School visit and more

7/31/10 5pm

We had an incredibly busy day yesterday and I didn't get home until fairly late- and by then I was both exhausted and relaxed- so that's why I didn't get around to posting an update.

Yesterday was quite an exciting day! We were granted leave from our regular KV host schools to visit a school run by Deepalaya, an NGO that has a number of projects and initiatives going to empower people and communities in India. The organization has been around for over 30 years and their school was a really wonderful place. It seemed to me like the Indian equivalent of a charter school (except it was run without any public funding). They receive their funds from the NGO and from donors and grants, and charge very nominal fees to the students; when students' families have a difficult time paying, the organization helps their families find gainful employment so that they can not only pay their expenses, but become self-sufficient in a sustainable way. I really liked their philosophy, and I wish I could have learned more. Thankfully, we were given information packets by the Principal plus I hear they have an excellent website- so whenever I get around to looking at that, I'm sure I'll be ready to make a donation- and so will you!

Anyway, we spent a good amount of time with the principal, had a tour of the school, met one of the founders, and most important, taught demonstration lessons in teams to classes of actual students. Our lesson was on poetry, and there were three of us working together to read, interpret, and respond to poetry. I won't bore you with the details, but it was an enlightening experience to hear the students' interpretation of the poem. The math teachers and the science teachers had equally successful lessons. Given that we didn't know much about the students or their prior knowledge before walking into the classroom, I think we did admirably- and this is great practice for me because in just over a month I'll be getting acquainted with the Class of 2014!

I definitely noticed some similarities between my host school and the NGO school. Not having spent much time in either school I can't say whether one was more effective than the other. But I suppose comparing KV No. 2 to Deepalaya School would be like comparing apples to oranges, as each school has a vastly different mission and caters to a vastly different community. Either way, it is an invaluable experience to see that just as in America, there is no such thing as a "typical Indian school"- each has its own personality. Next week we'll be visiting another school to teach another demo lesson, and that will undoubtedly give me an even better picture of the variety within the Indian educational system. I'm really thankful to have all these opportunities!

We spent the afternoon touring the Presidential Palace- the Indian version of the White House. One of our group members, David, works with someone who has great connections, so we were able to get an invite. Only 200-500 people visit the palace each day, and there are tour guides that take each group around. The palace was built during the British Raj when the rest of New Delhi was constructed. It is quite impressive and conveys a sense of power and prestige without being opulent or posh. We saw life-size portraits of all the British folks who held important posts during the Raj, gifts given to India by other countries (a wide variety!), old photographs, paintings of important historical events, and a couple contemporary works by Indian artists. We also saw the ballroom, which had a stunning ceiling mural of animals, people, and flowers- words can't describe it. We saw the place where Indian independence was declared at midnight on August 15, 1947, and we also saw the dining room which is decorated with swords and more paintings of dignitaries, and has a table that seats 104 people. The British Prime Minister was just there, and there were people bustling around cleaning up the place as we walked through. Finally, we saw the Mughal Gardens, which were more French/British in style than Indian. It was sort of like Versailles, on a smaller scale. We weren't able to bring in cameras, unfortunately.

As soon as we got back to the hotel, some of us decided that it was high time for a visit to the Taj Mahal hotel for a swim. I hadn't been there yet, so I was delighted to go. Because our hotel doesn't have a pool itself, we are allowed to take a free car over there (it's about 5-10 minutes away) to use the facilities. And boy, we did. The pool is enormous and luxurious, and they also have a spa area with a jacuzzi, steam room, and sauna. Plus really nice showers. We ordered some poolside cocktails and had dinner there as well- kinda pricey but why not? I really felt like I was on vacation! It was such a relaxing way to spend an evening after a day of having to be on point, and it's something I will repeat as much as I can before I go back to the good old USA!

This morning, it was up early for a day at school. Yes, many schools in India run 6 days a week! The teachers are always quick to remind you that they have the second Saturday of each month off and work fewer hours each day- but still! I don't think I could handle that schedule. Because the students are in the middle of exams (Philly teachers: think Benchmarks… in every class… and the teachers have to grade them all by hand!) the class schedule was not the normal one, so I didn't actually end up teaching any classes. However, I spent some time talking with the teachers about cultural differences between India and America, and got some reading done. I also watched the teachers do the monthly reconciliation of their roll books, which is something quite familiar to us in Philadelphia! I'm telling you, once you get over the initial superficial differences there is so much alike between my home school and my host school!

Just as students were being dismissed, the power went out and the school was plunged into darkness for about 45 minutes. There was a pretty serious thunderstorm going on with very strong rains and winds and it was very dark outside. Exciting!!! I was glad it happened during the day and when I was safe inside, and it was over soon enough. By the time I left school a couple hours later it was only raining lightly, and now a few hours later it has stopped completely. So far this has been our third big rainstorm in as many weeks, and the rainstorms are quite a spectacle to behold! I hope for a couple more before we head back to the states.

After the official school day was over, I attended the staff meeting. Staff meetings in India are a little bit different (assuming this one was a typical meeting) in that it was just administrators talking about certain problems at the school and other issues, without input or questions from the staff. At SOTF, all we do during staff meetings (sometimes) is debate- so this was quite a different experience! The whole thing was in Hindi, so I understood not a word of it- luckily my cooperating teacher was next to me taking notes in English so I peeked over her shoulder every now and then to see what they were talking about.

Then there was a series of speeches and songs from teachers to honor a teacher who is retiring. In India, teachers retire when they turn 60, and so this was a very special day. This teacher, Mrs. Thakur, is very sweet and wonderful and kind and loving, and I will never forget that she took care of me at school one day when I wasn't feeling well by giving me a banana that settled my stomach right away. Her three children and two grandchildren were there to participate in the festivities, and I was able to talk to them a bit and let them know how many wonderful things their mom had to say about them, and how nicely she treated me during my time at the school. Unfortunately, all of the farewell speeches and songs were in Hindi, so I really had no idea what people were saying, but I could get sort of an idea from the periodic translations from my cooperating teacher plus people's facial expressions.

After the lunch, I came back to the hotel and was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the hours of Hindi I had just endured. I went over to the market after a short nap to buy some books, and unless something else comes up I plan to spend some time reading this evening. I may or may not go out, we'll see, and as tomorrow is my only day off this week I will savor the opportunity to sleep past 6am!

The days are really flying by, and I'm thankful to be experiencing so many interesting and exciting things. I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I'm sure it'll be a blast.