The day began like every other with the usual assembly drill and 4 morning lessons. As the students got down to business, project coordinator and great friend, Santa, arrived to see just what had been achieved. First up class 3 unleashed their creative genius in illustrating their animal stories which had been written the day before. As a treat each child was given some goggly eyes (thank you Hobby Craft) which brought their masterpieces to life. Santa looked proudly at what was happening...
'Look at all these faces, they're so happy and engaged!'
It was the reaction we needed to confirm a job well done.
A school of engaged students is Santa's dream, and what he saw didn't disappoint. Class 2 were enjoying maths; piecing together dominoes and working out simple fractions. The nursery were being introduced to finger puppets, each bringing their characters to life with basic conversation. When I popped in to see Giles engaging the smallest students I couldn't help but notice the lack of trousers on the cheekiest of all, Abinesh. Upon closer inspection it was clear what had happened from the evidence all over the floor, but out here dry pants aren't catered for so he was happy enough playing with his pink elephant finger puppet naked from the waist down (I kid you not, if he'd had the grey mouse it wouldn't have been nearly so funny!).
By mid morning we began handing out small gifts to the younger students: pipe cleaners! Bendy and colourful, they sparked creativity, imagination and appreciation. Their little faces were an absolute picture, and what they made even more so. We had pretend glasses, rings, flowers and moustaches! I'm not sure they'll last longer than the weekend but their reaction to the novelty was priceless!
Class 3 actually received an extra gift, courtesy of Giles, in relation to their Christmas card-making frenzy of 2 days ago. Whilst I spent much of the previous evening planning lessons and arranging thank yous for one and all, Giles submerged himself in mission 'make the best Christmas card ever'. What he produced was a work of art, so much so that he whimpered 'do I really have to give it away' just before parting with it! The reaction, although inevitable, justified the effort: 'Sooooooo nice'! When Giles read the card's message out to the cheery faces, emotion finally engulfed him. As the wobble grew stronger he handed the reins to me just before any of the boys noticed; Giles' hero status was saved just in time!
Class 3 then became untameable, almost to the same level as when we first met them. That first day is still crystal clear in my mind; Giles exiting the classroom with beads of sweat pouring off his head, a chalk hand print on his bottom and uttering the words: "I'm never going in there again!" What a turn around! Although still hyperactive, the riot that ensued was out of adoration, and the handfuls of marigold confetti and letters of appreciation were simply overwhelming.
Overwhelmed too was Santa. Once the formalities of exit meetings and teacher briefings were complete, our stoic Nepali friend crumbled and threw his arms around us both. Giles, much like on our wedding day, did the same leaving me to shake the boys back into the moment! As little tears rolled down Santa's cheeks it was clear that this was just the beginning of what the next couple of hours had in store.
India really does thrive on celebrations and formalities, and so our hopes of a quiet exit were soon dashed. As the children gathered in the probably-never-to-be-finished school hall, plastic coated swivel chairs and a lectern were carefully positioned by the prefects. The children squeezed onto the tiny green benches and over 100 sets of fingers twitched around neatly tied posies and khodors (traditional ceremonial scarves). The most talented teacher of all, Parsuram, took our camera and began snapping as the thank-yous began. Sunod-sir, the deputy head, gave a touching speech, and teachers and students echoed his thanks through broad smiles and the Indian-typifying head wiggle. Then it was our turn, and our off-the-cuff plan worked brilliantly. We bounced off each other giving praise and recognition, and the students cheered in turn as we referred to each of their classes. In true Giles fashion the tears arrived just as we began summing up... Thank goodness we are a reliable double act! Once I'd rounded off our thanks the students were invited to make their presentations. Wow. It was as if the monsoon had returned, only this time it was raining khodors. Within a few minutes they were literally falling off our backs but the onslaught continued! It's nice to be appreciated but this really felt too kind.
The atmosphere was somewhere between celebratory and sombre, and as the occasion drew to a close I felt quite guilty at the number of puffy eyes that left the playground. Our parting English lesson was one of reassurance; we told them all that the words 'see you later' are far less final than 'goodbye', and this went a long way to raising spirits once again.
Armed with thank you letters galore we made our way back up to our room, and then it was my turn to crumble. Ashit, our little rebel-turned-angel, gave me a present, and on the label it read 'a toucan of my love for you'. Having been lucky enough to get to know Ashit properly we are only too aware of his circumstances, and yet he gave me the most beautiful scarf. Any teacher out there will know the importance of being equal, but in your heart of hearts the are always a couple of special ones who you never forget. If this is a taste of things to come then I had better toughen up a bit! As Giles wrapped his arms around me and banished any feelings of guilt for leaving, we reflected on what we have achieved over the last 10 weeks.
We came here to make a difference, and make a difference we did. Whilst our drive to create something sustainable was challenged soon into the project, we pressed 'reset', contented ourselves by helping the children themselves, and continued attacking the underlying systemic problems from a slightly different angle. Reflecting on 10 weeks, we realise that goals on every level have indeed been met. The kids had a great time, KCS is undergoing a management restructure to put the right people in charge, and there are initiatives to increase the number of volunteers in the pipeline and provide a more organised approach to assisting schools in North East India.
As of the next academic year starting in February, KCS is to be split into separate primary and secondary schools. The junior one will be lead by Sunod-sir and star teacher Omu-miss (Ashit's aunt). For those who are interested the whole story can be told when we are home, but in short this is an arrangement that we have helped to bring about, and it promises a financially viable and well managed lower school that is willing to work hard to transform into a modern teaching medium. The upper school's future is less certain, but that's another long story too complicated for a blog.
By the UK's standard KCS is miles away from providing an education deemed as satisfactory for all, but what's key is that we have got the ball rolling. Rome wasn't built in a day but look at what was built in the end. We were given hope earlier in the week when we visited some neighbouring schools. Both have applied for volunteers and both are very worthy candidates. Having depressed ourselves a number of times and banged our heads against imaginary brick walls, we thought that any kind of evolution in education would be impossible. However, Tuesday presented 2 passionate head teachers alongside their thriving schools, each aware of the need to teach by more stimulating means, and each eager to learn more. Long term, the vision that we have devised alongside Santa is to create a Future Sense Academy, where thriving schools who succeed in providing a good education become mentors for the more needy. It's a big goal but, hand on heart, I think it's possible.
What we really need out here are volunteers. The schools are crying out for people to make a difference, so perhaps the UK's National Curriculum objective of creating cultural awareness within schools might just fuel our other vision of a teacher exchange programme. All ideas are embryonic, but, as predicted, we are in too deep out here now and continue to provide support to the big ideas. Perhaps not frontline work as new careers beckon, but our time on the project is far from over.
If any of you fancy an adventure of a lifetime then do chat to us about our time in India; we both agree that it's the single most rewarding experience we have ever had.
Photos:
Little Abinesh... Nothing on his bottom half but he's still smiling!
Nursery enjoy finger puppets -thanks Sue for such a great idea.
Giles presents class 3 with a Christmas card 'Soooooooooo nice, Sir'. I don't think even he knew that he was so good at arts and crafts!
Class 3 with G&S
Giles receives a khodor from Prashant, his superstar from class 4. Sarah didn't get a hug cos the poor little chap was too emotional!
Ashit gives me the present that made me cry (and I'm wearing it as I type).
The class 6 girls, beautiful ladies who I'll miss so much. Lloydy, L-J, notice that the Princess stationery box is proudly displayed (even though it's empty!).. Thanks so much.
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