Day 2:
First day of teaching
The
following morning, we loaded into the van and made our way to Surya Bharti
school. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but knew that the few YouTube
videos we had seen on the NGO Children Aid channel couldn’t fully prepare us for
what was to come.
As the van
approached the schoolyard, we could see five even rows of blurry maroon-colored
dots next to the school building. As we came closer, these dots crystallized
into figures of the schoolkids wearing their maroon-colored sweater uniforms.
They were chanting their morning greeting, right hands raised as they repeated
the captains’ calls.
We hopped
out of the van as the students finished their routine and walked up to face
them. Slightly nervous, we introduced ourselves in front of the group in the
Hindi words we had learned just that morning: “Mera naam Erica…” “…Mera naam
Megumi,” we awkwardly fumbled as the kids stared back at us with expectant
expressions. We quickly had to revert back to English, and can only hope that
our sincere gratitude for their welcoming us to their school was properly
conveyed.
After the
kids dispersed to their various classrooms, we visited the smaller groups and
re-introduced ourselves. We were then ushered into the newly-built library,
where we commenced teaching for the day. We taught four grades, with students’
ages ranging from 13 to 16 years old. One thing that struck me immediately was
the rapt attention with which we were greeted. I couldn’t help but contrast
this respectfulness with American students, who tend to disengage in the
classroom, or, in the worst case scenarios, torment substitute teachers with
endless chatter and paper airplanes.
It was fun
to get a glimpse of what the students were learning in class, whether they were
reading stories about pet bears, or poems by Silvia Plath. We tried to plug
into their curriculum in order to strike a balance for them between the
familiar and the new and to establish a sense of continuity with their current
lessons and exam schedules.
The most
rewarding moments that first day were when the students asked questions,
thirsty for knowledge of English vocabulary and pop culture. And, of course,
when we sidetracked a little to listen to Michael Jackson’s “Man in the
Mirror,” with the kids singing unabashedly along. In those moments, we couldn’t
help but smile cheek-to-cheek – especially when one of the alumni showed off his
Michael Jackson moon walk.
