July 4th, Happy Independence Day from the country which also needed independence from the Brits.
Today four of the Fulbrighters went to the Srijan School, a more upper-scale school that emphasizes inquiry projects and participation over competition (a different thought in India, whose schools are usually competitive based). This was an experimental school, since it is only 8 years old. The first year there were 10 teachers and 8 students. It has grown during this time to 80 faculty members and 1590 students. It was fantastic to be able to discuss education with the principal, many teachers, and also see how the students learn.
The class Day is from 7:45 to 1:45 in the afternoon. Classes are also held on 2 Saturdays a month. In this school, classes are based in English, but Hindi is a formal subject. In grade 6, students are exposed to a third language - Spanish. During the school day there are 8 periods (35 min. in length) with classes ranging from English, Math, Hindi, and Social Studies. The students take 2 activities ( Music, art, sports, theatre, computers, and library). Students are also exposed to yoga during their studies.
This was the first formal day of school, as the school year ends in May. Teachers attend a 3 day PD before the school year. The principal was extremely inviting, and when we said how much we loved the visit, since our days have been spent in temples, she said Of course you love it, "As educators, schools are our temples."
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