At Jubilee Hills, the day begins at around 8. We were not always there at that time, because the driver who was to bring us came as soon as traffic permitted. Dana, who is a librarian as well as an English teacher, spent most of her time reading books to the smaller children (Class 1 through Class 3) and with the Class 9 classes. I spent my time with Class 7 and Class 8, and on the last day "subbed" for Dana since she was not feeling well and had a long talk with the Class 11 students.
Students do not move between different classes unless they require special equipment, like the computer and language labs, the library and physical education. Instead the teachers move around the school; as a result, there are not very many decorations in each class. In fact, when I asked Sree what she wanted me to bring her from the United States, she mentioned that she would like trim for the boards and other decorations. So I brought a number of different items with me.
The students watched the movie I brought on CLMS, and then we had questions and answers, comparing and contrasting US and Indian school systems. They had questions about a variety of things, but one topic that popped up was how students are evaluated, and types of exams. At Jubilee Hills, students follow the CBSE, or Central Board of Secondary Education curriculum, and take the corresponding examinations in Class X and Class XII.
Although there is a great deal of rote learning and memorization going on, students seem very literate, and are all multi-lingual; the lowest number of languages in which they are able to read and write is three: English (which is the language medium of the classes) Hindi, and Telugu (the State language of Andhra Pradesh). Sanskrit (the written form of Hindi) and French are also offered.
Since space is rather limited in the sense that a typical class size is around 40 students, teachers were finding it difficult to conduct group work at times, because of course students become excited and noisy. I taught them "May I have your attention, please?" with the arm raised, as well as voice levels, explaining the different levels for listening, speaking with a partner, group work, and speaking to the whole group.
The students are highly respectful, seem eager to learn, and very friendly. We sang songs together, as well as talked. With the 7th graders I expanded on a story they had read, called "The Midnight Visitor", which is essentially a short spy thriller with a great twist, by linking it to the Edward Snowden story.
In terms of technology, there are a great many smart boards in the school, but I didn't see the teachers using them. Students told me that some science and social studies teachers use them, but I did not see them in action. There are no laptops available for student use, although there is a computer lab. Cellphones are strictly forbidden. while teachers were adamant about this, students were excited when I said that in my classroom, I allow students to use smart phones for educational purposes, with the added caveat that my student to teacher ratio is much smaller and limited by law.
An important take away for me is that while I really support student-centered learning, I also feel that our educational system has gone too far in the direction of favoring student-pleasing over academics. Now I have heard some educators say, while framing thoughts about Common Core, that we should reverse this trend to the point of disregarding student interests. The United States is often a land of extreme pendulum shifts, and I am just wondering if there is not a balanced medium, in which critical thinking takes place alongside engagement and rigor. Certainly literacy needs a mighty boost, but hopefully not at the expense of the positive aspects of placing students at the center of their own learning processes. By the same token, I feel that the more successful English classrooms I have observed in this country were ones in which students were active participants
and creative thinkers, as well as mindful of academic vocabulary, and correct grammar and spelling.
Certainly the respect and sense of security that most of these students seem to feel comes from a close-knit family system and the cultural values that are instilled in them from an early age. Although I know that behind every facade problems exist, and certainly students in Indian society face as many issues as students in our country.
In order to teach the Class VIII students about theme, we studied two songs, Stand By Me and
Hey Jude. Then over a couple of days, they decided on themes to incorporate in songs they wrote themselves, and competed with each other for the best songs. The winners went to a final competition in the auditorium, and the final winner was a song called "Freedom".
Each class had a group of judges; I explained to them how to develop a rubric so that the judging would be fair. They came up with their own criteria and rating scales.
I was amazed at how quickly the groups of students came up with their themes, wrote the songs, added music and performed them.
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Class VII kids    |
Students do not move between different classes unless they require special equipment, like the computer and language labs, the library and physical education. Instead the teachers move around the school; as a result, there are not very many decorations in each class. In fact, when I asked Sree what she wanted me to bring her from the United States, she mentioned that she would like trim for the boards and other decorations. So I brought a number of different items with me.
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| Class VIII students working in groups |
Although there is a great deal of rote learning and memorization going on, students seem very literate, and are all multi-lingual; the lowest number of languages in which they are able to read and write is three: English (which is the language medium of the classes) Hindi, and Telugu (the State language of Andhra Pradesh). Sanskrit (the written form of Hindi) and French are also offered.
Since space is rather limited in the sense that a typical class size is around 40 students, teachers were finding it difficult to conduct group work at times, because of course students become excited and noisy. I taught them "May I have your attention, please?" with the arm raised, as well as voice levels, explaining the different levels for listening, speaking with a partner, group work, and speaking to the whole group.
The students are highly respectful, seem eager to learn, and very friendly. We sang songs together, as well as talked. With the 7th graders I expanded on a story they had read, called "The Midnight Visitor", which is essentially a short spy thriller with a great twist, by linking it to the Edward Snowden story.
In terms of technology, there are a great many smart boards in the school, but I didn't see the teachers using them. Students told me that some science and social studies teachers use them, but I did not see them in action. There are no laptops available for student use, although there is a computer lab. Cellphones are strictly forbidden. while teachers were adamant about this, students were excited when I said that in my classroom, I allow students to use smart phones for educational purposes, with the added caveat that my student to teacher ratio is much smaller and limited by law.
An important take away for me is that while I really support student-centered learning, I also feel that our educational system has gone too far in the direction of favoring student-pleasing over academics. Now I have heard some educators say, while framing thoughts about Common Core, that we should reverse this trend to the point of disregarding student interests. The United States is often a land of extreme pendulum shifts, and I am just wondering if there is not a balanced medium, in which critical thinking takes place alongside engagement and rigor. Certainly literacy needs a mighty boost, but hopefully not at the expense of the positive aspects of placing students at the center of their own learning processes. By the same token, I feel that the more successful English classrooms I have observed in this country were ones in which students were active participants
Certainly the respect and sense of security that most of these students seem to feel comes from a close-knit family system and the cultural values that are instilled in them from an early age. Although I know that behind every facade problems exist, and certainly students in Indian society face as many issues as students in our country.
In order to teach the Class VIII students about theme, we studied two songs, Stand By Me and
Hey Jude. Then over a couple of days, they decided on themes to incorporate in songs they wrote themselves, and competed with each other for the best songs. The winners went to a final competition in the auditorium, and the final winner was a song called "Freedom".
Each class had a group of judges; I explained to them how to develop a rubric so that the judging would be fair. They came up with their own criteria and rating scales.
 |
| Bright and beautiful faces |
Freedom Song
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| Exuberant Class VII kids and their teacher, below |
It's very interesting to hear about the big differences in our educational systems! The balance between rigor and student creativity is an issue all over and balancing both is the key....
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are able to bring ideas for such creativity to them, and it's obvious that they enjoy it :-)
Hi Laurie,
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though the kids are learning a lot from you and vice versa. What were some of the questions they had about robotics and the competitions? I'm curious to know the male to female ratio for both students and teachers.
I glad you were able to experience this.