First Day of School!

Today was my first day of school, and though I didn't start teaching (and won't until Wednesday, when the principal returns and formally introduces me), I did take the day to meet kids and staff and get acclimated/aculturated. I spent most of the morning in the staff room (a universal place in schools, apparently), where at first teachers seemed too busy to talk, or introduce themselves. But later I met Nidhi, a Spoken English teacher, who is helping kids practice speaking conversational English, and of course Preeti (who lives near the hotel where I'm staying and gave me a ride), and Kavita (my mentor). I also observed a couple of classes, one 12th grade class, one 8th grade, and one 6th grade. I'll be teaching one class each of 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grades...which seems like a good mix (even though middle schoolers make my skin crawl) .

A few nuts and bolts: School starts at 7.30 with morning assembly, during which time students do exercises, recite/sing the Indian national anthem and a short prayer, and present short speeches about current events or history or philosophy (in English). They stand in rigid rows (and do exactly as they're told. No talking.)


(I grinned the whole time, trying to imagine South kids doing this.) Classes run from 8.00 to 1.45pm and are approximately 40 minutes long, and the bell is actually a gong. (I think). There are anywhere from 40-50 kids in any given class. Kids have workbooks. Learning is mostly by rote, and to the test (they take major exams at the end of 10th grade, and the end of 12th). I have a feeling that students memorize words or literary meanings they don't really understand, just to pass the exams.
Today they called me ma'am (pronounced 'maam'; like 'naan' :-)); later I think they'll call me 'Rachel ma'am'. :-) Too funny.


But my favorite part of the day was the 'games' or free periods: I set out to explore the campus and take some pictures and wound up making friends with a group of 9th grade girls who ROCK. We hung out for a while, played basketball, took some pictures (below; if I look uncomfortable it's because I was...v. hot, sweaty, muggy). But it was awesome. While teachers here know their students very well (and often teach them for several years), and are more maternal (or paternal; most of the staff is female) than professorial, I don't get the sense that they join in student life much; there isn't time. Most of the teachers use their free periods to correct work in the staff room (there's also not a culture of taking work home to grade). More on that issue later. For now, the 9B chicas (which will have to do until I figure out a Hindi equivalent). My new heroes. :-)