Observer and the observed

Throughout this year, one question kept showing up in almost every training and workshop—not as formal data, but as a lived context shared by teachers. Nearly every batch had teachers who carried this question with them. And honestly, I never felt it was wrong. It comes from their lived experience. They are the ones who stand in classrooms every day with children. We facilitate trainings and return, leaving behind a space—one where teachers slowly feel ready to go deeper into the question, sometimes in silence, sometimes with discomfort. The question usually sounds like this: “The government provides meals, uniforms, textbooks, and scholarships. Still, children don’t want to come to school. Why? ” As soon as this is said, many teachers nod in agreement. As the conversation moves ahead, some add: “Parents don’t value education.” “They don’t understand the purpose of schooling.” As a facilitator, I placed my own question in that space. I said: “I agree that these provisions exist. But if...