As with most school settings, the physical education teachers are the heart of the faculty. They get to teach all of the students and often see them in a different light than educators that only view their kids through an academic lens. The physical education teachers at the Vidhyalakshmi School were no exception and were eager to engage us with their students in some of the more traditional sports and games played in Tamil Nadu and across India. Across India, cricket is the sport! It is played by professionals, by school teams, and in just about any cleared space in local towns and villages. We were introduced to the game by the teachers and students at Vidhyalakshmi. We had a chance to participate in a game of cricket. Practicing baseball with my son at home surely helped! Girls participate in different sports and games. One of my favorites to watch is the game of kho kho. This is an elaborate team game of tag in which teams chase one another across a small field. The game involves not only physical activity, but strategy and teamwork to be successful. We had an opportunity to observe a regional sporting event involving students from all over northern Tami Nadu. We enjoyed watching the games and were treated like celebrities from the students that we met. Everyone wanted a "selfie" taken with us!
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Kindergarten actually starts for students at age three and is divided into upper and lower kindergarten levels. By age five, students were learning cursive writing as well as more traditional kindergarten activities such as learning their basic alphabet and how they use their five senses. By middle school, students are already preparing for the 10th and 12th grade exams, which focus largely on math and science. However, Indian schools recognize the importance of the arts and include it as a regular part of the curriculum. On this day, sixth standard (grade) students are working on a paper folding activity. Music class during our visit focused on playing notes on a keyboard. Regardless of the grade level, students treated all of their teachers with a great deal of respect. Always rising to their feet to greet us with a "Good morning, sir!" The school day is a long one. The younger students are on campus until 3:45 and the older students may remain until 6:00 pm, particularly if they are preparing for the national exam. I know by the end of the day, I was pretty tired from all of the excitement of the day and trying to take it all in.
I'd been looking forward to our visit to our host school as this is one of the core experiences of the TGC program. This is our opportunity to form a closer connection with students and staff at one school for an entire week. I was moved by the welcoming ceremony that the school community planned for us. A special kolam was drawn in our honor. Every morning in Tamil Nadu, millions of women draw kolams on the ground with white rice flour. Through the day, the drawings get walked on, washed out in the rain, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Every morning before sunrise, the floor of the house, or where ever the Kolam may be drawn, is cleaned with water and the muddy floor swept well to create an even surface. A formal welcoming ceremony was a highlight of the morning. The students had been working on a performance to greet our arrival at Vidhyalakshmi School. We were honored by their efforts and the sincerity of this gesture to kick off our visit. Some of the girls from the middle school had prepared a dance performance of traditional Indian dance. The students were very talented and I was impressed with the skills that they demonstrated during the welcoming ceremony. This performance and the overall spirit of welcoming that we received from everyone that we met, made us feel at home at Vidhyalkakshmi School!
I'm very excited to begin our week at the host school, Vidhyalakshmi School! The school is located near the rural village of Chennangkuppam in the northern part of the Vellore District in Tamil Nadu. We are staying in a hotel in Vellore and making the hour long commute through the countryside and small villages to reach the school. Chennangkuppam, like many of the villages across India, are primarily agriculturally based. Small dairy farms, crops such as rice and sugar cane seem dominant in this region. The staple of the southern Indian diet is rice which differs from northern India, which is more wheat based. In India, private schools are growing quickly, with approximately 40% of schools operating privately. Schools subscribe to a variety of different curricula, some of them following a set of national standards and others following a curriculum from a particular state. Other schools follow an international curriculum. Vidhyalakshmi actually has two completely separate schools on its campus, one operating under the Central Board Standards in Education (C.B.S.E.) the other follows the state board. Both schools are managed by a headmaster titled Correspondent, Shri, S. Ashok Khumar. The Central Board school charges a higher tuition and has more resources for its students. Both schools exhibited a very positive atmosphere, the students were very happy to be there and our visit was apparently a highlight of their school year. Each day, school begins with an assembly of the entire student body. Students sing the school song and the Indian national anthem. Announcements about special activities are made at this gathering and student birthdays are recognized. The activity serves to create a feeling of school unity. This is a formal event. Students are arranged by class in military-style formation for the duration. This is a regular part of the school day at all of the Indian schools that I visited during the TGC program.
During British occupation, Indian states were generally divided along the lines of the language spoken in a particular region. In Tamil Nadu, the primary language is Tamil. Tamil Nadu is the southernmost state in India, bordered on the west by the State of Kerala and the east by the Bay of Bengal. We arrived at the Chennai Airport in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu early in the afternoon on Sunday. Mr. Suresh greeted us at the airport along with his son, Suntosh and a driver that he hired to negotiate the white knuckle, city traffic that dominates any Indian urban center. Our school school site was a 2-3 hour car ride from Chennai, so we did a little sightseeing around the city. I had been in contact with this facility prior to my trip to explore possibilities for educational collaborations connected to reptiles and amphibians. I was excited that we were able to add it to our itinerary The Center engages in conservation and education programs to protect crocodilians and other reptiles across India. In addition to a captive breeding program for crocodiles, the center operates field research in other parts of India. The Center strives to educated the public about the important ecological role played by reptiles and amphibians and dispel notions that these creatures are adversaries. Note the Tamil writing below. India has the highest number of snakebite deaths of any country in the world. Snake venom is used to produce the antivenin that saves many lives across India and around the world.
I've had a hiatus in posting as the used laptop that I'd purchased just prior to the trip, crashed and I haven't had access to a proper computer with an internet connection for over a week. Suffice to say, it's been an whirlwind of amazing experiences. Meeting dedicated teachers that do so much with scant resources; and students from challenging personal circumstances that are working very hard toward a brighter future for themselves and their country. Getting StartedThe structure of the International Field Experience sends pairs of teachers to schools around the host country. Teachers get a chance to connect with the schools both as a team and as individuals. My partner teacher is Rick Froehbrodt, from the Franklin STEAM Magnet school in San Diego, California, where he teaches fifth grade. We both share an interest in environmental studies, a good connecting point for us and the students at Vidhyalakshmi School. At each of our host schools, we are partnered with a local teacher. This teacher serves as our point of contact and plays a central role in ensuring that both the TGC teachers and the students at the host school have a positive experience. Our host is Mr. Suresh Sundaram, a physics teacher who participated in the International Leaders in Education (ILEP) program at Arizona State University in 2014. Participation in such programs is a prerequisite to serve as a TGC host. Mr. Suresh communicated with Rick and I for several weeks prior to the trip and made us feel very much at home.
On our last day in Bangalore, we were treated with a visit to Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. Meaning "The Red Garden", in English, the park is a very popular tourist attraction in Bangalore. It houses the largest collection of tropical plants in India. Many of the plants in the garden came by way of the famous Kew Gardens in London. The garden was originally designed in 1760 the ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali in 1760 and later finished by his son.
There are some ancient structures on the site, both historical and geological. As a part of the TGC experience, we attend numerous sessions in the hotel conference room, visit schools and participate in a variety of group activities. One of my passions is birding and I was delighted to find that a lake was only a short walk from my hotel. Ulsoor Lake is a focal point for many Bangaloreans as a destination for exercise and relaxation. I know that such areas can be a magnet for birdlife, so I've managed to take a short walk there each day of my visit to Bangalore. I was curious about the history of the lake and about the water quality issues that might affect it. I was interested to learn that the lake was originally constructed in the 16th century as a source for both irrigation and drinking water. The present day lake was reconstructed in the 1860s. The lake is a fraction of its original size because of siltation. During one of our sessions, we met with Avinash Krishnamuthy, an environmental engineer who discussed water quality issues for India and more specifically for Bangalore. I found particularly interesting his description of stepwells in Indian history. Stepwells are dug deep into the ground until the water table is reached. A series of descending steps were constructed that allowed access to the water and served as important gathering places in Indian villages. As the water table rose and fell, it served as an effective method to measure the current water supply by counting the number of steps required to reach the water's edge. If there was an increase in the number of steps, it meant that water was becoming less available and very likely, forecast a poorer harvest due to lack of water. Today, such step wells are maintained with pump systems and are more ornamental than functional. I was able to spot numerous birds at the lake, including some "lifers", species that I'd never seen in my 40+ years of birding. I saw several Little Egrets feeding at the edge of the lake, I once drove three hours to see one that appeared in Chincoteague Virginia! Birds with cool names like Purple Swamphen and Brahminy Kite make their homes around Ulsoor. Despite the abundant birdlife, the problems at Ulsoor Lake are quite evident. Trash is a major issue across Bangalore and the lake seems to be a collection point for such refuse. The trash can pose a threat to wildlife, detract from the aesthetics of the area, and provide opportunities for breeding mosquitoes. More insidious are the chemicals and waste that runs off into the lake, reducing oxygen levels and resulting in fish die-offs within the water body. Such a fish kill in May of last year caused the deaths of thousands of fish and no doubt impacted the survival of other species.
The bright note are the students that we meet in the local schools. Today we met with a wonderful group of very bright students with an interest in solving many of these problems. They hope that as people become more aware of these issues, some of these environmental problems can begin to be solved. I hope so too! After days of travel and meetings, we were all eager to get out and visit a school. Although students in Calvert County are well into their summer break, students in India are just getting started with their school year. Schools in India are an interesting mix of private and public schools. The school that we visited today is run by a charity for students in need, although parents do pay a small tuition feet to the school to help keep the program operational. The organization, RBANM's Charities, has been in existence for 143 years and is one of the oldest schools in Bangalore. These schools serve students from pre-school through the college level from the surrounding neighborhood. Students often spend their entire school career within the walls of this facility. We arrived at the school in time for the morning assembly which is a common element in schools across India. Students sang both their national anthem and the state anthem of Karnataka. The school was founded during the early days of the British colonial rule and school segregation. A local merchant, Dharmaratnakara Rai Bahadur Arcot Narrainsawmy Mudaliar saw the need for quality education for native children. An artifact of British rule can be seen in the school seal. The translation of the latin phrase conjunctis viribus, "with united powers", was the Motto of Queen Mary. For the record, I had to look that up! After an initial orientation, our team split up and visited different classrooms on the campus. I had a chance to visit both a kindergarten class and a fourth grade class. The students seemed both curious and delighted that we were there for a visit. The level of respect that the students demonstrated to their classroom teacher and to me was very impressive. Students The fourth grade students, taught by Ms. Anjana, were practicing their English. In this primary school, the students are taught all of their classes in English. This is not the case in all schools, which are often taught in their particular state language. Many of these students speak either Tamil or Kannada at home. Parents recognize the advantage for their children to become fluent in English and make deep financial sacrifices to send their students to schools that teach in English. Many of these students become multi-lingual, often speaking three or more languages. I'm not sure if Ms. Anjana knew my background, but she could not have selected a more appropriate thought for the day! We were reluctant to leave the classrooms and I felt that the students and teachers were sorry to see us go, We walked back to the main auditorium and met with a group of teachers for a discussion of education challenges and a general sharing of ideas. Following our discussion with the classroom teachers, we enjoyed spending some informal time with the middle and high school students following their lunchtime. A school provided lunch is universal in India and serves as an incentive for students to attend school. I think the students enjoyed the visit as much as we did!
Bangalore is a city of contrasts. Ancient cultures and rituals persist in a city that is known as India's technology capital. The wealth that followed the technology boom fuels the growth of upscale development including shopping malls that rival anything you might see in the U.S., yet millions of residents live in dire poverty. I was expecting to be blasted with the famous heat and humidity of India during the summer monsoons. To the contrary, the weather here has been quite nice, temperatures were probably hovering in the low 80s and we have only seen a passing thunderstorm occur while we were in an indoor session. In fact, the fine weather of Bangalore is one of the features that have attracted the tech sector to the city. If you've ever had the experience of receiving tech support from a customer service call center, it stands to chance that you've spoken to someone from Bangalore. This city of nearly 8.5 million people, India's third largest, is home to many of the call centers upon which frustrated Americans rely to make our computers operational. The relative higher wages of these jobs have provided opportunity for the highly educated to thrive. This prosperity has not necessarily tricklewd down to all Bangaloreans, there is still a very high rate of poverty and slums are evident in some parts of the city. |
ThIs website is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent Teacher's for Global Classrooms, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.
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