48 Hours of class room instruction in conversational English and computer skills by 2 volunteers and 49 Hours of preparation time
2 Children's Home's and over 65 students impacted
"Experience is what causes a person to make new mistakes instead of old ones."
~Author Unknown
After a wonderful weekend in the temple town of Mamallapuram and night in Pondicherry it was time to get back to the children.
Well we had an extra guest last night. When we came home there was a raven flying around the 2nd floor. Instead of dealing with it, we let him spend the night on the chandelier and would let Stephan take care of it in the morning. Which he did.
Bill and I started our day with a Yoga session with Selva. I was tired from the weekend and I’m still trying to get over this sinus infection but I managed to get through it. We had a wonderful breakfast with Stephan, Sheeba and Roshan and then prepped for Assisi. Today we were meeting the kids that live at Assisi. This week they are on holiday break from school so that’s why we are meeting them for the first time.
You never know what to plan for until you have met the kids. I was on computers and Bill was on conversational English. Bill pulled out a map of Maine and the kids were just fascinated. The computer seemed to be distracting for the group because we only had one to work with and we were all in the same room. I managed to work with 5 different kids at all levels. Anywhere from “this is how you power on” to basic typing skills. This group was not as advanced as the SEAM’s group but my morning flew by.
Lunch brought me something different, bitter gourd. Well the name speaks for itself and I didn’t like it. Stephan said it was good for my health so I finished what was on my plate. Yuck. I did enjoyed the vegetable curry and cabbage!
Back to SEAM’s, this is our second week and we already seem like a couple of regulars. I got started quickly on computers and Bill with English. I was feeling like I’ve been neglecting the younger kids while I work with the older boys. So I asked Stephan to have a few of the younger children sit on the floor behind me and I would work on flash cards. It worked well at first but I think I added too much on my plate. After a while I just switched back and focused on the computers until time was up.
On the way out, the kids always run up say goodbye give handshakes or high fives, but one girl wanted to dance. So she stood on my feet as I danced around the room.
Monday mornings are a lot easier when you have smiley faces to wake up to. But every day here brings its new challenges, especially when I knew I would struggle with the teaching part of this program. We will continue to brain storm on ways to break through but will keep moving forward…
Dustin
“A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of a little courage.” (Sydney Smith)
A new day and another adventure in service. At Assissi, I worked with the three girls I met yesterday and one boy. It was a bad combination in two respects: the boy is way behind the girls in development and the taunting and teasing that must go on between them was brought to the lesson. I struggled mightily but found it hard going. Nevertheless, it is difficult to try to hold back the brightest girl who is so eager to show her stuff. Patience is a virtue not yet in abundance. Dustin asked them over to the laptop and all but one refused!! Dustin ended his session and then played with the smaller children.
After lunch, Stephen the driver took us to the Government store to shop. Dustin did his best to bolster the Indian economy and I made a modest contribution. Then it was off to SEAMS for a rousing afternoon with that rambunctious group. Bill had the older kids going with word selection contests and Dustin slipped away from the laptops to engage the boys in “Hangman.” Rather than try to figure out the letters, the boys wanted to guess the words. Santhi was not feeling well and I had only Suganya who had to compete with the boys for space at the chalkboard. I think she felt pushed aside and I will speak to her tomorrow. Unfortunately, my sense is that this is normal male/female relationship in India, starting at a very young age.
For dinner, Stephen took us to the roof top dining area at the Grand Residence, where we supped on excellent Indian food with a view of Chennai. Tomorrow we are at the mid-point but we continue to try to develop a method to reach the children, particularly the older children. The rote system of learning has produced great minds and talent in India, but it is distressing to find that the children do not think and analyze and are at a loss to do much more than respond to yes and no questions and only occasionally do we see some attempt to work out an answer without reference to something already given to them.
Bill
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”
Albert Einstein
Well we made it half way through the program. We’ve come a long way in such a short time and I will try to soak as much as I can before its time to go.
Yoga started us off just right and like clockwork Rani had our breakfast ready after we finished. Then it was off to Assisi, I continued my routine with basic computers and Bill with English. Bill always has something new up his sleeve and whether it works or not he manages to get the children’s attention. Today he tried to make them create sentences. He first made them identify Subjects, Verbs, and Objects. It seemed like a good project and some of the kids eventually picked it up. I stayed the course with basic typing skills. The kids at Assisi have limited computer knowledge so we stick to the basics. It’s amusing to watch them because just before they stroke a key they look over to me so I can give them the approval. The morning moved along quickly and we were out of there before I had anytime for a quick game of “juice banana” or a nursery rhyme.
Back at the guest house Bill, Stephan, and I enjoyed a great conversation over lunch. Stephan is just full of information. He will take us from current events all the way back to 300 BC. It could be about - why the price of cashews are so expensive, why a woman may wear a toe ring or just about anything. It’s nice to just kick back and chat.
At SEAM's we decided to change things up a little because we have been with these kids every day since we got here. So we played a few of their Indian games. Bill and I joined for the first round of KOKO. Great game but exhausting. Next we sat back and watched the boys play KABABI. This game is a little rough so we sat out. We finished with dodge ball and in the 2nd round I was one of the final 2 left standing. Not for long, Hari caught me off guard and I was out.
Just when you think there is nothing more to do, Bill and I skipped dinner and headed out to the other side of town to catch a local traditional dance at The Music Academy. This dance is usually preformed at temple ceremonies and takes 6 years to master. The 2 girls who were twins put on quite a performance. They danced for 1 1/2 hours nonstop. I wish I could show you but we weren’t allowed to take pictures. It wasn't just the dance but their facial expressions, hands, eyes, just everything was amazing! Great way to get to the half way point…
Dustin
“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” (Dalai Lama)
Stephen let us go it alone at Assissi this morning. The children were just as eager to see us took turns at the computer and working on English with Bill. The older girls had other assignments and we missed their presence. We are finding great differences in reading skills. One boy in particular is able to say words from the flash cards but when he tries to read them, he cannot. On the other hand there is a little six year old girl that works well at the laptop and is able to read simply sentences. The children are fascinated with books and pictures, which I used to introduce words without worrying about the story. For example, the story of the Statute of Liberty kept their attention for quite a few minutes. Since age is not the reason for the differences, I assume there are other problems of significance of which I am unaware.
At SEAMS, Dustin took the older boys and worked on reading but Charlotte’s Web could not hold their interest. He then started on word lists and hangman. Bill worked with Suganya, Santhi and Rogest on difficult words from a story he planned to read with them. It was a rousing session. Just like the younger children, however, there was often a failure to recognize the words when they were in the sentences being read. We then had the two groups compete on word lists, which turned into a spelling lesson. The letter combination that had them stumped was “ea” as in reason and release. They simply left out the silent “a” even when coached! Once again, however, the boys’ highly competitive nature turned the girls away.
The undeniable highlight of the day was dinner with Stephen and his family. We had a beautiful meal; a smorgasbord of Indian delights prepared by Sheeba and Stephen’s mother and overseen by his father. Stephen’s mother is a beautiful woman with a most warm and happy smile. We felt welcome and were warmed by the experience. We stopped in to visit with brother Stephen and his wife and child and also with Roni, who greeting us with a delightful smile. We are fortunate indeed to have the opportunity to visit with this most hospitable family.
Bill
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. “
Buddha
Yoga started us off just right and we had another wonderful breakfast. What a great way to start the day.
At Assisi there were a few more kids than usual. I started Sylvia on typing and then moved on to David, Asha, and finally V.Sandhiya. I’ve been working with Sylvia all week and at first she was very slow and unfamiliar with the computer. By the end of her lesson today, she was moving pretty quickly with her typing and she is only 6. With only about a half hour left, we found out that we aren’t going to be spending Saturday with the Assisi kids and today was our last day. So I packed up the computer so I could spend some time with all the children before we were off. We all headed downstairs and said our goodbyes. Time flew by the last 2 weeks at the Assisi Home. Bill and I were planning on having one more day but the children will be going away for a picnic tomorrow. They will all be missed.
After lunch we headed back to SEAM’s. I only had one computer to work with today so Hari, Kabilan and I reviewed Microsoft Excel. I showed them how to create basic spreadsheet and charts. When I was running out of things to show them we started creating a resume for Hari. We didn’t have power today so the laptop battery was dying so we will have to finish tomorrow. Bill continues to work with Suganya & Santi with their English. Time was up and we headed back to the quest house.
Dustin
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