New School Jitters

This has been my first week working as a consultant in my school and it has been quite an experience. After our two weeks of orientation, I felt ready to go and jump in. Unfortunately, as always seems to happen when you have high expectations, you tend to be disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I really love my school, and the kids, teachers and owner are great. However, I am still at a loss for what I should be doing. You see, this first month is all about observing and we are then responsible for writing case studies on our schools that we can use for the rest of our time here which also allows GMC to get the inside scoop, so to speak. But there is only so much observing one can do. Today I finally finished seeing every teacher in every class, and now, I’m unsure what I should be doing. You see, my owner has so much trust in my ability that she just gives me free rein to do whatever and wander around the school. It’s almost too much independence! But I will figure it out and I already have some ideas for next week.

But anyways, now that my angsty self has divulged its feelings, I’ll get down more to the nitty gritty. The atmosphere at the school is great, with teachers treating each other like family and friends, and a general feeling of looking out for the well-being of all the students. That being said, it is a lot different than what I am used to. For instance, you can see a teacher smiling and laughing with a student at one moment and within seconds, that same teacher can turn around and smack another kid for not sitting up straight. As much as I hate to admit it though, the kids respond and all seem to pay more attention and be more active learners than you will see in an American classroom.

The classrooms themselves are definitely different. They all have chalkboards and a few rows of tables with attached chairs that the kids cram into. Many of these “classrooms” have a wall separating them from others that doesn’t quite go all the way up to the ceiling, so it can be hard to hear over neighboring classes. The teachers like to have kids stand up and read things aloud and then explain them afterwards, which means that often there isn’t enough time to explain everything since classes are at half-day during the month of Ramadan. Plus the kids are big on memorizing here so comprehension may be an issue. In India, passing or failing the test at the end of 10th grade determines the rest or your life. So to say that teachers have to teach to the test is an understatement. In the upper grades boys are way less participatory than girls, which honestly, kind of makes me happy – I like seeing the confidence that the girls have and they tend to outnumber the boys in class anyway. The content and subject matter though seem really well-thought out, and overall, I’m impressed with the education the students are receiving.

Of course, my favorite thing has to be the kids. I sat in on an Upper Kindergarten Class today and they were learning the alphabet with phonics techniques. Seeing 50 little five and six year olds shaking their hands and bodies to imitate jello for the letter “j” is absolutely priceless to say the least. What I definitely regret right now though is my inability to remember names. The girls keep testing me and I keep forgetting them, and then I feel really bad about it. But there’s just so many students with names I’ve never heard before that it’s almost impossible for me to have any recall at all. Oh well, it will definitely get easier I guess, but I’m having enough trouble with all the teacher’s names! Like I said, daily embarrassments are kind of my thing and this inability to learn ANY names is definitely giving me an opportunity to live up to this.

Outside of school, I have been fairly exhausted. Although not so exhausted that I haven’t been able to go out to dinner to celebrate the first night of Ramadan (or Ramzan as it’s called here in Urdu). We went to a Café famous for their Haleem, a traditional Ramzan dish eaten at Ifran, to break the fast for the day at sundown. What I am about to describe may gross you out but I promise, it’s way better than it sounds. Basically it is pureed mutton (think the consistency of molasses) mixed with ghee, an Indian artery-clogging butter and sometimes garnished with almonds and a hard-boiled egg. It’s calorific and sits like a rock in your stomach. But surprisingly, I liked it. Especially since Hyderabad is famous the world over for Haleem. Of course, I feel like I’m cheating since I’m not actually fasting, but the Hindus here don’t fast either so we’re even. My roommate and I even got invited to the home of our local cell phone dealer who we have made friends with on Sunday night to break the fast with his family (don’t worry, we are going together and he’s not a creep, I promise!). So I’m definitely excited to see some more cultural activities.

Again I know I’m long winded and I appreciate you bearing with me. Wish me luck as I attempt to go and register for temporary residency here as a foreigner tomorrow. Someone once told me bureaucracy in India means jumping through lots of hoops and sucking up to people. Imagine that? Hasta el proximo… (and check out the pictures to come and the pictures I have already posted on here).