You Can’t Be What You Can’t See

Teaching has always been a part of my family story. My mother, my aunt, and grandfather were all teachers, and several of my cousins continue that tradition today. Yet despite growing up surrounded by educators, teaching was not the profession I initially imagined for myself. Looking back now, after more than a decade in the classroom, I realise how profoundly this unexpected path has shaped who I am, and I can say with certainty that I would not change that journey.

Like many people, I hold several identities that shape who I am today. I am a mother, a wife, and a sister among many others. Yet when I reflect on the different roles I inhabit, being a teacher is the identity in which I feel most confident and most at ease. This reflection does not omanticize the profession or overlook its challenges. The days are long, and much of the labour involved in teaching remains invisible. Planning lessons, preparing resources, supporting students emotionally, communicating with families, and responding to responsibilities that extend beyond the classroom often take place outside official working hours. Despite these demands, being a primary school teacher has been an incredibly rewarding experience, one that continually reminds me why the work teachers do matters so deeply. Teaching is filled with everyday interactions that can shape how students see themselves, their abilities, and their futures.

In a moment in history where the world often feels marked by conflict, uncertainty, and rapid change, these reminders of the classroom’s quiet influence feel particularly important. Schools remain spaces where curiosity is nurtured, where students begin to develop a sense of possibility, and where relationships built on trust and encouragement can shape young people’s confidence in lasting ways or at least that is the hope. Teaching therefore carries a significance that extends beyond the delivery of curriculum because it is connected to the broader work of building thoughtful and empathetic communities.

Three years ago, I stepped away from the classroom to begin my PhD exploring the experiences of South Asian heritage in London primary schools. What emerged clearly through this research was the importance of identity in shaping teaching practice and classroom relationships. Teachers highlighted how their cultural backgrounds, languages, migration histories, and personal experiences informed the ways they approached teaching, interacted with students and understood the role of education within their communities.

One idea surfaced repeatedly throughout: we cannot be what we cannot see. Representation in education matters, particularly in a city like London where around one in five people identify as having South Asian heritage. Despite this diversity, the teaching workforce does not always reflect the communities that schools serve. For many students, encountering teachers who share aspects of their cultural background can be deeply affirming and can offer a sense of belonging that reinforces the idea that they too belong in educational and professional spaces. The presence of South Asian teachers therefore contributes not only to representation but also to a more inclusive learning environment for all students.

This research also led me to reflect on the role of teachers within academic and research spaces. Teachers hold invaluable knowledge about classrooms, communities, and the everyday realities of schooling, yet their perspectives are often underrepresented in research conversations. When educators engage in research, they bring with them a grounded understanding of the complexities of teaching that cannot be easily captured from outside the profession. For this reason, it is important that more teachers, particularly those from historically underrepresented communities like South Asians, can participate in research and contribute their voices to these discussions.

At the same time, it is important to recognise that no single individual can represent the full diversity and richness of South Asian experiences. My background as a South Asian woman and a teacher does not give me the authority to speak for everyone, but it does shape how I listen and how I approach the process of research and dialogue. As Vini Lander and Geeta Ludhra (2025) remind us, “Today, we recognise the importance of our diverse and creative forms of knowledge and lived experiences, the rich tapestry of cultural herstories that we embody, and our ability to drive cultural change and moral courage, through the chorus of hope (umeed) (p. 18).

Teaching at its heart, is a commitment to nurturing curiosity, confidence, and possibility in young people. For South Asian teachers in particular, our presence in classrooms and research spaces carries a quiet but powerful significance. When students see educators who reflect the diversity of the communities around them, they begin to understand their own voices and experiences belong in these spaces too. The work of teaching and research may often feel demanding and unseen, yet their influence travels across years and across generations. Even when we cannot immediately see the impact, the care we bring to our classrooms and the insights we contribute through research continue to shape how students understand themselves, how schools grow, and how conversations about education evolve.

References

Lander, Vini & Ludhra, Geeta (22 Aug 2025): “Space invaders” revisited: counter-narratives of two (b)older south Asian female academics, Educational Review.