Roma Maam

Behind the Blackboard: The Messages That Came After 8 PM
A Teacher’s Reality - Insight 7

It was 8:07 PM.

Dinner was on the table.
The day had finally slowed down.
Her phone buzzed.

Messages from parents.

“Ma’am, just a small doubt…”
“Ma’am, what chapters are coming for the test?”
“Ma’am, he is confused about the worksheet…”

She looked at the screen.
Then at her family.
Then back at the screen. She could reply tomorrow.
But she wouldn’t.

Because somewhere along the way,
availability had quietly become expectation.

At 8:19 PM, more messages appeared.
This time from the school group.

“Please share tomorrow’s lesson plan.”
“Reminder: Submit assessment format tonight.”
“Urgent: need class-wise data.”

The school bell had rung hours ago.
But the school day had not ended. Teachers are not on call.
Yet many feel like they are.

Dinner conversations pause.
Family time adjusts.
Personal boundaries blur - silently.

Not because teachers don’t value their time.
But because they value their responsibility.

Each message says,
“Just a small thing.”

But the accumulation is never small. Perhaps it’s time we normalise healthy communication boundaries - not to reduce care,
but to sustain it.

Behind the Blackboard,
the school day doesn’t always end with the bell.

- Roma Ma’am

📚 New & Noted: School Edition – January 2026
As schools stepped into the new year, January brought important updates around board exam readiness, winter closures, curriculum planning, and education policies across different boards.
This edition brings together key updates from national boards, international curricula, and state education policies - all in one place for teachers and school teams.
Feel free to read and share with fellow educators.

A Teacher Spoke. Many of Us Recognised the Silence.

A teacher’s video stopped me mid-scroll.
Not because it was dramatic, but because it felt familiar.
This reflection stayed with me.
_

I recently came across a video of a teacher sharing her thoughts on what classrooms feel like today.
It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t polished.
But it was deeply unsettling, because it sounded familiar.

She spoke about students who struggle to sit with boredom, who seem emotionally volatile, and who appear present physically but absent mentally. She described a classroom where traditional motivators no longer work. Not grades. Not punishments. Not even future goals. What stayed with me most was her observation that the hardest part of teaching today is not misbehaviour, but apathy.

Many educators watching that video didn’t feel shocked.
They felt seen.

Across schools, including here in India, teachers are noticing the same pattern. Children who are constantly stimulated outside the classroom find it difficult to engage inside it. Attention spans are shorter. Emotional regulation is fragile. Learning often feels like an interruption to a much louder, more exciting digital world.

And when this struggle surfaces, the blame tends to land in predictable places. Teachers didn’t adapt enough. Classrooms aren’t engaging enough. Methods aren’t “modern” enough.

But the question we should really be asking is this:
Is the challenge always about teaching, or is it also about how children are learning to engage with the world itself?

From my years of working closely with schools and educators, one thing is clear. Teachers are not unwilling to adapt. They are exhausted from adapting alone.

What today’s classrooms need is not more entertainment, louder lessons, or constant stimulation. They need intentional engagement. Learning experiences that rebuild focus, patience, collaboration, and emotional safety. Especially in the foundational and primary years, these skills matter as much as academic outcomes.

Children don’t need classrooms that compete with screens.
They need classrooms that help them recover from them.

This is where the role of educators, school leaders, and parents must align. Not in blame, but in shared responsibility. Relearning how to pause, listen, reflect, and participate is now as important as reading or writing.

The teacher in that video wasn’t offering answers.
She was offering an invitation. An invitation to rethink how we design learning spaces for the children we have today, not the classrooms we once knew.

- Roma Ma’am

Different names.
Different traditions.
One shared spirit of gratitude and harvest.

Across India, this season is celebrated as Pongal, Sankranti, Lohri, Magh Bihu, and Pedda Panduga - each unique, yet rooted in thankfulness for nature, effort, and new beginnings.

Wishing everyone a joyful and abundant harvest season. 🌾

“Known by different names, celebrated in different ways - yet rooted in the same spirit of gratitude, harvest, and hope.

Across India, this season is celebrated as Pongal, Sankranti, Lohri, Magh Bihu, Maha Mela, and Pedda Panduga—each unique, yet rooted in thankfulness for nature, effort, and new beginnings.

Wishing everyone a joyful and abundant harvest season. 🌾

Behind the Blackboard: The Free Period That Was Never Free
A Teacher’s Reality - Insight 6

The timetable said Free Period.

It was written clearly.
Neatly boxed.
Almost promising.

The teacher glanced at it and smiled.
Forty minutes.
Enough time to sit.
Enough time to breathe.
Maybe even finish notebook correction.

She stepped into the staffroom and placed her bag on a chair.

Before she could sit, a voice called out,
“Ma’am, can you take VII-C? The teacher is absent.”
She nodded.
She always did.

The free period disappeared.

The previous day, the same slot was there.
Free Period.

That time, it became exam invigilation.
Another day, form filling.Another, meeting follow-ups.

On paper, the period was free.
In reality, it never was.

Teachers don’t skip free slots by choice.
They lose them because someone always needs them more.

The bell rang for the next class.
The teacher still hadn’t sat down.
The notebooks meant for correction remained stacked on the table - untouched.
Correction postponed yet again.

Free periods were never meant to disappear.
They were meant to offer teachers time...
to correct notebooks without rushing,
to complete reports without carrying them home,
to prepare for the next class with a clearer mind.

But somewhere along the way,
“free” began to mean “available.”

It may be time for schools to pause and reflect on this.

Behind the Blackboard,
even using the time already allocated has to wait.

- Roma Ma’am
Teacher Trainer • School Transformation Facilitator

To a year of reflection, connection, and classrooms that inspire.
Happy New Year 2026 ✨

Behind the Blackboard: The Staffroom Chair
A Teacher’s Reality – Insight 5

The staffroom had plenty of chairs.
Neatly arranged.
Always there.
Always waiting.

But the teachers?
They were hardly ever in them.

Every break looked the same -
teachers walking in with files, notebooks, and half-finished thoughts…
only to rush out again.

One teacher stepped into the staffroom after four continuous periods.
She placed her books on a chair, telling herself,
“Two minutes. I’ll just sit for two minutes.”
Before she could lower herself into the seat,
a student appeared at the door.
“Ma’am… they’re calling you in the office.”
So she picked up her things and walked back out.
The chair remained empty.

Another teacher’s lunch box was open on the table.
By the time she returned from a call,
the food had turned cold again.

A third teacher leaned over the table correcting notebooks -
not because chairs were missing,
but because time was.

Someone else sat at the edge of a chair,
drinking tea that had already turned cold.

It was never about space or chairs.
It was about pause.
About the tiny pockets of rest teachers never allow themselves.

That afternoon, the principal walked past the staffroom with a group of visitors.
He noticed the empty chairs…
and the teachers who never found enough time to use them.

The next morning, he called for a brief meeting.
“Can we rearrange the staffroom?” he asked.
“Teachers need spaces where they can actually rest.”
He quietly added,
“You must take at least ten minutes for yourselves.
Every day. No matter what.”

It wasn’t a rule.
Just a gentle reminder
that teachers deserve the same care they give others.

The following week, the change arrived-
a new layout,
a few more chairs,
a quiet corner,
and a small sign that read:
‘For Teachers - Please Take a Break.’

Slowly, the staffroom changed.
Not physically, but emotionally.

A small change. A big message.

Behind the Blackboard,
even a chair tells the story of teachers who give without stopping.
- Roma Ma'am

Teacher Talk Polls — What Educators Said
We recently asked teachers which classroom challenge takes the most energy from them.

Here’s what they shared 👇
👩‍🏫 Student engagement (40%)
📚 Behaviour issues (30%)
🧩 Mixed-ability learners (20%)
📝 Finishing syllabus (10%)

What this tells us:
Student engagement is emerging as the biggest energy drain for teachers — and this aligns with what we’re seeing in classrooms today. With students constantly exposed to high-intensity digital content, capturing and sustaining attention requires new strategies and fresh approaches.

The takeaway:
Classroom realities are diverse, but one message is clear — today’s learners need engagement-rich classrooms and teachers need support-driven tools.

We’ll be sharing simple, practical strategies around these areas in the coming weeks.