Arrival

It's finally here!!  After 24+ hours and thousands of miles including a layover in Germany, I finally arrived at my destination.  Our group pulled into Bangalore airport around 1AM.  Despite being so bleary-eyed, we could feel the excitement in the air.  By 3AM our van pulled up to the Royal Orchid Hotel in Bangalore.  This is after driving on the left-hand side of the road (always exciting). 

The hotel is great!  There are pretty orchids decorating a charming lobby.  I checked into my clean and comfortable room (and hurray - a bed!)  Sleep was on the agenda, so I hit the sack and tried to recuperate after the long flights.

Can't wait for sleep!



Wall orchids!

What's inside my desk drawer?  Do I have time to read a 700 verse Hindu epic? Ummm...

Today we heard from two great speakers who gave presentations about India's history, culture, and the basics of the Indian education system.  Mr. Chiranjiv Singh, former India Ambassador, talked about India's history, religion, and diversity among other things.  I was amazed that he summed this up in about one hour!  India is so diverse (religion, history, language, art, music, dress...) that it is hard to describe what binds India together.  One thing that does make India, India, is its people's desire to follow the universal laws of doing what it right and true.  I also enjoyed hearing him say, "Whatever I say about Indian culture, the opposite is also true..."  With over 300 languages, including dialects, many religions, and other differences region to region, what unites India is unity in diversity.  Did you know that there are 3,592 newspapers here in 35 different languages?  When he wrote his name is 5 different languages for us, he really made his point!



"Chiranjiv Singh" written in 5 languages!

Maya Menon, founder and director of The Teacher Foundation, also gave a great overview of the Indian education system.  I'm excited to learn more about the differences between government schools, private unaided, and private aided schools.  I was surprised that Kerala, a region in the south, has a 100% literacy rate while Indian students (as a whole) on average only receive about 4 years of schooling during their lives.  Talk about a range of differences!  I will get to tour schools later this week.

Maya Menon and Chiranjiv Singh

Group shot!

 

Getting Ready

Namaste is a Hindu greeting and means "I salute the divine in you".  I am so excited to be traveling to India this summer as part of a grant fellowship through the Teachers for Global Classrooms program through the U.S. Department of State.  I will be traveling with twelve educators for two weeks - first to Bangalore and then with a travel partner to Ahmedabad.  I will end my trip in Delhi.

Bangalore, India

Ahmedabad, India

So far, I have learned so much about global education and the importance of teaching global competencies to my students.  Through this blog, I will share my experiences in India with you.

I had the pleasure of meeting all the IREX Teachers for Global Classrooms participants at a weekend-long conference in Washington D.C. this past February.  It was thrilling to meet so many passionate educators and future travel companions, including Jennice Wright, from Missouri - we'll travel together to Ahmedabad.

I hope to learn a lot about how the Indian education system benefits its students, especially in math and science.  How do teacher preparation and classroom instruction differ from the United States?  How do cultural values play into education?  I hope to learn more about these questions and so much more!

In order to get ready for my trip, I've been doing some background research.  I read Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, and The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Both are amazing fiction novels about women in Indian society.  Another good title I picked up is The Elephant, The Tiger, and the Cell Phone by Shashi Tharoor.  It describes the vast changes that have transformed India over the years.  I also viewed the film Going To School In India, which shows students receiving education in many different settings (traditional school, on a boat, on a bus, and more).  Of course, I had to watch one of my favorite films again - Gandhi.  I have watched it so many times and I never get tired of it!  Ben Kingsley is amazing, and it is such a moving film about India's revolt against British rule.  I feel so lucky to be going to the birthplace of India's independence movement this summer and visiting Gandhi's home!

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 the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.