Timothy Allan Johnston
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The ATA Magazine - Editor’s Notebook

Volume 68, Mar/Apr 1988

                                                       Birthday Gifts from Delhi

March 19, 1986—my forty-second birthday, International Youth Centre, New Delhi, India.

I celebrated that occasion far from home but with forty new friends, teacher representatives from the All India Primary Teachers’ Federation (AIPTF). My gifts were songs and speeches and a sandalwood wreath that brings back memories of that day every time I see it. The teachers came from the seven northern states of India, brought together through a special project sponsored by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. I was one of two Canadian resource people.


AIPTF represents 2.8 million primary teachers from across India. The organization is still in its infancy, struggling to represent the collective interests of its membership. It faces monumental problems, not the least of which are lack of funds, great distances and the complexity of India as a nation.

But progress, driven by the intense commitment of the teachers, is being achieved and much has been accomplished already. Effective communication between the leadership and the members happens through an elaborate fan-out system. Decision-making is accomplished through a process of upward delegation. General meetings are held every other year when 50,000 teacher delegates and their families converge on the host city. A headquarters building is under construction in New Delhi and a few permanent staff members have been hired to operate it.


In many ways, AIPTF is similar to Canadian teacher organizations in the early part of this century, with the exception of the number of teachers involved. AIPTF aims to better the economic and professional status of its members and bring about positive changes in the education of children. It is full of dedicated individuals who have made the improvements of the Federation something of a personal calling.


I have no doubt that, left on their own, the members of AIPTF eventually will meet their goals. But to help out, CTF and teacher organizations from other countries are contributing money, supplies and advice. My perception was that collegial support was more important to the Indian teachers I visited than the monetary assistance itself. The New Delhi delegates treated my partner, Bob Gordon, and me with the greatest courtesy. They were anxious to know how our organizations worked and they paid very close attention to our presentations. But the strongest impression I retain is that they were just very pleased that two Canadians would come to India to share in the professional work that is our common vocation.

The international assistance programs sponsored by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation are outstanding examples of how individual teachers in our country can assist colleagues overseas. Over the last 26 years, close to 1,200 Canadian teachers have worked with colleagues in other countries and have shared the spirit of progress and the joy of friendship. This exchange has been beneficial to the professional growth of the host teachers and their organizations. But as important as this is, it is no more important than the growth that takes place in those of us who are their guests.

At the founding conference of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, held in Calgary sixty-eight years ago, H C Newland, then president of the Alberta Teachers’ Alliance, spoke to the delegates about the goals of the new Federation. He said the most valuable result of the conference would be the carrying away by each representative of the points of view of all the others. While Newland saw a bright future for the CTF, I doubt that he ever imagined his words would be just as appropriate for the international programs of the organization he helped create.