Teaching

This last week of teaching has been such a crazy rollercoaster.   Teaching is a hard job.  Teaching kids who are still in the process of learning English is a really hard job.  Teaching kids who have been negatively impacted by the effects and stigma of leprosy, and are still in the process  of learning English at a school with extremely limited resources in the middle of rural India is a really, really, really hard job.  I am constantly trying to come up with creative lesson plans and ways to help the kids understand what I am saying.  Education is their one and only ticket to a better life and they deserve the best, so I am pushing myself so hard out here. 

Thursday was such a frustrating day for me.  There must have been something in the water that day because all the kids were so crazy.  I had to use my stern teacher voice a whole lot in all of my classes.  The kids were bouncing off the walls, hitting each other, and refusing to do their school work.  I left the school that day feeling so disheartened and exasperated.  I want so desperately to be able to help these kids learn what they need to, so days like that are the epitome of frustration for me. 

After school, I had about 30 minutes before I had to go teach choir.  I spent that time trying to lift up my spirits and renew my patience.  I finally was able to drag myself to choir, and had a really great time.  The choir is going to sing on Tuesday for the session volunteers because it is their last night here.  We are preparing to sing “God be With You Till We Meet Again.”  However, parts of that song go really high, and most of the kids can’t hit those notes.  I was able to find a few soloists who can sing it, and the kids were all feeling really excited.

 In India, kids do a lot of chanting. They chant prayers, school lessons, songs, everything.  Unfortunately, this results in a lot of kids being unable to sing pitches because they are so used to monotone chanting.  These kids are definitely not the world’s greatest singers, but their enthusiasm and pride in choir is so adorable and makes it so worth it. I love that they love music and they love to be a part of something that will take up some of their time in positive ways.

That night, I was trying to think of something to do in my classes the next day that would give both me and the kids a break from the usual and recapture their energy and attention.  I decided that in my writing classes, we were going to play a game using adjectives.  It was basically like Catch Phrase.  One kid would stand with their back to the board and I would write a word on the board behind them.   Then the other members of their team would have to use adjectives to help them guess the word.  The kids loved the game and I felt so encouraged by their enthusiasm.  I felt like I was able to grab their attention and show them that they can have fun in school and still be learning.

In my reading and English classes, I decided to show some videos on my laptop about the things we are reading about in our books.  My favorite part of the whole day was when I let my 5^th standard reading class watch Disney’s “Oceans”.  We have been reading a book where the main characters explored the ocean in a submarine.  The kids showed so much interest in the parts about the ocean, so I decided to let them see what it really looks like under the sea.  I wish I had a picture of their faces as they watched the movie.  I have never seen kids so fascinated.  They sat with huge, wide eyes staring at the screen as schools of fish and families of dolphins danced on the screen.  They kept asking, “Auntie, what is that?” or “Auntie, what are they doing?”  They were so enthralled with the images of life beneath the surface of the ocean.  At one point, it showed a school of fish swirling around like a cyclone.  The kids all gasped and started clapping and cheering.  It was such a magical and wonderful moment.  After my discouragement the day before, it was so rewarding to see them so engaged and interested in something. 

These kids have such incredibly limited exposure to anything outside of their little section of India.  They have never traveled, they have never explored, they have never even watched National Geographic.  Watching them gain a little exposure to the wonders and mysteries of this glorious planet was such a beautiful experience that I hope to never forget.

After school, we had a giant water fight with all the kids.  I love water fights here.  It’s basically just a chaotic storm of tiny feet running around, filling up buckets, and dumping water on each other.  I ran around for a little while soaking people, but my favorite part was sitting on a bench in the little area where they refill their buckets and just watching.  The little kids would just stay in that little area, refilling and dumping, over and over again.  I got so soaked just sitting there.  I would be watching and laughing, when I would suddenly here a little giggle and be drenched by a five year old with a bucket of water.  I love watching them laughing and smiling as they pour water on each other, on the volunteers, and on me.  It was heaven.

One thing I have learned about India is that no matter how bad your day goes or how disheartened you feel, it won’t last long.  My rough Thursday was overshadowed by a near-perfect Friday.  My feelings of frustration and discouragement were replaced by feelings of gratitude and joy.  As Annie says, “The sun will come out tomorrow.”  I love these kids.  I love teaching.  I love India. 

Thanks for sticking around through this ridiculously long post.  I love and miss all of you!