Some additional thoughts

The rich culture of India has been developing for thousands of years and it shows in their customs, mannerisms, dress, and cuisines.  We were introduced to people of many religions and it was obvious that tolerance is a way of life within the culture of India where I was.  My perceptions of the Indian culture is based on the people with whom I interacted while in Vadodara, all of whom were warm and friendly.

The students in the school I visited were all very bright, inquisitive, and friendly children.  I was at a middle class school where the parents pay tuition for their students to attend.  The parents want to see that their children all attend the best professional schools, and so the students are preparing for rigorous placement tests to ensure their admission.

Within the education system of India the students must past a state test at the end of standard 10 and the next two years are used to prepare for their national exam which determines their college placement. At the Navrachana there are 40 students in a class and even with those high numbers teachers are using progressive methods to engage students and develop higher order thinking skills.

Back in my classroom I’ve also taught from a global perspective given the nature of my subject area.  My experience in India and the Navrachana School will assist me in developing new activities that will unite these two disparate regions of the world.  For instance, I foresee my students comparing how the climate of New Jersey and India impact all aspects of living in these two regions of the world.  Also, the new pond project has the potential to be a science-across-the-miles project where my students can compare, contrast a project in each town and also support each other in times when progress may appear to be slow or when great progress is being made.

July 11-15, 2011

A group picture of many of the wonderful people who hosted us and shared their lives with us for our 2 week stay.

Baksi Ma'am dressed Julia, Anna, and I in sari's before dinner.  I have a new appreciation for those who can walk up the steps in sari's!

Archana leading a class discussion on the circulatory system

Chemistry students careful demonstrating a chemical reaction related to the topic being taught

Note the color changes in the testtube demonstrating that a reaction did take place.

I'm providing background information before we played a nitrogen cycle game

One of the school yards at the Navrachana School.

After the students of the Navrachana School leave for the day, the students from the Navprerna Centre of Learning for underprivileged arrive for school

The arts department treated us to traditional music and dance performances

A special dance which takes years and years of training to learn

Another traditional dance

Student project for the fabric competition

Students in Archana's biology class modeling the flow of blood in the circulatory system

Our home for the past 2 weeks... it was a sad when we left our new home...

A bulletin board created for my 1 day professional development workshop

Here I am convincing students that I can make a cloud in a bottle!

My second week at the Navrachana School opened with my workshop called “Teaching Science as Inquiry” for 35 teachers from the Navrachana School and surrounding schools.  The workshop investigated the topic inquiry, what inquiry looks and doesn’t look like, and modeled how to use it in science classrooms.  The workshop ran very well and the teachers were all very receptive.  In the evening we met at Baksi Ma’am’s before heading out to dinner.  There she set up a “game” where some of the teachers there had to dress Julia, Anna, and I in sari’s which we had to wear to dinner!  Everyone had a great laugh as did we!  I’m not sure how Indian women get from one place to another wearing sari’s because I sure did find it a challenge not to step on the fabric!  We ate at the Hotel Nidra for dinner and on yet another Indian feast.

On Tuesday I taught a class on the topic of the nitrogen cycle using the nitrogen cycle game. It went well except for the fact that these students already know most of the content but I think I took their knowledge to a deeper level.  I visited Archana’s lab classes and watched as the students prepared slides.  The “press” arrived at 3PM which included a newspaper reporter and TV reporter.  They interviewed the 3 of us and I made sure to clarify that when they are asking comparison questions that they be sure to state that it is a comparison of the Navrachana School and our home schools; not schools in India vs. schools in the US.  We headed back to the hotel it was time for dinner with the social studies teachers.  Again dinner was delightful – great company and great food.

Wednesday started out with an assembly on disaster management. The students were then briefed on and a long term (due Nov 16^th) assignment related to disaster management where they had a choice of about 7 different projects they could do.  From there we were whisked down to a performance by the arts department that included songs, dancing, and instrumental music from India. It was wonderful to see the students perform.  From there we were invited to view the fabric projects created by the 6^th grade students.  Next, Julia and I were interviewed by 4 students for their school newsletter.  It was great because we were able to ask them a number of questions.  They also gave me a list of Bollywood movies to watch and a couple of actors to watch out for.   Later in the afternoon I visited a class to go over basic meteorology concepts and did a couple of demos including cloud in a bottle and the wind tube.  We ended the day visiting the Navrachana School for the underprivileged where we were treated to a couple of songs.  I bought a number of items from their little store where some of the money will go back to the student.  The 150 students are taught in Gujarti since they do not know English, although it is one of the subjects they are learning. These students have the opportunity to go on to a trade or to a university after finishing the program at the school.  The parents chip a very small amount of money for their kids to be there.  Mala’s (the textile artisan) sister is the principal. Back to the hotel and afterwards we went to dinner at Sudha’s (a science teacher) home.  The food was delicious. When we got back to the hotel we heard of 3 bombings in Mumbai.  Jen (my travel colleague for the next week) and I were going back and forth with each other a few times about whether or not to cancel our travels. We decided to talk to our host teachers before making any rash decisions.

Thursday morning we sat through a leadership workshop for the kids. Julia ran it and had the kids do some metaphor activities to model leadership skills and styles.  I was scheduled to talk to the 6^th graders about my trips and also talk to a few teachers about data use in the classroom.  The 6^th grade talk was a bit too much with too many kids and towards the end the power went out.  The data discussion went well, and I think the teachers took away a few good ideas.  Last, I tried to talk to Archana’s older students, but I couldn’t access the powerpoint presentation on the hard-drive that I used when the power went out!  Then it was off to our ice-cream social, although they turned it into a much bigger deal –like a farewell party.  Julia and I tried to come up with a way to say thank you to the faculty for all they did for us while were there and with the help of Baksi Ma’am and Archana came up with the idea to host an ice cream social.  They all said nice things and it was a very pleasant event.  Jen and spoke about our travels and we decided to keep our GAP trip and head back after it instead of spending a few days in Mumbai. Dinner was at a Junior Level science teacher’s home –Krishna.  Krishna cooks southern cuisine and is known for her masala covered idli. Her coconut rice was also superb.

All of that waiting for the trip to happen and now it’s over.  I don’t want to go home. Archana picked us up at 7:35 and when we got to the school they had all the students assembled in the courtyard ready to bid us our farewell.  I got quite emotional seeing all the students and hearing their voices.  When asked to say something to the students I focused on “til we meet again” to all those who made our stay at Navrachana so wonderful.  Anagha then took us to the International School to visit the facility where there are approximately 800 hundred students included about 60 boarders.  While there we were entertained by an assembly, observed a class and judged a debate.  The school was beautiful.  We had dinner with members of the science department and bid a final farewell to all of our new colleagues.  How does one been begin to thank all the people at the Navrachana School for making my visit so wonderful?  Perhaps I’ll come up with something!

July 9-10, 2011

But it is monsoon season!

Way to use the weather in an ad campaign!

Traditional India thali - delicious!

At Gandhi's Ashram in Ahmedabad

The textile were amazing!

I found my volcano of the summer! Interesting to note that the igneous geology of this region is not well understood

Helical Stepped Well near Champaner

Anna providing some scale for us

All the buildings in Champaner were sandstone and had beautiful carvings that combined Hindi and Islamic traditions. Look closely at the lotus flowers - note that no 2 are alike!

The intricate carvings in the sandstone was amazing

 A friendly visitor

Monkeys were seen in random locations throughout the trip!

Today was one of those continuous rain days and thus the start of our trip to Ahmedabad was pushed back to about noon. Anagha from the Navrachana International School, her son, Archana, Anna, Julia and I drove to Ahmedabad to visit Gandhi’s Ashram, and it was here I learned more about the life and leadership of Gandhi who was a remarkable man.  We had lunch at the famous Agishye known for their Gujarati thali, a traditional meal served in a metal dish and comprised of numerous small dishes.  It was delicious! We shopped for sari’s at a store that had thousands to choose from.  Amazing that after a week in India I have yet to see 2 of the same sari’s or kameez (tunic and pant set)!  We grabbed a snack and made our back to Vadodara by 11PM after a fun day exploring.

On Sunday Nigma took Anna, Julia and I to a world heritage site called Champaner, and on the way there I was treated to the site of an extinct volcano!  Nigma didn’t have an explanation as to how the igneous structures were created in this region, but perhaps they are related to the lava flows that created the Deccan Plateau.  We stopped at a Helical Stepwell used to capture and store water.  Champaner is situated at the base of the Pavagadh hill which includes 5 plateaus.  This site is rich in religious history as well as political history of India between.  We had a tour guide who was wonderful at showing us around all the significant features and then we spent some time climbing a little to get better views of the plateaus.  I’m looking forward to a return visit to hike through some of the plateaus perhaps with Nigma.  We had a late lunch and balance of the evening was for ourselves in which we took the auto-rickshaw to a shopping mall in while in the rain and I used some time to prep for my workshop.

July 6-8, 2011

Site of the pond project

Clean-up will be one of the first major tasks

There is beauty in even the dirtiest of ponds!

The pond is multi-use, and therefore education about clean water is needed

Archana's biology students sharing their knowledge about phyllums

An inter-house competition - skits about fabrics, and this was about cotton

Wouldn't you want to buy cotton after seeing this ad?

5th graders playing a foodweb game

This morning’s first task was a trip to a local pond with Archana, a couple of colleagues and some students to gather information to begin a school-wide pond project.  They hope to develop a long range plan that would include clean-up and revitalization of the area, but they realize that there are number of challenges that must be addressed if the project is to be a success.  On one side of the pond is a community of under-privileged people who use the pond for fish, cooking, and cleaning. On the other side of the pond is a busy street, and at one end of the pond is an entry area filled with trash that will wash into the pond when the monsoon rains pour.  In regards to the community of under-privileged people, the community service club will develop a survey to seek information about how the community views the pond and this information will in turn guide their outreach efforts.  The city of Vadodara will also need to be brought in to assist with the clean-up and with support to ensure the pond remains clean. While there Archana and I brainstormed a number of science related activities the students could do begin a long-term study of the physical and biological characteristics of the pond.  

Back at the school, the students presented their ideas to Baksi Ma’am.  She listened to everything the students had to say and heard their enthusiasm for the project in their voices.  She began asking a number of questions that were meant to guide their thinking and actions.  As I watched all this transpire, I realized how fortunate the school was to have Baksi Ma’am as their leader.  She is a type of leader, who fosters creativity and professionalism in her faculty, supports and encourages student growth, and does this while seeing the big picture of where the school is and where it is going.  She is a role-model for all those who aspire to be school leaders. 

The rest of my day included teaching one class about soils and another about natural resources as a global issue, and afterwards I debriefed what I taught with teachers of those classes.  I had a blast doing both.  It appears that the students are well versed in the book content of each of these topics, and what I brought along supported and enhanced what they previously learned.  The teachers had some good questions about how to cover content while using inquiry approaches.  I told them to hold onto their questions because my workshop would address those questions.  Julia and I were back to the hotel by 4PM and out to dinner at the Science Department Chair’s home by 8PM.  It was another delightful evening with wonderful colleagues.  It has been a treat watching the faculty interact; it appears that they have been the best of friends for years being so supportive of each other and having fun at the same time.  Archana mentioned that she and her colleagues don’t normally get together for dinner because everyone is so busy.  Julia and I made the suggestion that they develop a master calendar to continue their social gatherings after we leave!

Thursday morning Julia and I were guest judges for an inter-house poetry contest. Yup, this science teacher was asked to judge poetry performances AND to provide comments on the performances!  The school is divided into 4 “houses” (emerald, ruby, topaz, and sapphire) and there are inter-house competitions throughout the year as each house vies for the school trophy.  The students remain in their houses while they are in the Navrachana School so over time they get better and better at performing in these competitions.  All the performances were extremely impressive and I couldn’t help but to give high marks to each house.  Thank goodness Julia knew watch she was watching since she is an accomplished theater arts and language arts teacher, and she was able to provide them with constructive feedback.

After the judging I watched Archana’s students give oral presentations on phylums and then later I spoke to the junior-level science teachers and assisted them in identifying their cache from the field trip.  I wish I had more time to spend with them and their students.  Later in the afternoon Archana and I spoke to the senior-level science teachers about problem-based learning methods, and hopefully a few will try to incorporate some of our suggestions into their teaching repertoires.

I’m sure you are wondering what the weather has been like here in India. Well, I was expecting hot, and got it!  The temperatures in the classrooms hover around 95 degrees Fahrenheit and outside temperatures hover above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  In regards to the monsoon rains, I was ready for torrential downpours on a daily basis, but in reality only experienced seer rain on a few of the days while in India.  Sporadic downpours were more the norm than full days of rain, although there were a couple of those.  One of those storms occurred today while a few of us were shopping after school.  The drainage is so poor that we had to walk through over 12 inches of water to get into the car.  Umbrellas are okay if there is no wind, and raincoats are barely used by anyone.  That evening we were out with the English department at a restaurant and got caught in another storm as we left.

First thing Friday morning I met with an astronomy club filled with students of differing background knowledge. I had planned a few items to fill the hour but chose to do something a little different after beginning to talk to them.  We chatted about tools of an astronomer and how different bands of electromagnetic energy are used to detect cosmic objects we can’t see or touch.  They seemed to enjoy it, although it didn’t leave us much time to complete our planispheres.  I left the supplies with the teacher so she could wrap up the activity for the students.  After that I stopped by to see some performances by grades 4-6 on the topics of fabrics. Each house had a different fabric and they each needed to develop a skit, advertisement, and jingle.  I only saw 2 to the 4, and they were really good! After that I watched as the 5^th graders played a web of life game, and a predator-prey game.  The teacher did a nice job of wrapping the games up back in the classroom.  Next, Archana and I finally got more time to plan for my Monday workshop.  I’m now ready to go except for the powerpoint presentation, which will take a little time to create.  Julia and I took an auto-rickshaw back to the hotel and it cost less than $1!  We had “high tea” at the home of a junior level English teacher at 6PM.  The gathering was very nice and included about 10 faculty members.  The school is like a community and in particular it is a part of the Navarachana educational trust which includes many schools and outreach programs.  For instance,  after the children leave at 2PM, underprivileged children from the community come to the school to study.  The families pay an extremely small amount of money and the kids learn a vocation, Hindi, English and a few other subjects.  The school is also big into community development with all their green projects.  Very impressive indeed! 

July 5, 2011

Kids love field trips - no matter what country you're in!

Searching for semi-precious stone treasures in Khambhat

Large scale rock tumblers which produce gorgeous polished stones

The cast of the Malaysian dance troupe

My second day and I already immersed in the school family. “Hello Ma’am” was heard from the left and right as I walked through the gates of the school.  I think I was just as excited to go on this field trip as the students were.  When I arrived at the school, all 200 of the students were seated by class (40 per class) waiting to board the buses.  Within the 45 minutes all the students were on the buses and eagerly waiting to start our journey.  The route was quite long and took us through a variety of landscapes.  Vadodara is topographically flat with city-like infrastructure whereas the areas we drove through were a bit hilly as well as quite rural.   As the bus rolled through one small town after another I chatted with my Navrachana colleagues and kept an eye on the road as I watched the traffic dance so prevalent to way of life in India.  We eventually got to our destination which was a stone polishing shop.  The busloads of students poured out the buses and ran to the piles of mineral shards to fill their bags.  This is where my job began as the first student asked “Ma’am what is the name of this rock?” I think by the end of the day almost every student brought me at least one mineral for identification. I never had so much fun being around such lively students!  The technique used to the polish the stones was similar to the technique employed by rock tumbling kits sold in toy or science stores.  It was quite impressive to see the process done at such a large scale.  The polished rocks leave this shop for retail sales in other countries or to be used in jewelry making in other parts of the country.

After our first stop we ventured to a historical temple in the area followed by a picnic lunch and another temple visit.  Each of these places painted a rich picture of the history of this region of India given the ornate nature of the structures and the strong respect and the adherence to the traditions of the religions of each of the temples.  In each case we needed to remove our shoes before entering and the teachers with me showed their respect by offering prayers in the manner of the religion of the temple.  Even the 200 energetic students followed the protocols modeled by their elders at each location; an impressive feat to witness. Our last stop of the trip was in a town called Khambhat in the Anand region of Gujarat.  Here the people are known for their stone beadwork.  The children had an opportunity to shop for mineral trinkets while the teachers sought out baubles, beads, and additional stones for classroom use.  Phew, after a day in the sun my ride back to the school included a long nap!

About halfway through the afternoon I found out that Julia, Anna, and I were invited to dance performance by a renowned dance troupe from Malaysia called Sutra.  When I got back to the hotel, Julia mentioned we were being picked up in 20 minutes!  A quick freshening up and off we went to a wonderful performance where the dancers continued telling their story for almost 2 hours without a break.  It was a special event loved by all. Back at the hotel I crashed harder than the night before all while thinking about what a wonderful day it was!

July 4, 2011

Mala showing us her textiles

The art of block printing

New meaning to "share the road"

Monday morning came by pretty quickly and gave rise to what would be my routine for the next 2 weeks, except today was extra special.  When Archana picked up Julia and me at about 7:30 she seemed a little stressed as she was using the phone to talk to someone. Julia and I didn’t know any different but we thought we were going directly to the school and as it turned out, Archana was driving in circles as the school was prepping the students for our arrival!  We arrived at the Navrachana School about 30 minutes later where we met up with Anna, Mamta, and a host of others who would all soon become like family.  We were adorned with marigold leis and whisked into a courtyard where we were greeted by all the entire student population and a wonderful welcome assembly!  It was surreal for someone like me who has never pictured themselves as someone worthy of such attention.  We were presented with artwork from the children and then shuffled off to begin our days after meeting with Baksi Ma’am, the principal.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of visiting classes, talking to students and teachers. Archana invited me to her classes where I spoke to the students about my field work experiences and college pursuits that would include field research.  The students were so engaging and asked numerous excellent questions.  I met with the “junior level” teachers (standards 5-7) and when the mentioned that they were taking their 5^th standard students on a geology field trip and immediately asked if I could go!  The thought of spending the day with 200 enthusiastic 10 year olds sounded like great fun at the time!  They cleared the request with the principal (Baksi Ma’am) who was concerned about my comfort in the heat.  The teachers wanted to introduce me to all the standard 5 students and therefore gathered them in an assembly hall for what I thought would be a quick “hello” and hand wave.  Little did I know they wanted me to introduce the trip to the students who did know about it before today!  Not knowing where exactly we were going or what we would be seeing, I gave the students a lively introduction to the rock cycle!  Their energy was infectious!  I also met with the “senior level” teachers and it was there I learned a little about the science curriculum in Indian secondary schools, which is predominantly biology, chemistry, and physics for students in standards 10, 11, and 12.  An integrated science curriculum is used in Standards 8 and 9 where the students learn about various topics from all the sciences including the Earth Sciences (my science).  I found out that Indian students take geography classes as well, and what I teach in the United States also aligns with their physical geography topics. 

The day flew by and we had “lunch” at the end of the school day (1:50) before Julia, Mamta, Baksi Ma’am, and I were off on a “field trip” to the showroom of a local fabric artisan, Mala.  I’ve always admired Indian fabrics and my wardrobe has always included several Indian inspired articles of clothing.  At the Bodhi studio we were treated to a wonderful tour that included a lesson on how block printing is done and how it can be done using eco-friendly methods.  The fabrics were exquisite!   Our day ended with a wonderful dinner at the home of Kashmira and Alok, their 2 daughters and numerous colleagues from the school.  As it turned out, the typical line-up for the meal included a fruit drink, appetizers, before a huge spread of assorted Indian delicacies, breads, and a sweet dessert.   11PM and officially exhausted!

July 2-3, 2011

Home for the next 2 weeks!

Julia, Archana, Missy, Archana's husband

“In India your senses will awaken.”  This was the advice of those who have been to India, and it was perhaps the best advice to receive.  My arrival in Mumbai late July 2^nd and thanks to the Indian national sitting next to me on the plane I knew I needed to get to the “domestic” airport from the international airport in order to make my way to Vadodara.  This wasn’t a big deal since my flight to Vadodara wasn’t for another 8 hours or so.  The next morning arrived quickly and next thing I knew I met up with Julia (colleague from Florida visiting the same Indian school with the IREX program) for the first time after corresponding with her for the past 7 months.  It was like we knew each other for eons as we chatted about our travels and anticipations surrounding our upcoming experience.  We boarded the plane for Vadodara and an hour later we were at our destination where Archana (my host) and Mamta (Julia’s host) greeted us.  

The early morning journey to the hotel gave new meaning to “Share the Road” signs seen all around the United States.  Cattle, donkeys, dogs, cyclists, auto-rickshaws (more on them later!), cars, buses, and pedestrians all using the roads at the same time where staying in lane is only a suggestion rather than a law to be heeded!  It was amazing sight to see and even more amazing to hear about the low number of accidents amongst all who share the road.  Julia and I were dropped off at the Ginger Hotel at about 7AM and where the receptionists were kind enough to provide us with our room immediately. 

After a much needed nap, Mamta picked us up for lunch at her home.  There we shared a meal with her mother, daughter, and Anna (teacher from Poland in the same program).  My epicurious journey has begun!  Lunch was a delight as I soon realized the social importance of food to bring together people, and to stimulate lively and entertaining conversation.  After another nap, Archana joined by her son and husband picked Julia and I for dinner at Pizza Hut. It’s always fun to see how chain restaurants from the United States modify their menus for those living in other countries.  Here, the modifications mostly came in the form of additional herbs and spices typically used in Indian foods, and I’m not sure if I can eat another classic Italian pizza again after tasting one with the classic flavors of India.  After our tasty repast and enjoyable conversation it was finally time to crash for the night; much needed after a long journey.