A bit of reflection.....

I was looking at some of my old pictures today and thought I'd post some of my favorites. These struck me one way or another and below is a brief descriptor of what I'm seeing in my pic and why I like it.

I'm at the Indian Ocean. Its just cool to say and see.

This was a geography class I visited. The teacher in the class has 100% involvement!!!!

These kids were gutsy and showing off. I really wanted to join them.

This is a side view of the Taj Mahal. I wanted to focus on the sheer size of the structure as well as the attention to detail that was put into the building.

This is the Taj Mahal from the front. I like the black and white of this because you can see the lines in the stone a bit easier and it makes it a bit more dramatic.

I have no clue who this person was. I was messing with filters on my phone and pointed it where there was light and saw this. I really like this one.

July 25, 2014

The day of reckoning has arrived. My last day on campus. I got to teach about rugby as part of a rugby lesson and I had one of the students teach me rugby in English. Needless to say, we laughed really stinking hard. These kids did not say much to me at the start of the week. They were a bit scared of the large American that crushes your hand if you shake his. Now.... well.... I guess this is a moment where I should let the pictures do the talking because I don't really have the words to do it justice.

THANK YOU ST. MARY'S H.S.S.!!!!!!!!!!!

July 24, 2014

Today we had a school assembly to start the day. It was the inauguration of the Literacy Club. The students worked to form this club and are extremely proud of what they have been able to accomplish. I was the end speaker for the assembly and briefly spoke about the importance of reading and literacy in general.

We followed this up with a Q&A session with the campus's Junior Red Cross group. We talked about the importance of service learning and service in communities in general. it was a solid session. It was fun trying to keep them on target with the topics versus asking us about America/Texas.

Enthusiasm on campus for education and learning appear to be pretty high. There exists high levels of interaction and engagement regardless of the class. It is a true privilege to see.

The librarian, Teresa, has brought us lunch the last two days. She is a solid cook. It is humbling to be offered food here from a lady I've only known since Monday. She does it because she cares for us and believes we can do some good for her campus. Librarians are a rare breed bu the good ones are even more rare. This one is priceless!!! She has a small library to work with. It is small in comparison to what is available in the states, but it is used more than what I've seen back home. English is the medium to move up in status and they have books here that help teach just that. The librarian encourages students to read and speak in English in an immersion style of learning like it is an extra section of English class. She is very good at what she does and is a credit to her profession.

There is something to be said for working with less. There is less than what is available on my campus in almost every regard. The utilization of resources is near maximum capacity. The faculty here know how how to stack lessons to maximize time, effort, and physical resources.

Tradition vs New update: I have now witnessed what Babu is up against. The teachers we have met are incredibly nice but are resistant to new teaching techniques or ideas. The newer ideas brought today did not go over as smoothly as hoped. The teachers seem eager to understand and learn but cling to outdated ideas and approaches that inhibit their growth as professionals. Babu in this case represents the new thought balanced with tradition and is a great vehicle to help move, implement, and assuage any complaints that the teachers here bring up. He can really be a force for good here in helping the teachers embrace more tools to help their students succeed and compete in a rapidly shrinking and interconnected world.

July 23, 2014

Today I started in a geography class today with 45 students. I believe their teacher's name is Delsa. She had 100% attentiveness from her students today. HOW!?!?! I wonder if it is the belief that the teacher here (if I was correct in my understanding) represents three of the Hindu gods. In either case, class participation was 90-95%. It is very impressive to hit those numbers and even more so with a class of that size. On top of that, this teacher negated the idea that group work and large class sizes don't work. In India, all problems require some form of creativity to solve. She had her class get into 4 big groups. The way the desks/tables are organized and the shape of the class allows for easy observation of the students well enough to keep them on task. The group work is brief to help keep the students focused on the task at hand. They then turn to the class to report their various answers and they are to respond and read the material in English. It is proper, formal British English, but that is not a bad thing.

I also noted that Delsa does much of what I do back home, teaching wise. I find it gratifying to find that what I have attemped in my own class is reflected in a counterpart in another country and in another language. There is a common thread to teaching and good teachers know what specifically is needed for their individual students to succeed and adapt their techniques as results begin to not meet expectations.

The students were studying geography in the English medium. Regardless of what is said in class, this class is more difficult that your average geography class because English is a second or third language that these students learn and speak. So, in reality, every teacher that teaches in an English medium is an English Language Learner Teacher.

Today was my presentation.

 I focused on 3 areas: The Danger of a Single Story, Document Driven Lessons, and Student Centered/Driven Lessons. I went over the rationale behind these approaches as well as brief and various activities that require little to no preparation. I started to lose them with the Single Story. There was a difficulty understanding the concept of changing historiographies. What I heard most was: How can history change? It happened the way it happened. You can't change it!!!
So, I pretty much tanked the core of keystone piece of my presentation. I later discovered that it was not really what I said/did but that there is a strong cling to tradition and a refusal to adapt. The rest of my presentation went over pretty well. Some of them even liked the idea of letting the students discover the material and ask how close they were to what is being looked for. So, my presentation wasn't a complete loss.

That night we met with the local teachers' union, local education leaders, teacher trainers, and teachers from other schools in a very productive question and answer session. I was there with 3 other teachers that are apart of the TGC program. 3 of us were from Texas and one from Massachusetts. I believe we did our country and states proud with the answers we were able to provide and how it was conducted.

July 22, 2014

I got to present about America and Texas today to some faculty and faff and 20 students. In my opinion, it went over like a lead balloon. I feel that I talked too fast and used too much jargon. I had to slow it up tons and cut out tons that I would consider vital information back home. On top of everything, the power went out just before I was to start and had to change gears to using a whiteboard and good old fashioned improvisation. All said, it wasn't my best. Oh, to make matters worse, I forgot the micro projector that my parents had lent me. It was BACK HOME IN TEXAS!!!! GAAA!!!!

Working with the teachers here has been an absolute treat. I have been spoiled with teaching resources in my district and campus. The teachers here find success with so much less resources than what I have access to. They arrive with an enthusiasm that makes the students want to be involved and take great pride in being students on this campus.

I got to observe a geography lesson today in the medium of Malayalam. I do not even remotely speak this language and was able to follow along with the Jesuit Father teaching the course. This is just a  testament of his skill and prowess as a teacher that regardless of the language barrier, I still was able to learn a small bit about the various trade centers established by the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French. The lesson was a bit on the memorization and recitation (foundation) level for future lessons. I hope they look at motivations for establishing those centers of trade in those locations. The students have a deep respect for their instructors, from my observations anyway. They are willing to follow directions and throw themselves into an assignment to achieve the best marks that can possibly receive.

I am supposed to have a research question while here. Mine is "To what extent does the clash of tradition vs new prevent development and how does the Indian reality reflect this duality?" Basically, is tradition sacrificed for new or can it be preserved while implementing the new.

Example: The campus

The campus is 50 years old. In the states this is not a major issue. If you think of the USA schools 50 years ago, yes there was asbestos and other issues going on at the time but from an infrastructure time they were more solidly wired. Here you can see that the infrastructure of the school is a bit newer that the school. So, if conditions are right power can be lost (like it did on me). This does not stop the teachers from trying to implement technology on campus. This is where the resilience and brilliance of the teachers comes to play. I am not proud to admit I was crushed and deflated by the loss of electricity. Many of my fellow teachers in the US/TX/SPHS would crumble at the slightest hiccup in their lesson. The teachers here understand the concept and regularly implement the idea of: Adapt and Overcome. They do it professionally and proficiently. They teach their students regardless.

The dominant form of education is direct teaching but the teachers have the rapport with the students to make this work. Group work here can be difficult with classes being as large at 55 students. Anything I contribute must be low prep and low use of resources. I hope that in tomorrow's Social Studies presentation, I can positively impact the teaching of social studies here.

July 21, 2014

Today we met up with our host, Babu Simon Louis. He was very excited to show us his home. He lives in the beautiful state Kerala. The capital city is Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). I can now say the long version of this with some accuracy.This is a very densely populated area. For me, it can be overwhelming just how many people live here. There is so much green!!!! GREEN EVERYWHERE!!!! It is really beautiful here!!!! Words just don't do this area justice. The nickname for Kerala is "God's Own Country". If it is not, it's pretty close.

July 19, 2014

Today we visited the Muslim Orphanage in Bangalore. It was interesting to see that most of the students were female.  I chose to take the safe route when dealing with students here and predominantly dealt with the male students.That might seem wrong to some but one has to remember the point of being here: observation and education for myself and those I can interact with. If cultural traditions here prevent me from doing something, I am not in a position to question the validity in the immediacy but maybe use it as a talking/learning point in my classes this coming fall.

The orphans at this school are awesome and love any attention that they receive. Many of the guys that I was sitting with had their mind blown by the Texas handshake. They seemed to enjoy getting their hand crushed by a foreigner. So, I taught them how to do it properly. When I left the class I was in, they were crushing each others' hands. I'm pretty proud of that.

On the note of education practices that I found universal, was the use of things that the students knew in order to establish a foundation in the subject learned. I also need to note that the quality of connection between students and instructor are important factors in the success of the students in buying into what the teacher is presenting.

One thing does stand out. It was the statement by one of the chemistry teachers that dealt with terminology for elements on the periodic table. There were terms that they use because of convenience and are not recognized in the international community. So, convenience vs international standards. This is like the Americans clinging to the standard measurements vs switching to metric. I also saw this as teachers teaching how they are comfortable vs trying to expand their skills and find what works for the students. Comfort in a teaching style might work for a year, or for a class but does not necessarily mean that it will translate to success for future classes or school years.ON the other side of this coin though, there is no golden bullet for education, anywhere. Just because a campus in inner city Houston or inner city New York or LA had huge success implementing a program and had results to back it up does not mean it will work on your campus. The variables involved with implementing those types of programs range from support of admin, buy in from teachers, buy in from the community at large, and buy in from students. If one of these variables is not there, your "golden bullet" just turned to lead. 

July 18th Reflections:

We started the day by meeting the students and faculty at the Purnapramati School, Center for Integrated Learning. (http://purnapramati.in). We began the day by meeting the students at their practice area for a traditional Indian game called Kho Kho. It is a game of speed, agility, and endurance. None of these physical virtues are anything I possess. To complicate matters, the game is played barefoot. So, naturally I joined in as soon as I figured out the game.The students were very kind and said that I was very good at it. I did enjoy their criticism. To quote the one that would be my  little buddy while there: You are fast but have no agility or endurance. I laughed. The brutal honesty of kids is priceless.

The school itself is a private school. If my notes are correct, there are only about 60 students on this campus. I think there are only 10-12 teachers on this campus as well. The ages of these students range from 8-12 years old. The students are mostly self paced and work in an open format in the classroom. They work by topic and the older students once they figure out the material aid in tutoring the younger students. The students, once mastering a subject, are allowed to move on to to newer material. 

The teachers have amazing connections with their students. There is a level of trust and respect between educator and student. I found this to be highly impressive and it also showed in their interactions with one another. The student attentiveness and engagement in the lessons was near 100 percent in every class that I had the opportunity to observe. 

It is a new approach in a newer school, so dividends and success rates on state assessments is yet to be determined as state assessments come in standard grades 10 and 12. The teachers' attitude and desire to work was reflected in their enthusiasm in their teaching.

That afternoon, we had a speaker by the name of Dr. Ashwin Mahesh. He has a a background that was not based in education but made some very strong points about what is needed to solve complicated issues like the issues that India possesses. The reality of India that complicates every and all issues centers on population growth. His common theme through talking to us about topics from steam lining traffic citations to eliminating choke points in traffic. His thought was complicated problems require creative solutions. Education in India no exception.  There is a myriad of problems that are presented because of  extremes in poverty, population growth, and extreme urbanization do not allow for simple solutions. It almost feels like fighting the Hydra of Grecian mythology. What struck me as noteworthy was the hope and enthusiasm in his voice as he addressed the issued. The complicated issues that exist here in India are solvable. They will just take some time, resources, enthusiasm, and a whole lot of hope. 

This is Dr. Singh. He is the former Indian attache to UNESCO. We had to spend a few hours with him as he briefed us on Indian history and culture. It was very enlightening to hear his take on the subject matter. As he was discussing the diversity of India being one of the common bonds for the country, I kept thinking about home and how Texas fit that description. Texas is diverse, Texans disagree with Texans, but we are also okay with the disagreement and (in my opinion) seem to relish the chance for a spirited debate and the opportunity to disagree and challenge another's view on life. I really enjoyed my time listening to him if you could not tell.

A big piece of the TGC professional development that stuck with me is based on the dangers of a single story. In dealing with issues that arise from diversity, I have now gained a greater appreciation that it is just not a Texas thing, or even an American thing but it is part of the human experience. The more I am able to see how people handle their issues that arise from this particular conundrum, I will be able to better go back to my classroom to work with the various issues and problems that my students bring to the table. 

Bangalore - A multi-faceted city

Today is the day. I will proceed to spend the next bit of forever at the location of my arch nemesis: The Airport. In roughly 3 hours I will be in the air for my first leg of the journey to India. My first stop is Bangalore.I have the opportunity to spend a few days in this diverse city. Expect updates as often as WiFi can be found.

Placement and Travel: India

So, I've seen my flight details and placement location for when I begin the start of my trek to the other side of the globe. I fly into the city of Bangalore for starters. I learned that this city is very diverse in its ethnic make up and cultural experiences. One of the sites I visited said that Bangalore is the rock and roll capital of India. I find this feature intriguing because I live outside of the live music capital of the world: Austin, TX. So, as a resident of this area with access local bands every night of the week, I feel that it is my duty to see if there are any local Indian rock bands playing while I am there. As a foodie, I discovered that Bangalore has a strong culinary scene. I wonder what I shall discover while there.

My placement city is a mouthful for most Westerners to say: Thiruvananthapuram. Most seem to refer to it as Trivandrum. It is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala with 750k people and some change. It is located on the south western part of the Indian subcontinent. I would be hard pressed to get much more south in India than I will be. The area has a deep and rich history with some ties possibly going back to King Solomon's fleet landing to trade at what is now the docks at Poovar (was Ophir). I am hoping to see some ancient buildings and historical sites with a city and region with roots that deep. The Indian Space Research Organization also has several branches here in town. There are many beaches in this area that aid in the growth of the city's tourist industry. Trivandrum also has an old fort that houses an old Hindu Temple that requires a strict dress code to visit. I do not know if it is open for Westerners or not. I think it would be intriguing to visit if it is.Soccer and cricket are the popular sports in town (and seem to be for the country). I wonder if I can find a rugby pitch in the area. Most of the food in the city is characterized by abundant use of coconut and spices. Fast food is also popular. The street food of choice (and safest bet for tourists) seems to be the fried banana chips. I went to Frommer's tourist guide to check up on this and it said to get them piping hot and slightly salted to get the full extent of this snack. I cannot find myself objecting to this if presented with the opportunity.

I have copied the link from Google Maps with the location of my placement.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Thiruvananthapuram,+Kerala/@8.499733,76.9244767,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x3b05bbb805bbcd47:0x15439fab5c5c81cb

Why India?

The short answer: Why not?

The long answer: I just don't feel like I know enough about the country outside of the food and Indiana Jones.

This country holds one of the Earth's oldest civilizations and the country itself has always held an exotic air of mystery about it. I don't know how else to put it other than that.

As the days creep closer to departure, I am thinking about the number of shots I need and medical care I'll have to have before departure. I plan on bringing mosquito spray, a mosquito net, a water filter, and an open mind. I am going to want to experience the local cultures and behaviors. I know as a big guy and a Texan I'm going to stand out a bit, but I'd like to see how things are done and learn things about their schools, sports, free time, etc. I just want to learn!!!!

I've always had a pretty solid sense of myself as an American and as a Texan. I've not really understood how I fit into the world as a citizen of this planet. I've not traveled outside of the United States extensively. I've been to Hungary as my major moment of international travel experience. I've often watched my students struggle with the blinders of their social media and thinking that there isn't much else outside of the US. My brilliant wife pointed me in the direction of the IREX program Teachers for Global Classrooms. It is a professional development program that helps teachers gain the experience and skills to help their students gain a global understanding in their education. This in turn should help those students in understanding the world they will inherit in the future and hopefully breed a bit of understanding through the various cultures that they will come into contact with. As a result of this program, my teaching and approaches to education in general have evolved to include global impacts of government/global business actions, impacts of cultural interactions, reinterpretations of historical events through the "other side's" point of view, and a heavier emphasis on the students discovering the information. As a result of this, I've really enjoyed teaching this year and I think my students have as well. Student participation has gone up as well as scores on assessments. Their willingness to try and experiment with their learning styles and openness to being "wrong" once in awhile has also increased. I cannot say enough good things about what this program has done for me professionally.
I spent this fall in professional development with this organization developing lesson plans in an effort to be able to positively impact my students. Upon completion of this portion of the program, I was able to attend a symposium in Washington, D.C. that covered topics that dealt with global education and global competencies. The sweetest portion of this program, for me at least, is the opportunity that I have this summer. As part of this program teachers are sent overseas to various countries to gain first hand experiences in how education is done all across the globe!!!! I have the privileged to be apart of the  contingency that is going to India for two weeks this summer!!!! I'm really excited about going and have tried to do some research about this country and customs in preparation for it.  The excitement of going overseas to a country that is a mystery to me is excitement enough. But to be able to go to an area of the world and check a country off of my bucket list and gain valuable experience that will make me a better teacher is just the icing on the cake!!!

Disclaimer

This blog is not an official U.S.Department of State blog. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.

Pretty clear.