A Primary School Teacher’s Strength Shines Beyond Challenges : Learnings from a SALT Conversation

[Brinty Saha]

When we think about change in education, we often imagine big reforms or new facilities. But sometimes, change begins quietly inside a classroom, through one teacher’s motivation, care and creativity.

Last August 2025, I visited a low resourced community based Government Primary School in Bangladesh, where I had the opportunity to facilitate a SALT conversation with a teacher whose story touched me deeply. She has been teaching for many years and shared how much she loves her work despite facing many daily challenges. Many of her students come from families who struggle to stay involved in their children’s education. Some children attend school irregularly from having a lack of guardian's awareness and others face difficulty learning Bangla and English because of home language barriers.

Still, this teacher said something that stayed with me:
> “Despite challenges I love my profession because I consider all my students as my own children.”

She also shared one of her proudest moments when a student she once scolded later came back to her for help in studies.
> “Their willingness to return to me for learning makes me proud”.

What inspired me most was how she turned challenges into action. She didn’t wait for outside help or new resources. Instead, she used what was already around her:

📘 She started a reward system for students who attend school regularly receive a book as a gift.

🪑 Since there is no playground in the school, she rearranges benches to make space for fun and creative activities inside the classroom.

🔤 For language learning, she uses simple teaching methods like loud reading, breaking words into letters, and using pictures to make learning easier.

In the context of government primary schools in Bangladesh, factors such as the availability of resources, student behavior, the type of school, and the quality of relationships with the community play a vital role in shaping teachers’ motivation and job satisfaction.
Yet, even within these challenges, this teacher continues to teach with her intrinsic motivation.