I saw a very strange thing in school last 2 days....kids who cant read the word FRIEND yet...tied friendship bands to other people (including their teachers!)....strange how Archies has been able to reach out to even kids in a municipal school in a small place as malvani! Well just so the kids realise what they are doing as a small gesture actually holds a alot more meaning, I have decided to celebrate Friendships Day in my class on Monday.....I have got little ribbons for them to tie to each other:)
Another eye-opening incident that happened in school was during the staff get-together that took place today...Municipal schools have last day of the month as half day.....So we TFI fellows organised a little get-together for our teachers on Saturday morning.....we knew that the teachers were being all nice to us but we also knew they had a lot of questions regarding what we are here for...So we started the session with giving our introductions.....and answering questions......Well it led to a huge discussion during which we realised that even though the staff members were being nice to us, but they were not comfortable with the idea of having us around.....each teacher in our school handles about 80-100 kids all alone and we are handling 80 kids between 2 fellows....they feel that our kids will be able to progress this way and they will have to face competition and being compared to us.... since these teachers have completed B.ed or D.ed, they also feel that people from other fields or those who have worked in the corporate world are not good enough to teach kids....they prefer having teachers who have degrees....These teachers have families to take care of and so much of administrative work that they are bound to lose it at times....While we fellows tried our best to empathise with them, we realised that it will take alot of time for us to change their mindsets....
The session continued with an activity and then refreshments for everyone....
Btw, I got a shock when after the meeting we saw a 3.5 ft long snake in school!!! yeah it was scary and disgusting!! I despise snakes to the core so will not write more on this!
Anyway, this is all I have for now....will write again soon!
Happy friendships day!:)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Its weird....
Its 2 am while I write this....Its a strange world......And its got very little to do with my work.....Its more to do with the people I know....I get a call from a friend last night telling me indirectly that there is a probability she'll be married soon! Another one called me at 3 am last night and told me what a sad life he was leading....After talking to both of them I was thinking about how strange life is.....everyone goes through so much everyday and all that they do affects the people around them greatly.....so many of us carry our past with us everywhere we go....and relationships are becoming so superficial....when you need people the most you rarely reach out to them....the world is becoming hard to stay in....
My reason of writing this note today is just to make people reach out to just one person they left behind while moving on fast with life.....that one person who mattered alot long ago but then you lost touch....I wish people dint move away so fast so soon....I wish I still had all the people who count(ed) next to me even today....but I guess you cant have everything you want in life.....But stopping once in awhile and looking back does make you smile truly....
My reason of writing this note today is just to make people reach out to just one person they left behind while moving on fast with life.....that one person who mattered alot long ago but then you lost touch....I wish people dint move away so fast so soon....I wish I still had all the people who count(ed) next to me even today....but I guess you cant have everything you want in life.....But stopping once in awhile and looking back does make you smile truly....
Monday, July 19, 2010
I went to visit my students' house....
Im sorry for being late in writing to you....Just have been too caught up with things....Life’s tough in this city... but then it came by choice so i don’t regret it....Everytime I feel down I remember Bazz Luhrmann’s video Sunscreen...for all of you who havnt please check it out.....There is a line in that song – Live in Southern California once but leave before it makes you soft, Live in New York City once but leave before it makes you hard....I think Pune made me soft and now Mumbai is making me hard.....
Before i tell you about whats been up in school...I checked out the night life in Mumbai....clubs all over the city open till 5 am....i went to 2 over the weekend....and also checked out the beach near my house....Mumbai has dirty beaches and whose to blame but us!
Anyway, the last week has been my best week in school so far....Alot of kids in my class have started responding and have picked up counting....Iv become more positive about things and enjoy classes instead of taking it too seriously....Learning can be fun...i always knew this but have finally realised it....
Here are the small incidents that made me smile last week.....
- When Kamraan invited me over to his place and was excited when I finally did go with him...
- When Saif held my hand throughout the 30 minute walk to his place, jumping over puddles, pushing sheep out of his Didi’s way to show her his cute little hut...
- When Saif’s Mom told me that he hated going to school last year but now he drags them to drop him to school
- When Shehzaad finally figured out that 75 comes after 74 and the counting pattern...(even though this just lasted a day)
- When Kaif and Raza started responding in class and sat quietly and answered every now and then....Whereas they would sleep in class otherwise...N i mean literally!
- When Zheenat told my co-teacher Namita that hearing stories from Didis is like her Mum telling her stories at home...
- When Faiyan said that the community leader or “neta”(in his words) were there to make gutters and thats it
- When Simran got me a pen out of her pocket money....and said its because she likes me...
- When the class started using the words “Thank you” everytime they took something from me...
- When Kamraan learnt how to say “May I go to toilet” properly...that is the favourite question of my class right now...
- When Irfan jumped to answer at every opportunity to get points for his team....
- When the class randomly started cheering for every person who stood up to answer
- When one day I walked into class and saw everyone cleaning up on their own without Didi telling them to...(see attached photo)
I don’t know how to describe my feelings at everyone of these moments....Small things like these make life worth living all over again...Satisfaction is an understatement when it comes to explaining what teaching gives me...
I also visited the houses of Kaif and Raza (they are twins)....Im attaching a picture of their community...They live in a small hut with tinned roof without electricity..people in the house – grandmother, their mother, father, one elder brother and a toddler sister....raza suffers from a calcium deficiency because of which his legs hurt and there are days when he is unable to walk...yet he walks 40 minutes to get to school....Sometimes I wonder how can i ask these kids to dream about big things when i know their condition back home...but then i realise its unfair if they are not allowed to dream...a guest lecturer at TFI once said – you can have all the excuses in the world and blame that things are not ok with you and thats why you couldn’t achieve something but then its still you who couldn’t do it...no one else is losing anything....and so i would want my kids to dream and do their best no matter what the conditions are like....
Another visit was to Kamraan’s place...3 brothers and the 4th one on its way to the world....Thankfully his family is a little better off as their Dad runs a very small kirana store....
I also went to Yasmin’s house....12 yr old...finished clases upto 6th Standard in Urdu medium now in 2nd standard in English medium....her mother abandoned her and her siblings when she was 6....the father doesn’t live with them either....an aunt takes care of her.....she bunks school alot....is reprimanded at home all the time...what do i do in situations like these? How do i explain to the child that she is not to be blamed for what her parents did to her....
The last visit was to Saif’s house....he was super excited and offered me biscuits and water when i went to his place....His house is half the size of my room....and he walks half an hr to gt to school everyday....whoever said our ancestors walked miles to get to school.....these kids are still doing it....
Namita and i took 4 kids to Crossword on Saturday as an incentive for having full attendance...A friend of mine dropped us so they also got a chance to sit in a car....they were so happy and lolling all over the kids section trying to check out books with pictures and asking questions about things they saw...I so knew what they felt like....same feeling I had when I was gifted my first book – Secret Seven by my uncle....
So that was one more week at school between running for trainings, making charts and worksheets...
I forgot to mention we conducted the Diagnostic tests for my class....Math average is 13 whereas English is 3-4.....believe me these are just numbers the situation is worse...But I know one day, some day...they will get it!
Before i tell you about whats been up in school...I checked out the night life in Mumbai....clubs all over the city open till 5 am....i went to 2 over the weekend....and also checked out the beach near my house....Mumbai has dirty beaches and whose to blame but us!
Anyway, the last week has been my best week in school so far....Alot of kids in my class have started responding and have picked up counting....Iv become more positive about things and enjoy classes instead of taking it too seriously....Learning can be fun...i always knew this but have finally realised it....
Here are the small incidents that made me smile last week.....
- When Kamraan invited me over to his place and was excited when I finally did go with him...
- When Saif held my hand throughout the 30 minute walk to his place, jumping over puddles, pushing sheep out of his Didi’s way to show her his cute little hut...
- When Saif’s Mom told me that he hated going to school last year but now he drags them to drop him to school
- When Shehzaad finally figured out that 75 comes after 74 and the counting pattern...(even though this just lasted a day)
- When Kaif and Raza started responding in class and sat quietly and answered every now and then....Whereas they would sleep in class otherwise...N i mean literally!
- When Zheenat told my co-teacher Namita that hearing stories from Didis is like her Mum telling her stories at home...
- When Faiyan said that the community leader or “neta”(in his words) were there to make gutters and thats it
- When Simran got me a pen out of her pocket money....and said its because she likes me...
- When the class started using the words “Thank you” everytime they took something from me...
- When Kamraan learnt how to say “May I go to toilet” properly...that is the favourite question of my class right now...
- When Irfan jumped to answer at every opportunity to get points for his team....
- When the class randomly started cheering for every person who stood up to answer
- When one day I walked into class and saw everyone cleaning up on their own without Didi telling them to...(see attached photo)
I don’t know how to describe my feelings at everyone of these moments....Small things like these make life worth living all over again...Satisfaction is an understatement when it comes to explaining what teaching gives me...
I also visited the houses of Kaif and Raza (they are twins)....Im attaching a picture of their community...They live in a small hut with tinned roof without electricity..people in the house – grandmother, their mother, father, one elder brother and a toddler sister....raza suffers from a calcium deficiency because of which his legs hurt and there are days when he is unable to walk...yet he walks 40 minutes to get to school....Sometimes I wonder how can i ask these kids to dream about big things when i know their condition back home...but then i realise its unfair if they are not allowed to dream...a guest lecturer at TFI once said – you can have all the excuses in the world and blame that things are not ok with you and thats why you couldn’t achieve something but then its still you who couldn’t do it...no one else is losing anything....and so i would want my kids to dream and do their best no matter what the conditions are like....
Another visit was to Kamraan’s place...3 brothers and the 4th one on its way to the world....Thankfully his family is a little better off as their Dad runs a very small kirana store....
I also went to Yasmin’s house....12 yr old...finished clases upto 6th Standard in Urdu medium now in 2nd standard in English medium....her mother abandoned her and her siblings when she was 6....the father doesn’t live with them either....an aunt takes care of her.....she bunks school alot....is reprimanded at home all the time...what do i do in situations like these? How do i explain to the child that she is not to be blamed for what her parents did to her....
The last visit was to Saif’s house....he was super excited and offered me biscuits and water when i went to his place....His house is half the size of my room....and he walks half an hr to gt to school everyday....whoever said our ancestors walked miles to get to school.....these kids are still doing it....
Namita and i took 4 kids to Crossword on Saturday as an incentive for having full attendance...A friend of mine dropped us so they also got a chance to sit in a car....they were so happy and lolling all over the kids section trying to check out books with pictures and asking questions about things they saw...I so knew what they felt like....same feeling I had when I was gifted my first book – Secret Seven by my uncle....
So that was one more week at school between running for trainings, making charts and worksheets...
I forgot to mention we conducted the Diagnostic tests for my class....Math average is 13 whereas English is 3-4.....believe me these are just numbers the situation is worse...But I know one day, some day...they will get it!
Another week at school!
Mumbai is the weirdest city to live in!! every now and then there is a strike or it pours down badly! recently there was a transport strike which means no autos and taxis....i had to go 15 kms to city fr attending a training....thnx to the amazing bus system i was saved bt it poured so badly tht i ended up geting soaked by the time i reached school!
We also conducted our first parent-teacher meeting! out of 160 kids, some 53 parents turned up....al concerned yet hopeful tht we might b able to help change things...here are some of the stories i heard from parents:
My children dint study a word last year cos they dint have a teacher last entire year
When we told them to ensure 100% attendance they said the teachers had told them last year nt to send their kids to school if it rained hard...
My 6 yr old daughter and 10 yr old son both are in ur class cos one gt admitted late and also missed a year...
My daughter has a mental disorder...
My son has never seen his father and is sensitive abt it
and many more.....these might not seem a big deal from an adult perspective bt are deeply concerning issues...
Another one of my first time evers last week was tlking to kid and explaining that there is nothn as failure, when he scored less on a paper....
Another interesting bit was meeting writer - Subroto Bagchi.....(his book - Go kiss the world)...was interesting...here is his definition of Change = Pain+Vision+Roadmap+Action...any comments on tht??
Mumbai rains can drive anyone nuts...im attaching a few pics of wht happened in school wen it poured non-stop yesterday...my class was flooded so was most of the school.... We had an attendance of 50 combining the whole school!!( 7 out of 87 in my class) so we made the kids draw their hand impressions and watch taare zameen par....
We also conducted our first parent-teacher meeting! out of 160 kids, some 53 parents turned up....al concerned yet hopeful tht we might b able to help change things...here are some of the stories i heard from parents:
My children dint study a word last year cos they dint have a teacher last entire year
When we told them to ensure 100% attendance they said the teachers had told them last year nt to send their kids to school if it rained hard...
My 6 yr old daughter and 10 yr old son both are in ur class cos one gt admitted late and also missed a year...
My daughter has a mental disorder...
My son has never seen his father and is sensitive abt it
and many more.....these might not seem a big deal from an adult perspective bt are deeply concerning issues...
Another one of my first time evers last week was tlking to kid and explaining that there is nothn as failure, when he scored less on a paper....
Another interesting bit was meeting writer - Subroto Bagchi.....(his book - Go kiss the world)...was interesting...here is his definition of Change = Pain+Vision+Roadmap+Action...any comments on tht??
Mumbai rains can drive anyone nuts...im attaching a few pics of wht happened in school wen it poured non-stop yesterday...my class was flooded so was most of the school.... We had an attendance of 50 combining the whole school!!( 7 out of 87 in my class) so we made the kids draw their hand impressions and watch taare zameen par....
week 2 & half in mumbai!
im finally in mumbai at my own place (its rented! i cant really afford one here!)
anyhow, the transition from pune to mumbai has been a great one!
living with 100 fellows and then its just u and ur classroom...i do see some of them during trainings on tuesday and thursday but even then we are alwaz rushing....
Finding a place in Mumbai was a pain...getting to other places around the city was another...heres something i realised while traveling on a local one day...
Locals are the life line of mumbai...the city also has an amazing bus system...that comes in handy especially when there are auto and taxi strikes...The city is full!! here are some of the nitty-witty things about the mumbai...the auto guy charges you exactly one rupee less than what comes on the meter...the ladies compartment of the local is never the same the next morning...it gets shifted..also it is one compartment that has most fights for seats...places in mumbai are far flung yet ppl talk as if they are next door....and an hour of travel is nothn for anyone...the weather is so weird that after bathing you dont know if it is the sweat or the water thats keeping you wet...it rains anytime, n mostly wen ur not carrying an umbrella or raincoat....evn though there is so space in the train for people to stand a certain sect of ppl alwaz find enough space to play musical instruments...the houses have space constraints, infact almost everything does....the cost of buying a flat is almost as if you want to set up a five star hotel...bang opposite every posh colony there is a slum!
tht was about the city...heres whts been happening at school....
lik i told u in my last mail, i am the class teacher of grade 2 in MHB English Municipal School (MHB- Maharashta Housing Board)...my coteacher is Namita Goel whose been part of TFI for a year now...
The first day of school was AMAZING! we had 28 kids (thats a big turn out being the first day after summer vacations)...the next day there were 50...n yesterday after 1.5 weeks 160! bt the first day was unlike any of my summer school days...the class was quiet...n excited:) and so were we....
Day 2 was crazy...it had rained non-stop in mumbai...and the school was flooded...worse was so were the toilets...i actually walked into water with unknown things floating in it to get to class.....its weird bt i have grown indifferent to situations lik these...i tk any path that gts me to the class...n thts abt it!
with the increase in attendance its been getting tough to gt the kids to settle....our classroom gets shifted every few days since we share classroom with gujrati medium kids....yeah the school has marathi, hindi, gujrati , urdu and english medium classes, which run in 2 shifts of 7am to 12.30 am and 1 pm to 5.45 pm......i work in the afternoon shift so have enough time to plan in the morning.....
my class is adorable! bt then there are things tht put me in a differnt state with regard to the kids...most of them cant read alphabets...ask them to write abcd n they can till z...bt cannot read letters individually.....very few of them can write counting till 50....bt cant differentiate between 14, 41 and 40...its all the same fr them......alot of them cant write their name.....some of them write the mirror image of their name since they are learning Urdu at home and get confused...oh i forgot to mention 90% of them are Muslims.....
As for parents...some parents are keen that their kids should get educated...for others its lik a creche.....I recently visited the house of a kid named Zahreen....being a girl, her family is least concerned how and when she comes to school...she is 6 yrs old and can tell stories lik a granny...bt is deprived of love at home.....she is adorable.....the community where she stays is filthy....she walks abt a km to gt home.....imagine a 6 yr old doing tht.....
anyhow, the transition from pune to mumbai has been a great one!
living with 100 fellows and then its just u and ur classroom...i do see some of them during trainings on tuesday and thursday but even then we are alwaz rushing....
Finding a place in Mumbai was a pain...getting to other places around the city was another...heres something i realised while traveling on a local one day...
Locals are the life line of mumbai...the city also has an amazing bus system...that comes in handy especially when there are auto and taxi strikes...The city is full!! here are some of the nitty-witty things about the mumbai...the auto guy charges you exactly one rupee less than what comes on the meter...the ladies compartment of the local is never the same the next morning...it gets shifted..also it is one compartment that has most fights for seats...places in mumbai are far flung yet ppl talk as if they are next door....and an hour of travel is nothn for anyone...the weather is so weird that after bathing you dont know if it is the sweat or the water thats keeping you wet...it rains anytime, n mostly wen ur not carrying an umbrella or raincoat....evn though there is so space in the train for people to stand a certain sect of ppl alwaz find enough space to play musical instruments...the houses have space constraints, infact almost everything does....the cost of buying a flat is almost as if you want to set up a five star hotel...bang opposite every posh colony there is a slum!
tht was about the city...heres whts been happening at school....
lik i told u in my last mail, i am the class teacher of grade 2 in MHB English Municipal School (MHB- Maharashta Housing Board)...my coteacher is Namita Goel whose been part of TFI for a year now...
The first day of school was AMAZING! we had 28 kids (thats a big turn out being the first day after summer vacations)...the next day there were 50...n yesterday after 1.5 weeks 160! bt the first day was unlike any of my summer school days...the class was quiet...n excited:) and so were we....
Day 2 was crazy...it had rained non-stop in mumbai...and the school was flooded...worse was so were the toilets...i actually walked into water with unknown things floating in it to get to class.....its weird bt i have grown indifferent to situations lik these...i tk any path that gts me to the class...n thts abt it!
with the increase in attendance its been getting tough to gt the kids to settle....our classroom gets shifted every few days since we share classroom with gujrati medium kids....yeah the school has marathi, hindi, gujrati , urdu and english medium classes, which run in 2 shifts of 7am to 12.30 am and 1 pm to 5.45 pm......i work in the afternoon shift so have enough time to plan in the morning.....
my class is adorable! bt then there are things tht put me in a differnt state with regard to the kids...most of them cant read alphabets...ask them to write abcd n they can till z...bt cannot read letters individually.....very few of them can write counting till 50....bt cant differentiate between 14, 41 and 40...its all the same fr them......alot of them cant write their name.....some of them write the mirror image of their name since they are learning Urdu at home and get confused...oh i forgot to mention 90% of them are Muslims.....
As for parents...some parents are keen that their kids should get educated...for others its lik a creche.....I recently visited the house of a kid named Zahreen....being a girl, her family is least concerned how and when she comes to school...she is 6 yrs old and can tell stories lik a granny...bt is deprived of love at home.....she is adorable.....the community where she stays is filthy....she walks abt a km to gt home.....imagine a 6 yr old doing tht.....
week 3 @ TFI
Week 3 was very happening...more so because i had gone on a short trip to Bangalore.....
Last week i had received an email from Symbiosis Institute for Media & Communication , Bangalore for a GD n PI for MBA in Communications Management.....For all those who dint kno I had given SNAP in december and was planning to do an MBA. I had already decided not to join SIMC right now since im having a ball at TFI! I still went for the process with the aim of getting it deferred by two years and joining SIMC post TFI. I reached Bangalore on Monday evening and met up with a few frnds. The next morning i went to Electronic City.....its lik 1 corner of the city! No auto guy kne where Symbi is! Anyhow, My GD went quite well....Cos the topic was "Will the Right to Education Act help India progress?" Talk about being lucky! I knew all possible stats! From drop out rates to the amount thts spent by the govt on education each year....bottomline, I made everyone at the GD fizz out....lol!
My interview lasted 5 minutes! The panelists included the director of SIMC Bangalore, the Deputy Dean, and some old gentleman who is an alumni of SIMC and now the CEO for an advertising firm in Bangalore. The first question was - "Tell us something about yourself and also why should we take you, and while you tel us that also tel us how were you so confident about the stats??" I told them about myself and then about TFI and why i kne the stats. The Ad guy - If you are already part of TFI and it is giving you all the skills you want then why have you come here? It is alwaz better to have on the job training rather than just acquiring knowledge. I told them about my deferrment plan and that the TFI CEO would also speak to them. Director - But we dont have such a policy. And besides you should look out for an international university after TFI. Why would you come here? The Ad guy - We would love to give you the Symbi tag but now its on you to decide whether you want to be in TFI or SIMC. Mail us in 2 days and tel us. Thats it! And as many of you might have read my FB status...i refused:)
Bangalore had awesome weather! I met up with loads of friends. Watched a movie. Chilled out and came back to Pune on Wednesday early morning.
Since wednesday was TFI day we had team games the whole day!
Thursday was awesome! I saw my kids beaming at me when i stepped in for assembly and were asking where i had been.....I missed them so much! Im So happy that i dint take up MBA! Heres the other good bit about Thursday - We met Rahul Bose. TFI has Leadership Forums, in which people from various backgrounds are invited to address the Fellows. I was sitting in the front row at a distance of 3 ft or so from Rahul Bose. He was awesome!!! He told us about his journey of becoming a part of the socialist world......Pretty inspiring:)
Friday was the last day of week 2 at summer school....My class dint seem in any mood to study. I literally ran behind the kids to make them sit on their seats. Taught them addition....something most of them already knew. Its so weird my class scored an average of 78 in the addition test and i still feel i failed. Maybe it was because i really dint teach them and they knew it from before. Friday afternoon was awesome! We had art class for training! Yep, since a lot of us are not creative, we learnt different ideas we can use in class to keep the kids engaged. We did potato painting, hand painting, etc. I dont think iv been as excited about getting messy as i was that day! We had paint all over our clothes! The day ended with me n my friends sitting in the balcony eating dominos pizza!
Saturday was another leadership forum session with Mr. Anand who started Indicorps. Very very inspiring!! Later in the night me and my friends sat at the terrace and chatted up!
And today is laundry day! lol!! My whole room looks like a dhobi ghaat! Im off for getting food!
Last week i had received an email from Symbiosis Institute for Media & Communication , Bangalore for a GD n PI for MBA in Communications Management.....For all those who dint kno I had given SNAP in december and was planning to do an MBA. I had already decided not to join SIMC right now since im having a ball at TFI! I still went for the process with the aim of getting it deferred by two years and joining SIMC post TFI. I reached Bangalore on Monday evening and met up with a few frnds. The next morning i went to Electronic City.....its lik 1 corner of the city! No auto guy kne where Symbi is! Anyhow, My GD went quite well....Cos the topic was "Will the Right to Education Act help India progress?" Talk about being lucky! I knew all possible stats! From drop out rates to the amount thts spent by the govt on education each year....bottomline, I made everyone at the GD fizz out....lol!
My interview lasted 5 minutes! The panelists included the director of SIMC Bangalore, the Deputy Dean, and some old gentleman who is an alumni of SIMC and now the CEO for an advertising firm in Bangalore. The first question was - "Tell us something about yourself and also why should we take you, and while you tel us that also tel us how were you so confident about the stats??" I told them about myself and then about TFI and why i kne the stats. The Ad guy - If you are already part of TFI and it is giving you all the skills you want then why have you come here? It is alwaz better to have on the job training rather than just acquiring knowledge. I told them about my deferrment plan and that the TFI CEO would also speak to them. Director - But we dont have such a policy. And besides you should look out for an international university after TFI. Why would you come here? The Ad guy - We would love to give you the Symbi tag but now its on you to decide whether you want to be in TFI or SIMC. Mail us in 2 days and tel us. Thats it! And as many of you might have read my FB status...i refused:)
Bangalore had awesome weather! I met up with loads of friends. Watched a movie. Chilled out and came back to Pune on Wednesday early morning.
Since wednesday was TFI day we had team games the whole day!
Thursday was awesome! I saw my kids beaming at me when i stepped in for assembly and were asking where i had been.....I missed them so much! Im So happy that i dint take up MBA! Heres the other good bit about Thursday - We met Rahul Bose. TFI has Leadership Forums, in which people from various backgrounds are invited to address the Fellows. I was sitting in the front row at a distance of 3 ft or so from Rahul Bose. He was awesome!!! He told us about his journey of becoming a part of the socialist world......Pretty inspiring:)
Friday was the last day of week 2 at summer school....My class dint seem in any mood to study. I literally ran behind the kids to make them sit on their seats. Taught them addition....something most of them already knew. Its so weird my class scored an average of 78 in the addition test and i still feel i failed. Maybe it was because i really dint teach them and they knew it from before. Friday afternoon was awesome! We had art class for training! Yep, since a lot of us are not creative, we learnt different ideas we can use in class to keep the kids engaged. We did potato painting, hand painting, etc. I dont think iv been as excited about getting messy as i was that day! We had paint all over our clothes! The day ended with me n my friends sitting in the balcony eating dominos pizza!
Saturday was another leadership forum session with Mr. Anand who started Indicorps. Very very inspiring!! Later in the night me and my friends sat at the terrace and chatted up!
And today is laundry day! lol!! My whole room looks like a dhobi ghaat! Im off for getting food!
week 4&5 @tfi...n story moves to mumbai....
Week 4 just rushed through....the only highlight was that i freaked out at
my class....ok for all those havent known me too well i get angry and i snap
badly.....so Monday to Wednesday my class absolutely drove me mad....none of
the kids were interested in learning; they were out of their seats all the
time....they kept talking all the time...jumped on benches....and what
not.....one of the kids Nihal drove me crazy! This lil kid has too much of
energy and so when he started troubling me too much i asked him to step out
of class for awhile, he went and locked all the classrooms from outside on
the ground floor.....it was both a funny and frustrating moment! My trainer
had to stand up at the window and shout out for help! A fellow from the
classroom next door gave us a call to unlock her classroom!
And dats when i absolutely lost it! I shouted at my entire class....so much
that i lost my voice....the kids dint get the words but they did get the
tone....and were quiet for the next 1.5 hrs till school got over....its a
different thing that i was very upset later! I went back the next day and
made things ok...so Thursday was the best day i have at summer school...my
class did really well on their short assignment! they finally understood
some lesson! Friday was ok too.....i was finally looking forward to week 4!
Week 4 was an experience in itself....my class was back to its original
self and i had to help them prepare a lil show for end of summer school and
the class was in mood to do that either....by Tuesday some kids had finally
started preparing a lil dance....bt i kpt feeling that i had lost out on
being a teacher...my kids loved jumping all over benches and lying down on
the floor....making them understand the value of minor things such as
cleanliness was an issue....
thursday i taught in another class.....cant explain what it felt like....ok
so i wasnt that bad a teacher...the new class was very interested in my
lesson and i taught them different types of claps (yeah we have these funky
clapping styles such as shooting star, firecracker, 'seal' of approval,etc.
il demonstrate those sometime)... Thursday was also awesome as the TFI staff
put up a lil show for the fellows which ended with free hugs and alot of us
crying (what do u do when there is a room full of ppl u care abt and you
know they wont be there after 2 days?!)
And then finally came friday....last day of summer school! My class did a
lil dance...heard the song 'in the jungle' from madagascar?? check out the
video! thts wht my kids did! the funny bit is...they had forgotten the
steps...so i went and stood behind where parents and other classes were
sitting and asked them to follow me.....alot of ppl turned and started
looking at me....mayb if u check out the attached video ul kno how funny i
looked doing it! (anythn fr my kids:):)) my class did really well...we evn
had a 2 minute skit on "king of the jungle" since that was our class
theme....
Now the best and most touching part of summer school...one memory i will
carry all my life.....at the end of the day, Nihal, the kid i scolded the
most came to me and hugged me and said "Didi, i will miss you".....i couldnt
control my tears...he wiped my tears and promised to be a good boy.....we
got an icecream and shared it...when it was time for him to go home he just
dint want to leave...it was tough for both of us to say bye:(
Iv spoken to Nihal everyday...he keeps checking if iv reached Mumbai safely
and how are other teachers from summer school doing....
Friday..something more happened.....there was a sesion on Child Protection
Policy....under the policy, a teacher cannot hit a child or even scold them
or raise their voice.....since me and my mini-cohort had handled the
toughest class, we were asked to share...that day i shared something that
took alot of effort...it was very difficult for me....it front of 99 fellows
and TFI staff heres what i said - " I failed...i failed at handling a class
of 20 kids, i failed at classroom management...i shouted at my class....i
was frustrated and not at my best while teaching....i did all i could...but
i failed".....i shared my experience with them and now im doing it with
you...believe me its not easy....and i have learnt what i should do and what
i shouldnt....
Saturday was fun...i had my last dinner with the TFI gang...50+ ppl at
Mcds...was super fun! dint want to say bye...i wish institute was
longer....Sunday was the closing ceremony....Chetan Bhagat was invited for a
small interaction as well......i dont know if any of you have read his
speech at the Symbiosis induction in June 2008...saw month, same
audi....just a differnt speech....weirdly i was there for both.....
I slpt thru sunday and monday mostly or caught up with a few friends.....it
was a weird feeling not being with a 100 ppl!:(
And came to Mumbai on Tuesday night...went house hunting today...havnt found
anythn....leme kno if any of u kno anyone in Malad....i saw my school...its
a dingy building...incase i dint tell u the name - MHB English Municipal
School and il b teaching grade 2 (55-60 kids) along with a
co-teacher....school starts on Monday for me:)
Heres what i think of Mumbai till now - Life in a metro...a city full of ppl
yet so empty....the sound of a fast local....or d dragging pace of a slow
one...Mumbai is the LA of India...its so full!!
my class....ok for all those havent known me too well i get angry and i snap
badly.....so Monday to Wednesday my class absolutely drove me mad....none of
the kids were interested in learning; they were out of their seats all the
time....they kept talking all the time...jumped on benches....and what
not.....one of the kids Nihal drove me crazy! This lil kid has too much of
energy and so when he started troubling me too much i asked him to step out
of class for awhile, he went and locked all the classrooms from outside on
the ground floor.....it was both a funny and frustrating moment! My trainer
had to stand up at the window and shout out for help! A fellow from the
classroom next door gave us a call to unlock her classroom!
And dats when i absolutely lost it! I shouted at my entire class....so much
that i lost my voice....the kids dint get the words but they did get the
tone....and were quiet for the next 1.5 hrs till school got over....its a
different thing that i was very upset later! I went back the next day and
made things ok...so Thursday was the best day i have at summer school...my
class did really well on their short assignment! they finally understood
some lesson! Friday was ok too.....i was finally looking forward to week 4!
Week 4 was an experience in itself....my class was back to its original
self and i had to help them prepare a lil show for end of summer school and
the class was in mood to do that either....by Tuesday some kids had finally
started preparing a lil dance....bt i kpt feeling that i had lost out on
being a teacher...my kids loved jumping all over benches and lying down on
the floor....making them understand the value of minor things such as
cleanliness was an issue....
thursday i taught in another class.....cant explain what it felt like....ok
so i wasnt that bad a teacher...the new class was very interested in my
lesson and i taught them different types of claps (yeah we have these funky
clapping styles such as shooting star, firecracker, 'seal' of approval,etc.
il demonstrate those sometime)... Thursday was also awesome as the TFI staff
put up a lil show for the fellows which ended with free hugs and alot of us
crying (what do u do when there is a room full of ppl u care abt and you
know they wont be there after 2 days?!)
And then finally came friday....last day of summer school! My class did a
lil dance...heard the song 'in the jungle' from madagascar?? check out the
video! thts wht my kids did! the funny bit is...they had forgotten the
steps...so i went and stood behind where parents and other classes were
sitting and asked them to follow me.....alot of ppl turned and started
looking at me....mayb if u check out the attached video ul kno how funny i
looked doing it! (anythn fr my kids:):)) my class did really well...we evn
had a 2 minute skit on "king of the jungle" since that was our class
theme....
Now the best and most touching part of summer school...one memory i will
carry all my life.....at the end of the day, Nihal, the kid i scolded the
most came to me and hugged me and said "Didi, i will miss you".....i couldnt
control my tears...he wiped my tears and promised to be a good boy.....we
got an icecream and shared it...when it was time for him to go home he just
dint want to leave...it was tough for both of us to say bye:(
Iv spoken to Nihal everyday...he keeps checking if iv reached Mumbai safely
and how are other teachers from summer school doing....
Friday..something more happened.....there was a sesion on Child Protection
Policy....under the policy, a teacher cannot hit a child or even scold them
or raise their voice.....since me and my mini-cohort had handled the
toughest class, we were asked to share...that day i shared something that
took alot of effort...it was very difficult for me....it front of 99 fellows
and TFI staff heres what i said - " I failed...i failed at handling a class
of 20 kids, i failed at classroom management...i shouted at my class....i
was frustrated and not at my best while teaching....i did all i could...but
i failed".....i shared my experience with them and now im doing it with
you...believe me its not easy....and i have learnt what i should do and what
i shouldnt....
Saturday was fun...i had my last dinner with the TFI gang...50+ ppl at
Mcds...was super fun! dint want to say bye...i wish institute was
longer....Sunday was the closing ceremony....Chetan Bhagat was invited for a
small interaction as well......i dont know if any of you have read his
speech at the Symbiosis induction in June 2008...saw month, same
audi....just a differnt speech....weirdly i was there for both.....
I slpt thru sunday and monday mostly or caught up with a few friends.....it
was a weird feeling not being with a 100 ppl!:(
And came to Mumbai on Tuesday night...went house hunting today...havnt found
anythn....leme kno if any of u kno anyone in Malad....i saw my school...its
a dingy building...incase i dint tell u the name - MHB English Municipal
School and il b teaching grade 2 (55-60 kids) along with a
co-teacher....school starts on Monday for me:)
Heres what i think of Mumbai till now - Life in a metro...a city full of ppl
yet so empty....the sound of a fast local....or d dragging pace of a slow
one...Mumbai is the LA of India...its so full!!
week 2 @ TFI....
Week 2 at TFI (Teach For India) was more killing than week 1! we were thrown into our classrooms with about 20-25 kids each. These kids have their summer vacations going on in their actual schools and are here for remedial sort of lessons but we handle everythn lik we would in a proper school. Believe me its not easy. To give you an idea of hw my typical day goes....I wake up at 5.30 am! I get ready n have breakfast...the bus leaves the hostel for school at 6.30 am and if you miss it you have to go on ur own....n since the hostel is on the outskirts of the city its impossible to get an auto!
We get to school at 7.30 and set up our classrooms...take attendance..have an assembly....teach 5 periods in a day(2 math and 3 english)...since we have teams of 4 ppl each we generally teach max 2 lessons....school ends at 12 and the bus leaves at 12.05pm.....we gt to the hostel at 1pm, have lunch and head for training at 2 pm....training ends at arnd 5 and then we make lesson plans....split wht objectives we will teach the next day....plan techniques....make charts...correct class assignments.....oh incase i dint tel u im teaching class 2!! this goes on till 12 am and in between we find time to have dinner, wash clothes, get xeroxs of assignments for the kids, print stuff.....etc.
I generally slp at arnd 1am every night!! so now i hope everyone will understand y havnt i found time to gt back to u.....
Believe me when i say all this not only physically n mentally draining but also emotionally draining!! i must have broken down 3 times last week.....n sobbed lik mad!! most of my kids dont understand english....they are unable to comprehend words or even read them.....i have failed bigtime in teaching the objectives i had set last week....they dint understand simple stuff.....n i felt dejected every single day wen school ended n i lined them up fr going home.........bt then everyday wen i step out of school some kid or the other shouts Ritika didi and waves me bye as i get on the bus and that makes me realise y am i here....n tht no matter how many times i fail i want to kp coming back for these kids.....i love my class!!
my successes of this week are very different from things i achieved in school, college n at work......my biggest success was wen a girl named saaniya who dint talk the first two days in class and was shy wen asked anythn, put up her hand the third day to answer and did a question on the board on the fifth day.....my other 'wow" moment was wen a lil boy named Jai in my class dint say a single english line the whole week and spoke in Hindi and Marathi purposely to trouble me and yesterday wen he was leaving for home he said " My father has come to take me"!
I felt overwhelmed when lil Harshada of my class stood in front of the class and spelled the word 'computer' and im amazed at how her eyes follow me wherever i am in the classroom.....i dont know how many of u will find this silly n how many can connect with it...but believe me no one can love you as unconditionally as these kids!
I mite be livin on yellow dal n rice fr every meal....there mite b lack of cold drinking water....its a pain to wash ur clothes.....i mite b failing at my lesson goals and unable to take the stress....but honestly its all worth it!!!
We get to school at 7.30 and set up our classrooms...take attendance..have an assembly....teach 5 periods in a day(2 math and 3 english)...since we have teams of 4 ppl each we generally teach max 2 lessons....school ends at 12 and the bus leaves at 12.05pm.....we gt to the hostel at 1pm, have lunch and head for training at 2 pm....training ends at arnd 5 and then we make lesson plans....split wht objectives we will teach the next day....plan techniques....make charts...correct class assignments.....oh incase i dint tel u im teaching class 2!! this goes on till 12 am and in between we find time to have dinner, wash clothes, get xeroxs of assignments for the kids, print stuff.....etc.
I generally slp at arnd 1am every night!! so now i hope everyone will understand y havnt i found time to gt back to u.....
Believe me when i say all this not only physically n mentally draining but also emotionally draining!! i must have broken down 3 times last week.....n sobbed lik mad!! most of my kids dont understand english....they are unable to comprehend words or even read them.....i have failed bigtime in teaching the objectives i had set last week....they dint understand simple stuff.....n i felt dejected every single day wen school ended n i lined them up fr going home.........bt then everyday wen i step out of school some kid or the other shouts Ritika didi and waves me bye as i get on the bus and that makes me realise y am i here....n tht no matter how many times i fail i want to kp coming back for these kids.....i love my class!!
my successes of this week are very different from things i achieved in school, college n at work......my biggest success was wen a girl named saaniya who dint talk the first two days in class and was shy wen asked anythn, put up her hand the third day to answer and did a question on the board on the fifth day.....my other 'wow" moment was wen a lil boy named Jai in my class dint say a single english line the whole week and spoke in Hindi and Marathi purposely to trouble me and yesterday wen he was leaving for home he said " My father has come to take me"!
I felt overwhelmed when lil Harshada of my class stood in front of the class and spelled the word 'computer' and im amazed at how her eyes follow me wherever i am in the classroom.....i dont know how many of u will find this silly n how many can connect with it...but believe me no one can love you as unconditionally as these kids!
I mite be livin on yellow dal n rice fr every meal....there mite b lack of cold drinking water....its a pain to wash ur clothes.....i mite b failing at my lesson goals and unable to take the stress....but honestly its all worth it!!!
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