A Typical Saturday in Kadod

When Saturday finally rolled around, Lakshmi and I decided to immerse ourselves in the Kadod experience. This involved playing kho kho, a game we always see the hostel boys playing, and doing a little bit of sightseeing.

After hearing about how much all of our students like kho kho, I decided to join in the fun.

The boys in action. I think at this point, I was still trying to figure out the rules of the game.


Pritesh pauses to pose for a picture.

I think this is about the point where Lakshmi yelled out, "Tag Charishma!" Naturally, they all proceeded to run after me.

All of that running made me pretty tired. I just couldn't keep up!

Kuldip, one of our tour guides from before, sitting on his bed in the hostel. Seven boys share a room.

The 8th standard boys who live in the hostel diagonal to our bungalow. They just finished their game of kho kho and are eager to have their pictures taken.

Some more hostel boys posing for the camera. It looks like Bhargav (front and center) has been practicing his model face.

The boys got pretty excited when they saw the camera!

Here they are again, posing for a picture before dashing off to the mess hall for dinner.

After the game of kho kho, the principal's son, Yashpal, daughter-in-law, Sejal, and niece, Pooja, took us to see the low-level bridge that many students cross every morning to get to school. Many times during the monsoon season, this bridge becomes submerged under water. It seems to be a very popular hangout, as we saw many of our students there.

Yashpal, Sejal, Pooja, and I pose for a picture on the rocks, with the Tapi River in the background.

Sejal striking a characteristic pose. If you look closely, you can see the beautiful mehndi on her hands and arms.

A view of the sunset from the bridge. The end to a great day.

The Snake Show!

Last Friday, there was a Snake Show at the school! Some guys from Surat came out to Kadod, and brought along several snakes, and it was quite a sensation at the school. Almost the entire afternoon hours were devoted to setting up and watching the show. I took some photos of the event, so enjoy!

~lakshmi

There were hundreds of students patiently waiting for the show to begin. Despite the heavy clouds, it didn't rain, and it was really hot and humid. But it didn't matter to the kids--they were out for the snakes!

Most of the younger kids were on the ground, while the older kids watched from the balconies of the school.


The guys from Surat started warming up the crowd...

These students were perched up on a ledge. They were clamoring to have their picture taken, so after many shouts of "Teacher! Teacher! Our photo! Teacher!" I finally obliged.

The first of the snakes came out, and the boys were scared!

So was Charishma.

Then, they started bringing out the big snakes. This one is a python.

And here, a type of boa.



All in all, a great afternoon!

Meet Prital

Hi, friend. I am Prital. I live in Singod. Singod is a very nice village. I am a student. I am studying in 11th std. I like to hear songs and watch comedy movies. I like chocolate ice cream very much. I like music. I like to dance. I want to go to Mount Abu because it is a very lovely place. I like the Taj Mahal because the Taj Mahal is a symbol of love. I am an Indian. The Indians are very helpful and kind. I love my family and I love my India. I am proud of my country. East or West India is the best!

Meet Bhavin

Hello, I am Bhavin. I live in India. India is a very big country. Kadod is my village. I am 16 years old. I am studying in the 11th science stream. I am learning in Kadod High School, Kadod. It is a very big school. I love my family. Me and my family are lively and happy. My favourite subject is English because it is an international language. All of the teachers are my favourites. I want to learn English because it is my favourite subject. I like to go for tours. I like the Taj Mahal, Mount Abu, etc. I want to become an engineer. I like to speak English. My favourite color is white. My favourite animal is the lion because it is our national animal. The parrot is my favourite bird. My favourite actor is Sahid Kapoor and my favourite actress is Amrita Rao. I am living happily.

Meet the Rajputs: Pooja and Rahul

Hello! My name is Pooja. I’m from India. I like my country. I am a student of the Kadod High School Kadod. I am fond of reading novels. I like to learn English and how to speak English because English is an international language and it is also the sweetest language.
I love my country. There are lots of holy places in my country, such as the Taj Mahal which is a wonder of the world. It is the symbol of love. The people of India are very kind and they always try to help each other.
I live in a small village named Kadod. There are many facilities in my village. I have a small family. I love my parents. I have a brother whose name is Rahul.
Oh! I forgot to tell you all about my favourite subjects and teachers. My favourite subject is maths. My favourite teachers are Mayank Teivedi and Bhavesh Desai. They are fond of speaking English.

And now about me. I like to eat ice cream, to sing, and dance to Gujarati garba and Punjabi bhangra. I want to visit all the holy places and the wonders of the world. My favourite actor is Shahrukh Khan and my favourite actress is Rani Mukharji. I want to be a pilot and I know I will succeed in fulfilling my dream. In the future, if I get lots of money, I will help those poor people who can’t get food.

Everyone should have an ambition in life. Without ambition, life is meaningless. My ambition is to be a teacher. The teaching profession is a very noble profession. The educated youth are the future of a country. The foundation of this future is laid by the teacher. My role model is our English teacher. While teaching English, he gives us a lot of knowledge in various other subjects. He is our friend, philosopher, and guide. As a teacher, I will give my students my best. I will see to it that they become good and intelligent students, and also good citizens. I will teach them the importance of discipline, honesty, sincerity, and hard work. I will educate them to succeed in life. In order to realize my ambition, I will work hard. I will try to secure good marks and get a B. Ed degree. Our great teachers have always inspired me. I wish to be a true ideal teacher.

Meet Twinkle and Rushabh

Hello everyone! I am Twinkle. I am an Indian girl. I live in Gujarat. So, it is said that I am a Gujarati. Dancing is my hobby. I also like to hear music. Shakira is my favourite singer. I am studying in the 11th standard. I have chosen the science field. In the future, I would like to be a dentist. I will treat the poor people for free. I hope that you all pray to God for me.

My name is Rushabh. I live in Kadod. I like English because I want to become an English teacher. I am in the 11th standard. My school's name is the Kadod High School, Kadod. It is a very big school. The principal of the school is Mr. V.B. Mahida. I have good teachers. All of the teachers are very kind and very strict. My favourite game is cricket because it is a very fun game. My hobbies are reading, playing, and swimming. My home is in Tekrafaliya in Kadod. There are four members in my family. My father's name is Janakbhai. He is an accountant. My mother's name is Bhavanaben. She is a housewife. My sister's name is Nirali. She wants to become a teacher. My home is very big. There are three floors. My family is a very happy family. I like my family.

A Typical School Day

Last time I took you on a tour of the school grounds and surrounding area. This time, I'll take you around the school on a typical school day.

Principal Mahida and Mr. Jatin Bhandari, the biology teacher, standing in the principal's office. The list on the board behind them is a list of all the teachers in the secondary (8th-10th standard) and higher secondary (11th-12th standard) sections. Many of these teachers have a guaranteed job at this school until they retire.

A view of the courtyard during one of the students' recesses. The building you can see is the technical wing of the school, which houses a computer lab, and laboratories for mechanical engineering, chemistry, biology, carpentry, and many other trades.

Mr. Rathod, one of the 5 English teachers, teaching a class of 10th standard boys. He has been teaching for over 30 years, and is one of our mentors. He is an amazing storyteller, which makes sitting in his classroom engaging and enjoyable. The lesson on the board behind him was called "Bunty's Blue Bike," and talked about how it was bad to drive a motorcycle without a license.

Mr. Gamit, another English teacher, standing in his classroom. He is also a long-time teacher, and one of our mentors. The lesson in his class was about the active voice and passive voice. At the end of class, he had me stand in front of the classroom, tell the boys something about myself, and then asked them to ask me questions. They found it quite amusing that we have no curfew in the dorms at Stanford!

Mr. Bhandari teaching his 12th standard biology class. They were learning about the excretory system and kidney failure. At the front of the classroom, there is a computer, which he uses to show the class animations of various biological processes. This is also the classroom in which we teach our English classes.

The school library.

Two 1st standard boys using the computers in the computer lab. Their assignment was to type the English alphabet. I think at this point, they were searching for "Q."

A 2nd standard class over at the primary section of the school. They were playing a game, facilitated by the teachers.

Some boys in a 3rd standard class.

This is one of our favorite pictures.

Our Spoken English Classroom!

Greetings from Gujarat!

Lakshmi and I have been in Kadod for about four weeks now, teaching spoken English to students in the 9th and 11th standards. While teaching English in a Gujarati-medium school has been challenging, it has also been very rewarding. We have found that the students do not have much of an opportunity to speak English in school or in their homes; this being the case, our goal is to make the students want to practice speaking English not only in the classroom but with their friends. We intersperse activities, such as "Two Truths and a Lie" and Pictionary with reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary lessons so that students get a chance to interact with each other and learn the English fundamentals as well. Our students are all very enthusiastic and we already see them making more of an effort to improve their spoken English skills.

Below are some photos of us teaching in our classroom. Enjoy!

-Charishma

The students in the 11th science section seem to have a solid grasp of the English language. We had them read "The Buffalo and the Field Mouse," a Native-American folktale, out loud.

After every few paragraphs of the story, I asked them questions to test their reading comprehension...and they always passed with flying colors! Pooja, one of our students, has just asked a question.

After the students were finished reading the story, Lakshmi wrote some questions on the board to assess the students' overall comprehension of the story.

Nilam, Arpita, and Kajal hard at work to answer the questions about "The Buffalo and the Field Mouse."

Divyesh has just found the answer to one of the questions!

Lakshmi helping one of the 9th standard boys on a test of the general and continuous present tenses.

Lakshmi just finished explaining the importance of establishing the fundamentals of the English language to our 9th standard girls and is about to start going over their first exam on the general and continuous present tenses.

Vishvajit (left) and Bhavesh (center) stop to pose for a picture before dashing off to the mess for a dinner of dal, subzi, and rotis.

Kadod High School and Surroundings

Hi Everyone!

Greetings from Kadod! Well, actually, I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Pune, but it's okay. After a month in India, Charishma and I are finally uploading photos! It's been an eventful month--we arrived in Kadod, settled ourselves into the principal's guest house, and started teaching about 120 students in the 9th and 11th standards. We've interviewed teachers, checked out the school grounds, sat in on classes, and learned an immense amount about the Indian education system and village life in India.

We hope you enjoy the photos, and we'll try our best to keep them coming!

~Lakshmi

A view of the principal's house and our guest house.

Charishma standing in front of our house!

Two 8th standard boys who live in the hostel. Kuldip (R), and the "Joker" (L). The 5th-8th standard hostel is kitty-corner from our house, so we see the boys often. Their favorite pastimes include cricket, a game called "kho-kho," and snacking on sweets that their parents bring them when they visit on Sundays. Last week, they showed us around the school grounds, and gave us a mango and a pack of cookies! They are really very sweet.

The boys playing cricket. Is the background is one wing of the secondary section. The bottom story houses the boys' hostel and one of the computer labs. The upper story has the adminstrative office and the principal's office.

When they saw our camera, they dropped their cricket game and came running!

The 9th-12th standard boy's hostel. About 100 boys live here, along with the director of the hostel and the biology teacher. To get to this hostel, we have to walk across a bridge over a small creek. Students from the technical section of the school designed the bridge themselves!

A view of the Tapi River, a very large river that drains into the Arabian Sea at Surat. Notice the heavy clouds and the high level of the river--it's definitely monsoon season! In the distance, there is a low-lying bridge that was visible when we first got to Kadod, but after a bout of rain, it was completely submerged.

These were our guides for the evening. In the background, you can see the Tapi River, looking towards the east. The surrounding land is flat, and dominated by sugarcane fields. They call this part of Gujarat the "Sugar Bowl." Even though I've been to India more than 15 times, this is the first time I've seen the beauty of a village and its surroundings.