In our collective pursuit at Bookworm to extend our reach in Goa, we have finally ( after over 8 years of school outreach work) felt bold enough to invite teachers into our circle of learning. We feel ready to share what works and what is sustainable during a school calendar to bring reading joy.
In June this year we announced a Training and Mentoring Program ( TMP) inviting schools to be open to a library program and supporting them with book boxes, training and mentoring for the academic year to open up libraries in schools. 
We were excited and delighted to have eleven schools accept our invitation and school heads and designated teachers attend our library orientation in June.
Since then we have been curating book boxes, doing demonstration sessions, having some exciting online conversations and it was time to meet again as a group journeying forward. Right from the start I am meant to be leading this program and the team I work with are always unstinting in their support but I was the pilot. 
This flight was put to the test, we had a serious technical snag. The day dawned and I was stuck hundreds of kilometres away due to cancelled flights and the team was distraught. My line about the inconvenience caused is regretted did little to ease the tension that ran through the team about my non – arrival in time. I went into auto – pilot and framed a new flight path. I reminded the team of their high potential to make this session happen. We have been talking and thinking together since early this year, we know our work on the ground in an intimate way and we want to embrace teachers who will come into this understanding. The plan worked and the team at Bookworm outdid themselves.
They put up beautiful displays, warmly welcomed each teacher with their welcome kit, had 1:1 conversations with each teacher to ensure the teacher was feeling comfortable and began the sessions.
I managed to arrive in time for lunch and in talking both individually and collectively with the teachers, they shared that some of them were concerned, worried, unsure about what the day would unfold and they left with joy. The quiet intimacy of seeing the Bookworm team smiling, welcoming, kind and considerate outdid any fears. The poetry, story, readings and sharings dissolved much of their concerns about our expectations versus their readiness. The collection, skill training, conversations and sharings left them for now clear that we are a team and on a journey together. The teachers have as much to share with us about their classrooms and approaches as we have about a library program.
Suddenly the boundaries began to blur and we were moving forward together, we seemed ready for flight. Our destination is to ensure more children have access to books and resources and in that process all of us in the room were also moving. There is so much merit in flying together but in also being open to technical snags and marvellous surprises life affords us when we trust ourselves and others.
To know more about the TMP, please contact deepali@bw-mail.in or to borrow book boxes for your school write to anandita.rao@bw-mail.in
Suddenly the boundaries began to blur and we were moving forward together, we seemed ready for flight. Our destination is to ensure more children have access to books and resources and in that process all of us in the room were also moving. There is so much merit in flying together but in also being open to technical snags and marvellous surprises life affords us when we trust ourselves and others.To know more about the TMP, please contact deepali@bw-mail.in or to borrow book boxes for your school write to anandita.rao@bw-mail.in