantily’ or as wearing revealing clothes. If I am comfortable with shorts, mini-skirts, or short tops, I will probably ‘judge’ that woman as modern! This is true of all people, and all situations. It is not only other people’s images that we judge. Very often we judge our own images or rather reflections as well. All of us look at ourselves in a mirror every morning when we get dressed. We may spend a few minutes but often that time spent doesn’t even register in our consciousness. When we get dressed for an important occasion, (an interview, a presentation, a meeting) however, all of us spend a little more time and take a bit more care with our appearance. Once dressed, we take a minute or two to look at our image in the mirror and do a mental check: “Am I okay, do I look neat enough, will I impress…?” When we do this, we are, in a sense, evaluating ourselves and passing judgment. But this evaluation of our own reflection is not from our viewpoint but from the perspective of the people whom we are going to meet/make a presentation for or be interviewed by.