A Year of Education in Gujarat

After my first two periods yesterday morning, I sat down in the staff room ready to enjoy the first chai break, and I noticed at the other end of the table two men in what seemed to be military uniform. Interesting, I thought. I took a sip of the chai, which was still very hot, when two students, also dressed in uniform, ran through the hallway outside of the staffroom. My first thought was that some sort of draft had started, and I was just out of the loop. I noticed that there were even more uniformed students walking across the grounds towards the back of the school where they normally have recess. I was extremely curious, and I had a free period, so I decided to see what was going on behind the school.


My first guess didn't turn out to be right. It wasn't a draft. One of the teachers that was helping organize the students explained to me that the governor of Gujarat declared 2010-11 as the Year of Education. One of the initiatives associated with this declaration was sending military personnel to schools across the state in order to lead rallies of students through their local cities, villages, and towns. With banners and sign posts in hand, the students were practicing chants that, interestingly, were mostly do with family sizes. When families have too many children, resources become too thinned, and parents resort to taking their children out of school early in order for them to work in their family business or on a farm.

I snapped a few pictures and was ready to head back to finish my chai (the heat was starting to bear down on me without protection from the glaring sun). All of a sudden, Principal Mahida put his hand on my shoulder and asked if I wanted to join the students on their rally through Kadod. Some of the students that I teach got really excited and started yelling "Sir, yes! Sir, yes!" making room for me in the line. How could I say no?

To be honest though, I was so grateful that I was able to join the students in their rally. Walking alongside the same students that I teach, trying my best to follow their chants, I think I might have come a few steps closer to understanding why I'm here beyond just getting students through another year of English class. The students were taught yesterday that education is something completely worth screaming about and hopefully getting heard in the process. I was glad I was there to show them that I believe the same thing.

Seeing the smiling, entertained faces of onlookers throughout the town, I got this sense that people do understand the value and importance of education. I have to confess that I was quick to blame poorer families for neglecting a child's education just because it's assumed that they're going to be working just as their parents, and their parents' parents, did. Most of us grew up not having to worry about having a next meal or not, and we were taught that the worst possible thing is to stifle someone of opportunity. What if a family's decision to stop their child's schooling is not even choice, but a necessity? I found more food for thought to digest.

Here are more pictures and a video from the rally! Hope you enjoy them!

Eric

India = Never Boring.

Boring? Yeh Qya Hai?
I have come to a conclusion that it is NEVER a boring day in India. The last time I thought I was bored was when I was on a restless 14 hour flight to India. Everyday there is a new adventure, a new word I may learn in Hindi, and a new face with a new name that I continuously forget.
This week has been intense: I started a pilot program for the Women’s Initiative Program. It’s call “Women’s Empowerment Mentorship Program”. It is about teaching young women about influential Indian women, careers they can pursue and how important it is to continue an education. After a week of getting permission slips signed by parents and finding a location to host the class, I had a successful 3 days of the program. It is held every Monday-Wednesday during recess in the auditorium. I have 11 girls currently attending the class and their inputs on various subjects have been clever and knowledgeable. For example, they asked me about the American culture and I said, “Well in America, most Indian women, don’t wear Indian clothes. We may wear jeans and a shirt.” Then one of my students interrupted by saying, “But teacher, we wear jeans and t-shirts too.” These young women recognize the difference between the standing of men and women in India and they realize the different roles women now play from the past. I am interested to see how these young women grow and I hope they benefit from what I can offer them.
Another enjoyable event this week is when I taught classes at the English Medium School just 5 minutes up the road from Madhi High School. I teach 1-4th standard and boy are they adorable. This Thursday I met the music teacher, Vijay Bhai, and I had a few music lessons. He has an amazing voice and the children always love watching him and singing along. Later in the day when I was teaching the 3rd standard class a student walks up to me with his tooth in his hand, “Teacher, my tooth fell out!” After taking a few pictures of his new found excitement, I told him about the tooth fairy, and sent him on his way to the nurse. Next thing I know, three of my students come up to me to show me their teeth waiting to fall out. I laughed and said, “Wow, look at that! Please don’t pull it out now…”

Dhire Dhire (Slowly Slowly)

It is now the end of my first month in India. I am slowly adjusting to the weather, which varies between hot, very hot, and hot and humid.  Gradually, I am appreciating the unique and vibrantly colored dishes I have tasted.  I am thoroughly enjoying chai tea as well as the tasty Indian snacks my fellow teachers share with me.  And thus far, teaching is going well and I am learning how the education system of Gujarat functions as well as how to best teach seventy students in a single class.

It has been a challenging, yet interesting first month at Madhi High School.  On my very first day of school, I arrived wearing my salwar kameez and was swarmed by hundreds of curious smiling faces as I walked through the gates to enter the school.  It was a bit of blur as a result of jet lag, since I arrived in Kadod the previous afternoon. 

After meeting Principal Modi Sir, I was then taken to the staff room where I met several people who I’d be teaching with for the next ten months.  Everyone was extremely welcoming and anxious to get to know me.  Vijaybhai, the head of the English department, suggested that I accompany him to classes for the first day.  I quickly agreed, thankful that I would be able to observe his classes as he is very well spoken in English. 

As we arrived to his first class in standard nine (9^th grade), I immediately scanned the room for a seat in the back where I could comfortably sit and soak in this first English class on the other side of the world.  Much to my surprise, Vijaybhai called me to the front of the room to introduce myself.  After I talked for two minutes about who I am and where I came from, I thought my portion of the class was over.  Little did I know that it was now the question and answer session for the new American teacher.  I was excited that the students were so intrigued by me and I happily welcomed their questions, assuming they would be basic facts about myself, my family, or my hobbies.  On the contrary, the questions I received were: "Who is your favourite (Bollywood) actor?", "Who wrote the American national anthem?" and "Who made the American flag?" Well, I have only seen Slumdog Millionaire, which is not technically Bollywood, and while I do know the anthem writer and I do not know who made our flag, so I was a little embarrassed.    Later that night, I “googled” Bollywood actors and who made the American flag.  The next day at school, I proudly shared my answers and I received another set of trivia questions.

In the weeks that followed my first day, I have become much more comfortable at Madhi.  I enjoy teaching my Spoken English class as well as my Gujarati- medium classes.  Every day brings new challenges, but I am blessed to have a great co-teacher, Ameetaben, as well as a helpful staff.   Thankfully, the weather has begun to cool down as the monsoon started not long ago.  Unfortuntately, with the rains comes a plethora of insects, but I am grateful for the cool breeze and night-time rains.  I am still adjusting to life in India, but I look forward to the next several months and I can only imagine the experiences I’ll have. 

2010 School Year Begins!!

Hello all!

I’m Priya Garg, Nanubhai’s India Program Director, and I’m here to announce the start of a new school year and our new class of fellows and interns! Before they start blogging about their experiences here on the ground, I would like to introduce our fantastic new group:

AT KADOD HIGH SCHOOL!!!

Eric Huh is a graduate of Columbia University with a major in Neuroscience and Behavior. He is excited and has many hopes for the opportunity he has been given to be a part of the Nanubhai team and serve the city of Kadod and Kadod High School. He has had experience teaching English during summers in Honduras and Kazakhstan which has fueled his commitment toward teaching and allowed him to realize the tremendous value in education. He understands how much more there is for him to learn and is, therefore, all the more eager for the experiences he will have in India. He looks forward to learning Hindi, getting acquainted to local foods, and growing in love with a country he will be able to call a home away from home.

Zach Hindin graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the George Washington University with an interdisciplinary major in Philosophy & Global Politics and a minor in Jazz Performance. Since fall 2006, he's co-directed Banaa.org, an international educational empowerment network that creates scholarship opportunities for survivors of genocide in Sudan at universities across the US. In spring 2009, Hindin lived in Varanasi, where he studied Hindustani classical music as a GW International Research Symposiast. In addition to North India, Hindin has traveled through Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, Greece, France, Spain, and, most recently, to the Caribbean islands, where he toured with his reggae band. At the moment, Hindin has aspirations to continue studying philosophy and eventually pursue an MFA in creative nonfiction. Having sat behind the student's desk for more than 15 years, he's excited to continue learning, this time from the other end of the classroom.

AT MADHI HIGH SCHOOL!!!

Emily Richardson graduated from the University of Dayton in 2007 with a degree in Science and Psychology. She had plans to obtain a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but abruptly decided to go abroad and do a year of service in Africa. Emily went to Karonga, Malawi in Central Africa and taught at an all boys’ boarding secondary school in a rural village. After six months there, she fell in love with teaching, as well as the community and culture, so she decided to give up her position at graduate school and stay in Malawi for an additional two years. There, she taught English Composition and Grammar, Biology and Chemistry in addition to coaching several sports and clubs. As a result of this incredible experience, she now wants to pursue a career in International Education Development. Now, Emily is looking forward to teaching English in a different part of the world and learning as much as she can about the Indian culture and the Kadod community!

Felicia Singh (Summer Intern) is an English Literature and Adolescent education major at Adelphi University. She is interested in teaching middle school or high school students the value of literature. She is the president of her senior class and works hard in other leadership opportunities on Adelphi's campus. She loves her Indian culture and strives in learning as much she can about it. In the future she would like to work on women's initiative programs around the world as well as teach in other countries. Felicia has a strong belief in the quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world" and she strives to do just that.

A Year to Remember

On Friday, February 26th, Kirsten and I woke with a heavy weight on our hearts; it was our last day of school. The day we had been dreading for weeks was finally here and there was no avoiding the pain that we would feel. As I wrapped myself in a sari for the last time, my eyes stung with tears. I thought back to the first time Kirsten and I wore a sari to school. I remember feeling nervous that my sari would fall off and how our cheeks burned with embarrassment when 700+ students cheered wildly at the sight of us in traditional Indian dress. That day seemed so long ago, and now, here we were preparing to say goodbye. I could have never predicted the emotions I would feel on our final day, but earlier that week I was given some insight into just how hard it would be.

On the 22nd, after weeks of preparation, endless amounts of frustrations and several headaches later, our Spoken English students performed their Annual Function to a hall packed with students, teachers and families. Despite our worries, the students did a fabulous job and we couldn't have been more proud. At the end of the program some of my girls rushed up to me and said, "Teacher, Binal is crying." As I went to comfort her, the tears became contagious and soon, all 16 girls were huddled around me, tears streaming down their faces. "Please Teacher," they begged, "don't go to America. Don't leave us!" Now, I was the one with tears running down my face.

The rest of the week was just as hard and filled with tears. In each of my final classes I wrote my address on the board and the students copied it down into their worn notebooks. I was crying again when my 8D class presented me with gifts and roses. I was deeply touched when my 5th standard students gave me whatever they could, which amounted to 15 ball pens, 2 key chains, a half bottle of purple nail polish and a heart made from notebook paper. I choked back my tears as I said goodbye and walked out of the classroom for the last time.

Not only did I build relationships with the students, but also with our fellow teachers, and saying goodbye to them was just as hard. As a small token of our appreciation, Kirsten and I hosted a lunch for all the staff members on that final Friday. The entire staff of 60+ people gathered in the center hall and I was fighting back tears (unsuccessfully)as some of the teachers spoke about us. When it was my turn to talk, I couldn't. Sadness had gripped my throat and I couldn't catch my breath. Kirsten took over while I regained my composure and I then tried to relate with words the feelings in my heart. I thanked them for opening their school, sharing their students, and for treating us like family.
As we sat down to eat, a teacher leaned over and whispered, "Even though you are leaving, we will always remember you in our hearts."
"And you will be in mine," I replied.

My days in India are numbered, a fact that I would like to deny. This country is so vibrant and full of life, from the colors to the people. India is bursting with possibility and I hope that the students, the future leaders of India, are given the skills to make their dreams possible and to lead their country. I hope that I helped to contribute to their future successes, and I hope that they will remember me, because I will remember them.

I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to experience India in such an intimate way; to interact with it's future, to fall in love with it's people, and above all, to learn. India is a country I have grown to love, even though it challenged me. It's a place I have learned to appreciate, even though at times it frustrated me. My heart will not forget the things that my eyes have seen or my ears have heard. The kindness that was shown to me and the friendships I have made will not be forgotten.
For me, India will always remain Incredible.

SCOPE May be a Joke…In Improving Teachers English Ability

When I heard about the SCOPE program, a course to increase the teachers English ability, I grew excited about the positive impact on English at Bajipura. I thought it was great that the government of Gujarat was taking efforts to reverse the affects of not making English a priority for many years. The results of these decisions are still negatively impacting the students’ success because it is difficult to find teachers that are highly qualified in this subject and thus the students suffer. Now the government is taking bold steps to change this cycle of have unqualified English teachers, creating poor students through introducing the SCOPE program and making it mandatory for teachers to take this exam. If the teachers do not receive their appropriate level on the exam then they will not be eligible to receive their salary advance. My excitement lasted until I started helping my fellow teachers with their studying.

I first started thumbing through the book to check out the program. The book layout left much to be desired. Navigating the workbook was difficult for me, a native speaker. Also I was confused by the purpose of the teachers learning business English, since it is not applicable to their work setting. I finally had the full experience of the SCOPE program when we were able to use the instructional CD-ROM. The CD portion of the materials is important to the course, but many teachers do not have access to computers to practice as much as they should.

My co-teacher and I worked together to answer the various questions. I struggled to read the long essays that were filled with difficult business content. My degree has fully prepared me to read for meaning and while I have been successful in English medium elementary, High School, and college, I only was able to have 4 out of 6 correct in one of the exercises. Not only is the content of the readings and listening parts difficult, the answers have near the same meaning and take an exact knowledge of the English language to find the right answer.

All teachers take this exam whether they are English teachers or have not taken and English course since High school. Even my co-teacher who has good English was saying she did not want to read the lengthy, boring paragraphs, that were filled with business jargon, but the teachers that have almost no understanding of English do not even attempt to read the questions, paragraphs, or answers. The teachers tell me in Gujarati that they simply pray to God to help them pick the right letter a, b, or c. As I am helping the teachers they not only have no idea of the answer, they also have no practice with computers and cannot submit their answers without great difficulty. Unfortunately for them their exam is administered online. Basically, their odds of receiving passing marks on the exam are very small.

I would like to find out more about this program, but my initial thought is that the government of Gujarat really needs to re-think their methods. The first problem of many is that it is only a textbook and not a training program. The teachers do not have basic knowledge of English and no teacher is provided to help them improve. Instead of investing money in costly textbooks and exams why not offer training courses with qualified trainers. They can take private courses for high prices, but what teacher makes that much money to pursue this option. The next fault of the exam is that it awards different leveled results: beginner to advance ratings, but the material is the same for all levels. The exam does not encourage the beginners to improve because the material is too hard that they become too frustrated to even read the questions and answers. The third issue is that the exam is computerized. I think that it is a great idea to encourage proficiency in computers and there should be programs that target this specifically. To challenge the teachers to show their proficiency in English on the computer, when they do not have practice with computers is a huge disadvantage for them.

The most baffling and frustrating part of the program is that it is business orientated. I can think of the logic behind the government officials: to promote economic success they need to teach the language of the business world. Due to this logic, the teachers are doomed to failure because not only do you need a knowledge of English, but you need to know the language of business. I find it hard to believe that the Sanskrit teacher will be able to implement gained knowledge about marketing and outsourcing into class. Does the government want the teacher to leave their school work to pursue work in the business world? In my knowledge of pedagogy I know that a human mind must first learn basics and move to specifics. Students in the ninth standard need to learn the basics of English before learning about the specific terms of the business world. Even though the teachers are not really learning business English because they do not know the basics of English, I do not understand why it is important for the teachers to teach business English to students in a science class. Perhaps if they want to teach specialized English, the best place to start would be in the teachers own subject area.

I understand and value the attempt that has been made to improve English ability within the staff of teachers to create more opportunities for the students. I am just disheartened by the inability of this program to bring about any real change. If any person is reading this that is involved in bringing the SCOPE program to Gujarat government schools I urge you to revise some of the methods so that the teachers can first learn the basics of English and then progress towards this specialized exam. Please also provide training for the teachers because I know they are willing to learn if someone is giving this task. If this information is somewhat disturbing to you the reader that is hearing about SCOPE for the first time also feel inspired to take action with the government of Gujarat. Please tell them that Nanubhai Education Foundation is working in teacher training and will provide their services for next to free and can provide teachers that are proficient in English and can help the teachers learn basics of English or for English teachers further increase their ability. This program inspires me to keep working with Nanubahi after my fellowship to allow for Gujarati children to get the help they need rather than the government spending money on programs that continue to fail the students.

A Difficult Day

Time. There is never enough of it. Time seems to speed up as we get older and it flies when we are having fun. These realities about time are becoming more and more evident to me as my final weeks of teaching draw near. On Monday, I taught my English Medium students for the last time and it was a very depressing day. The students had no idea it would be my last day when I walked into the classroom on that Monday morning. When I told them, there was an audible gasp and the pained look on Dhruti’s face was especially hard to bear. Her mouth dropped open, her brow furrowed and it looked as if she might cry. I felt the same way.

When I first came to the English Medium school the students didn’t know what to think of me, especially the Kindergartner and Pre-KG kids. I was immediately drawn to them because they are some of the cutest kids I have ever seen, especially in their uniforms. The dress shorts, plaid button-up shirt, and striped tie make the boys look like little gentlemen. The girls, dressed in blue pinafores, white socks and the same striped tie, look like petite ladies. Some of the kids are so small that their white socks slouch and bunch around their tiny ankles. The illusion of perfect gentlemen and ladies is shattered when the school bell rings and they run full force to the playground, their striped ties waving to me in the breeze.

My favorite part of the day is recess, which is when the kids descend upon the narrow patio to devour the delicacies packed into their small lunch tins. Instead of sitting in the staff room with the other teachers, I sit on the patio and watch the kids. On the first day I did this, the kids walked by me and recoiled in horror at this strange creature that had appeared at their school. I would smile at them and say hello, which would either send them into a fit of giggles, or send them running.

Part of what I love about recess is the opportunity to watch them interact with each other. They are so animated with their facial expressions and their bodies; they use their arms and hands to gesture to each other in such a serious manner. At times they are in such intense discussions it seems they could be discussing the future of India, or how to achieve world peace. I asked the teachers what they are saying and was told that they are talking about their snacks, and most arguments involve “He/She was eating my food!”

Slowly, week by week, the kids became more comfortable with me. Now, the kids are the first to say “Good morning Teacher!” When I walk down the corridor, I am greeted by every student with a smile and a wave. They ask me (in Gujarati because they are so young) to open their lunch boxes and water bottles. It may sound weird, but I was especially touched when a KG student came to me to tattle on another student. Tattling, usually seen as an annoyance by teachers, meant to me that they finally recognized me as a teacher. I was no longer some alien creature. My persistence had paid off and they had accepted me.

The Principal told me in our final discussion on Monday that I was the best teacher in his heart for his students. This touched me deeply and I was taken aback with his sincerity and at once I felt the same. His students are the best students in my heart.