Not surprisingly, I guess, the fluid, or tenuous, infrastructure extends into institutions as well. I've spent at least eight hours of my time in India so far at the FRRO (foreign registration office), getting a visa stamped (which had been incorrectly stamped by the consulate in the US). While everyone else seemed to be in the same, slow boat (including a number of Afghan refugees immigrating to India), we were held up in part because different personnel kept telling us different things. We needed a Virgilian guide, someone who could make sense of the various circles of bureaucracy, which were beyond us to understand. Even our contacts at USIEF (who ultimately saved the day) could do little to help; they weren't even allowed into the office (unclear why this was the case...and frankly, a little scary).
School infrastructure is also tenuous and confusing. Lunch times seem to shift, and classes are often teacher-less, while sometimes two teachers show up for the same class. Twice so far other people (a counselor, an inspector) have taken a class I was supposed to teach. Bells ring whenever, meetings happen spontaneously, and because I don't speak Hindi, I'm often the last to know what's going on. Also unclear: what I'm supposed to be teaching. To whom. When. At least I know the how.
I'm trying to be flexible, to shed my 'American' sensibilities about things happening in a particular, or even organized way. In a lot of ways, being able to improvise structures, to create order on the fly, is a huge strength, and one reason why India's managing to develop at such a (relatively) amazing pace. What's interesting is that kids feel like they live in a dictatorship in their schools (attending assembly in silence, standing in lines). I'm coming to understand that they see me as a break in what they consider an incredibly rigid routine. What I see is a lot of lost learning time, and a lot of confused kids. This photo, of a quotation in the staff room, sums up what seems to be the biggest difference between the US system of education, and the Indian one. (I wonder what Hirsch would say)
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Rachel, these are such fascinating letters to read. I certainly remembered the wild traffic behavior from our one quick visit to Delhi twenty years ago. Sounds much the same. But the stories of the school are especially interesting- and a bit unnerving for you, not knowing quite what or when you are teaching. What ARE you supposed to be teaching, anyway??? Of course, though,it's the kids who will save you, will teach you, will make you laugh (as in the pictures). Thanks for taking the time to tell us your stories.
ReplyDeleteHi Frannie! I'm supposed to be teaching 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grades (!!!), but the way the schedule is set up, I don't really see the same class more than once or twice a week, and sometimes not even during an English period...so it feels pretty choppy. But you're right: the kids are awesome: so warm, and friendly, and hilarious. :-)
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