Bhavan's Sri Ramakrishna Vidyalaya

The only other school I visited in the Hyderabad area is Bhavan's Sri Ramakrishna Vidyalaya in Secunderabad, a K-12 establishment affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education of India.

Since it was raining, it took two hours to get through snarled traffic from Hyderabad, but the visit was well worth it. Once again, I found student who were eager to learn, and teachers who were actively incorporating character education into their lesson plans. The first teacher, named Kutty, was actullay teaching a poem from the Springboard Level 2 curriculum, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost! She had previously discussed character traits that could be learned from the poem, and student groups had prepared presentations on each of the traits. Her teaching style was highly animated and interesting.

Kutty's students doing a presentation on determination

 So I learned a new way to teach that poem, which can be very dry and confusing to students.

Kutty in action

 

One reflection I have after this experience is the mind-boggling fact (mind-boggling to me, as an American) that all students in both schools are English language learners; although the language of instruction is English, it is the heritage language of none of the students, and of few of the teachers. They are not always seen as ELLs, however; since their education begins and ends in English, some teachers refuse to see them as such. In fact, there are few visual aids, which is why I really appreciated Kutty's lesson which had the student create visuals of their own. 

With Kutty, an AP, and a teacher from JHPS (on right)

10th Grade girls

 Kubric Cube Champion - 17 seconds

 
On the way out I asked Uma, the teacher from Jubilee Hills who accompanied me, if Bhavan's is a religious school. She agreed that it was, but when I asked her if they held religion classes, she scoffed, "No! They just teach values." Values like hard work, determination, respect, and tolerance (for example for a gawking westerner who came to visit them and compare notes on our different systems).

In the principal's office (she's on the right)