Let me paint the picture: KCS's vision is much the same as the UK's national curriculum's: to facilitate successful learning, development of confidence and spiritual awareness. It's an excellent goal but the chances of reaching it are literally zero.
Let me explain. India is the total opposite of Marmite. It's impossible to hate or love it. Every night I sit on the fence; smiling at some of the day's reflections and fuming over others.
The good: Indians' generosity, contentment, kindness, smiles and phenomenal resourcefulness. The bad: the disorganisation, inefficiency, 'yes, yes, yes' answers to questions that are blatantly 'no, no, no', over-promising, under delivering and pure laziness!
Today's been a classic non-marmite day packed with revelations. We awoke feeling so happy after last night's party and then wham! We discover that all lessons have been shortened to 30 minutes so that there are 5 afternoons per week to practice for the school's foundation day 6 weeks in advance of the main event! It's laughable. Back home this would be an after school activity. Then we discover that half the staff will be missing for tomorrow's
teacher training which we've spent hours organising. The reasons: for some headmaster's leaving ceremony about an hour away. Of course this also means that the children will be minus their teachers for the day too. Another moment made me fume when a teacher casually walked out of a lesson announcing 'they don't want a lesson today' and so she simply let them play on the swings!
Giles and I are working our socks off out here and and whilst the staff are inspired by our efforts, they simply don't understand why we bother because of the hard graft required... It's extraordinary.
Cultural vs logical is our issue. Our brief is to create a learning sanctuary, where the development of children and their education is the priority. But here celebrations, festivities and rituals sit high above any formal education, so much so that the staff looked at us in amazement when we questioned the prioritisation.
I guess we have to remember where we are. This is India, a country that's beautiful and dirty, charming and infuriating, kind and rude, all at the same time. Some battles are never going to be won so tonight I'm pressing my reset button to remind myself why we're here. Sustainability is a dream at this stage, but what I can do is deliver some inspiring lessons. They're tiny wins to me but making a difference to these children, no matter how small, is why we're here.
Pics: the children opting for swings and no lesson; resourceful kids enjoying a cricket match on a 1 in 5 sloped road and with no real kit! Beautiful.
Do we see the next Indian cricket team in the making here?? Great piccies and stories guys...
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, its peeing with rain here, and Autumn is most certainly in full swing....such FUN!
:o))))))
Sarah, Giles, it's brilliant following your blog. Your experience today is just so India - what we think of as logic is often outside their cultural norms and no amount of explanation will bridge the gap. You're right to just enjoy the good points and relish the small wins, because eventually they do all add up. Chris xx
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