About Me

Initiating a History Pedagogy blog with a special niche of its own has been at the center of a long-awaited and desired goal.

Hi. I am Sima Saigal, Associate Prof. in History, from the North East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE), a constituent unit of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Having 19 years of experience as a teacher educator has certainly given enough room to introspect on where we have succeeded and where we have failed miserably. During this period, I had the wonderful opportunity of interacting with teacher educators, teachers, aspiring student teachers, and school students, gaining meaningful insights and experiences on the general state of education in our country, particularly on the subject of history (school level). These interactions raised some worrisome issues pertaining to the pedagogy of history, teachers' subject knowledge (history), and students' perceptions of history, which have surprisingly remained a disturbing constant over the years, notwithstanding other path-breaking initiatives in education. Let me narrate just three issues.

In the two-year B.Ed program, there is a paper on the methodology in history (3rd Semester) which (in my institute) I am taking care of. The students who opt for this paper may not necessarily be post-graduates in history but may have been exposed to history in their undergrad years. On the first day of class, there are two questions I generally raise. The first is quite obvious—What do you understand by history? I am met with an immediate response or at least the students attempt to do so. It is in the second question—what is the relevance of history in our lives—that I am faced with a deafening and awkward silence. The silence prolongs, and I realize that this is where the crux of the problem rests, as it reflects societal perceptions of history, the manner in which history has been taught in schools, and our own understanding of history as a subject teacher. That apart, in the next five months (where I am expected to finish the paper), the journey with my students has always been memorable, and they have indeed made me proud. They have learned from me, but I have also learned from them, continuously pushing me to explore new ways of bringing history alive in the classroom.

Secondly, in my interactions with school students, one continual question which I love to ask is… what is your favorite subject in Social Sciences? The response is unanimous—'geography'. The reason cited is also unanimous; they can relate the contents to their immediate surroundings. Only an infinitesimal number vouch for history as a subject preference. The reasons generally cited are… 'it is boring', 'difficult to remember and understand'… 'it is confusing,' 'what is the relevance of studying history' and so on. Interestingly, this negative response did not mean that students were completely averse to the subject, it was simply because the formalized instructions they were receiving were not in tune with their needs. They were looking for a teacher who can keep the history class alive and relevant. As one student beautifully expressed in a questionnaire… 'History should be written and taught in a manner that we start imagining that we have reached that time…'

Another issue which has unnerved me throughout is the limited availability of books (for history teachers) on guidelines or tips on interactive learning sessions, including educational kits in India. Initially, I was always in a panic mode as the one persistent demand of in-service teachers and aspiring student teachers is on how to transact the textbook contents in an interesting way. For inspiration, I turned my gaze towards the West, where they have pioneered in this field. There is indeed no death to the voluminous number of books and materials available. I did certainly benefit from it, but I soon realized that much of it cannot be translated to the realities of the Indian classroom. This pushed me towards creating my own instructional strategies and educational kits using local resources, including simple but interesting ways of how to use the whiteboard, charts, models, etc. for an engaging and interactive session with students.

The beneficiaries were, however, limited, confined to a small body of B.Ed students in my institute. I soon began to rummage on how at best it is possible to disseminate my knowledge and experiences to a whole community of teachers and students and create in the process a vibrant, stimulating, and knowledgeable platform, to continually learn and re-learn together. The answer or outcome was of course the creation of this history pedagogy blog. Before introducing this blog, I did scan the internet for available history blogs in India. Yes, we do have some remarkable ones, but these are primarily focused on showcasing the rich cultural heritage of India. On the other hand, we have many YouTube channels where specific topics from the B.Ed course are taught for the benefit of aspiring student teachers. However, a well-rounded history pedagogy blog is still found wanting. To fill in this vacuum, we will be delving into the foundational core of history, to issues which every history teacher should be aware of. We extend further to book reviews and finally look at snippets of history from North East India, which will benefit not just students and teachers within the North East but also from across the country.

Besides history education, I specialize in modern and contemporary history and am deeply interested in the impact of war and conflict on human society. My book—The Second World War and North East India: Shadows of Yesteryears, was published by Routledge (India) and Taylor and Francis (London) in 2022. A podcast interview on the book (3rd December 2023) with New Books Network-USA, hosted by Ari Barbalat, is also available.

I live in Shillong—the capital of Meghalaya—in a beautiful landscape atop a slightly raised hill. I love traveling as it supposedly broadens our mental horizons. My deep interest, though, is my passionate love for animals—these innocent souls who continue to tug at my heart. At home, I have five rescue pets (2 dogs and 3 cats) including one disabled one. I call them the animal kingdom.

The oldest is of course Mr. Wufus who is 4 years old now. He is simply amazing and has been a source of strength in many of my difficult moments. To add a touch of fun and humor, I have decided to include some personal anecdotes here. Now how do I go about it? Well………simply go to the last section, 'Eastern Echoes,' and you will find out.

So friends, let us begin this journey together and do post your honest comments in whichever section you wish to.