Well hello there!
It's been a full week here at The Merasi School! Our two classes, Little Class (made up of kids roughly between the ages of 5-7) and Big Class (made up of kids roughly between the ages of 8-11) are plowing through learning body parts and basic health and hygiene. We are bringing a new teacher on board this week, a young Merasi woman named Arunah, who will work on a trial period until we can ascertain if she's a good fit for us and we're a good fit for her.
Arunah, unlike the sweeping majority of Merasi, espescially Merasi women, has been to school and finished 7th grade, which gives her the academic capacities to be a dynamo teacher. What she and I work on in our teacher training sessions focuses less on the what of teaching (the content) and more on the how (the delivery). The Indian education system leans towards memorization over comprehension and what we're working on is not developing little information recepticals, but training teachers. The time constraints of these childrens' lives makes it such that they are often the only kids from their family to attend school, so it becomes vital that they pay forward the knowledge they're acquiring and be, as our onsite Director Sarwar Khan put it, the one lamp that can light the whole room.
For this to sustainably transpire, we're working on these students understanding themselves as teachers with the capacity to shift and shape the world around them. And slowly, in little moments, signs of this are beginning to show, from Big Class' Suriya Khan demanding that everyone now call her 'Doctor Suriya' to Seema, a rather fiesty Little Classer, bellowing English body part names at her younger brother as they ate rice, then demanding, 'WHERE is your nose, brother?'
A bit of business: if you've donated to or are planning to donate to The Merasi School with a check between 12/31-2/23/08, your check will not be cashed until after 2/23/08. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience so very much.
All the best from me to you,
Caitie!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
The Ugly Face
Biggest hellos from dusty Jaisalmer!
This will be short and sweet, as the internet connection appears to be a bit fickle. I am delighted to report that The Merasi School is filled with a super smart, boisterous gang that shows up early, leaves late, and enjoys, like yours truly, speaking exclusively in their outsides voices. The biggest hang-up hus far is that my skin is having an adverse response to the desert climate, which has led many a student to ask why I brought my 'ugly face' to Jaisalmer and what did I do with the not ugly face? However, barring my show-stealing epidermus, the kids are focused and committed to school.
After its first hour of use, The Merasi School Book is already showing significant signs of wear and tear, but appears to be an effective means of linking what students are working on in the classroom with what they need outside the classroom to reshape the dramatically slopped playing field they exist in.
On the horizon are plans to hire a woman up the street from us who has finished 7th grade (pretty tremendous for a Merasi lady), put together a community board of directors and identify what support they need to make informed decisions, and begin to hash out our next stages of development. Stay posted for more stories from the classroom!
And, once again, my tendency for being long-winded gets the better of my attempt to keep it short and sweet. Ah, what's that sound? Oh, of course, it's another New Year's Resolution crashing to the floor.
Much warmth from here to there,
Caitie!
This will be short and sweet, as the internet connection appears to be a bit fickle. I am delighted to report that The Merasi School is filled with a super smart, boisterous gang that shows up early, leaves late, and enjoys, like yours truly, speaking exclusively in their outsides voices. The biggest hang-up hus far is that my skin is having an adverse response to the desert climate, which has led many a student to ask why I brought my 'ugly face' to Jaisalmer and what did I do with the not ugly face? However, barring my show-stealing epidermus, the kids are focused and committed to school.
After its first hour of use, The Merasi School Book is already showing significant signs of wear and tear, but appears to be an effective means of linking what students are working on in the classroom with what they need outside the classroom to reshape the dramatically slopped playing field they exist in.
On the horizon are plans to hire a woman up the street from us who has finished 7th grade (pretty tremendous for a Merasi lady), put together a community board of directors and identify what support they need to make informed decisions, and begin to hash out our next stages of development. Stay posted for more stories from the classroom!
And, once again, my tendency for being long-winded gets the better of my attempt to keep it short and sweet. Ah, what's that sound? Oh, of course, it's another New Year's Resolution crashing to the floor.
Much warmth from here to there,
Caitie!
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