'blog'
Friday 12th June 2009, 18.14pm
I was pleased with Neha and Sahil's test results today, about 45% each which is better than I anticipated. Each Friday we are asked to test the children on what has been taught that week to see how effective our teaching methods are. The whole point of us being here is to demonstrate to Indian teachers that different teaching methods are more beneficial than simply writing lines all day. Seriously, that is all the children ever do. Write a line of A then B then C... In fact, it's so ingrained in the kids' minds that when I give them a worksheet, they start writing their lines all over it.
Next week I plan to teach 4 letters and 3 numbers per day for 2 hours. Class 1 are only 5 year olds, and my two kids only just joined the class so they need to go slower than Rohit and Prince. Sahil wasn't even sent to Day Care so he has missed out on a lot of early-years teaching such as letter formation.
Yesterday I was really upset by the way the kids were being treated by the teacher- constant hits with a metal ruler. They cried and he simply found it amusing. I could feel my blood boiling and my anger rising. Eventually I had to walk away so I could not see it anymore. Unfortunately this is a part of Indian culture and we just have to hope to set an example by not hitting children, as opposed to yelling at the teacher or telling him he is in the wrong.
It's not easy however, as the children tend to be more disobedient towards us as they know we will not hit them.
Also went swimming in the rockpool in the valley, which was refreshing - it's hot here at the moment. We, as females, were fully dressed from head to foot as women are expected to dress modestly in India. It's acceptable for men to go swimming in their see-through, holey Y-fronts (which personally I'd rather not see), but that's Indian culture for you again isn't it. Women live in the shadow of men here.