Indian Teaching in an American Classroom...

Indian Teaching in an American Classroom...

I got this opportunity today to talk about my country's History and its Education system with the students and teachers in an American classroom. I knew it well in advance that my audience have not heard or seen much about India, its struggle with Independence and the survival on the world map. My country's history and dynamics have changed from pillar to post since we achieved Independence in 1947 and this is what I wanted my current students to be aware of. INDIA...the way WE WERE till WE ARE!!!!

My presentation started with the warm greetings in the form of 'Namaste' to all students and teachers. I briefed them about different aspects of our country and took them to a tour of important milestones and monuments of India. And then we started discussing about Indian Education System which turned out to be the most interesting discussion for the day. I was talking about the system which is way too different from theirs' in lot of aspects, except one common ground, that be it USA or India both the countries are dealing with extreme diverse needs. My observation states that the approach to deal with this diversity is different in both the cultures, but, the challenges are same.

It was surprising and motivating at the same time, that I could hold the attention of my adolescent students while discussing the different components of our education system. We talked about teacher-student ratio, methodologies, inclusion, strategies applied by Indian teachers, challenges faced by them etc. It aroused their interest to quite an extent, when I combined my talk with some of the real pictures that I had with me of that of a typical Indian classroom. I tried to gave them a vision that is as real and practical as possible about India, did not want to fake out things for them and I am glad that I succeeded. Students were ecstatic enough to receive bookmarks prepared by some of my students from Directorate of Education, Govt. of Delhi.    

They were even more astonished when I told them about the concept of uniforms and referring our teachers as 'Mam/Sir' and not by their first names as a mark of respect. I wonder how the definition of respect and gratitude differs from one culture to other.

I consider myself blessed and lucky at the same time that I could get this opportunity to portray my country in a foreign land. The process was mutual, I learnt from them and they learnt from me. I hope to continue my learning stint further as well.

Who am I ?

Who am I? 

It happened a day before yesterday, during one of my placements at a public school of USA. One of the students was observant of the new face present in the class. His eyes and body language was inquisitive enough to ask me, ''who are you '' ? He held himself for a while and before he could he actually walk up to me, the class teacher introduced me to the whole group, but it left me with this question. Who am I?

I wonder that how many roles does an individual play in his/her life! We all have different facets to our personalities. But there are some roles that supersedes the rest. For me, it's my role as a Mother and a Special Educator. I started working for Children with Special Needs at a very young age, the journey of which is still continuing. I have always laughed at the very fact that it is them who have taught me rather than me teaching them... The virtue of patience, empathy and perseverance being the top most concepts. And I am surprised that how the same qualities are helping me in the journey of motherhood. Is it the role of a teacher that is helping is to be a better mother or is it vice versa? I guess it's both the ways.

When we face a number of inquisitive and curious eyes of the learners in our classroom, most of us as teachers, feel an obligation to fill their appetite with the requisite knowledge and skills. What we do with our students not only helps them to improve their functioning but also develop their personality. Teachers are the role model for their students, the way parents are for children.

There is a saying, that '' why do I learn from you if I don't like you ''!!! I find it extremely pertinent in the context of the learners, be it my students or my own child. It's who am I for them that defines how much they will learn from me. That connection is indispensable for teacher-learner.

I hope to discover myself every single day with my learners, be it in USA or my India to get a deeper insight of my own strengths and limitations that will eventually transform me into a better individual and surely a better TEACHER.  

                 

Teacher: An Instrument of Change.....

Teacher: An Instrument of Change..... 

It has been three weeks since I originated my journey from the Directorate of Education, Delhi towards the United States of America for Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Program. So far, it has been an immense learning exposure and experience for me as an individual and a teacher. It is not only helping me to grow as a person but has also persuaded me to explore the avenues to bring instrumental changes in the field of education especially in terms of Special Education. I have always believed that Inclusive Education is not merely about the relationship and co-existence of Persons with Disabilities and general community as a whole, it is a rather a unit of the system that covers the wide spectrum of diversity that we have in an Indian Classroom.

I am quite surprised to see that the United States of America follows the same line. The diversity that we get to see here right from their streets, colonies, classrooms, public transport etc. makes me ponder that how these countries are common on the ground of diversity, yet, their approach to it are drastically different. I have a firm believe that education is the strongest factor to bring about the positive change in the society and teachers are the most important instrument to implement it.

For the purpose, we as teachers are being provided with inputs here in the USA over teacher leadership and global competence. It started with the series of seminars over varied subjects such as  teacher-learner programs, gender equality and cultural exchange of the teachers all across the globe. It was an extremely rich experience to go through each of it and making the new discoveries about the existing education system in different parts of the globe. It helped me to ponder over and strategize the new trends that are needed to be introduced in the education system of my country, especially for Children with Special Needs (CWSN).

The opportunity to be a part of one of the public schools of USA, so far, has been the more interesting milestone of this journey. It gives a sneak peek in the lives of the teachers and students here. Everyday comes with a new set of experience and discoveries  about the content, approach and methodology followed in the schools of USA. The usage of Technology in classrooms here has really fascinated me. It pushes me to think even more about the adaptations required to such inputs to fit the best to my classroom community in India.

I see myself as an agent of change because I can bring about the changes in the lives of my CWSN, I can bring about the changes in the lives of my colleagues, I can bring about the changes in my own life by reflecting upon the experience gained from the TEA Program.  

And I know that I can and I WILL!!!

                                   

A Journey within ' Self '......

I left my country on 23rd of January 2018 to immerse myself in this journey of TEA Program for the upcoming 07 weeks, least I knew that I will discover my own self through all of it. It all started with meeting new people from varied culture and continued till we became Mason Family. 

Yes, Mason Family, that is not defined by someone's color, language, hair, religion and most importantly COUNTRY. We all are just learners here reliving our student days. We learn from teachers, environment, culture and even from each other. Being here has made me realize the rue essence and ethos of Inclusion. Back into my country I have always been a strong advocate of Inclusion but this journey made me realize how difficult it is to truly accept people who are not similar to me, yet aren't different from me. It helped me to reflect upon my own strengths and weaknesses that I knew had existed, but, had not hit upon back since long. Every passing day here is an enriching experience which is making me stronger and helping me to breath deeper. May we all continue to learn more in this journey and don't die in it......