Some Viewpoints About India

Sharing Some Views:

Open this link in order to see brief powerpoint sharing some perspectives on India.

Open this link to hear Maya Menon of The Teacher Foundation in Bangalore

The Entrance to a small Government School in Bangalore

A Private School Visit-June 10

We visited a second school in Bangalore, Shastry Memorial English School -- a coed private school for kindergarten to grade 10.  It’s in grade 10 that students here in India take a state exam, and then go on to what’s called “Plus 2.”  In essence, that’s grades 11 and 12.  This is kind of considered pre-college, after which they enter university.  I was impressed with the children here, more so than the teaching (not the teachers).  I say this because just like our first school, these kids want to learn, but just like the former school, a lot here is taught by rote.  I loved their politeness, clearly exhibited pride in their work, and the articulate manner in which they expressed themselves when given the freedom to share their ideas.  They eagerly showed me their notebooks and text, and talked freely about what they were doing.

Student workbook written in Kanada-Indian students study 3 languages minimum, beginning in grade 3.

I had a chance to sit in on a 9^th grade Social Studies class, where they were studying India, and a 7^th grade Language Arts class.  And once again, just like in primary school Language Arts class, the teacher was asking them to simply give information back.  There was no higher order thinking, no cooperative group work, and, though coed, no mixing in class between boys and girls.  Females were seated on one side of the room, and gents on the other.   The lesson in the 7^th grade LA class was the same as the one taught in the primary school class 7^th grade class the day before.  There are no state or central government curriculum standards, so perhaps this was to be seen as a positive in that teachers are themselves are working on small steps to bring about basic cohesive curriculum units.

Bright, polite, ambitious, and smart young ladies..happy faces.

To be fair, we were observing the middle of the lesson, and we didn’t stay long enough to see what would come after, so I am humbled that these teachers allowed a bunch of Americans into their classrooms, not knowing what we would be saying about them afterwards.  I am truly honored, because at the end of the day, they, like American teachers, are doing the best they can (with far, far less resources than we have access to in the states).

This school also primarily serves under-privileged students and their families.  However, despite their circumstances, these parents ensure that their children go to school!  They are more stable than families of the kids in the government school we visited, and they work hard to supplement the meager INR 200 stipend that the government provides for each student per year.  There are some students from middle class families here as well.  All these parents place a high value on a quality education and feel they are not getting what they need in the schools run by the government.  Charter schools in the U.S. anyone?! 

The head or school manager is a former engineer, who “believes in a good education,” and whose “mother started the school years ago in her home with 7 students.”  I feel his intentions are good; but is it fair for me to question how come he has a newly painted office, outfitted with new furniture and computers when student bathrooms lack toilet paper, and students have little to no computer access on campus?  Maya Menon, from The Teacher Foundation, helped me understand that he technically has no education background; it would be wonderful for him to choose to do some work with the foundation to learn how to further leverage what he’s already getting out of his teachers, build capacity, and overall see the value in providing some of the quality of life (and health) issues that could serve his students, i.e. clean bathrooms, and toilet paper.  In the end I hope to work with this school to provide meaningful assistance to deserving students.

A teacher is proud of her students and explains her day

India's Education Exports

Today, it's dawned on me that the Indians who excel in America's (and other western nations') institutions of higher learning, are perhaps not a major portion of the product of India's education system.  It appears that the country's education "exports" are among the minority of students in the school system here.  By contrast, the majority attends schools that need everything, often including teachers who themselves could use more training to make them more effective for the young minds they so influence.  I'm learning that India's education system is a complex consortium of organizations, governing bodies, and entities that keep the country's public, private, quasi-private, and government schools open.  It is a gigantic machinery that, while it is serving some students well, particularly those who can afford to pay exorbitant private school fees, it is actually in many ways "leaving some children behind."

For the past two days we've been paying visits to get a first-hand look at how some schools are run, and how students are being served.  Tuesday (June 9, 2015) we visited the Government Higher Primary School in Vasanthnagar.  One hundred twenty students, all from impoverished backgrounds, are enrolled in grades 1-7; they are taught by 7 teachers who are supervised by a head teacher.  Only a fraction of the student body was present.  This is the beginning (first week) of the new school year, and we were told many of the children simply have not yet returned to school.  This school serves a migrant population because a large percentage of the families lack a permanent home structure.

All children are taken through an assembly of chanting and repetition each morning.  During our visit it was led by a student.  Reading also takes place from the newspaper because it's a way to keep those who can understand informed on some of issues of the day (parents are often illiterate or simply cannot afford media of any kind)

7th Grade Language Arts with students who were attentive to a person, and a teacher who showed such dynamism despite few resources 

What was most impressive was the richness of print all over the classrooms here..you are looking at Kannada, a language spoken mainly in the state of Kanataka in which Bangalore is located

The kids were delightful!  They were polite, eager to learn, happy, to a great extent, despite the obvious need for some day-to-day necessities.  It was hard to accept how few resources there were; classrooms were tiny, allowing little if any room for a teacher to monitor cooperative  group activities; they were poorly outfitted, but students were so very proud to have us visit.

Hello India!

India! I'm here, finally, in this Land of the Lotus.  The adjectives are endless, and the contrasts abound! 

Vast; only a third the size of the United States; 1.2 billion people, complex, variety, steeply traditional, diverse yet homogeneous, devoutly religious, birthplace of Hinduism, Seikism, Buddism and Jains, yet secular in countless ways; one of the world's oldest civilizations, unimaginable cultures, over a thousand languages, land neighbor to seven countries, important waterways; densely populated, more than 1.2 billion people calling it home, and over 400 million are students in school!

Is it any wonder my cohorts and I are mesmerized after being here, in Land of the Lotus, for only three days thus far?!

Taking Flight

- Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Charlotte, NC -
The planning, shopping, preparing, packing are all done. I have students' letters, well wishes, and video recordings to deliver in Kerala, and now I'm on my way..this process has been amazing thus far and I haven't left the US just yet.  

I'm actually airborne as I write traveling via Charlotte to DC where my cohort will meet for our transatlantic flight to Frankfurt...pinching myself, as I'm sure I'll do again and again over the next almost 3 weeks!   

What an awesome use of the US taxpayer's dollars!!! Sending teachers as "ambassadors" to learn, investigate, and view, interact, and of course, teach!

- Charlotte, NC to Washington, DC - 
So, I can see our nation's capital below....in flight from Charlotte, will be landing soon. But, wait!!! What do Devon Avenue in Chicago, and India, have in common?!  

Try and read the article, in this month's American Way Magazine, that talks about the stew of cultures that exists on Devon...and Indians are a big part of this mix..

Clearly, Devon is going to be a must on my next visit to Chi Town. But, I'll be back later folks...gotta stow the tray table and get ready for the third segment of my adventure: Lufthansa, I'm headed your way...hold on!